Even without an introduction, I knew who the big bastard watching me was – Stefano. It couldn’t be anybody else.

I’d feigned sleep for as long as I could, trying to get a grasp on what was going on, and now that I’d opened my eyes, I’d managed to get a decent handle on the situation – I hoped.

Camry was too strung out and nervous to be quiet or subtle.

Stefano was too arrogant.

They’d sat around talking about their plans with no regard to me, so I’d taken it all in. Now that I was awake, my biggest challenge was trying not to let on that I’d heard them talking.

“Come on, Piety,” Stefano said, waving the pregnancy test in front of my face. “It’s been almost an hour since you woke up. It’s time to go and take a tinkle.”

The hair stood up on my arms, and I wracked my brain for an excuse to delay doing what he wanted.

“You’re going to be suffering from blood loss – extreme blood loss – if you keep this shit up and don’t take this test.” Stefano tossed the box from one hand to the other.

“Camry, why don’t you get her a soda or something?” Stefano suggested. “It might make things a little easier.”

“I’m not thirsty.” Shit, if they made me drink something, I’d pee my pants. And if the test was positive they would have something else to threaten Kaleb with.

“Sure you are. You took a nice long nap. Gotta be feeling a little dry.” Stefano sat straddling a chair, facing me. I was in a twin of the same chair, but I wasn’t quite so casual – hard to be when I was tied to the damn thing.

“No, I’m not feeling dry. I’m feeling nauseated. If I drink anything, I’ll throw it up.” There.

“Oh…maybe she is pregnant.” Stefano giggled and edged closer. “Come on, honey. Let’s just get the test done so we can get in touch with your hubby and get this whole mess behind us.”

“I’ve got a better idea…let me go, and I’ll get a hold of Kaleb.” I smiled sweetly at him. “He can come pick me up, and we’ll just forget this whole thing ever happened.”

“Not going to happen that way, sweetheart. See, that Kaleb asshole gave me a lot of trouble. I figure he owes me something extra for it.” Stefano winked at me. “This way, I don’t have to worry about him trying to jerk me around again.”

“He doesn’t owe you shit.” Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.

Stefano just laughed at me and shoved off the chair. “You wouldn’t understand, angel. Come on. You’re getting out of that chair and going with Camry here into the bathroom. You’re going to be a good little girl and piss on that damn test.”

He knelt in front of me and started untying the ropes. I glared at him.

“And if I don’t?”

Something ugly lit his eyes. “You don’t want to know the answer to that, Piety. See, I’ve been nice so far. Don’t make me change that. Or maybe you’d rather have me follow you in there. I always get a kick out of watching a pretty girl like you take a piss.”

His entire persona changed, and it sent a shiver down my spine.

He reached up and stroked a hand down my hair. “Now…are you ready to go with Camry and use the fucking toilet?”

“Sure.” I bared my teeth at him, refusing to show how afraid I was. “But only if you say please.”

“Oh…I like you. You’ve got balls.” He leaned in, pressed his lips to my ear. I didn’t let myself cringe away as he murmured, “Pretty please, Piety. Go piss on that damn stick. I want to get the show on the road.”

* * *

A few hours ago, I’d been giddy, almost eagerly awaiting this moment, but now, I was hoping and praying the test would be negative.

If it was negative, that was one less thing they could use against him.

One less thing I had to worry about.

They hadn’t tied me back up, but I wasn’t fooled into believing it meant anything. After Camry watched me pee on the damn stick, she’d grabbed it from my hand. Now, Stefano was pacing back and forth, holding onto the test as he watched it reveal my future.

I wanted to vomit. That he was there, watching something so personal taking place, made me sick – and furious. I wanted to hurl the chair at him, but he had something else in his other hand.

A gun.

I didn’t doubt his ability to use it either.

“Well, well, well…”

I had no doubt what the smile on his face meant.

I’d been counting down the seconds in my head, and when he looked up at me, I already knew.

“Yes?” I said, feigning boredom.

“Congratulations. You’re going to have a bouncing bundle of joy in a few more months, precious.” Stefano came closer and showed me the test before gesturing to the chair with his gun hand. “Sit back down. Camry, tie her up.”

Numb inside, I sat down.

I didn’t even move as she strapped my wrists down, jerking the rope tight. Her mouth was pressed, eyes jumping all around. I recognized the signs. She was coming off whatever drugs she’d been on.

It wasn’t until Stefano came forward and tucked the pregnancy test in the vee of my shirt that the numbness cracked, then disappeared entirely. “Get off me,” I shouted.

But he continued to fuss with it, twisting it around until he was satisfied.

Then he took the box and placed it in my lap, facing out. “That way, he knows what we’re telling him. He’s pretty enough to look at, but he’s kind of…well…dumb.” Stefano tsked under his breath.

“That’s funny, coming from an asshole like yourself.”

His smile faded. “Be nice, Piety. You be nice, and I’ll be nice.”

“This doesn’t feel very…nice,” I said, jerking against the ropes.

But he turned away, moving a few feet before he turned back to me.

I sat stiffly as he took a few pictures with my phone, then started texting. “Let’s get the show started.”

“You asshole,” I said, shaking my head.

I couldn’t believe this was happening. All because I – we – tried to help Camry.

Stefano was texting away on my phone, and I shifted my attention to Camry. “He gave up everything to help you, and this is how you repay him?”

She flicked a look at me. “You don’t know anything about it, princess. So shut up.”

“I know this baby is his – that means you’ll be an aunt.”

Her mouth dropped open, then she shook her head. “Shut up.”

This was really happening.

Distantly, I heard the little whoosh indicating the text had been sent.

And…silence.

Seconds passed, then a minute.

I counted a full two minutes off in my head before there was any response, and I closed my eyes.

“Fuck yeah!” Stefano said. “The ball’s rolling now.”

“He won’t be able to get you any more money. I gave it to him last time. And I’m stuck right here. I can’t exactly go to the bank when I’m tied to a chair.”

My belly heaved, and I hoped I wouldn’t throw up.

Stefano shrugged. “He’ll figure something out. I’ve done some digging on you. You’re a rich little bitch, aren’t you? He can call Mommy and Daddy, talk to them.”

“Oh, man. And you have the balls to call him stupid?” I laughed, but it was the sound of the desperate and broken. “If you think my parents will give him a dime, you really are an idiot. They despise him.”

“He’ll figure out something.” Stefano shrugged and slid the gun away. He yawned and glanced at Camry. “I’m going to lay down. Watch her.”

Once he was gone, Camry came over and took the pregnancy test out from between my breasts, then put it in the box. “It will all be over soon.”

Her voice was soft, hesitant now. Maybe it was because Stefano wasn’t there. She didn’t look as certain as before.

“You don’t really think my parents will give him money, do you? They think he used me all this time. They won’t believe anything he says.”

“Kaleb doesn’t use people. He’ll get them to understand.” She shrugged.

“My parents don’t get people like Kaleb. They won’t believe him, I tell you.” I jerked at the ropes on my wrists, panic getting louder and louder in my brain. “You are risking the baby’s life, Camry. How can you do this?”

“Stop.” She turned away, moving to the couch. After she dropped down onto it, she shot me a dark glare. “You wouldn’t understand, okay? You’re beautiful, you’re rich, you’ve got your parents – and you’ve got Kaleb now too. Your life has been so fucking easy.”

“You’ve always had Kaleb,” I fired back. “And you never appreciated him. And for the record? You’re not the pregnant woman tied to a fucking chair all because you were trying to help some drug addicted drama queen.”

She jerked as if I’d slapped her, and I could have kicked myself. I needed to get a grip on my temper if I wanted to get her on my side. But nooooo….

“Just…” Camry looked away, pushing her hair back with shaking hands. “Be quiet, okay? And stop trying to piss Stefano off. You won’t like how it goes. You won’t.”

* * *

The phone went off, signaling another text from Kaleb.

Camry smirked at me. “He’s working on it, honey. Thought you said he couldn’t get the money.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Thought your boyfriend said Kaleb wasn’t all that smart.”

She twitched, but it wasn’t from anything I said. She needed another hit, and it showed.

I tried a different tactic. “What are you going to do if something happens to your niece or nephew?”

“Nothing’s going to happen!” she shouted, getting off the couch to pace. “Shit, will you shut up? All he has to do is pay and everything will be fine!”

“And when this is over…?” I laughed, feeling more and more desperate. “I just go about my merry way? You think Stefano is just going to let me and this baby go?”

“He gets the money, that’s all that matters.”

“Bullshit. He’s in so much trouble with the cops, he won’t take the chance of something coming along that might actually stick. And this could fuck him over. Kidnapping. That’s ten years of hard time.” I shot a look at the door, hoping I wasn’t saying too much.

“He’s…stop it, okay? You ain’t going to say anything because you’re smart. So it’s all good.”

“It’s not!” I struggled against the ropes, moaning a little as the fear threatened to swell out of control. “How can you do this? What in the hell would your parents think if they could see you? If they knew you were threatening your brother’s baby?”

She went pale, the blood draining out of her face. “That’s not…I’m not…”

“They hell you’re not!” I glared at her. “Fool yourself all you want but don’t expect me to buy it. If Kaleb doesn’t pay, I’m the one who’s fucked – me and the baby, and you know it. And you’re helping him!”

“Shut up.”

The cold, flat order came from the door, and I whipped my head around just in time to see Stefano come out of the bedroom. His eyes were heavy, hair mussed. He’d been sleeping, I could tell. But he was wide awake now and was focused on Camry.

She rubbed at her arms.

“You need something, baby?” he asked in a tone far more gentle than what he’d use with me.

“Yeah.” She nodded jerkily. “I’m hurting…hurting bad. And she won’t shut up.”

“She’s going to shut up, or I’ll gag her.”

“I’m already about to throw up,” I said nastily. “Gag me and watch me choke on it. Then how am I supposed to help you get money?”

His eyes narrowed. “Be quiet, bitch.”

“Don’t, Stefano,” Camry said. She touched his cheek. “We can’t gag her. If she does get sick…”

“Okay, okay. But she needs to shut her trap.” He gave me a threatening look, then reached into his coat, pulling out a small metal box. “Here. Find something you like.”

I swallowed as I watched her cradle the cigar case sized box to her chest and carry it over to the table.

He came to me then, dragging the chair he’d used earlier closer. As he sat down, I sighed and tipped my head back, staring upward.

“You really are a ballsy bitch, you know that?”

“Your point…?”

“My point is this…I don’t give a rat’s ass about the baby.” He lowered his voice and leaned in, voice low. “If you keep this shit up, I’m going to punch you in the gut, good and hard, not once, not twice, but as many times as I feel like it. What do you think will happen to that fucker’s baby then?”

My blood went to ice.

He held my gaze, a cruel smile twisting his lips. “You understand me now?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.” He got up, shoving the chair carelessly off to the side before going over to Camry. She was bent over the table, her hair fisted in one hand as she snorted something through a small tube. “Oh, baby…you found the good stuff.”

She hummed happily, and I swallowed back the bile as he went to his knees next to her, then tugged her around to face him. “Give me a kiss, baby.”

I was screwed.

I was so seriously screwed.