by Eve Rabi
Chapter Thirty-Three
When I regain consciousness, I find myself in a hospital. The first person I see is Damien. His eyes bore into mine, something between nervousness and anger dancing in them, while his body blocks out the view of the nurse writing in my chart.
His lips are split, his eye is purple and puffed, and a gauze dressing is positioned over his brow. His hair sticks out in all directions and I get a whiff of whisky on his breath.
Reminds me of a boxer who lost the fight.
Without a word, he slips his fingers into his shirt pocket, pulls out a picture and flashes it at me.
It’s a photo of him carrying Wyatt.
I squeeze my eyes shut, horror washing over me. Damien carrying my baby? Oh, God, no!
Things may be hazy in my head right now, but I feel every bit of terror.
Reed. I flinch and close my eyes again.
Where was Reed when the picture was taken?
When Damien sees my reaction, he visibly relaxes.
“Taken this morning,” he whispers, as he strokes my forehead and plants a kiss on it.
“You’re awake, Megan,” the nurse interrupts.
“Where … where am I?”
“You’re in Mount Granville hospital, and you’re doing just fine. I’ll get the doctor.” She hurries off.
Damien and I stare each other down.
“Why … why were you carrying my son? What have you done with him, Damien?”
“He’s safe, as long as you cooperate. Understand? Talk to no one. Leave all the talking to me.” His voice is unmistakably threatening.
I shake my head from side to side and look away.
“If you don’t … Megan! Look at me!”
I force my eyes to look at him.
“If you don’t, your baby – he will have an accident. A bad one, okay? He’s at that age – just crawling all over the place. It’s easy for a child to fall from the fourth floor of an apartment complex.”
Oh, God! A chill runs through me like never before.
“I’ll put it to you this way – Plan B is now in operation, and all that’s stopping you from being my eternal slave right now – your baby. I take care of him, I’m home free.”
“Please! I’ll do whatever you say. Please!”
He smiles. “Good girl. Do as I say and you get your baby back. Deal?”
I nod several times, my mouth dry as sandpaper.
Where is Reed?
“As for your family – I had a talk with them. They are aiding and abetting. Your father won’t survive prison. He’ll probably die in the first six months.”
I suck in my breath.
“Carl is what – twenty-six? He’ll do at least five years, and Maya …”
“Stop! I get it. I won’t be trouble. Please, leave them alone.”
“Good girl.” He smiles and sits back in his chair.
Suddenly, I remember my unborn baby and my hands fly to my stomach. I struggle to sit up.
“Don’t get up! Don’t get up!” a doctor yells as he walks toward me. “Your baby is fine,
Mrs. Saunders. Lie back now.”
Relieved, I lie back, not missing the granite look in Damien’s eyes at the mention of my unborn baby.
“You bled a lot, Mrs. Saunders,” Dr. DeVilliers says, “but you both will be fine. Your guardian angel is …”
Reed. What happened to Reed?
I clutch my chest as memories of that night flood my mind – Reed in my bedroom, Damien’s gun pointed at his head …
“We’d like to go home now,” Damien says to the doctor.
The doctor protests.
Damien argues and convinces the doctor that we have everything under control. “I have employed round-the-clock security guards and a full-time nurse, so I want my wife home where she will be safe. I insist.”
The doctor is not happy and puts up quite a fight. “At least for forty-eight hours,” he says.
Having no choice, Damien grudgingly agrees.
I’m thinking: maybe Damien has Wyatt at home, and maybe that’s why he wants me there. I nod at Damien.
After that, Damien never leaves my side. With him all the time is Alicia Moore, a colleague of his. We’ve met before and I always suspected they were having an affair.
“Where is Reed?” I finally pluck up the courage to ask Damien.
“Where he belongs – in a hospital, being guarded by police. And all tubed up.” He and Alicia exchange amused smiles.
Relief floods me. Reed’s alive. Okay, calm down, calm down. Deep breaths.
“You fuck with me, you die,” Damien says. “Look at you, look at him – both of you dying because both of you fucked with me.”
I say nothing. He’s right – nobody should ever fuck with Damien.
My family visits under Damien’s watchful eye.
“Five minutes, then get the fuck out of here,” he snarls at them. “Remember what I said – make one wrong move and you’re all going to prison. All of you. Just remember that.”
No one says a word. No one dares.
I see their red eyes and distraught looks, the tears sliding down Maya and my mother’s faces. All I want to do is ask about Wyatt and Reed, but I don’t, and it feels like a rattlesnake’s crawling over me, but I’m not allowed to scream.
At Damien’s insistence, the nurse administers light sedation and I start to fall asleep. My family hugs me before they file out of my hospital ward.
As Maya hugs me, she whispers, “Reed’s doing well.”
Even though I’m falling asleep, I take comfort in those words.
Reed’s okay.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Damien smiles as he enters the room, a huge bouquet of spring blooms in his hands. Behind him is Alicia with Wyatt in her arms.
My heart breaks when I see my baby – his eyes are red and his nose is bulbous, probably from crying so much.
At the sight of his distress, I start to cry.
When he sees me, he lurches toward me. “Mama! Mama!”
Alicia hands him to me.
I take him in my arms and hug him close. “It’s okay, baby. It’s okay. Mommy’s here. Don’t cry, my baby, don’t cry.”
When he calms down, I look at Damien. “Give him to Maya, please!”
I cannot bear the thought of Damien and Wyatt in the same room, and even though it breaks my heart to hand over Wyatt to anyone other than myself right now, I want to do it.
“Not a chance!”
“Give Maya the baby, Damien,” I plead. “I will do and say anything you want me to. Just give her the baby.”
“No can do, goosey.”
My desperation peaks. “Damien, listen, if he’s okay, I’m okay. If I think he’s crying or upset, I can’t function. You don’t want me that way. I have interviews to give, deals to sign, money to be made ...” I take a deep breath to steady myself.
“You’re better off with me happy. I’ll be more valuable to you. Give Maya the baby.” I fight to keep the desperation out of my voice.
Alicia steps forward and whispers in his ear.
He scratches his chin and nods slowly. “Okay, for now, Maya can have him.”
Thank you, God!
“But try to see your little bastard, Megan, and I will slit his throat. Just kill him and end this shit once and for all.”
I nod.
“I don’t make empty promises, remember?”
“Absolutely.”
He turns to Alicia. “Get rid of the brat. Drop him off at her sister’s.”
Alicia nods and reaches for him.
I sob as Alicia tears a screaming Wyatt from my arms.
But it’s for the best – Wyatt will be with my family instead of in Damien’s clutches.
When Alicia returns more than an hour later, she’s without Wyatt.
“Can I get you anything?” she asks.
I ignore her.
I’m sure she sees the undisguised hatred in my eyes for her. I have t
o wonder what could make a woman so young and so beautiful become so cold and so hard.
She’s in her late twenties, slim, tall, with straight blonde hair and striking liquid blue eyes. Her voice is girlish and almost kind, and she doesn’t seem the type that would do well in law enforcement, yet she is Deputy Chief Alicia Moore.
Furthermore, she’s with Damien, hanging on his every word and willing to do anything to please him. Baffling. She must be really intimate with him if she can help him with all his evil deeds. To be involved with attempted murder – has to be a really special relationship.
When I cough, she fills up a cup with water and hands it to me. I look at the water, then smack it all over her lovely pants suit.
She gasps, but does nothing.
Damien laughs.
Without a word, she walks over to Damien and takes a seat next to him. They talk in hushed tones.
“What the hell’s taking you guys so long?” Damien snaps.
“We’re trying, we’re trying,” she says. “Some of the guards – we don’t know them.”
“Fuck! How hard can it be? Just do the goddamn thing, Alicia!” He gets up and paces. “Must I do it myself? Huh? Huh?”
“Relax, we’re on it,” she placates. “He’s not talking and he’s no threat right now.”
He wants them to kill Reed! Panic seizes me. “Damien, please!” I say. “Don’t!”
“Shaddup, bitch!” He rushes at me and sticks his finger in my face. “This is all your fucking fault!” His anger is so intense, for a moment, I think he’s going to hit me.
“Damien!” Alicia hisses. “I’ll handle it. Relax.” She grabs her bag and leaves.
I need to talk to Jake, ask him to help Reed, to keep Reed safe. Maybe even post additional security at his side. But just how do I reach Jake with Damien in my face all the time?
“I fired Jake,” Damien says, as if reading my mind.
I gasp. “Why?”
“He’d better watch out. He’s complicit, and he’ll go to jail too.”
Feeling absolutely cornered, I shrink back into my hospital bed and stare at the ceiling.
Reed, my darling, I’m so sorry. How do I help you? I’m so sorry, baby.
***
“How?” Damien whispers.
Alicia shrugs. “Aneurysm. Shit happens, what can I say?”
“Did you check it out for yourself?”
No, no, no…
“Double-checked. Took Abi with me and it’s affirmative.”
…no, no, no, no, no, no…
Damien nods, a pleased look on his face. He looks at me. I hold his gaze, needing to hear what he has to say.
“Your boyfriend didn’t make it. Fucker wasn’t strong enough.”
“You’re lying!” I struggle to sit up. “I don’t believe you.”
“Believe me,” he says in a cold voice.
“You’re lying. You’re lying!” I cry, hysteria welling inside of me. “Damien, you’re lying, you’re ly –”
He lunges at me and grabs my throat. “Calm down, bitch, or I will beat the shit out of you!”
“I don’t believe you,” I whisper. “Reed is not dead. You’re lying. You’re just saying that so I stop thinking of him. You’re a big, fat fucking liar!”
“Get the bitch some sedation,” he says to Alicia.
“You’re a liar, Damien. You’re a liar.”
Alicia nods and runs out of the ward. When she returns, she’s with a nurse, who administers sedation again.
“Take it easy, Mrs. Saunders. You’re gonna be all right.” She dabs at my tears with some Kleenex.
Reed is not dead. He’s not dead. He’s not dead. He’s not…
***
“Megan, wake up!”
I open my eyes to see Jake in front of me, looking somber and nervous.
“Jake, where have you been? I needed you. Damien, he said –”
He takes my hand in his. “Megan, honey, listen carefully. Damien will be back in a few minutes, so listen –”
“Jake … Reed …?”
“I’m sorry, Megan. I don’t know how to say this.” He slaps his forehead with the palm of his hand.
“No … no, Jake …”
“Megan, I’m so sorry!” Jake whispers, his face contorted with agony. “Your family asked me to break the news to you. Damien is making it hard for them to be alone with you. But, Reed, honey, he didn’t make it.”
I jerk my hand out of his.
“Megan!”
My eyes are fixed on the wall clock. “Look at the time, Jake.”
“Huh?” He drags his eyes to look at the clock.
“It’s ten o’clock, Jake.”
Jake frowns. “It’s … six o’clock, Megan.”
“Soon, it will be eleven o’clock …”
“Megan!”
“Then twelve o’clock, then one o’clock, then …”
“Megan! Are you hearing what I’m saying? Reed is dead!”
“Then three o’clock, then four o’clock, then five o’clock, then six o’clock, then seven o’clock …”
“I know you’re hurting …”
“Then seven o’clock … no, I said seven o’clock already. Then eight o’clock, then nine o’clock, then ten o’clock, then eleven o’clock, then twelve …”
“… and I’m …”
“Then five o’clock, then six o’clock, then seven o’clock …”
“…sorry, but honey, Wyatt is alive and needs you. Please look at me. Please?”
Slowly, I turn to look at him.
He swallows hard, his eyes glassy. “Damien has Wyatt, so we must do as he says.”
“I’m tired, Reed. Don’t wanna talk anymore. I wanna sleep.”
“Megan, I’m Jake. But sure, honey, sleep now.”
The nurse arrives, takes my blood pressure, and charts it as Jake holds my free hand.
I shut my eyes and pretend to sleep.
Jake kisses my forehead and quietly leaves.
The moment he leaves, I open my eyes and stare into space.
What time is it?
Chapter Thirty-Five
I’m out of bed today and sitting on a chair. My shoulders sag and I feel like I have a hangover. Doctor says that to avoid complications, like deep vein thrombosis, I must move around.
“Megan?”
I look up at my family surrounding me. My mother, father, brothers, and Maya. All with red eyes.
“Please, tell me it’s n … not true!” I say to no one in particular, my hands trembling. “Tell me, he’s alive and waiting … waiting f … for me. Please … please … tell me that my wonderful husband is still alive.”
Everyone refuses to make eye contact with me.
I turn to Maya. “Maya, please …?”
Maya doesn’t answer, but quickly takes my hand in hers. I shrug off her hand and turn to my mother. “Mom? Mommy…?”
She won’t look at me. “Megan, honey … I’m so … sorry …”
I zero in on my father. “Dad …?”
He turns away and covers his eyes with his hand.
“Liars!” I hiss. “You’re all fucking liars! Get out of here!”
“Megan, it’s gonna be okay!” my mom cries.
“Get out of here! Nurse! Nurse!”
The nurse runs into the ward.
“Get them out of here, now!”
The nurse looks around, a confused look on her face.
“NOW!”
The startled nurse quickly ushers my distraught family out of the room. Through the glass window, I see my dad holding my mom while she weeps. Carl comforts Maya.
Fucking assholes! Reed is not dead. He would never leave me and my children like this. He is not dead. I’d know if he was. I know. I know.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Doctor says it’s okay for me to leave the hospital, so Damien and Alicia transport me home.
As we make our way to the car, Damien motions to my stomach. “You need to get rid of
that thing.”
“Yes,” I mutter, eager not to rile him in any way.
“Alicia will arrange an appointment with a clinic.”
“Okay, Damien.”
The ride home is long and slow and I dread every moment of it. Alicia drives, and from time to time, she catches my eye in the rearview mirror.
I glare at her but say nothing, my hatred for her intensifying at the thought of her making arrangements to have my precious baby aborted.
We arrive at the place Damien calls home, and everything in the house looks normal, except for the glass cabinet I was slammed into – it’s gone.
The memory of Damien assaulting me in this very area of the house floods my mind, and each step I take makes me cringe inside.
Trying my best not to look around, I make my way back to my old bedroom and slip under the covers.
I lie in the dark and try not to think about Reed or Wyatt – just fight to keep my mind empty and vacant. My survival strategy.
Right now, I resolve to do everything Damien says, for fear of what he will do to my family and to Wyatt. Keeping them safe is of paramount importance to me. Thinking of Reed is a luxury I cannot afford right now.
Unable to sleep, I get up and reach for my bottle of sleeping tablets. I empty four into my hands. I’m just about to take them when I remember the baby.
Quickly, I discard the tablets, go back to bed, and stare at the ceiling. When dawn breaks, I get out of bed and take a shower. I’ll manage without sleep.
Just as I finish dressing, Alicia enters my room with Damien in tow.
“Megan,” she says, “I’ve already arranged a consultation for you at Women’s Choice Clinic for Tuesday, 10 a.m. They’ll take care of … that thing.” She jerks her head toward my stomach, a look of contempt in her eyes.
“That’s very efficient of you to do that so quickly,” Damien says, his voice oozing with admiration.
Yeah, very efficient. She needs a high-five. In the face. With a chair.
“Did you hear that?” Damien asks, scanning my face for signs of rebelliousness.
“Sure,” I quickly say. “Tuesday is good.”
“Nothing to eat after midnight on Monday,” Alicia says. “They’ll do the procedure right away.”
With a nod, I avert my eyes. Today is Saturday, so I’ve got three days before they take away Reed’s baby. Surreptitiously, I wipe away a tear as I cradle my belly, my darling baby, who I cannot save.