Chapter 20
“Jason, we need you!” Richard called as I scuttled back against the wall.
Jason ambled into the shed, looking puzzled as he took in our scene, with me shaking my head and holding my arms behind my back while Richard crouched over me menacingly with his gigantic needle.
Given Jason’s apathy toward my predicament, he’d likely tuned out most of the conversation I’d had with my great-grandparents, figuring it wasn’t his concern.
“What’s up? Want me to hold her down?” he asked with alarming nonchalance.
“That depends on my great-granddaughter,” Richard said to his hired thug, though he was looking directly at me.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. I must say, my hands can get rather shaky when I’m agitated.
I’d hate to have the tip of this needle break off in Olivia’s vein if she continues to upset me. ”
“You don’t have to bully me,” I growled.
I pulled up my sleeve and turned my arm so that the crook of my elbow was exposed to Richard.
I’d chosen the opposite arm that Joseph had used for the VGO’s blood draw in case any signs of it lingered.
How would Richard punish me if he found out that I’d been giving my blood to the world’s most powerful vampires?
I was starting to feel like a human pincushion. I wondered how much blood a person could donate in a week without drying up like a mummy.
With the VGO on my mind, and to take my mind off my great-grandfather’s violation, I zoned out and allowed myself to dream that Joseph had located Robert. He was now safely at home, launching a search party to find me. Serena was behind bars, too—or whatever the vampire equivalent was to prison.
Why hadn’t I permitted the VGO to microchip me like a pet?
A few vamps had suggested it while I was at their headquarters, but being a human and not a dog, I’d declined.
Now, I was wishing I hadn’t because my current location was so utterly random.
Anyone looking for me would never think to search in Napa.
They’d have no reason to. I had no friends or familial ties in the area, nor did I regularly frequent wineries. I might as well be in Mexico.
I let out a sigh of relief when Richard was done pilfering my blood. I asked with little hope, “You got what you wanted. Can I leave now?”
I was ignored, which was hardly shocking.
“Fine,” I said. “But could you at least bring me a book or something? I’m going out of my mind with boredom.”
“I brought you some magazines,” Jason said. “I also have breakfast for you. An egg muffin and some OJ.”
“Perfect,” I said, my stomach growling as Jason brought my goodies in from outside.
I scarfed down my breakfast the instant I was alone, feeling resentful as hell, not only toward my abductors but also myself.
In view of all the evil deeds I’d witnessed since getting involved with vampires, you’d think I’d have learned to stop being so trusting.
How could I have allowed myself to be kidnapped?
On the other hand, how awful would that make life if my outlook became so bleak that I constantly suspected every single person I encountered of deceitfulness?
Maybe it was a good thing that I hadn’t become so jaded that I’d look at two seemingly harmless senior citizens and think: Careful, they might drug and abduct you.
After I got bored of the magazines, which focused heavily on celebrity gossip and beauty products—evidently to Jason, that’s all us silly girls read—I tried to take a nap. I was so wound up that I couldn’t make myself fall asleep.
I was also frustrated. I didn’t like to think of any situation as hopeless, but mine was.
Unless Richard and Maxine came to visit me without Jason, there was no way I was escaping.
Even then, I’d have to pummel two elderly people and make a run for it in house slippers to the nearest neighbor who could be miles away.
Antsy, I threw back the blanket. I’d been kidnapped, drugged, manhandled, and had rolled around on the floor of a stinky van.
I also reeked of body odor and spent adrenaline.
Though I was feeling hopeless, I knew I’d feel better if I took a shower, even if it would require putting on the same dirty sweatsuit once I was done.
The water was surprisingly warm. Not hot, but warm enough that bathing wasn’t uncomfortable. There was no shampoo, so I didn’t wash my hair. No blow dryer, either, lest I try to hang myself with the cord or use it as a garrote. At least I no longer stunk.
For lunch, Jason brought me just a toasted bagel with cream cheese, served with a directive to drink from the faucet if I was thirsty.
A piddling egg sandwich for breakfast and then a bagel for lunch after they’d taken my blood.
What kind of shithole prison was this? What happened to the tuna submarine sandwich, jumbo soda, and cookies?
To pass time, I engaged in a little shadowboxing and then did squats and push-ups, since that’s what I’d seen badass women in movies do after they’d been taken hostage.
Richard and Maxine also didn’t seem too concerned with providing me outdoor exercise.
I needed to stay fit any way I could, because I planned on bolting the first opportunity I got.
No point in escaping if I’d only collapse from exhaustion before I reached the end of the driveway.
Angered by thoughts of my kidnapping great-grandparents, I upped my reps to double-time. I started doing a jumping jack between the push-ups. After each set, I repeated a mantra. Don’t give up. You will escape. Stay strong.
I flopped down on the bed when I ran out of steam. The sun had set, which I knew because the light under the door had dimmed. I was hungry and cranky. My bitterness increased each time my stomach growled.
Sometime later, the door opened and in walked Maxine. Behind her was Jason, squashing any ideas I’d briefly entertained about kicking her ass and escaping. I sighed and leaned back on the mattress.
“Did you bring me something to eat?”
Jason shook the white paper bag in his hand. “Got it right here. Chinese.”
Maybe it was power of suggestion, but suddenly my mouth was watering over the heavenly scent of fried rice and veggies. “Well, can I have it?”
“After we talk,” Maxine said primly. She waited while Jason brought in a folding chair from outside so that she could sit down.
Jason made a move to leave. “I’ll be right outside,” he said over his shoulder, more to me than Maxine. I rolled my eyes to show how offended I was that he’d think I’d ever dream of hurting my dear great-grandmother.
I gazed at Maxine expectantly. I couldn’t care less what she had to say. I just wanted to eat. I was so damn hungry.
“I would like to discuss a delicate issue.” Maxine clasped her bejeweled hands together and rested them on her lap. She leaned forward and whispered, “It’s a female matter. A delicate one.”
“Okay.”
“We’ve sent your blood out for testing. We were trying to determine what makes it so unique. We asked our lab technicians to look for mutated cells, disease—that sort of thing.”
I felt like I was having déjà vu. I’d had a similar discussion with Leopold not too long ago.
I wished she’d get to the point. My stomach was rumbling so loudly that I could hardly hear myself think. “You said it was a delicate female matter. Surely you didn’t find anything wrong with me—like an STD? Because there’s no way that’s the case.”
After learning of Nick’s infidelity, you bet your ass that I’d marched straight down to the women’s health clinic and had myself tested for every sexual disease on the planet. The only man I’d been with since then was Robert, who, being vampire, was incapable of infecting me with any disease.
Horrified, my great-grandmother said, “Oh heavens, no!” It appeared that drugging and kidnapping me was socially acceptable, but discussing STDs was offensive. Such a sane family I had.
“That’s good news. Wait—do I have cancer? Breast cancer? Cervical cancer?” Those were the only lady-specific cancers I could think of while starving.
Maxine shook her head and slowly exhaled. “You’re pregnant, Olivia.”
I burst out laughing. With immense relief, I said, “No way that’s possible. Your tests are wrong.”
She reached into her jacket pocket and extracted a sheet of paper. Underneath my name were a few paragraphs of medical jargon. But there it was, right at the end. PREGNANCY: POSITIVE.
“Are you sure, dear? This must be uncomfortable for you to discuss but really take a minute and have a think about it. When was your last period?”
“My period? It was . . .”
When was it? I couldn’t remember, but that was typical.
Some women liked to keep track of their cycle on calendars and apps, but that had never been my thing.
To me, knowing when my period was coming was akin to watching a severe weather report.
It was going to happen regardless, so what good was stressing about it going to do?
It wasn’t like I could board up my vagina for a storm.
Typically, though, I got my period every twenty-eight days, so . . .
I shook my head. Ridiculous. It was physically impossible for vampires to procreate!
But there was a short time when Robert wasn’t a vampire, wasn’t there?
Still, it would be impossible.
Wouldn’t it?
Okay, so Robert had been human. We’d certainly had sex during that time—a lot of sex—and it never occurred to us to use birth control. Robert had been a vampire for so long, and we were hiding from the VGO under constant threat of murder.
Shit! Why had we been so careless? We’d thought of everything else—forged passports, aliases, new email addresses—and had even managed to evade being assassinated by the VGO.
So, how long had it actually been since I’d had a period? I hadn’t had one since we’d been back from Bali, and I hadn’t had one while we were there, either. Which meant . . .
Oh my God.
I was pregnant!
Everything clicked into place: my recent mood swings, the nausea and hunger, my breasts looking larger. I felt like a complete idiot. How had pregnancy not occurred to me sooner?
Because vampires can’t procreate!
“I can tell by your face, Olivia, that you are no longer in doubt,” Maxine said. “Which leads me to my next question.”
“You want to know who the father is,” I said. She’d never believe the answer—not that I’d tell her. That old bat could mind her own damn business.
She shrugged. “Not really. That isn’t relevant.
What I’m more curious about is what you were doing living with Robert.
As Richard and I said earlier, we’d initially assumed that you were trying to gain insider information.
After meeting you, however, it appeared that you genuinely loved him and all other vampires.
But now we don’t know what to believe. You couldn’t love him that much if you’ve been sleeping with a human behind his back. ”
“I . . .” If I lied carefully enough, maybe I could manipulate Maxine into believing that I was secretly a supporter of their cause. But why not reveal that until now? I was too exhausted, hungry, and shocked to think of a clever reason. “I would like to be alone now. I’m not feeling so well.”
Maxine didn’t want to leave, I could tell, but she knew that she couldn’t make me talk unless she tortured the answer out of me. Richard would have no problem with that. Maxine, I wasn’t so sure.
My great-grandmother eased out of her chair. “Very well. But I’ll expect an answer tomorrow.”
When she pulled open the door, Jason tried to hand me my dinner. Maxine stopped him, snatching away the bag. “No. Olivia gets no food until she decides to talk.”
“You’re going to starve a pregnant woman?” I yelled.
“I doubt you’ll die of starvation by tomorrow morning,” Maxine said coldly.
I gawked at her, aghast. Jason seemed disgusted, too, though he made no comment.
Jason held the door open for Maxine and let her walk through. Once Maxine was outside, he reached into the front pocket of his sweatshirt and pulled something out. He coughed and opened his hand, and then two fortune cookies encased in clear wrappers fell onto the floor.
He turned his back on me and shut the door.