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But I slowly found myself knowing her. I mean really knowing her, and even worse, trusting her.
It was easy to see she wasn’t hiding the pregnancy from me. She didn’t even fucking know it happened. I started to piece things together.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Kennedy asks from the opposite side of the room, and I turn to face her. She stands at the threshold of the entryway, leaning against it with her arms crossed. “You don’t have to stress, Eli. I’ll stick to my word. As soon as Bishop has come through with what he has promised, I’ll give you back your child.”
“Where is my child?” I snap, turning to face her. “I don’t even know if it’s a boy or a fucking girl!” I yell, though I know I need to calm down, as all of my fucking cards are in her hands—at least until Benny and The Kings come through with the green light that they have my kid. Kennedy wants Bishop to fund her way back into a new organization. One dangerously similar to Patience. It’s not happening.
“Safe,” is all she answers, turning her back to me. “And don’t try anything stupid. She may only be five months old, but I have no problem harming a child.”
The door slams closed and I sink to the floor, my hands on my face.
She.
We have a daughter.
My heartbeat races, people talking in the background. “Baby. Eli. Gone.” I fly up from whatever I’m lying on so fast my hair whips me across the face.
“Hey.” Kyrin is on the end of the couch near my feet, his hands on my arms to steady me. “Look at me. You’re okay.”
Tears threaten to surface, but I swallow them down, unable to bear any weakness. “Was I dreaming? Did I faint? What happened?” I feel eyes on me at all angles, but I remain focused on Kyrin.
He brushes my hair away from my face. “No, you weren’t dreaming.”
Cartier is on the other side of me now, her blue eyes searching mine nervously. “I’m sorry. I knew about Eli’s child but didn’t know that it had anything to do with you.”
“You knew?” Kyrin glares at his sister. “You wanna tell me how you knew?”
Cartier chews on her lip, tossing her hands in the air. “Fine. I knew because Eli and I have been close friends since you stuck him to me like a fucking babysitter.”
I blink, losing focus. I don’t care what they’re fighting about right now.
I have a child.
Killian clears his throat, dragging the coffee table closer to the couch while taking a seat on top and clasping his fingers together to cover his mouth. “Fuck, I’m sorry, Lilith.”
“Don’t be.” My tone is bland, tasteless—emotionless. “It’s not the first thing they took from me, but it will be the last.”
Killian nods, bringing his hands to mine and nudging closer to me. “I want to help you do that. We all do. But right now, baby, you need to lie down so I can see just how much of your mind she fucked with.”
“Wait, what?” I pause, moving away from his touch while looking at Kyrin, who is still glaring at his sister. “She couldn’t have done that, right? I mean, it would have come up last time you guys dabbled with my head?”
Kyrin shakes his head, all his anger vanishing when he settles on me. “No. If she’s that good, which I’m gathering she obviously is, she can put memories inside your head that you think are real but aren’t. It’s a form of hypnosis. A very extreme one.”
“But wouldn’t I have seen it last time, when you” —I wave my hand around my head—“did what you did? I mean, I would know, right? How old is the child?” I look between him and Kyrin, when King steps in behind Killian, sitting to the side of the table.
“She’s five months old. Which means there’s almost a whole year of memories she has taken from you.” I swallow past the swell forming in my throat. Five months old.
I shake my head. “There has to be a mistake. She can’t have done that, and look at me! Does it look like I’ve had a baby?”
“Lil, not all girls look like they’ve had a baby. Especially with how Patience is about perfection and their perfect Dolls, it wouldn’t surprise me if they did—” Perse pauses. “—things to make you not put on any weight, though I hope not.”
I lean back against the sofa, but Ky pulls my head down onto his lap, looking down at me from above. “Kill needs to do what he did before, but dig a little deeper, okay?”
Squeezing his arm, I nod. “Okay.”
“Close your eyes,” Killian whispers. They close and I’m blanketed by darkness. “Listen for the sounds you hear in the room. The birds outside, the soft music playing in the background. The sound of each piano key being pressed.” He pauses for a few seconds, allowing me to take in the sounds. “Now I want you to take a deep breath in and hold it for seven seconds.” Pressure is placed on the crown of my head. Fingers? A palm? It’s not sore, but it’s uncomfortable. “In two seconds, I want you to exhale. One. Two—”
