Total pages in book: 266
Estimated words: 250787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1254(@200wpm)___ 1003(@250wpm)___ 836(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 250787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1254(@200wpm)___ 1003(@250wpm)___ 836(@300wpm)
I’m no expert on pregnancies, but I’m not sure why a DNA test would be important to do while she’s pregnant. “And you don’t want to?” I ask, confused and trying to figure out why she’s so upset about that. “What about a second opinion?” I question.
She gives a slight nod. “Gavin was there as well and agreed with Devin. They said they could do it tomorrow and that Saint and I should take the day to discuss it.”
If both of them suggested it, then I wouldn’t see any harm in it. My eyes go to the closed door, and I’m surprised he hasn’t joined us. “Ashtyn—”
“Heteropaternal superfecundation.” She interrupts me. “They said it’s rare but possible.”
“I don’t know what that means,” I tell her softly. She’s going to have to dumb it down for me.
“It means…” She takes in a shaky breath. “That they think I’m pregnant with babies from two different men.”
Her tear-filled eyes lower to her legs as she runs her palms down her thighs. Tears spill over her bottom lashes and hit her legs. I swallow the knot in my throat, realizing what she’s telling me. When Saint dragged her back, he had Devin remove her IUD. He was going to make her his in every way possible. But he never expected Benny to kidnap and rape her while he held her in the woods for four days, which could have possibly resulted in him getting her pregnant…again.
She sniffs, getting my attention. “I…” Her eyes lift to mine. “Is it bad that I don’t want to know?” Her lip trembles. “That I want to believe Saint is the father to both of my babies?”
I straighten before sitting down next to her, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her to my side. “No,” I tell her. She turns, wrapping her arms around me, and buries her head into my shirt as her cries fill the room. “There’s nothing wrong with that, baby girl.”
FORTY-FIVE
CHARLOTTE
Iwas lucky Haidyn had somewhere to be. I pretended to be asleep when I heard him come back into his bedroom. Once he told me goodbye and left, I immediately turned the cell back on. I’ve stared at it, hoping the video comes back so I can watch it again and try to decipher what I’m supposed to understand about it.
Was I supposed to focus on Ashtyn, Saint, or Haidyn? What did it all mean, and why did they cut it where they did? What happened after she passed out? They were branding her but why? She looked terrified. I mean, if I was in a straitjacket, strapped to a gurney, gagged and naked from the waist down, I’d be terrified too. But Saint loves her and supposedly so does Haidyn. Maybe it was an initiation for her? Who the hell knows? She was wearing a wedding ring when I saw her at Carnage, and I know once you become a Lady, your Lord will sometimes brand you. So maybe it was because of that?
The phone vibrates in my hands, and the email icon appears, making me drop it on my face. “Fuck,” I groan, rubbing my nose and then holding it up. My eyes dart to the bedroom door to make sure Haidyn isn’t standing right outside or coming in to check on me.
When I think the coast is clear, I open the email. It’s another video. I push play, and it’s in the same concrete room as before, but this time, Ashtyn and Saint are gone and so is the gurney. Haidyn enters, pocketing his cell, and looks around as if he expects someone to be there with him.
The door opens once more, and I lower the volume since I don’t have my earbuds in. I sink further down into the bed, holding the phone right in front of my face once more.
Haidyn leans back against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest.
“What the fuck do you think you were doing?” the man barks, stepping farther into the room.
Haidyn just stares at him. The look on his face and his relaxed stance say he’s unbothered.
The man snaps his fingers, and the door opens again, and three men enter the room.
My heart picks up, knowing this won’t end well, but Haidyn still looks unbothered.
“We gave you specific instructions,” the man shouts.
“You didn’t give me shit,” Haidyn speaks.
The guy snaps his finger once more, and one of the guys dressed in a cloak and mask walks over to Haidyn. The moment he gets close enough, Haidyn swings. His fist hits the Lords mask, knocking him back.
All hell breaks loose in the concrete room. Haidyn holds his own until one of them places a stun gun to his neck, forcing him to his knees.
He hunches over, breathing heavily and worn out as the three men start to remove his shirt. They drag him to the center of the room, cuff his wrists in front of him and then string him up to the ceiling by a chain until the toes of his combat boots barely touch the floor. His eyes look around aimlessly, trying to get his bearings straight as they shove a rubber ball gag into his mouth, and then a hood over his head, securing it around his neck.