On The Run

Disclaimer: All characters in this story are mine.

Warnings: m/f, preg, angst, death, lemon

** Asterisks indicate thoughts

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Chapter Ten


Since the kiss on the beach a few short days ago, Grey had been more openly affectionate towards Naomi. Before breakfast, he would always make a point of kissing her good morning. In the afternoon, they would take short walks outside, where Grey constantly voiced concerns over whether the baby was getting too cold. Naomi had to reinforce several times that Sunshine was in a big, warm water-bed, and the baby wouldn’t be getting cold anytime soon.

At night, he would sit or stand behind her, splaying his palms across her pregnant stomach while laying soft kisses down her throat and collarbone. She had fallen for him fast, and seeing how he was so connected with her, as well as Sunshine made her heart feel like bursting. Grey was wonderful, there was no doubt about it. Naomi had wondered if he would stay around once Sunshine was born, and be her baby’s father. It wasn’t something she was going to ask of him right then, but if he wanted her and wanted the baby as much as he seemed to, then she hoped he would stick around.

This was a wonderful development in Naomi’s life, but every thought of Randy threatened to rip apart the serene world she had grown used to since living with Grey. They couldn’t possibly hide from the madman forever. Even if Randy never found them, she would always live in fear. And what about if he did find them? What would happen? Could they possibly defend themselves against him, when they had failed before? Randy had been too close to killing Grey and Naomi, and she was beginning to think the only reason they had escaped death so far was luck. Pure luck, and not much else. Although Grey was strong, he wouldn’t be able to hold off the bigger, stronger Randy for long.

Randy also had weapons. From what Naomi could see, Grey had the trusty paperweight, a shovel (all the way in the shed, which would prove no use to them so far away in an emergency) and chopped firewood, piled against the cottage. There were always knives and such, but it was entirely possible that Randy could wrestle the kitchen utensil out of their hands and cut them up with their own makeshift weapon. Just the thought alone had Naomi shivering.

What happened in the convenience store that day anyway? Why would Randy Hudson walk in there, kill the cashier, and then kill all the clientele? She had guessed that he had some unfinished business with someone in there, but to kill all the customers? She couldn’t possibly figure out the workings of the madman. That was what he was looking like now. There seemed to be no structure that he was following, no perfectly planned hits. They looked more random than not. When she thought about it too much, it caused her head to hurt and her stomach to churn. Sunshine was enjoying the waffles far too much, she’d hate to surrender them to the porcelain bowl.

Grey had come to her, interrupting her thoughts. He looked so calm and in control, and she wanted to believe that he would protect her from anything Randy might do to them. Grey must have seen her troubled expression, because he came over to her and lay a gentle kiss on her crinkled brow. Pulling away to look into her eyes, he watched the myriad of uncertain emotions pass by.

“What are you thinking about?” He asked, his voice deep and rich. She didn’t think she would ever grow tired of his low tone.

“Randy is just getting into my thoughts. I know I shouldn’t let it get to me, but it is.” She tried not to sound anxious, but Grey had detected the stress in her voice. Leaning down, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips. The tenderness of it made Naomi’s breath catch. Grey was always able to surprise her with the smallest of things. He leaned down so that his face was level with hers, his dark, dark eyes alight with a protective fire. His mouth was set in a determined line, his jaw tight.

“He will not do anything to us, and I won’t let him lay a finger on you. Over my dead body. If, by some chance, he does come across this place, I will stop him. Whatever it takes, I’ll do. He won’t hurt you or the baby.” Naomi was convinced that every word Grey had spoken was true, yet when she went over what she said, she realized something was missing. He had talked about her safety, but what of his own? He had hardly said a word about that. While she knew that Grey could be tough, she doubted that he would be able to hold his own against Randy for long.

If anything happened to Grey, she didn’t know what she would do. In one month she knew more about him than the actual father of her baby. She also cared about him far more than any other man in her life. Grey was the man she should have been with, the man who should have been the father of her child. If she had known him earlier, than he would have been, she was certain. She hadn’t met him until after the incident with Randy though, otherwise she didn’t know if they would have ever crossed paths. She supposed that there was some good that came out of the car crash, although she would have rathered the ‘running for your life’ part didn’t exist.

Giving Grey a wide smile, she hoped that it masked her worry. She didn’t need him being concerned over how she was feeling. There was really nothing they could do anyway, but wait. The police were doing the best they could. When they caught him, then Grey and Naomi would be made aware.


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Jeremy Waven was the rookie on the job. Having graduated from the police academy a short year and a half ago, he was still treated as the puppy, the youngster in the police department. He had tolerated it with a grin, but every insult directed towards him grated on his nerves. Although most of the guys meant their taunts in a light-hearted way, he couldn’t help growing annoyed as they just kept coming. Didn’t any of the officers there learn a damn thing about professionalism while in the academy? Evidently not.

He had been assigned on the Randy Hudson case weeks ago, and they still didn’t have their hands on the killer. Every night he went home, the file on Hudson would be running through his mind. Why the hell hadn’t they got this guy yet? It seemed as though whenever they got close to trapping him, the guy would just disappear. It was beyond frustrating.

Jeremy had arrived at work an hour earlier specifically to start working on Hudson again. He knew very little about Grey Holmes and Naomi Lewis, the two people Randy was pursuing at the moment. Detective Winslow had informed him that Holmes and Lewis were hiding at an undisclosed location. While that was all fine and good, he needed to know where they were exactly. Not only could they provide the couple with solid protection, by making their position obvious, they could lure Hudson into a trap. Jeremy had run that idea by Winslow, only to end up dismayed when the older detective didn’t even know where the hell Grey and Naomi were.

“Well, can’t we tap the phone lines? Demand they reveal their hiding spot? Sir, we need to know where they are so they don’t end up dead, like the rest of Hudson’s victims.” Jeremy had also arrived early to try his hand on Detective Winslow yet again. The older man looked stressed, his brow crinkled. He rubbed at the stubble on his chin.

“Grey and Naomi have made it clear that they don’t want to inform anyone of where they are. I can’t blame them, with what they have gone through so far. I think, no matter what our good intentions are, they don’t want our protection at all. They don’t want to be a part of anything, for that matter.” Detective Winslow raised his tired eyes to look at the young man seated before him. Jeremy Waven was the ideal officer – tall, muscular, reasonable, and a true believer in the justice system. With his blonde hair and steady blue eyes, he could stare down a man twice his size, while able to do a complete turnaround and put on the charm to soothe suspects. Truly a prodigy.

“That is bullshi – ridiculous. We’re the law, we overrun anything they say. This is for their own good, goddamnit. Don’t they realize that?” Jeremy was perched on the edge of his seat, grasping the armrests. Detective Winslow resisted pinching the bridge of his nose. The Hudson case was getting out of control. Already the man had killed more people this year than he had in the past five. What was even more embarrassing was that no one was able to capture him yet. Some police department. They always complained that the work wasn’t challenging enough, and when given this task, the officers were tripping all over themselves.

“What can we do? Tell them to inform us of their location, so we can use them as bait to trap Hudson? That’s absurd. They will never go for it.”

“I think this case has gotten beyond whether ‘they’ll never go for it’. There is a man out there who is murdering innocent people. We have a chance to nail him, and we’re not taking it?”

“We’re not taking it because it is putting two people’s lives in jeopardy.”

“We’ll have them under 24-hour surveillance. We’ll have officers on stand-by every hour. We won’t let anything happen to them. Can’t you at least call and convince them of that?”

“I don’t have their number.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me.” Jeremy couldn’t care less that he was cussing in front of his superior. He was slaving over this case, and it seemed that no one else was doing their job. Didn’t they consider Hudson a threat? Judging by Detective Winslow’s sheepish expression, he knew the man wasn’t joking. Throwing his hands up in the air, Jeremy made his annoyance obvious. Taking a deep breath, he tried to speak evenly.

“We have a lot of work to do, and we can eliminate a lot of the obstacles here. Hudson is within our grasp, and all we need to do is put Lewis and Holmes into the picture. We can guarantee their safety if they cooperate. If they choose not to, then Randy will find them before we ever do.” Jeremy said, his hands clasped tightly in his lap. Even with all the ‘rookie chants’, Detective Winslow had thought him diligent enough to place him on the Hudson case. Jeremy was certain that Winslow was merely putting up with him and his frustration because he found him talented.

“I’ll see what I can do, Waven. I can’t promise anything. Holmes hasn’t gotten in touch with me for the past two weeks, so there hasn’t been the opportunity to tap the lines.”

“Great. So they’re already dead. Randy’s won. We’re back at the beginning.” Jeremy could feel a headache coming on. Since when did Detective Winslow become such a flake? He knew that his wife had suffered a stroke and his daughter was in the hospital for some unknown illness, but if Winslow was going to show up to work, Jeremy at least expected his brain to show up too.

“No, no. We’ve had reports that Randy Hudson was in the north end of the city just a few days ago. I expect that his trail on Grey and Naomi has gone cold.”

“Much like ours has too.”

“We’ll find them. I’ll get someone on it. In the meantime, get back to the file. There are a lot of unanswered questions in there.”

Jeremy nodded, leaving Winslow’s office once it was clear his was being dismissed. Winslow waited until Jeremy closed his door before reclining in his desk chair, closing his eyes wearily. Randy had a clever way of slipping through the police’s grasp, that was for sure. He had no idea how the crazed killer managed it. His officers were intensely trained, and still this man was able to shake them off.

Using the back of his hand to wipe the sweat from his brow, Winslow let out a heavy sigh. If Randy Hudson was able to sneak away from them, he wondered how long it would be until he found Grey Holmes and Naomi Lewis. They couldn’t hide forever, especially since she was expecting a baby in a few short months. Even if they were able to stay under the radar for a few years, eventually her child would need to go to school, and they would be made public yet again. They couldn’t run from Randy for the entirety of their lives. It was impossible.


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Naomi sat on the cabin steps, letting the cool breeze tangle her hair. Long ago the leaves had changed colours and fallen to the ground, now leaving the trees bare. The skeletal branches unnerved her, as if she was watching a terrible scene from a horror movie. If she was at the cottage all alone, she knew she would go crazy. The silence and the isolation would drive her to tear her hair out. Grey settled her though, and didn’t allow her to dwell in her negative thoughts too long.

When she was sure that the naked branches were leaning down to spear her, Grey appeared between the trees, cradling thick pieces of firewood in his arms. Seeing her seated on the cabin steps, he gave her a small smile.

“Enjoying the atmosphere?” He asked, placing the firewood on the growing pile beside the lodge. Naomi shivered, glaring at the branches above her.

“More like being creeped out by it. It’s so quiet here, and everything is just…dead.” Grey walked over, taking a seat beside the petite blonde.

“It’s because winter is right around the corner. It’s going to be something else when it starts snowing.” Naomi felt like she was dreading it. What if they got snowed in? Grey’s car had four-wheel drive, but how bad would the weather get? Grey wrapped an arm around her waist, and Naomi leaned into him instinctually.

“I just feel like I’m going a little crazy right now. Things have been so quiet, and I’m worrying about Randy, and Sunshine is beating me up on a regular basis…” She drifted off, grinning when the baby gave her a kick for good measure. Grey reached over and rubbed small circles on her belly, calming the little one inside.

“We’ll get through this, I really want you to know that. After this is all over, we can try and forget it all.” Grey said, placing a small kiss on the top of her head.

“I thought you were going to say that once this is all over, we can laugh about it.”

“I don’t think we’ll ever be able to laugh over this.”

“No, we definitely won’t.” Naomi stood, Grey following her into the cabin. Outside, the temperature was dropping constantly. She couldn’t bear another minute sitting on the porch, thinking about her life. That, combined with the cold, had her in a depressed mood. It was the last thing she needed.

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A/N: Sorry that it took so long to update. I was on vacation, with no internet. I hope it was worth waiting for. More to come soon, please review!

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