The Lasaran (Aldebarian Alliance #1) - Dianne Duvall Page 0,16
hand beneath her pillow and gripped the soft material. The other hand she slid over her tummy in slow circles, hoping to soothe the baby.
They wouldn’t even tell her if it was a girl or a boy, wouldn’t let her see it on an ultrasound.
An hour later, the pain eased enough for her to relax. The baby calmed. Fatigue pummeled Lisa. Sighing sleepily, she reached down and pulled the covers up to her chin.
Then darkness claimed her.
Chapter Three
“Lisa,” a voice hissed.
Her eyes flew open. The room was dark except for the faint blue light spawned by the digital clock on the DVD player attached to the television.
“Lisa,” the voice hissed again.
Gasping, she rolled onto her back.
A dark figure loomed beside the bed.
Fear striking, she scooted away from it. “Who’s there?”
“Careful,” a male voice said as the figure leaned over her and grabbed her hip to prevent her from falling out of bed.
Lisa frowned. She knew that voice. It wasn’t the one she’d heard in her head. It was… “Brad?”
“Yeah. Sit tight for a minute.”
What the hell?
He moved away. A moment later, the bathroom light came on.
Lisa sat up and squinted against the sudden illumination. Flinging a hand up to shade her eyes, she stared in astonishment as Brad—alive and well—leaned into the bathroom and pulled the door almost closed to dim the light.
When he turned to face her, she shook her head. “Is this a dream?”
Closing the distance between them, he glanced down at her belly. “I wish it were. I wish it were all just some horrible nightmare from which we’d both wake up.” He met her gaze. “But it isn’t.”
“They said you were dead.”
“They lied.”
“They said we were married and that you died in an accident.”
“They lied a lot.” He glanced at his watch. “We don’t have much time. Tell me what you know.”
Lisa shook her head. “I passed out at the Anomalous Cognition Research Institute and woke up here two days ago with this.” She cupped her big belly in her hands.
His gaze dropped to it. He swallowed hard. And something… terrifying entered his blue eyes. Dread. Fear. She wasn’t sure.
“They told me we were married,” she continued. “That this is your baby. That you died in a car accident, and afterward I tried to commit suicide.”
His gaze rose to meet hers. He shook his head and continued to shake it as she swiftly told him the rest.
“They told me I’m in the psych ward of a hospital. They won’t let me leave the room. They won’t let me have a phone. They said they called your parents to let them know I had awoken from the coma, but they’re out of the country and haven’t called back.”
He sank down on the side of the bed. The covert glances he kept sliding her stomach set alarm bells to ringing inside her. He brushed a hand over her hair, then pulled her into a hug. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered.
Lisa wrapped her arms around him and held on tight. Finally, someone familiar. Finally, someone she trusted. “Sorry about what? What’s happening, Brad? I don’t understand any of this.”
“I’m sorry it took me so long to find you,” he uttered hoarsely, his hold almost painful. “I’m sorry I couldn’t find you before…”
“Before what?”
Relaxing his grip, he leaned back. The fact that he very carefully avoided touching her belly when he did unnerved her further.
“Brad?”
“After I regained consciousness, they told me you had died of an aneurism. They said when you passed out, I caught you but lost my footing, fell, and hit my head on the table. But I knew that was bullshit. They must have put something in the water bottles. They couldn’t have known which one I’d give you, so they drugged them all. Both bottles spilled, so I think they thought I drank enough not to remember what happened, but I do. I remember I was dizzy when I rose and started for the door to get help. I did spin around and try to catch you when you collapsed. And I did hit my head on something. But I was dizzy before that. Your dying of an aneurism wouldn’t explain that.”
“So they drugged us?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“So they could bring you here without you putting up a fight or causing a scene.”
“Did they bring you, too?”
“No. It’s taken me months to work my way into a position that would allow me to do some digging. I knew something was very wrong and didn’t want them to get suspicious.