by Fawn Bailey
“Tommy,” I whispered, and he turned around to face me.
A grin lit up his face, and he reached me in two quick steps, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear while I looked away, blushing.
“Hello, beautiful,” he said darkly.
Right then, I realized he thought this was just another one of our hookups. Like the ones before, when we were half-passed out on cheap wine and high on the feeling of our bodies mashing together.
“Wait,” I said, pushing him back a little. “I want to talk to you.”
“Nothing to talk about,” he said roughly, pressing himself against me, his hands all over me. “All I care about is you… that sweet pussy of yours. You thought I’d forgotten?”
I struggled against him, but he wouldn’t let go, just chuckled and held on tighter.
“Tommy!” I cried out. “I’m pregnant.”
He let go of me like I was on fire. His eyes searched mine in panic, trying to find out whether this was the truth, so I just nodded and lowered my gaze to the ground. In that moment, I felt deeply ashamed. And his next words only served to make matters worse.
“How could you let this happen?” he barked at me. “What are you going to do about it?”
Right away, any thoughts of dealing with this together flew out the window. He thought it was my fault, and he would continue to blame me for it until the end.
“I… I don’t know,” I said softly.
“You’re going to get rid of it, right?”
I raised my eyes to him, his expression dark and menacing. The only thing I could do was shrug, making him laugh maniacally and run his fingers through his hair.
“You can’t be serious, Carina,” he said. “You can’t keep the thing. It’s going to ruin everything for you.”
He was never involved. It was always just me and the baby, the thing he kept mentioning. Like it wasn’t even real. I hated him in that moment, despite the attraction still burning in the pit of my stomach. I wanted him out of my life. I didn’t even want him involved. Whatever happened to the baby and me would now be solely my problem.
“I’ll take care of it,” I said firmly. “Just, hold me. Please.”
I moved closer to him to embrace him, but the second I drew nearer, he let out a disgusted snarl and pushed me back. I tripped, falling on my ass and staring up at him with tears welling in my eyes.
“Don’t touch me,” he grunted.
And then suddenly, we were no longer alone.
A dark, tall and menacing figure approached us and in seconds, wrapped their fingers around Tommy’s throat.
I was so shocked I couldn’t even shriek. I just stared at what was happening before me, my heart pounding as Tommy’s eyes bulged and his head lolled to the side.
The dark figure turned around to face me. It was a man, wearing a suit under his dark overcoat, hooded but with his eyes burning with hatred.
“Would you have me spare him?” he asked in a dark, low voice. “The father of your unborn child. Do you want it to have a dad?”
I stared at him, my mind swimming. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at Tommy. The man who had assaulted me, the man who fucked a baby into me and was now pretending it was all my fault.
I imagined a life where I had the baby, and Tommy had to be a father. Maybe marrying him out of obligation, being forced to sleep with him when I didn’t really want to. A lifetime of being pushed around, mistreated. The baby growing up in a bad environment, in a family where only one parent gave a shit about it.
And what was the alternative? Tommy resenting me for the rest of my life, never spending any time with the kid, just being a constant disappointment. Harming the kid in ways that would fuck up its psyche.
“No,” I said firmly, and I watched the man choke the life out of him.
His body dropped to the ground with a thud once he was done, my head spinning as I sat on the ground. My knees would have buckled if I tried to get up.
The man approached me, but for some reason, I didn’t shrink back in fear. He offered his hand, gloved in shiny black leather, and I took it. The hand that had killed the father of my child. He helped me get up, and I smoothed my dress, looking anywhere but at him. I wasn’t scared. Somehow, I knew he wasn’t going to hurt me like he had Tommy.
“You will never speak of this night to anyone,” he told me firmly. His voice had an American accent. “If you do, I will find out, and I will kill you.”
I didn’t doubt his words. I’d just seen him kill someone in cold blood. I knew he was telling the truth. One wrong word and my life would be over.
“I swear,” I nodded, finally raising my eyes to his.
He was incredibly handsome and impossibly tall. I felt something churning in the pit of my stomach when I looked at him, but I couldn’t even hate myself for it. I was hot for the man who’d killed my lover, the father of my unborn child. I should have been deeply embarrassed, but all I felt was desire for this mysterious stranger who’d just saved me from a nightmarish future.
“I hope you keep your word,” he said, stepping closer to me.
My heart fluttered when he raised his hand and touched his fingers to my cheek.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said simply, his fingers trailing down to wrap around my neck. “But if you make me, I will.”
And then, he turned and left, disappearing into the shadows of the alley.
I took a deep breath, not taking a single last look at Tommy’s body on the floor. Instead, I turned around and walked away with my heart pounding. Robotically, I returned home and got ready for bed. I climbed between the sheets and stroked my belly absentmindedly as I let my mind wander.
Slowly, I drifted off to sleep, my eyes getting heavier and heavier until they finally shut and I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
“Carina!”
I turned towards the sound of the voice, seeing Harlow’s beaming face. Amber was there too. She’d gotten cast as an understudy, but she was still thrilled. She was too young to get a bigger part, and I was grateful for that. She could have been serious competition otherwise.
“We’re going out to celebrate,” Harlow said, smiling brightly. “You want to come with us?”
I thought of the alternative. Lying in my bed, worrying about what had happened the previous night, the memories plaguing me.
“Yes,” I smiled back. “I’ll come with you.”
There was no denying that what happened in the back alley shaped me, changed me.
I just didn’t know what an impact it had made yet.
As I left with the girls, I was still innocent.
But I wouldn’t stay that way for long.
Acknowledgments
Since this is just a short prequel, I’ll keep it short and sweet!
Thank you to my boyfriend for believing in this story from the very beginning. You will never know how much I appreciate your input, and I’m truly excited to embark on this new journey with your help.
And thank you, dear reader, for coming over to the dark side. I hope you’re excited about Rose and Thorn… They have quite the story in store for you.
Love,
Isabella Starling writing as Fawn Bailey
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