Kenzie

 

Kenzie’s body shook as grabbed a washcloth and wiped her mouth after throwing up yet again. It had been happening every day, and no amount of crackers seemed able to stop it. She just wanted it all to be over with. Xavier had seemed like he wanted to help, but there was still a little bit of doubt. What if he changed his mind? What if he decided it was easier to let Matteo take care of the decision? She had offered not to go through with the rape charges, but what if Xavier wanted more than that from her?

 

A knock sounded on the bathroom door.

 

“What?” she gasped as yet another wave of nausea racked her body.

 

“Come out here.” Her father’s voice was calm and yet demanding. She had learned by now that just because he didn’t sound angry didn’t mean he wasn’t.

 

Kenzie mopped her face once again and staggered out into the hall.

 

Matteo’s lips twitched. “Is there something you’d like to tell me?”

 

Oh, shit. He’d found out that she’d been to Xavier’s house and asked him for help. She should have known. Her father was always having his mafiosos spy on her, and she shouldn’t have expected it to be any different this time. “Like what?”

 

“Come on, sweetheart. You can’t think I’m dumb enough not to notice. You’re late getting out of bed every morning, you’re puking your guts out, and you’re tired all the time. You’re pregnant.”

 

Her eyes widened, both at the idea that he might have known her secret and that such a cruel man could be so deceptive. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“I’m not dumb, Kenzie. Here.” He handed her a bag from the pharmacy. “It’s a pregnancy test.”

 

She took the bag between her thumb and finger as though it was dirty. “I’ve just been tired. Between school and work, I’ve been overdoing it.”

 

“Take the test.”

 

“Maybe later.” She set it on the bathroom counter. “I’ve really got to get going to class—”

 

“Now, Kenzie.” Matteo was stern, and it was clear he wasn’t going to let her get past him. “It won’t take but a few minutes, and I’m not a very patient man.”

 

With a sigh, she shut the bathroom door again and did as she was told. Maybe it would come out differently this time. The first one could have been a false positive; those kinds of things happened. And she was just so freaked out that she had been imagining the symptoms. Taking a second test would only prove that she was in far less hot water than she had previously imagined.

 

But it didn’t. It was positive.

 

She opened the door with tears streaming down her face. This was the end, and she had no choice but to face it. Matteo would have his men cut the brakes to her car or push her down the stairs. She would have some horrible “accident” and never be heard from again.

 

But Matteo wrapped one arm around her and escorted her down the hall. It was the most physical affection he had shown her since she was a little girl. “Why are you crying?” he exclaimed, a genuine smile taking over his face. “This is the best news we’ve had in a long time!”

 

“What?” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He was just fooling her into a false sense of safety. “How could it be?”

 

“Don’t you see?” He led her down the hall to her bedroom. “Now we have even more leverage over Xavier. The baby is not only another piece of evidence if he pushes me, but he’ll do whatever I say if he knows his genes are at stake.” He laughed, tipping his head back. “I couldn’t have planned it any better myself.”

 

Kenzie shook her head, blinking, hoping this was all just a terrible nightmare she could wake up from. “No.”

 

“What do you mean, no?” He stopped laughing, but he was still smiling, his dark eyes shining. “It’ll work. Trust me.”

 

“I’m not keeping the baby.” Kenzie tried to make her voice sound strong, but it was impossible when she’d been crying. “I’ve already made an appointment for an abortion.”

 

His hand moved so fast she didn’t have time to flinch. Her cheek stung from the slap, and she reeled backwards and caught her balance on her dresser.

 

“You had no right to do such a thing! I’m the head of this family, and I make the decisions! You’re keeping that baby if I say you are. We’ll use it to take the Reaper’s Hearts down piece by piece. When we’re done with that, I’ll have a grandson to carry on the family name!” He sounded deranged as he explained his plan, his voice growing ever louder.

 

“Then I hope it’s a girl!” she yelled back, tired of always cowering in front of him.

 

Matteo smacked her again and headed for the door. “I’ll keep you locked in here for the next eight months until that baby comes. Then it will be mine to do with as I please, and you can make your own way in the world. That is, unless you decided to do something else and piss me off further. Remember, Kenzie, I can make your life a living hell.” He slammed the door behind him, and the sound of the lock tumbling rattled through the room. His voice on the other side of the door confirmed what she knew would happen anyway; Matteo put one of his men on guard outside her door.

 

Kenzie fell to her bed and cried, letting all of her anger and frustration flood out into her tears. This just couldn’t be happening. She had thought things couldn’t get worse when she’d discovered she was pregnant, but now they definitely were. To make matters worse, she realized there were new feelings cropping up inside her as soon as her father started talking about using the baby for his own purposes. It stirred a sense of protection inside her that she hadn’t wanted to feel.

 

Drying her eyes and looking out the window, she realized she couldn’t wait any longer for Xavier to swoop in like a white knight and save her. She stood up and lifted the sash, staring at the freshly clipped lawn two stories down. There was no trellis to climb or gutter pipe to shimmy down, and she suspected her father had arranged that purposely a long time ago. Her only choice was to jump.

 

But she knew what would happen. The baby would be lost. She shut the window.