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He lifts the small remote control that makes me writhe in pain when he pushes the button. My body tenses, remembering what happened, how I’ve been here before. I don’t fear physical pain. I fear helplessness. I don’t fear what they’ll do to me. I fear what they’ll do to the people I love.
“Then what will it be, Mr. Gerard?”
“You can shove your offer up your fucking ass. I’ll never betray my family. I’ll never hurt Cosette. And if you think for a minute that I’ll do anything to harm our baby—”
The pain hits so hard, I can’t talk. I fall to my knees and writhe. He rends screams out of me as spasms of pain erupt in my body, fire pulsing through my veins.
I’m on the floor, panting. My ears ring with pain. Worse than the agony is the inability to think when I’m in its grip. I draw in a breath to try to clear the mental haze.
He waits until I look at him again. “If you don’t, Mr. Gerard, I will.”
* * *
EIGHTEEN
Cosette
When one daypasses with no sign of Lyam, I start to come up with another plan.
I know I need to leave. I’m not going to stay here on his dime after he’s rejected me, knowing that he put every detail in here back when he still liked me. I don’t know what he thinks about me, but I know it isn’t what I need. And when another day passes, I’m confident that he isn’t coming back. I manage to convince myself that not only does he not care about me, but if he truly thinks I’ve plotted against them, my life could be in danger. I can’t let that happen. Not for me, and most definitely not for my baby.
I decide it’s time to pack a few things. I take stock of the money that I’ve saved, tucked away in a high yield savings account. I think about where I could go. Where could I go where he wouldn’t find me? Except I know he’ll find me wherever I go. Does that mean I can’t try? Otherwise I’m doomed to be kept prisoner here for the next eight months until I give birth. Of course there’s no luggage here. Why would there be? But I have to find something that will work.
When I cross the room and pass the window, I see him.
He’s here. It’s Lyam. What’s he carrying? I look wildly about the apartment and wonder if he’ll be able to tell I’m packing. Clothes piled on the bed, my toiletries arranged in the closet, but thankfully I have so few things it might just look like normal…
A knock sounds at the door. I’m completely consumed with fear and worry and concern and I don’t know what he’s going to say when he sees me. Has he come here to hurt me? To make amends? Has he come here to punish me? Or, worst of all… Is he going to be detached and cold?
I’m not sure what would be worse.
There’s a low hum of voices outside the door. Lyam is talking to my guards. Finally, the door opens. I draw in a breath, my heartbeat racing.
Just one of my guards.
“Mr. Gerard is here to see you.”
I square my shoulders. I can’t talk. I can only nod.
The door stands open. I hold my breath.
Thayer steps in. I blink in surprise.
“Thayer,” I say in a hoarse voice.
“Hey. Lyam told me you were here.” He goes on and says something about the snakes and Savannah and Avril, but I don’t hear a word he says because… he isn’t Lyam.
I told myself I could leave him. I told myself I could run away and hide and save myself, but for that one brief moment when I thought Lyam was coming, I can't deny that I was hopeful. I wanted to see him. Even if he was angry and cruel and distant, I wanted to see him.
My heart sinks.
The Gerard brothers look so much alike that from a distance, I thought it was him.
I look down and realize that the thing Thayer’s carrying is actually a pet carrier. Princess, Lyam’s ball python, is curled up fast asleep.
I open the cage and stroke the large, gentle creature. I never liked snakes before Lyam, but Princess is tame. And right now, there’s something about her that makes me feel closer to him. Most people can’t train snakes, but Lyam has taught this one literally to eat out of the palm of his hand.
“She ate an enormous breakfast and is set for the next week,” Thayer mutters. “She’s tired. Now, I don’t know when Lyam’s coming, so I figured he was here with you. Where is he? I need to talk to him.”
