and even if it’s yours, it doesn’t fucking matter. Kill them both and be done with it.”
Cato lowered his voice so the men wouldn’t overhear his words. “Father left us. He turned his back on us because he was a coward. I’m not a coward. I’m not like him.”
Bates turned silent, and his eyes shifted back and forth as he looked at his brother. “It’s not the same—”
“It is the same. If she’s telling the truth, that’s my blood in there. That’s my family. You don’t turn your back on family.”
Bates sighed loudly, furious at the turn of events.
Cato nodded to one of his men. “Get her a pregnancy test.”
Now I really did hope I was pregnant. If I wasn’t…I would be dead.
Bates turned to me, a disgusted sneer on his face.
Cato approached me and squatted down so our faces were closer together. “Take the test. But if it’s negative, I will torture you before I kill you. So, if you’re lying, you might want to reconsider.”
I could either get a quick death now—or a painful one later. “I’ll take the test.”
He stepped back and didn’t help me to my feet. One of the men escorted me inside, put the box in my hand, and then stood outside the door while I did my business. Armed with rifles, the men would blow my brains out the second I stepped out of line.
“God…please be positive.” I peed on the stick and then waited for two minutes to pass. I always knew I wanted a family, but I didn’t expect that time to come so soon. I’d imagined I would be married to a man I loved for years before it happened. I’d never anticipated a moment like this, that being pregnant could save my life.
When the two minutes were up, I looked at the results.
Pregnant.
Thank fucking god.
I held the stick in my hand and felt the tears well up in my eyes. I’d been on birth control for years, but somehow this happened—a little miracle. My baby was about to save my life. I walked out with the stick held in my hand and was escorted to the front by the armed guards.
Cato snatched the stick from my grasp and read the results. He gave no reaction.
Bates came to his side and read it too. “Fuck.” He turned to me. “She did it on purpose.”
“I didn’t.” I spoke with a weak voice because my words didn’t seem to matter. It wasn’t on purpose, but of course, I looked guilty. I couldn’t blame either one of them for assuming that. “I know you don’t believe me, but I didn’t.”
Cato stared at the pregnancy test again, like he needed to check it once more.
Bates looked like he wanted to strangle me. “Check to make sure it’s yours.”
“I will. But I already know it is.” Cato slipped the stick into his pocket.
Bates shook his head and walked off.
Cato stared me down, his expression impossible to read. He used to let me read his soul, decipher the emotions he worked so hard to hide from the world. But now he treated me like an enemy. “You’ll live here with me until the baby comes. It’s not safe for you to live alone. Once people find out, you’ll be a target. I’ll provide for you and protect you.”
There was the man I knew. The compassionate and caring man. “Okay.” I didn’t want to live there with him full time, but I was so grateful I wouldn’t be dying that I didn’t dare argue.
“But once the baby is here, I’ll finish this.” He raised the empty gun so I could see it. “Enjoy the last nine months of your life. They’ll go by quick.”
“What…?” He was going to take my child and then kill me? “You can’t be serious—”
“I’m dead serious.” He stepped closer to me, his face nearly touching mine. “My son or daughter is living inside you. They’re the only thing I care about. You’re just a surrogate, and once your job is fulfilled, you will serve your punishment.”
“Cato, they can’t not have a mother—”
“Shut up.”
It was the only time in my life when I obeyed.
“I grew up with a single parent, and I turned out fine. We don’t need you.”
Tears flew out of my eyes and streaked down my cheeks. The migraine behind my eyes didn’t affect my tears. The pain from being thrown around in the car and onto the concrete had nothing to do with it either. But the idea of never knowing my baby, spending nine months carrying it, only to have it taken away…was unbearable. “Please…Cato. No. Don’t do that to me. You can’t…please. Mercy.”
He kept up his cold expression, immune to my emotional plea. “I’ll let you hold the baby once. That’s the most mercy you’ll get from me.”
The story continues in The Dictator…
The only reason I'm still alive is because of the baby growing inside me.
My baby saved my life.
Now I'm a prisoner inside Cato's fortress. He's pissed at me, livid every time he looks at me. He refuses to sleep with me because now I'm the enemy.
But I miss him...and he misses me.
I only slept with Cato to save my father, but now he means something to me. I care about him, and I know he cares about me.
Can I earn his forgiveness? Can I earn his trust?
But even if I do, will he shoot me anyway?
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