Chapter Fifteen
Romy
“M ommy, wake up. Wake up, wake up, wake up.”
I crack my eyes open, smiling when I see Kaitlyn’s sweet face peering into mine. Her hair’s been pulled into pigtails and the blond whisps curl at the ends. It also means Seth has already been up and got her ready for the day.
“Good morning,” I rasp out. “Where’s Daddy?”
“He said you were tired because of the baby, so he’s making us pancakes.” She grins at me. “Wake up so we can eat, Mommy.”
The last thing I want to do is face that man this morning, but I know I have to.
“Why don’t you go see if he needs help?” I suggest. “I’ll get dressed and be there in two minutes.”
I pull her to me for a quick hug and kiss, then send her on her way, thankful that the handcuffs are gone. My entire backside aches and burns from bruises and welts from the belt lashing Seth gave me last night. There’s no need for Kaitlyn to see what he did. The last thing I need is for her to be afraid of him and somehow put the spotlight on her. If I can keep his attention on me, everything will be okay. I just have to make it to tomorrow.
I’m desperate to soak under the hot spray of the shower, but I know Seth won’t like me dragging. I need to get quickly cleaned up, dressed, and in there to assess where we stand.
After a speedy washcloth bath, I turn and catch a glimpse of my bruising in the mirror. It looks horrible. That man is a monster.
Tears flood my eyes, but I blink them back. I hate how my emotions are so out of control with pregnancy. It feels like it’s obvious when my mood changes. Not good when you’re wanting to pretend everything is perfect to convince a psychopath.
I escape the bathroom to dress and pull on some comfy leggings and a T-shirt. I’m suddenly aware all my shoes are now missing.
He thinks I’ll run away and is making it more difficult.
Dread consumes me. It takes every effort I can muster to force myself out of the bedroom and across the house to the kitchen. Kaitlyn’s joyous chatter fills the kitchen as Seth dutifully asks all the right questions. An outsider would think he’s an attentive father.
It’s all a lie he tells himself and those around him.
We’re subjects in his science experiment.
Nothing more than an accessory to his life—one where he has complete and utter control.
Sunshine’s tail thumps on the floor when I enter the room. I squat, groaning at the pain, and give her a scratch behind the ears. She’s such an easygoing dog.
I find Seth at the stove, flipping pancakes. Kaitlyn stands on a chair next to him, cutting bananas into small pieces with a butterknife. She’s been brainwashed into thinking we’re her family and she’s so happy.
What happens when I take her away from here?
Will she hate me for it?
Not that it matters. He’s a monster and we can’t stay with him any longer. Just one more day.
“Good morning, you two,” I say with faux cheer. “Smells yummy.”
“Daddy says I can make a banana smile with my pancakes.” She waves the butterknife at me. “Look, I cut it myself.”
“Great job,” I praise.
I’m not looking forward to speaking to Seth, much less touch him, but I know I’m still being tested. Tentatively, I sidle up next to him and rest my head on his shoulder. His arm encircles my waist, pulling me closer. Usually this is the point where the baby would start dancing. She gets excited when it’s mealtime.
“You slept in,” Seth muses as he flips the giant pancake in the skillet. “I’m having to do more and more of your job, love. You know my work is important. Babysitting you keeps me from it.”
So he’s still pissed off. Lovely.
I want to remind him he beat me with a belt last night and I’m having trouble moving this morning. But that would show too much defiance and his alarm bells are ringing. I need to tread carefully.
“I’m sorry,” I say lightly. “I’ll do better. The further along I get in this pregnancy, the harder it is.”
He slides his hand down and gives my ass a playful squeeze. Since it’s bruised and on fire, I whimper in pain. “We’ll see. My trust is gone.”
This isn’t going well.
I absently rub the raw circle around my wrist from the handcuff. “What can I do to earn it back?”
He ignores me as he puts the cooked pancake onto Kaitlyn’s plate. “It’s hot, Kait. Be careful.”
“I know, Daddy,” she sasses.
Seth pours more batter onto the skillet before turning to face me. Now that I know he’s capable of physically harming me, I can’t help but cower under his cold stare. I force a gentle smile, hoping to coax him out of this terrible mood he’s in.
“You look nice today,” I murmur, running my palm over his Polo shirt. I can feel the thick tufts of chest hair through the material. “Got a hot date?”
My teasing seems to settle him a small bit. The sharpness in his eyes turns softer and I’m reminded of the kind doctor I first met. He reaches up and cups the back of my neck, pulling me to him for a kiss.
We both freeze.
His fingers move and the foil crinkles beneath my hair. Before I can sidetrack him, he jerks me to the side and grabs hold of my hair.
Riiiip!
My eyes sting with tears. The tape takes away some of my hair at the nape of my neck without warning.
This isn’t good.
“What the hell is this?” Seth demands, holding up the taped foil with long blond hairs dangling from the edges. “Are you fucking kidding me right now? I knew something was going on with you.”
“Daddy, stop yelling!” Kaitlyn shrieks from behind us.
He ignores her and grabs my jaw. “You’ve been tampering with my experiments, dammit. What have you done?”
“Nothing,” I whimper. “Let me go. We can discuss this calmly.”
“Stop, stop, stop, stop!” Kaitlyn chants tearily.
Sunshine barks at us.
When Kaitlyn starts pulling on the arm that’s holding on to me, Seth becomes enraged. He releases me long enough to fling her away from him. She stumbles into Sunshine, whose barking intensifies.
I panic.
All attempts to be calm are thrown out the window.
“You do not touch her,” I growl, pushing at his chest. “Kaitlyn, we’re leaving. Let’s go.”
“The hell you are,” Seth booms. “Dammit, Kaitlyn, take that barking dog to your room or I’ll shut it the fuck up myself.”
The dog lunges at him and he kicks her square in the jaw, making her yelp in surprise and pain. I can smell the pancake burning on the stove. How did this all turn to madness within seconds.
Kaitlyn grabs hold of Sunshine and they scurry from the kitchen. I search for anything to defend myself. The knife block is so close. With a grunt, I shift toward it, reaching for the biggest one closest to me. It comes out of the block with a sharp, metallic sound. I hold it out in front of me, hand trembling.
“Get away from me,” I say, pointing the sharp end at him. “We’re leaving. You’re staying. End of story.”
He sneers at me, shaking his head in vehemence. “I’ve invested too damn much in this project, Romy. You’re not going anywhere.”
Can I stab this man if it comes to it?
I think so.
I want to think I can.
He inches closer to me, seemingly unafraid of my knife. On instinct, I take a step back. Like a snake, he strikes, hand reaching for me. I slash at the air, making contact with his arm. It’s a superficial wound, but it makes him bleed, and better yet, halt in his pursuit.
“You cut me,” he growls. “This is why you need to stay locked up in the lab. You’re fucking batshit insane.”
“ I’m insane?” I cry out, emotion clogging my throat. “You kidnapped me, scrambled my brain, and made me think I was your wife. That’s psychotic behavior, Seth. You don’t help people. You hurt them. You’re a criminal.”
“I won’t allow you to leave me,” he says, voice colder than I’ve ever heard it. “Get that stupid fucking thought out of your head.”
I wave the knife at him. “I’m holding the weapon here, so you’re hardly in a place to make demands.”
The next several seconds go in impossibly slow motion. Him reaching to the right. My eyes following his movement to the stove. Him grasping the handle of the skillet with the now- smoking burnt pancake. Me calculating what his plans for it will be. And then the next second goes in lightning speed.
Seth swings the skillet at me, slamming the hot metal into the side of my head. The knife drops with a clatter and I crumple to the floor right after. My vision fades to black.
I should have never come back.
I’m on a cloud.
Floating, floating, floating.
It’s warm here.
“She’s waking up. Thank fuck.”
I blink my dry eyes and find Doc Junior’s face close to mine. The light in the exam room is harsh and I wince at it. Doc Junior snaps at someone before the light dims. I attempt to move, but I’m sitting in one of their chair traps, my head snug in the contraption.
“Let me go,” I plead, unable to produce tears. “I’m hurt.”
“That you are,” he agrees. “The burn isn’t horrible, but the knot beneath it was pretty concerning. I can’t believe he hit you with a frying pan.”
I choke on a sob. “Kaitlyn. She’s not safe.”
“She’s fine. They’re checking her over, but she’s fine.”
“Where is he? You have to get me out of here.”
He chuckles. “You forget whose side I’m on here. Seth’s my best friend, Romy. Not you. Friends don’t let their friends’ wives get away.”
“I’m not his wife.”
“For all intents and purposes, you are.”
I attempt to move, but he has me pinned in this chair. I’m not getting out of here until he releases me.
Doc Junior nods at someone behind me and then I hear a door close softly behind them at their exit.
“Did you know?” I croak out. “That I’m your sister?”
He arches an eyebrow. “I know everything. Question is, how do you know?”
My head hurts too badly for these games. “Where’s your loyalty to your own flesh and blood?”
“Answer the question.”
“Vivienne.”
“Ahh, same as me. Does my father know you’re his?”
I close my eyes so a wave of nausea will pass. “I don’t know.”
“I’m just glad I didn’t fuck you the night we met. That could’ve been regretful later.”
He’s delusional if he thinks I would ever be willingly interested in someone like him.
“You can free me and Kaitlyn,” I tell him. “No one has to know. I’ll go into hiding. It’s the right thing to do.”
“The right thing to do,” he says, shaking his head. “I’m not interested in that. What I do want to know is how in the hell you overrode the Stem Lock technology. Was it really the foil all along or something else?”
“No comment,” I spit out.
His eyes darken. “No wonder Seth has his hands full. You’re a troublesome bitch. Don’t worry, sis, I’m going to get you fixed up. You’ll be brand-new tomorrow.”
The thought of waking up in Seth’s bed, an abused and braindead robot, sends chills down my spine. “One day you’ll pay for this. You’ll all pay for this.”
Doc Junior leans in close and squints as if he doesn’t understand. “Wait. Who’s going to make us pay? You? You can hardly move and are completely at our mercy. The police? We know them all.” His grin turns wolfish. “People like us don’t pay for our sins. We’re paid for them. Revered for them. Worshipped for them. You of all people should know this by now. You’re a Langston, but you have Huxley blood in you.”
“He will,” I threaten. “My fiancé. Caius.”
A girl can wish, right?
Doc Junior’s uproarious laughter tells me otherwise.
I’m trapped and no one’s coming to save me.