MasukWhen I woke up I knew he was gone. My baby. My hand moved to cradle my belly, the way I’d been doing for months now. But it was an empty gesture.“Hey,” Claire was sitting quietly beside my bed. “Want some water?” She held up a sippy cup. “Not thirsty,” I muttered. I closed my eyes, hoping she’d take the hint.“Okay.” There was a small thunk as she set the cup down. “You needed four units of blood, but they said you should be all right now. Just rest. Eat lots of liver.” I opened one eye. She was smiling. It was a sad smile, but it was there. “Hate liver,” I said. “Everybody hates liver,” she replied. “But if you cook it right it’s not that bad. I’ll make you some bacon-wrapped chicken livers. You’ll hardly know you’re eating it.” “What are you doing here anyway?” I snapped. “Hanging around bothering me, babbling about liver.” I wanted to turn over, turn my back on her, but I couldn’t even do that. I was too exhausted and hooked up to too many tubes and wires.“You saved me,” s
Warning: The following chapter contains a depiction of physical harm to a pregnant character and threatened pregnancy loss, which may be distressing for some readers. Please go right to the next chapter if this topic can upset you.“Oh no. No no no,” I moaned. I scrambled for the phone, my bound hands clumsy and shaking. I grabbed it and pawed at it. My fingers were slick with something wet and I frantically dried them on my shirt.No signal. “Savannah, look at me! Stay awake!”Her eyes were rolled back, showing only the whites, and she was shivering violently. “Hurts,” she whimpered, her voice barely audible.I swiped at the screen, searching for the emergency call button. I didn’t have the passcode, but 911 should still work. I pressed it and held the phone to my ear, praying for a connection.“Nine one one, what’s your emergency?” The dispatcher’s practiced calm seemed out of place in that stinking room. “We’ve been kidnapped!” I wailed. “My sister—she’s pregnant. She’s losing t
Warning: The following chapter contains depiction of physical harm to a pregnant character and threatened pregnancy loss, which may be distressing for some readers. Please go right to the next chapter if this topic can upset you.The next morning we had mini boxes of cereal for breakfast. Frosted cornflakes. No milk. Could be worse, I guess. Savannah actually ate hers and drank her water. She seemed to be perking up, and I was heartily glad for the baby’s sake. Of course, it had its downside too. “I knew there was something wrong with you from the beginning,” she said, crunching meditatively on her cornflakes. “I was only six years old, but I knew. Mom was never pregnant. You just showed up one day, my new kid sister.” She glared at me, but without the venom I was used to. “That must have been tough to deal with as a little kid,” I said with real sympathy. “And Mom and Dad aren’t exactly known for their emotional intelligence. They probably just left you to get on with it.”“Yeah
Savannah lay curled up onto a ball, arms wrapped protectively around her belly. Every so often she’d give out a low, broken sob. I patted her shoulder helplessly. I’d had lots of experience with Savannah sobbing, but I’d never heard anything like this before. This sounded real. The van hit a pothole, jolting us around on the metal floor. It sent a jarring shock up my spine and pulled on the rope around my throat. Savannah let out a strangled scream.I moved closer to her and sat against her back, bracing myself.She moaned and tried to wriggle away from me. “Stop it,” I hissed. “I’m trying to keep us stabilized for the next pothole.” We were evidently navigating a poor area, because we started driving over pothole after pothole. Even the two thugs in the back of the van with us had to brace themselves. I glared at them. Assholes.After what seemed like hours we finally stopped. The door opened. “Out,” said the leader.One of the thugs grabbed my arm and started to yank me out of
Her screams hurt my ears and her struggles pulled on the rope tying us together, cutting off my air, but I still felt sorry for Savannah. Derek’s decision seemed to come as a complete shock to her. It came as a shock to me too. Derek and I were friends now, but Savannah was carrying his unborn child. I winced as Savannah’s screaming hit a particularly high pitch. She seemed to be in a mentally delicate state as well.In the background I could hear Derek saying, “Hello? Hello? Just tell me how to set up the ransom and—”The boss cut the connection abruptly. “Babe. Babe,” he said to Savannah. “Settle down. Breathe. You’ll hurt the baby.” This was weird.He walked up to Savannah and leaned over her, patting her shoulder soothingly. “Savvie, sweetheart,” he continued. He was no longer speaking with the cold, disinterested tone of a kidnapper. His voice was tender. Possessive. “I told you how he is. He doesn’t deserve you.”She struck out at him with her bound hands, dragging me along w
The boss looked down at me and frowned. “Stop struggling.” I stopped. It wasn’t doing any good, anyway. He had a tight hold on me. “Come on.” Larry and friend each grabbed one of my arms and frog-marched me towards the elevator. In the elevator I finally got a close look at the boss. He’d walked behind us, probably in case I tried to escape again. I knew this guy. I’d seen him somewhere, a long time ago. If only I could remember… It must have been a private elevator, because it let us out into an office. Which was much nicer than the last place I’d been kidnapped in. Plush carpet. Mahogany desk with Aeron chair. Cushy loveseat. Sitting on the loveseat, hands tied in front of her, was Savannah. Her clothing was rumpled and her hair was mussed, but she looked lovely, as usual. She was looking daggers at me, also as usual. Aha, I had it! I knew who the boss was. Seeing him here with Savannah had jogged my memory. It was the guy who’d accosted her in the restaurant when I’d met u
“All rise.” Everyone in the courtroom got to their feet as the judge entered. Derek stood beside me like a protective pillar I wasn’t sure I wanted. He had insisted on coming with me and I had been too tired and drained to refuse. To give him credit, he was doing his best to be supportive. And no
“Blake!” I screamed, struggling against the ropes. “Help! Somebody help me!”No one came, and the ropes only pulled tighter, cutting off my circulation. At least he’d left the light on. I think I’d go insane if I had to sit here in the dark. Time passed. I didn’t know how much time. It was warm an
I never thought I’d be tying a little girl’s glitter-pink shoelaces in a place like Forest Park. Her name was Eliana. And she was frowning with fierce concentration, like the knot was a hostile acquisition, and she was never going to back down.“Bunny ears,” I reminded her gently. “Cross them over
I pulled into my parents’ driveway, so angry I couldn’t see properly. I was too upset to pull into the garage. Just shoved the car into park, snatched my Aurelia Vane purse off the seat and bolted for the door. I didn’t bother to knock. I hadn’t lived here for years, but this was my sanctuary. I s







