All Bets Are On

by Cynthia Cooke

  “He’s my son. Which means he won’t be human. You will have no choice in the matter.”

  “Maybe he’s yours,” she said, grasping.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. He is and we both know it.”

  She continued back down the hall. She couldn’t deal with this. With him. Not now. Not like this. “Not human? A god? Of the Underworld? How is any of this even possible?” she muttered to herself as she headed toward the stairs.

  She felt his hands grip her shoulders. “Do I need to explain it to you?” He turned her around to face him.

  “You should have known better!” she yelled. “I was an idiot. I’m not the kind of girl that has casual sex so I don’t carry condoms. Hell, I don’t even think about condoms, but you…you sleep with a new girl every week.”

  “First of all, I take great offense at that. I don’t sleep with a new girl every week, hence the reason my minions set me up on a blind date with you to begin with.”

  “Minions. Seriously?”

  “Regardless, you’re right, I should have been more careful. And usually that’s something I can control. Mentally.”

  “Mentally?” she asked, outraged.

  “That night, things got a little out of hand.”

  “I’ll say.”

  His voice lowered, touching something within her. “You’re different, Jaclyn.”

  “Yeah, I’m a complete fool.”

  “Whatever you are, you take me out of myself. You make me forget who I am. What I am.”

  “Take you out of yourself? What? Like your brain?”

  He laughed. “Yes. You make me absolutely crazy, and I don’t want to live without you. And I don’t want our baby to live without me. I want to be there for him from the moment he’s born. I want to be there for both of you. I never knew my father. I know nothing about him, not even his name. I don’t want that for my child.”

  “But a god, Derek. Really? Please tell me you don’t really expect me to believe that?”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “Yes. I can prove it to you, take my hand.” Derek held out his hand to her. Jaclyn stared at it but didn’t touch him.

  “Take it,” he insisted. “I don’t bite.”

  “Fine.” She relented, and against her better judgment, took his hand. Immediately, colors surrounded her. Even though they were still in the house, at the top of the stairs, wind lifted her hair, pulling it back from her face. Dizziness swept through her and she grabbed Derek tighter, hanging on. What was happening to her?

  Finally it all stopped and they were standing in a round room, surrounded by smooth white walls. Confusion swept through her. “Where are we?”

  Then the walls started to move, and suddenly she and Derek were standing outside, surrounded by cargo containers. Large ships were in the distance, and she could smell the strong scent of the ocean and oil. It looked like they were at a large port, but how was that possible? She saw three men forcing young Asian women into a shipping container. They were scared and clutching each other. “What is happening,” she demanded. “Stop it! Leave them alone!”

  A short Asian man with hard, cold beady eyes turned to her. Terrified, she stepped back, bumping into Derek, grasping onto him and holding tight.

  “They can’t see you,” he said.

  “What are they doing to those women?”

  “They are being sold. Like hundreds of women across this planet every day. This is what I see. What I have to fix. Day in and day out. This is my job.”

  The door to the cargo container slammed shut, and then everything moved. Suddenly they were in a jungle and there were children running, barefoot and screaming, calling for their parents, machetes in their little hands. Someone was chasing after them. Someone big and scary.

  She turned away, unable to continue watching. To see what was about to happen to those poor children. “Make it stop.”

  The image disappeared and then they were standing on a beach. Their beach where they’d walked just the night before. She could taste the salt on her lips, feel the heat on her cheeks. She breathed in the heaviness of the humidity and the scent of hot dogs. Seeing normal, everyday people eating and laughing and playing in the water, oblivious to the horrors happening a world away, was too hard to absorb. “How is this possible?” she whispered.

  “It’s what I do. I help people. I punish those who exploit children, and try to bring them to justice. Try to make a difference in a world full of pain.”

  Of course she’d heard of all the atrocities, who hadn’t? But to actually be there, to actually see… Tears filled her eyes and she dropped her head against his chest. “I’m so sorry. I…I can’t take it all in. I just can’t believe.”

  His arms tightened around her. “Can’t? Or won’t?”

  The next time she opened her eyes, she was back at Derek’s house, in the stables where they’d just made love.

  “I know this is a lot for you to process,” he said softly.

  “You think?” She walked over to the horse and leaned against him, resting her cheek against his neck. “Please tell me he’s real and not an illusion.”

  He smiled. “Yes, he’s real. Born of a champion, and rescued from an abusive owner.”

  She was quiet for a moment as she stroked the horse’s neck, trying to absorb everything she’d just seen and learned. “If you’re the prince of the Underworld, what does that mean for our baby?” She froze mid-stroke. “I did see a tail, didn’t I? Will it have horns, too?”

  He laughed, long and loud. “Do I look like a dragon to you?”

  “A dragon?”

  “No, darlin’. No horns. No tail. And his skin won’t be red either.”

  She closed her eyes. She was dreaming, or sick, or in a coma. “Okay, tell me everything quick before I change my mind.”

  “All right. As you know, there are nine different levels to Hell. There are different rulers for each of them.”

  “You mean like Dante’s Inferno?”

  “Yep. Dante himself paid us a visit. It was very amusing.”

  She stopped and dropped onto a stool outside the stall. “Wait a minute.”

  “What?”

  “Are you immortal?”

  “Yes.”

  “And this baby. Will he be immortal, too?”

  “Yes, and as long as you’re here with me, so will you.”

  She tried to grasp that. Living forever? Nah. “Are you sure?”

  “Not completely immortal, but you will age significantly slower. Especially as you spend more time in the Underworld.”

  “I’m not spending any time in the Underworld,” she said quickly.

  “But sweetheart, that’s where we are now. I told you that.”

  She looked around at the horses, the incredible blue sky out the stable doors, and the emerald green grass. There were even bugs and the smell of horseshit. Why would there be horseshit if this was his perfect world? “I think I just fell down the rabbit hole.”

  “That you absolutely did. The big question is, do you want to stay?”

  “I don’t know,” she admitted. “Everything is so beautiful. Serene. Perfect. Too perfect. Why aren’t you here all the time? Why Miami?”

  “I am here a lot. But right now it’s charity ball season, and I do my best work up close and personal.”

  She grimaced. “I’m afraid to ask.”

  “Don’t be. You know. You’ve helped me.”

  “I have?” She thought for a moment of their games at the charity balls. “You mean like Fredricks and Mrs. Franciscan.”

  “Exactly like her. She should hit the news tonight. She’s done for, and her sweatshop closed down.”

  She had to admit, she was happy to hear that. “And our baby? Where will it live?”

  “I would love it if you and our baby lived here with me. You will have everything you could want. But more than that, you will both be safe.”

  Safe. The thought sent a chill rushing through her. It was hard enough when she just
had to worry about him being rich. “What happens when you get tired of me and don’t want me anymore? What then?”

  He took her hands and pulled her up to him. “I will always take care of you and promise to never leave you. You are family now. My family. And I want nothing more than to raise our children here together.”

  Children? The thought terrified her. Was this just about the baby? About his obligation to her as the mother of his child? While that sounded nice, she couldn’t help wanting more. She wanted him to want her. To love her. Was it too much to want her happily-ever-after? “Even if I believed that, which I don’t, I can’t just disappear. I still need to fight for my foundation. And what about Rufus?”

  “You have to admit, Rufus would love it here.”

  She felt a cool breeze on her cheek coming in from the stable door and saw a flock of geese fly up from the lake. Yes, Rufus would love it here. She would love it here. But in the end, could she live without love?

  “I know it’s a lot to think about,” he said. “But the truth is, as long as you’re carrying the next heir to…our realm, you have to be extra careful.”

  She stared at her stomach, expecting to see a baby bump, expecting her stomach to suddenly grow and grow. She thought of Rosemary’s Baby and wondered if that was going to happen to her.

  Ridiculous!

  He wasn’t a demon and she wasn’t having the devil’s baby.

  Was she? He said he was a god. A god of the Underworld!

  “You just have to trust me,” he whispered, as if he could read her mind. Her gaze shot to his. Could he?

  “Do you have special powers?”

  “Powers?” He suddenly looked guarded.

  “Yeah, like mind control. Can you see what I’m thinking?”

  “No. Of course not. I…uh—”

  Her eyes widened with panic.

  “I can compel people. Get them to cooperate.”

  “Excuse me?” She almost choked.

  “I don’t use it often, just when I have to.”

  She thought of how she got there earlier today. The weird feeling that he was able to get her to do whatever it was he wanted, whether she wanted to or not. “Have you ever used this compulsion on me?” she demanded, her voice a near shriek.

  He looked sheepish.

  She spun and stormed out of the stables. She needed distance. She needed to go home. To hug her dog and think.

  “It wasn’t like that,” he insisted as he followed after her.

  “Like what? Mind control? Have I had any thoughts or decisions of my own since I’ve met you?”

  “Of course! I just needed to have you here to see Dr. Miles and you were being stubborn.”

  “Since when is free will being stubborn?”

  “Come on, Jaclyn! You know what I mean.”

  “And you’ve never compelled me other than then?”

  “Not to do anything you didn’t want to do. I just relaxed you a few times.”

  “Unbelievable.” As she stormed toward the house she saw several bushes being sculpted into the shapes of animals. A rabbit. A dog that looked suspiciously like Rufus, and even a horse.

  “I hope you like them. I wanted to impress you.”

  Did he? Did he really? “Derek, tell me something.”

  “What?”

  “Tell me what you think about me?” She held her breath while waiting to hear what he would say. Would he spin it, working her as usual, or would he be honest and tell her the truth.

  “I think you are amazing,” he said, and reached for her.

  “Wrong answer.”

  Jaclyn hurried across the manicured lawns toward Derek’s car. She stopped, her heart catching in her throat as she saw a truck arriving with a large merry-go-round complete with the most intricate hobby horses she’d ever seen.

  “I was thinking we could set it up right there,” he pointed to the lawn they’d just crossed. “That way our baby can see it out his window.”

  “All the best that money can buy. Except someone like you doesn’t need money, do they?” Bitterness filled her throat.

  “I will do anything to make you happy,” he said softly. “To make you stay. I want you here. I want you to be a part of my life.”

  “Stop, Derek. You don’t understand. This isn’t what I wanted for my life. I don’t want to be a part of anything. I don’t want to worry that if I don’t agree with you, or don’t want to do something, that you will just make me do it.”

  “If I promised never to compel you again…”

  “It doesn’t matter, I want…so much more than that. I will never keep the baby from you, but I can’t be with you. Not here, not anywhere.” She wanted love. Everlasting true love. To believe someone loved her so much, they’d give up everything for her, and most of all, that they’d never leave her. Was that too much to ask for? Derek was not that man. Because the sad truth was, as much as he might want her to live here with him, to help raise their baby, he didn’t love her.

  And she wouldn’t settle. Not when it came to her heart.

  “Jaclyn—” His eyes were imploring.

  “Will you please take me home?”

  Reluctantly, he opened the car door for her. “I’m not giving up on you.”

  She didn’t respond, and they drove down the road without saying a word as she fought the tears burning in the back of her eyes. Obviously, she did care about him. And maybe he cared about her, too. And maybe if she hadn’t gotten pregnant, if they’d had more time…

  She pushed the thoughts away. They would never know for sure, and maybes didn’t matter. He pulled into the garage, parked, and faced her. “Jaclyn…”

  “I need time alone to sort it all out. To think.”

  “I care about you. I want to get to know you better. To see where all this takes us. Give me a chance. Give us a chance.” His words were eloquent. Even heartfelt, but at no point did he mention the word love. He didn’t love her. How could he? They just met. And the truth was, he wouldn’t even be there now if she weren’t pregnant.

  Not that she could blame him. She didn’t even know if she loved him. How could she?

  Then why was she so upset? She couldn’t fathom. She didn’t know how she felt, or what she wanted. She got out of the car, and he led her into the back room of the dealership. As they walked back into the normal world, she was suddenly hit with how loud everything was, how strong the smells were. How thick the air was. She quickened her pace, moving away from him.

  They were walking down the hallway when one of his employees held up his hand.

  “Give me a minute and I’ll drive you home,” he said.

  Although he gestured for her to wait, she kept walking after Derek was stopped. She nodded but continued forward, making her way back to the showroom floor. Through the windows, she saw it was dark outside. Nighttime already? How could time have passed so fast, unless she really had been in a different dimension. As crazy as that was to believe. And if that was true? Everything he’d said could be true. Everything.

  Why couldn’t she have found a nice normal guy? She wasn’t a religious person, but she knew that dating a demon or god or even the devil himself was definitely no bueno. She should have remembered: gorgeous men always equaled bad news. She knew that as well as she knew she couldn’t survive without oxygen, and yet what did she do? Fall for one—hook, line, and sinker.

  It served her right for being so completely stupid. She fell for his gorgeous blue eyes, and served herself up on the dummy platter. Ripe for the picking, and boy did he pick. Now what was she going to do? What were they going to do? They were going to have a baby. A god baby! In three months. Even if he was delusional, they were going to have a child together, three months or nine months from now. She’d let him sweep her off her feet, right out of her head, and into his bed.

  Tears rolled down her cheeks. She had fallen for him and had begun to think of him as her knight in shining armor. What’s worse, she’d started to imagine, to believe, they mig
ht actually have something together. A beginning. A future. She’d let herself hope that the black gaping hole of loneliness that had been her life might actually be behind her.

  That alone was the hardest pill to swallow. She’d begun to imagine he might be the answer. And somehow with just his kiss, he’d made the darkness disappear. He’d given her hope again. She touched her stomach and knew whatever happened with Derek, she would never be alone again. But would she be happy with his baby but not with him? To be with him, she’d have to trust him, and that was something she didn’t think she could do.

  He thought he was a god? A ruler of the Underworld? Satan? Lucifer? Hades? Who was he really? And could he really compel her to do whatever he wanted? Then what else could he do?

  A familiar face filled one of the TV monitors hanging on the wall. It was Ms. Franciscan. She was being led out of a warehouse in handcuffs. Images flashed across the screen of children working in dark, crowded rooms. Another picture of mattresses thrown on a floor where children slept huddled together under a thin blanket. The facilities were dark and damp and filthy.

  The headline scrolled across the bottom of the screen. Child Slavery Plant shut down. And Jaclyn knew that Derek was behind Ms. Franciscan’s downfall. That horrible woman was exposed and would hopefully go to jail for a very long time. No more diamonds or fancy balls for her. That woman deserved what was coming to her.

  The baby moved and she stopped and smiled at the fluttery sensation within her stomach, her hands reaching to cradle it. Three days old and she could already feel it moving? Him moving? It was all true. She didn’t know how, but she knew that. She wondered where Derek was now. She saw Deirdre coming out of a door and stared at her for a long moment. Was she a god of the Underworld, too? She sure as hell acted like one. Not wanting to talk to her, Jaclyn quickly headed toward the front door.

  A bus pulled up at a stop in front of the dealership to let out its passengers.

  “Jaclyn, wait,” she heard Deirdre call.