Chapter 10
“ I have to go into the office today,” Billy told her as he came into the bedroom.
She was still in bed. What was the point in getting up? What did she have to do? To look forward to?
After Billy caught her trying to leave him two weeks ago, things had gotten a lot worse for her. She didn’t know what he’d injected her with or why, but when she’d woken up, she’d been in a private car with a truly terrifying man driving them.
Billy had whispered threats to her the whole drive.
By the time they’d arrived back in Birmingham, she’d been a mess. And she wished that was the worst of it.
However, Billy had been just warming up. He’d gone on to enact all of the things he’d whispered to her. For the first week after, she hadn’t even been able to get out of bed because of the pain.
Now, she just didn’t see the point.
“I don’t have to tell you to behave, do I, Indie? Because you know what happens when you disobey, don’t you?” He sat on the bed, facing her. “You don’t want to make me hurt you again.”
God .
Could he hear himself?
“I know you’ll do what you’re told. Because you don’t want me to punish anyone else for your misbehavior. Right?”
He’d threatened to harm the guys and Maggie if she tried to escape again.
“Here is your phone. I expect you to answer it if I call.” He placed it on the bedside table. She eyed it like it was a snake.
Now that she knew he had control of it she wanted nothing to do with it.
“Don’t look so sad.” He ran a finger down her cheek and she flinched. “I’ll be home soon.”
Yeah.
That’s what she was afraid of.
Indie jumped out of bed, racing into the bathroom to throw up what little was in her stomach.
She heaved up bile, her hand on her stomach. Tears ran down her face at the force of her vomiting.
God.
She needed to get to the doctor.
This wasn’t normal.
She was losing weight and she was so tired.
Tired of living this life.
Of never knowing when Billy was going to explode. She was always on the edge of that cliff, waiting for the shove.
And now the vomiting had started.
Why?
Why her?
Three weeks had passed since Billy caught her at the guys penthouse and he was spending more time at the office.
Thank God.
Indie knew she should’ve tried to get a message to the guys to let them know that Billy had been in their apartment .
But she’d been too scared to attempt it. How would she do it with him monitoring her phone? Plus, he’d taken her bank card, not that she’d had access to much money anyway.
And it wasn’t like she’d been able to get out of bed for the first week, anyway.
Indie felt beaten down and alone. Had the guys been concerned when she didn’t turn up like she said she would?
Or had they not even noticed?
Had they not even cared?
After brushing her teeth and having a shower, Indie headed into the kitchen. Maybe she should eat. It might settle her stomach.
The doorbell rang before she got there and she moved to the door. She noticed the mail on the floor where the postie had put it through the slot in the door. Picking it up, she opened the door to find a huge bunch of flowers in front of her.
“Indie Madden?” a bored-sounding voice asked.
“Yes,” she replied.
“These are for you.”
After signing for them, she carried them inside.
Billy had sent several bunches of flowers to her over the past few weeks.
However, she’d stopped believing that he felt bad for hurting her. Nope, these flowers were just another way to manipulate and control her.
Placing the flowers down, she backed away from them. Her stomach rolled again and she had to take shallow breaths to stop herself from throwing up.
She heard her phone ringing from the bedroom where Billy had placed it. Shit. It was probably Billy.
She rushed into the bedroom and checked the caller ID.
Relief filled her.
Maggie.
“Maggie? How are you?” she answered the call.
“I’m all right,” Maggie replied in an odd voice
“Are you sure? You sound strange,” Indie told her .
“It’s just . . . Uncle Willy. He’s been a bit . . . off.”
Maggie’s uncle was one of the best people she knew.
“Look, don’t worry about that,” Maggie said hastily. “We’re coming home soon. I think we’ll be back by Sunday. Wanna hang out Monday? Get a pedicure? We’re probably going to be home a week before the next job.”
“You are? That’s awesome.” She tried to inject enthusiasm into her voice.
But it was difficult with everything that was going wrong with her life.
“What’s going on?” Maggie asked, sounding concerned.
“Oh, same old. You know how it is, I’m just living the boring suburban life, not jetting around the world like you.”
She’d meant it to sound light and cheerful. Instead, she sounded wistful and sad.
Shoot.
“Indie, you’d tell me if anything was wrong, right? If Billy was . . .” Maggie trailed off.
“Everything is fine between me and Billy,” Indie said hastily. “He’s just really driven. It’s not a bad thing. It’s not Billy upsetting me.”
It wasn’t really a lie. Well, more like a half-lie.
And there was no way she could say anything bad about Billy over the phone. What if he listened to her calls?
God. Was she being paranoid?
“Who is it? Are the guys doing their crazy overprotective big brothers act at the club still?”
Big brothers.
Ouch.
She winced.
“You know I don’t go to the club anymore,” she said.
“Indie, you can’t deny who you are forever.”
“It’s Mum,” she said hastily, trying to change the subject. “She’s the one upsetting me.”
“Oh crap, what has Sylvia done now?” Maggie said with a groan.
“Ruined her marriage. I mean, not that there was much left to it. But what there was is . . . gone. She’s shacked up with one of Edward’s business associates in Ibiza.”
That lunch with Edward seemed like a lifetime ago.
“Not for the first time, I’m sure,” Maggie said dryly.
“No, but this time someone sent photos of her to Edward. Apparently, that’s the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
“Kind of hypocritical of him considering he’s been carrying on for years with a series of mistresses.”
“Right? But apparently that’s okay. It’s getting caught with your pants down at your ankles on camera isn’t.”
Maggie snorted. “Good to know.”
“He told me to grab anything that I have at the house before it got tossed.”
“What? He just . . . he just kicked you out?”
Indie shrugged even though Maggie couldn’t see it. “It’s not like it’s my home. I haven’t lived there in years. I won’t live there again. And he’s not actually related to me.”
Which was a relief considering her feelings for Slade.
But it also made her feel inexplicably sad for some reason. She guessed there was still a part of her that was that lost little girl.
Just wishing someone would love her.
“Drat. I’ve got to go. But . . . we’re going to talk about this when I see you next week. Okay?” Maggie asked.
“We really don’t need to,” Indie told her hastily.
“We do because I’m worried about you.”
Well, hell.
Maggie sure knew how to get her in the feels.
“Bye. I’ll see you soon,” Indie told her before ending the call.
She closed her eyes.
Misery filled her as she brought up the calendar on her phone to put Maggie’s arrival in it.
Wait. Was that the date? When was the last time she’d had her period ?
Shoot.
Just over two months ago.
And not long after that, she’d had unprotected sex with Billy. That asshole never put a condom on.
She placed her hand over her stomach.
Oh God. No.
Could she be . . . oh my God!
Was she actually pregnant?
“No, no, no,” she muttered to herself.
She started to pace. She couldn’t be pregnant.
This was too much. What was she going to do? Before she even thought about it, she was back in the closet, her legs tucked up to her chest and her thumb in her mouth.
Panicking wasn’t going to help.
She knew what she had to do.
Get a test. You need to know for sure.
Right. The only problem was that she had no money.
Message Billy, tell him you’re not feeling well.
She’d rather stay in the closet and forget that she had any of these issues. She wished she had her backpack. But Billy had taken it.
God, she hoped he hadn’t thrown it away. A whimper left her.
Indie. You’re an adult. Act like it.
After a few more minutes of giving herself a stern pep talk, she got out of the closet and grabbed her phone.
Indie: I’m not feeling the best. Need to get some things from the pharmacy.
She waited a few moments before her phone beeped .
Billy: Hmm, I expected to get a message saying how much you loved the flowers. Were they not good enough for you? Were they not enough?
Her hands shook from stress and shock.
God, he knew how to manipulate her. It was frightening how well he could do it.
Well, fuck him.
She wanted to tell him to fucking stick his flowers where the sun didn’t shine.
But instead she took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Indie: I’m so sorry. They just arrived and they are beautiful. I’ve just been feeling too sick to fully enjoy them.
Billy: I hope it’s not catching. I can’t afford to get sick.
Indie: I’m not sure. Maybe you should stay away for a few days to make sure.
That would give her some more time.
Time to do what?
Escape.
She didn’t know where she was going to go, though.
Don’t you? Aren’t you planning to go to them?
That had already ended in disaster once. She wasn’t sure she had the courage to try again.
But if you’re pregnant you don’t have any choice. You can’t raise a baby in this household. With this man.
And the sad fact was that she didn’t have anyone else. Maggie was overseas. They were her only option.
You’ll have to tell them what happened. About Billy being in their penthouse .
Billy: I’ll get someone to bring you some stuff.
Shit. Fuck.
Indie: Okay. But I was kind of hoping to talk to someone about birth control.
It took him a while to reply and she was starting to sweat when the text came through. She had to blink several times to clear her eyes so his message wasn’t blurry.
Billy: There’s some cash in my bedside drawer. I’ll call you an Uber and let you know when it’s here. Remember to take your phone. And behave. I’m always watching.
She gulped.
Fuck. Fuck.
She couldn’t reply. She was too fucking scared. Instead, she dropped her phone on the bed.
She’d grab the cash. Go to the pharmacy and get what she needed.
Then she’d make a plan.
Indie stared down at the little stick.
Please don’t show two lines.
Please. Please.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want children. Eventually.
With someone other than Billy. But bringing a child into the world with him . . . no.
Finally, the timer on her phone dinged and she stared down at the stick.
At the two lines.
Oh. She was so fucked.