Page 39 of Consume Me

“Alexander’s hurt you. He’s lied to you!” He’d begun to shout as though maybe that would help get his point across.

“To protect me—to keep me safe!”

“I’m keeping Edward safe. I’m protecting him.” David turned and faced me, his face drawn with a pained mix of hope and remorse.

“You’re protecting yourself,” I whispered.

I knew about lies. I’d lived them. Some lies were like bad medicine, bitter to swallow but well-intended. Others were lies sold as much to the person who told them as anyone else. Most were simply self-serving—the mark of cowardice and disloyalty. I had enough experience to know what I was dealing with now.

“Get out,” I muttered.

“Clara—”

We were interrupted by the arrival of my evening meal. My eyes landed on the shiny red apple propped on the side of the tray. I knew what it meant. I knew what was coming.

That’s why David was here. My time was up. June had reported my latest blood pressure numbers to Dr. Rolland. I wasn’t ready, but would I ever be?

“What are they going to do to the baby?” I asked him, still staring at that apple.

“Clara, the baby will be fine. No one wants to…” He broke up like he didn’t want to finish that sentence.

“What?” I demanded. “I want to know. You owe me that much. Isn’t that why you’ve come to offer a dying woman some comfort?”

The stricken look in his eyes told me that I’d hit my mark. There was no plans to let me leave here. Not breathing. He’d known that when he had come. Maybe he wanted forgiveness or absolution. Maybe they’d forced him to attend me in my final hours.

I wished they sent someone else. Anyone else.

“I wish it didn’t have to be this way,” he murmured.

“It doesn’t,” I said simply. “You chose this, so tell me what they’re going to do to my child.”

It wasn’t solace I was seeking exactly. Looking for comfort in this situation would be like seeing relief for a headache at the barrel of a gun. There was no happy ending. Every moment had been slowly and inevitably leading to this one. My curiosity stemmed from something else entirely. They could have taken me when I was pregnant with Elizabeth. They could have seen to my death on the day of the wedding. Why now? What had changed?

“This wasn’t the plan initially,” he explained. “You should eat.”

I rubbed my stomach. “I’m not hungry.”

In truth, I was famished, so was the little prince kicking eagerly in my belly. I hoped he couldn’t hear my stomach growl.

“My organization was put into place during World War II to look into the private lives of certain British citizens. After the war it was disbanded. Officially.”

Unofficially, it seemed they were still holding staff meetings. I wondered if Alexander knew any of this.

“The world is at war again,” he continued.

“No, we’re not.” Was that really how he justified his involvement?

“Aren’t we? Nazis marching in the streets instead of hiding behind closed doors. Terrorists attacking our cities. It’s only a matter of time before the next major world event,” David countered, his face flashing with sudden passion. I saw the zealotry in it. That was what had driven him to these people. “Things are getting out of hand.”

None of that explained why this organization had targeted my family. “What does any of this have to do with us?”

“MI-18 is a counter-measure,” he explained. “We balance things out when Great Britain swings too far in one direction. When we were disbanded, the king reorganized us and set down guidelines. If the monarchy was threatened, there were contingencies in place.”

“What kind of contingencies?” My stomach plummeted as I considered those contingencies were the reason I was here. It had been inevitable—a row of dominoes waiting to fall. But what had tipped the first one over?

“The monarchy has been handing control to Parliament while catering to a rapidly progressing world view for a while. As such, the crown is undermining its own power. Albert started it without even knowing,” David told me, shaking his head in disgust. “When he handed over a majority of the political power over to parliament, the first contingency went into action. That contingency was supposed to ensure we had a monarch in place who was malleable to our plans.”

“What does that mean?” I asked cradling my bump. “And what does any of this have to do with my son?”