“But you have a license,” she said desperately. “You told me that when you brought me here. You told me that you wanted to have a child.”
“The operative word is one. I have one license. And now I have a pregnant wife and a pregnant mistress.”
Her numbness was being replaced by terror. If her child was unlicensed, she would have no choice but to turn it over to the state. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be eligible for any type of assistance from the government, and even in the orphanage, she had heard the horror stories about the life led by the homeless and unlicensed.
“You’re so rich—couldn’t you get another one?”
“Possibly.” He shrugged and threw back his brandy. “But not without my wife finding out. And while she would have been forced to accept my child by another woman when she didn’t have one of her own, she will never allow it now.”
Her thoughts felt sluggish as she tried to work through his meaning. “You were going to give my baby to her?”
“Well, of course,” he said impatiently, pouring himself another drink. “My son would be reared as befits the child of a man of my stature.”
“I would never have let you take my baby away!” she cried.
“You would have done whatever I told you to do. And as long as you were a good girl about it, I might even have kept you around for a while.”
He strolled over to where she stood in frozen horror. Running his hand down her neck and across her shoulder, he pushed the thin strap of her dress down her arm until he revealed the small white mound of her breast. “You are a tempting little thing. A little naïve perhaps, but oh so eager to learn. You always did whatever I wanted, didn’t you? No matter how perverse.”
He caught the taut peak of her nipple between his thumb and finger and twisted it, the sudden pain breaking her out of her shocked stupor. With a cry, she tried to pull away, but he held on just long enough to make her realize that it was his choice to let her go.
“What are you going to do?” she whispered.
“That is an excellent question. I had intended to break things off tonight. Now that my wife is pregnant, she’s demanded that I rid myself of my playthings.” He frowned again. “I had intended to gift you to Antonio.”
She couldn’t conceal her shudder. Justin had brought the other man home for dinner a few times, and she had always hated the way he leered at her.
“But of course, that’s out of the question now.”
“Why?” Even though the thought made her skin crawl, Antonio was as wealthy as Justin. At least her baby would be provided for.
“Aside from the fact that he wouldn’t be interested in a pregnant female, I would never give him that much knowledge of my affairs. No, my dear, I’m afraid you’ll have to go.”
“Justin, please.” If it had just been her, she would have been happy to get away from him, but now she had a baby to consider. With shaking hands, she pushed off the other strap and let the dress fall to her feet, leaving her naked and vulnerable. “You said your wife was frigid. Don’t I make you happy?”
He eyed her speculatively, then shook his head and walked over to the communication panel. “I’m afraid it’s not possible. Louisa is not easily fooled and she can be remarkably vindictive.” He dialed a number and spoke to someone she couldn’t see. “That matter we discussed—it needs to be taken care of. Tonight.”
“I don’t understand,” she cried. “If your… wife is such a horrible person, why do you stay with her? Why not divorce her and marry me?”
“Marry you?” He laughed. “My wife may be a frigid, vindictive bitch, but she’s the sole heir to the Bradbury fortune. Even if she wasn’t, I would never marry a poor, nameless wench from an orphanage.” Frowning at the tears beginning to stream down her face, he poured yet another drink. “Now I suggest you put your dress back on. We’re about to have a visitor.”
The doorbell chimed just as he finished speaking and she grabbed for her dress. She was still pulling it down over her head when Justin opened the door and a big man stepped inside. His eyes traveled over her appreciatively, and she would have been embarrassed if she wasn’t so terrified.
“Take her away, Rogers,” he ordered. “I think one of the outer ring developments in the New England metro area would be best.”
“No, Justin, please! You can’t do that!” At least here in the Dallas metro area she would have had some hope of contacting someone she knew, but in a different city, surrounded by strangers…
“I most certainly can. I’m not about to take the risk of having Louisa find out about you or the child.” For a moment, his face seemed to soften slightly. “I will provide enough credits to last until the child is born. But that’s all you will ever receive from me, do you understand? And if you attempt to make any trouble for me, you will regret it.” Any trace of softness had disappeared by the time he finished speaking.
“Please don’t send me away!” She threw herself to her knees in front of him, clinging desperately to his legs.
He sighed. “Take care of it, Rogers.”
The prick of a needle against her neck was immediately followed by an overwhelming dizziness. Her stomach rolled as impersonal hands picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. She lost consciousness before they left the apartment.
When she slowly swam back to wakefulness, she was lying on the rear floor of a personal flyer. Voices came from the front seats, and she tried to focus on the two men
