Chapter 52
It'll be a miracle if I make it through this pregnancy alive, especially if they insist on fucking me like they did last night. I swear this demon child is slowly chipping away at my insides. Decide, little baby, if you want me to bring you nutrients or not. But I wish you would. I want to eat Shepp’s food without immediately lying on the bathroom floor and spewing my soul from my mouth.
Only nine more months to go, or at least, I think. Fuck. I’m not sure how far along I am.
“I'm dying,” I groan to myself on the bathroom floor.
It’s so cool down here. The tile presses hard against my cheek, scrunching up my face. My entire body sags, finally relaxing after a morning of calling Ralph on the big white phone.
When will it end?
I groan again, trying to calm the storm in my stomach attempting to send me back to the toilet. Come on, little bean. Don't do this again. I'm desperate for food and no puking.
The toilet beckons me when I turn my head. Come to me, Journey. Puke up the nothingness in your stomach.
Fuck me.
I need to get off the floor. Who knows what germs are crawling all over my damn body. Not to mention, I'm currently living with three men. Three dicks. And their aim is disgustingly off.
First things first, I need to scrub this damn bathroom. But that would involve moving. And moving is not on my agenda right now. Sleep is. I squeeze my eyes shut, blowing out a breath.
There. My stomach settles.
Well, slightly.
“You better be a girl,” I mumble to my flat stomach pressing against the floor.
Because if I have to live in a house full of little boys that have their DNA, I might run away. Ugh.
A whole new anxiety grips me right, shaking me with a realization I hadn't thought of before. I'm pregnant with a mafia heir—a very important fetus—VIF. Sure, there are three possible baby daddies, but they're all deep in the life of the crime family. An heir to the throne and his two bosses. Or whatever.
Does that make me the future queen of it all?
God fucking damn it. I will blend their balls into tiny pieces for putting me in this position.
Psychopaths.
My psychopaths.
They're unredeemable villains, taking what they want. But they've always shown me how much they care. No matter how absurd. The handcuffs. Contract. Putting my mom into rehab and stealing my home.
They care. In their own fucked up way.
So when it comes to our children, they'll no doubt move Heaven and earth to protect them from whatever the organization has in store for them.
I hope.
It's something that's festering deep inside me—the worry and fear for my unborn baby. They'll protect the baby.
And me.
They always have. Although, protected is way too strong of a word. Possessed is more like it.
They've possessed me since the moment they pulled their masks down, hiding their identities. They've been the blood in my veins since they fucked me that first night and in the woods.
They live in my bones, occupying every nook and cranny of my soul—mine. And I'm theirs. I'll put my trust in them to keep our future safe for all of us.
My eyes flutter shut as exhaustion sinks its deadly claws into me. Just leave me here to slowly rot until dinner’s ready.
That's the true test of it all. Will I be able to keep it down? God, I hope so. If I have to lose another ounce of Shepp's cooking, I might lose my damn mind.
“Tonight, they'll come.” Jericho’s loud voice echoes through my mind. His eyes take on a coldness when his face hardens. “They’ll be here by seven to discuss business.” His eyes flash to me as I lay my head on Shepp's shoulder, wishing for a nap. “Jenni will accompany Elias.”
I swallow hard, tensing beneath Shepp's hand on my leg.
And then I ran to the bathroom to puke up the breakfast I barely got to digest. Good fucking times.
Seven. It’s only four now. Three more hours until the meeting begins. Three more hours until my former best friend waltzes through that door with no clue about the friendship I was forced to forge with her by my monster.
I was a fraud.
It's hung over my head for months now. Since my monster uttered the dreaded command to watch Jenni like a hawk and befriend her, all so I could spy on her father.
A goddamn fraud. That's what I am. Guilt churns in my throat, burning me from the inside out like a rapid explosion erupting.
At the time, I did what I had to. For Sunshine. My entire existence has been for her. For her safety and health. Now she's safe with Mikhail and getting the help she needs.
When Jericho uttered Jenni's name, I knew what to do. I have no choice. Tell her everything. Clear the air between us. If we want to maintain any sort of friendship in the future, then we need to have a clean slate.
No matter how hard I want to bite my tongue and keep it to myself.
At the wedding, we barely had time to say hi. So, tonight is my chance. When the guys have their important meeting in the basement with Shadow’s corpse, it’ll be my time to fall, and I have no doubt she'll hate me for what I've done.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, drawing me from my own shitty self-pity. Ugh. Hormones can fuck off for life. I want to go back to letting my darkness take over instead of feeling this.
She’s going to be an aunty.
Sunshine
I'm so sad I can't be there tonight. :(
Journey
I want you here, too. But you need to rest, sis. Love you!
I type back with a soft smile. Being able to contact Sunshine any time of the day has me on a high. For so long, I ached for pieces of her. Now, I have all of her.
Thanks, Mikhail.
Mikhail, in all his coldness, left a number for me to text her with Shepp before he escaped Shadow's island.
You’ll always be able to contact your sister. I will not keep her from you. And he meant it.
Sunshine
Love you too! There are so many things I can't wait to show you when you visit soon. I wish I could have come with Mikhail, but I have company watching over me ;)
Company? That's the second time she's alluded to company with her. Someone is watching over her while Mikhail runs the damn mafia. But she's safe. I know that.
From the moment she and I started texting, she's shown me her new palace through video calls and photographs. It's elegant and massive, fit with a damn moat, and the beach is less than a mile away.
Sunshine
It’s huge, J. Like a mansion! Bigger than anything I’ve ever seen. It’s got 12 bathrooms. Can you believe that? 12!!!
Once the war has been fought and we are back in Briar Cove with everything under control, I’ll visit my sister in her new life.
Then, everything will be right in the world.
Loud footsteps march through the bedroom, getting closer and closer until they stop at my bare feet near the open door. I'm surprised it took him this long to come and find me. It's only been forty minutes since I died on this bathroom floor. All three of them have been up my ass since we got back from the island. I can't even take a pee without Arrow wanting to be involved.
It's weird. But oddly enough, I'm used to it now.
I peek an eye open in time to watch Arrow cock his head with curiosity. “Aw, my little Kitten,” Arrow coos in a slightly elevated voice.
“Arrow,” I sigh, sucking in a breath when he drops beside me, positioning himself so we’re face to face and lying on the bathroom floor.
We blink a few times, taking each other in. He's so damn close; I can count the freckles dotted on his cheeks and the wrinkles marring his forehead. Leaning down, Arrow roughly kisses my lips, humming with satisfaction.
“Arrow,” I grumble, too weak to fight him off when he moves my hair from my face, still half squished on the tile floor.
“You're on the bathroom floor, Kitten. Wouldn't you be more comfy on the bed? With my cock sleeping inside you? I hear that’s good for pregnant women. Cock soaking. You’d love it. It’d make you feel all kinds of good.” He grins at that, rambling more about his cock and sleeping and whatever else he says.
I tune him out sometimes.
If I could lift my hand, I’d put it over his lips to shut him up. Can I punch the happiness out of him? If I’m miserable, he should be miserable. Maybe a fist to the gut will clue him in on my damn misery.
“You did this to me,” I retort, finally batting him away until a low chuckle rumbles his bare chest. “This is all your fault.”
His nose wrinkles when he leans down, setting his lips on my cheek. “And I'd do it again,” he quips softly, kissing my cheek again. “And again. And again.”
Great, now he’s singing. He’s still high from the torture he inflicted on Shadow a mere day ago, living off that rush.
“Then no one will be surprised when you go missing. Where's Arrow? No clue. In my backyard,” I hiss.
He only grins in return. “You act like burying me in a coffin will keep me dead. I already told you, Kitten. I don't die. Not without you. Besides, you need this dick for at least eighteen more of those.” He carefully pokes the side of my stomach he can reach.
He's so damn impossible to argue with when he says crazy-romantic words meant to make me swoon. And I do. The bastard. He's talking about death, and I'm sighing at him.
Wait. Did he say…
“Eighteen?” I sputter, nearly vomiting again. “No way in hell! Absolutely not. I am not going through this again. One and done.” I shake my head, groaning when my stomach sloshes again.
Arrow whines like a dog, giving me his best puppy eyes.
“We'll see. I have my ways,” he sing-songs. “You're so beautiful,” he whispers, cupping my cheek and lovingly running his thumb over it.
What a damn suck-up.
Obviously, he's not threatened by my violence, despite knowing I can take a life. Not that I'm proud of it. But I've done it, damn it, even chopped off a man’s schlong. Arrow should watch his dick.
“You're brave,” Jericho huffs, stepping into the bathroom and shaking his head. Finally, a voice of reason. “She probably has a weapon stashed somewhere.”
You know what? That's a good idea. A knife in my pocket won't hurt anyone. Well, unless that hurts me first.
I feel Jericho’s heated stare travel over my body, inspecting me from the doorway. Earlier, when I first vomited, he was in here holding my hair back without gagging himself. Then I was in his arms, snuggling into his neck for comfort until he had to take a phone call.
Arrow's eyes widen with interest. “Do tell, Kitten. You know I love a good stabbing.” Psycho-fucking-path.
I sigh when I feel his bulge growing against my thigh. “You know I hacked off a guy's dick, right? He screamed and begged for mercy. You better keep that thing away from me,” I hiss, squeezing my eyes shut when Arrow makes an offending sound, sputtering at my threat.
His dick hardens further, pushing into my side. “Threats only make me horny, Kitten. Even if you offended Big A with your promises of cutting him off. You love him, right?”
I don’t fucking answer his ridiculous statement. No matter how hard my pussy throbs, aching for his dick. Make up your mind, would ya? We hate them right now! They purposefully knocked you up, and now you’re the one suffering.
My eyes travel to Jericho standing tall at my feet. “You're on my shit list, too.”
“You can’t ignore me forever, Kitten,” Arrow whispers, nibbling on my ear. “I lived without you for weeks. We missed you. Your pussy, your….”
“Arrow,” Jericho grumbles, rubbing a hand down his face.
“What, Daddy Jer? You’re telling me you don’t feel that way, too?” Arrow narrows his eyes when Jericho grimaces at him, ignoring him completely.
“I brought lemon water to soothe your stomach, Little Chaos.” Leaning down, he gently hands me a large glass bottle filled with water and lemons in the center.
“Thanks,” I say, setting it beside me. I'll drink that later. You know, when I can move.
“Yeah! You have to stay hydrated, Kitten. If you don't, I'll strap you to the bed, put an IV in you, and not let you move until you give birth to my baby.” Every word he speaks sends shivers down my spine as his breaths roll over my flesh. He grins, running his fingers under my eye, lovingly tracing my freckles.
He has this effect on me, making me shiver at the stupidest promises.
“If you touch me with a needle, I'll poke your eyes out,” I whisper my threat and kiss the tip of his nose.
No more Miss Nice Girl.
“You act like I won't turn you over and fuck you right now. Your dirty talk is my brand of crazy,” Arrow chuckles, pulling me into his arms with a sigh, forcing my leg to drape over his, giving his boner more access to my center.
Yeah, that ain't happening, pal.
“Unless you're into vomit,” I murmur, nuzzling my face into his neck, aching for comfort when I hurt so badly.
“I draw the line at vomit. Sorry, Kitten,” he quips.
“And pee,” I hum with a smile.
“That, too! See! Our boundaries are important in this relationship. I'm good with blood and stabbings. But no other bodily fluids.” I wrinkle my nose but don't offer any words.
“Are you feeling any better?” Jericho asks, plopping on the ground near my feet. His finger gently tickles my ankle, drawing circles over my flesh.
“No,” I whine softly, sighing into Arrow's neck. “Feeling like I did earlier.”
“Hmmm,” Jericho hums. “Perhaps when we return to Briar Cove, we should find a doctor and have an ultrasound to check-in. Make sure my future heir is cooking appropriately. I've read they have medication for pregnant women to aid with morning sickness.”
My breath stalls. Excitement I haven't felt in so long travels up my spine. An ultrasound. A glimpse into the baby growing in my belly. The one currently trying to kill me with vomit.
More footsteps enter the bathroom and pause in the doorway.
“Um…” Shepp whispers, clearing his throat.
“Welcome to the meeting, Sheppy Boy! Journey was detailing our deaths for knocking her up. Don't piss her off. She said she'll cut our dicks off,” Arrow stage-whispers.
Concern laces Shepp's eyes when he stares down at me, entangled with Arrow on the ground to Jericho leaning against the wall with his hand on my ankle.
It's a party in the bathroom, and I'm the main attraction.
“Do you need food, Little Tempest? I've made something light for you. Soup, cheese toasties, and crackers.” He softens when he looks me over.
I nod, attempting to pull away from Arrow, who holds tight, clinging harder.
“Arrow, you'll make me puke again if I don't go eat,” I grumble through a breath when he squeezes me one last time before untangling himself from my body.
“Fine,” he huffs, getting to his feet and holding out his hand. “Let's get you fed, Kitten.”
“Then we can prepare for tonight,” Jericho says with a frown.
Arrow leads me out of the bathroom, straight into the kitchen, and sits me down. Shepp hurries with the bacon, cheese, and potato soup with cheese toasties and crackers.
I'm almost too afraid to eat it, but I do. I have to. This is for my strength, but I’m also growing a tiny human who depends on me to eat. Now, let me eat, tiny human.