Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 74005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
My father will come.
It’s only a matter of when.
The minutes tick by, each one agonizingly slow, each one amplifying the dread coiling in my stomach. I feel like a lamb waiting for slaughter, as if I’m suspended on the precipice of a cliff, awaiting the push that will send me spiraling into the abyss below.
A knock on the door makes me jump, my heart pounding against my chest. I don’t respond. Maybe if I stay silent, he’ll go away.
“Daniela.” His voice is cold, emotionless, a stark contrast to his usual fiery temper. “Open the door.”
I don’t want to. I want to barricade it, to hide from him, to pretend that none of this is happening. But that’s not an option. Not when it’s his house, his rules.
I rise from my bed, my legs shaking as I approach the door. Taking a deep breath, I open it, flinching at the sight of my father standing there, his presence overpowering. His eyes are hard, his lips pressed into a thin line.
“A week,” he says through gritted teeth. “A week of antibiotics, Daniela, and then re-test in a month.”
“This wasn’t my fault, Papa.”
His rage takes over his demeanor.
I’m right. It’s not my fault.
But that’s not how he sees it.
“You will pay the price for this,” he says. “A month. After a month of punishment, you’ll be begging to go back to entertaining my associates.”
Present Day…
Hawk wipes a tear from my eye. “Honey, what’s the matter?”
“I’m sorry. I just… The talk of vaccines.”
“What about it?”
“It made me think of…things.”
“What things?”
I shake my head. “I can’t talk about it. Not here, anyway.”
He glances toward the door. “We can go.”
“No. No. You need to be with your brother.”
He looks back at Eagle. “If you’re worried about him overhearing you, he can’t.”
“No, it’s just… It’s a hospital room. We need to…get rid of that,” I glance at the bouquet.
He nods. “Done.” He takes the bouquet and leaves.
He’ll be back soon.
Or he should be.
But time ticks by.
A minute.
Two minutes.
Five.
Ten.
My heart is pounding so hard, I’m worried it’ll break a rib. I’m about to go to hospital security when—
“Where have you been?” I nearly shout at Hawk when he returns.
“I’m sorry, baby. I took the flowers down to the truck.”
“Why didn’t you just throw them out?”
“Because they might contain clues.”
“Oh. Right.” I’m not thinking clearly.
“We can talk later,” he says. “When I take you home.”
I draw in a breath. “No. I’ll talk now. Like you said, Eagle can’t hear me, and this is about as private as we’ll get in a hospital.”
“Okay. You can tell me anything, you know.”
I nod.
Can I though?
Tell him I was dirtied up by chlamydia?
Tell him about my babies—the babies I wanted so badly but was forced to kill?
Tell him that I’ll never be able to have more babies?
How?
How can I tell him any of that?
“Dani, baby,” he says again. “Please. Talk to me.”
I take a deep breath, the sterile hospital scent filling my nostrils. “Okay,” I whisper, summoning the courage to let him in on my darkest secrets.
It starts as a trickle, words spilling from my lips slowly. I tell him about my father, about the men he forced on me. I tell him about the chlamydia, about how I contracted it. I leave out the details of my father’s punishment. Some details are too grisly for any person to have to hear. I watch his face carefully as I speak, gauging his reaction.
Hawk just stares at me, his eyes never leaving mine. He doesn’t interrupt, doesn’t ask questions. He just listens, his face betraying nothing of what he might be thinking. The steady beep of Eagle’s heart monitor is the only sound in the small room.
I have to tell him the rest.
About my babies.
How my father forced me to terminate the pregnancies and then finally forced me to get my tubes tied.
But how?
I take a deep breath, steeling myself. “There’s something else,” I finally say, my voice barely above a whisper.
His gaze softens. “You can tell me anything, Dani.”
I swallow hard, forcing down the lump in my throat. “I was pregnant. Three times,” I manage to get out, my voice trembling. “My father forced me to…” I take a shuddering breath, unable to continue. The memory is too painful, too raw.
Hawk’s eyes widen slightly, but he remains silent, waiting.
“He forced me to get rid of them,” I whisper. The room feels suddenly cold, the steady beeping of the heart monitor echoing eerily. “And then… And then he forced me to get my tubes tied.”
19
HAWK
My heart breaks for Daniela.
For me too.
I always wanted children. I always dreamed of the chance to be a parent. I would raise them all equally, showing no favor to any single one.
I always dreamed of passing on my own DNA, but…
What if I don’t? I mean, Bellamy DNA isn’t all that great. My father is a murderer, and my mother has so many blind spots, especially where Eagle is concerned.