Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Tears flow down her cheeks. She looks scared.
Every instinct in me wants to hold her. To assure her that everything’s okay. To tell her that she’s safe with me.
But I can’t do that.
Before I do another damn thing, I need to make sure that she’s telling me the truth.
“Pregnant?” I repeat, narrowing my eyes at her. I cage her throat with my hand and hold her gaze. I don’t restrict her airway or hurt her, but I keep her in a grip so that if she moves, she’ll hurt herself.
“Yes,” she whispers. Her wrists are still tied in front of her, but she lifts them so she can put her hand on mine. “Please. I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”
I take in a deep breath, my mind riddled with questions.
Is she lying?
If she is lying, what do I do with her next?
How far along is she?
“We need to verify this.”
She chokes back another sob and nods. “Yeah.”
“If you’re telling me the truth, who’s the father?”
“Lyam,” she sobs. She shakes her head from side to side. “I haven’t been with anyone else.”
Ice pulses through my veins.
I want to believe this is true, all of it.
I want to believe she’s lying.
I don’t know what I want to believe.
I lift her up. She’s fragile and soft in my arms, and her body shakes with wracking sobs.
I pull the covers down then lay her back on the bed and stare at her while I take out my phone. If I call Thayer, he’ll ask questions. Fabien’s the same.
My mother won’t and she’ll know someone I can trust to take care of Cosette.
My mother answers on the first ring. “Lyam?”
“I need a doctor.”
She’s quiet for a minute. “For whom?”
“Cosette.”
“What kind of a doctor? Is she okay?”
I clench my teeth. I don’t want her to know anything. I don’t want anyone to know, if this is confirmed to be true.
“She isn’t hurt. I just need a doctor.”
She pauses before she goes on, and doesn’t ask any more questions. “Of course, yes. I know someone. Doctor Martin.”
I text the doctor and tell him what I need. He’s on his way.
I pace outside Cosette’s room while I wait for him to arrive.
If she is pregnant—have I done anything that would hurt her? My mind races with a quick scan of how we’ve spent the last few hours.
No… no, nothing I’ve done would hurt her.
But now I definitely don’t regret beating the shit out of Claude.
God.
Pregnant?
I make myself another drink to stop the inner turmoil, but it doesn’t help. My mind races with possibilities.
I’ve already dismissed my staff for the night, so I answer the door when Dr. Martin arrives.
A petite, stunning woman with short black hair and bright blue eyes, dressed impeccably in a conservative black dress, stands on the steps.
What the hell?
I yank the door open, likely glaring. I don’t welcome visitors.
“Mr. Gerard?” she asks brusquely.
Wait. What?
“You’re the doctor?”
She gives me a tight smile. “I get that a lot. My surname is Martin.”
Right.
“Come in.”
I shut and lock the door behind her. If my mother suggested she come, then she knows who we are and what we expect. My mother wouldn’t send someone who doesn’t play by the rules.
“Tell me everything I need to know, please. Your mother and I know each other well. You can expect full confidentiality.” She’s matter-of-fact and direct, as if she came straight from the French Armed Forces.
I draw in a breath and let it out before I reply. Thayer and Fabien would want to know all about her and get a full background report before I tell her another thing.
“Her name’s Cosette. She claims she’s pregnant, and she claims I’m the father. I need to know if both of those things are true.”
“I see.” She asks no more questions. “I can tell you within a few minutes the veracity of her claim to be pregnant. However, paternity tests take a few days to determine.”
Son of a bitch. “That’s too long. I need to know tonight.”
The doctor gives me a patient smile. “Not the first time I’ve heard that either,” she says firmly. “But unfortunately, I can’t tell you that for a few more days. We have to send the tests to a lab, and as it is, the shortest turnaround is two days, and that’s only through expedited means.”
Two days? What the fuck is that all about?
“Fine.”
We reach Cosette’s room.
“Now, sir, if you’ll stay here, I’ll—”
“Absolutely not.”
“I prefer to work in private.”
“And I prefer to be present. Since this is my house and I’m paying your fee, this is where I draw the line.”
“I see.”
She goes quiet when I open the door and reluctantly enters with me.
Before the doctor came, I freed Cosette’s wrists and had her get dressed in her nightclothes. She lays in the bed staring at me then the doctor.