As the nurse prepares the local anesthetic, I ask, "Could I… I think I need a pregnancy test," I whisper, glancing nervously at the door where Marco stands. "But I don't want anyone to know. Not even my husband. Not yet."
She studies me for a moment. “Did something else happen?”
“Oh… no. Nothing like that. I just… just realized I’m late.”
I’m not sure she believes me, but she says I can do the standard pee test.
"How long until…?"
"Results show up quickly." She starts numbing my arm.
“And… you’ll just tell me the results?”
“Yes. Medical privacy.” Her brow furrows. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
I nod. “I just want it to be a surprise to my husband.”
The stitches don't take long, and soon, my arm is bandaged. She guides me to a bathroom, Marco close behind. There I pee in the cup and then return to the room. The next minutes are the longest in my life. Longer even than waiting to marry Ash. My stomach is in knots, wondering if my life is about to become even more complicated.
The door opens and the nurse returns. “It’s positive.”
I must look at her blankly as she adds, “You’re pregnant.”
A baby. Ash's baby.
I press my hand against my still-flat stomach, trying to wrap my mind around the fact that there's a tiny life growing inside me. A life created during those passionate nights when Ash let his guard down, when he’d let me in, just for a moment.
But I have no illusions about a happily ever after for me and the baby. He can barely handle having feelings for me. How will he cope with a child? And with the Keans making threats, targeting us…
The door bursts open and Ash charges in, his face a mask of fury and fear. "Hannah!" He crosses the room in two strides, hishands cupping my face as his eyes scan for injuries. "Are you hurt? Marco said you were attacked."
“Sir—” The nurse tries to intervene.
“It’s okay. This is my husband.” God, I hope she doesn’t give my secret away. I look at Ash and try to act nonchalant. “I’m fine. It’s just a little cut.”
His thumb traces my cheek. “You're sure?”
"I was scared.” I’m still scared. Terrified of how he'll react to this news. Worried sick about my father.
“I shouldn’t have let you go out. Not now. Not with all that’s going on.”
I see in his eyes that this isn’t just about me anymore. It’s about Meghan and his feelings that he failed to protect her.
"The Keans will pay for this," he growls. "No one touches what's mine."
What's his. Before when he’d said I was his, I wanted to believe it meant something, but I know it doesn’t. He didn’t say no one touches what he loves or cares about. Just what is his. I’m his property. Property he obtained in a business deal.
He helps me down from the table. The nurse hands me a piece of paper with a knowing smile. “There is some discharge information there.”
I glance at it and see notes for prenatal vitamins and a number for a women’s hotline. I guess she thinks I might be in trouble. I suppose I am, but not the type she thinks. I’m in trouble because I’m pregnant with a man who can never love me or the baby. But maybe that won’t matter because I’m also in the middle of a war that could get us all killed.
22
ASH
My heart stopped when Marco’s voice came over the phone saying Hannah had been stabbed. The world titled on its axis. This couldn’t be happening. Not again.
On the way to the hospital, images of the fire that took my parents and Meghan flashed through my mind, mixing with visions of Hannah bleeding out. I can't lose another woman.
