Chapter 28
Anna
“What do you think? They look pretty intimate to me. Look at her hugging him. Do you know her?” No One smiled, turning the picture back to me before moving to the next one. “The detective doesn’t look very heartbroken to me. What do you think?”
My eyes lowered from the picture of him and Janneke and I couldn’t speak. Braden had a beard now. And he didn’t look happy, but he didn’t appear sad either. I couldn’t tell from the angle, but he did appear paler than normal.
“Why are you doing this?”
I was sitting on the bed, unable to move far from the new cuffs secured to the headboard. I’d been here now for four days. Through the small gap in the foil covering the windows, I was able to tell when it was night or day. The small sense of time did wonders for my mindset. For some odd reason, it gave me a surge of hope. From the attempted nine-one-one call, to getting out of the basement…to the baby growing in my womb—I held to hope. I’d make it out of here. I had to.
My captor thought the child was his, but it didn’t take me long to put it together. I was already late when he’d taken me. I just figured it was stress or hormones delaying my cycle. That wasn’t it at all. I was pregnant, and the mother in me knew to protect what was hers. What was Braden’s.
“I told you we would see how long he took to move on. If you ask me, he had no problems finding someone new.”
I shrugged, trying to act like it didn’t affect me. But it did. So much so, I couldn’t even comprehend the massive amount of betrayal burning my insides. “Nope. I guess not. What does it matter, though? The more I think about it, the more I don’t care. I have more important things to focus on. Like the baby.”
No One’s head cocked to the side while he studied me. “You’re a good liar. But not great.”
“I’m not lying. I—”
The slap sent blood washing over my tongue.
“Just because my kid grows inside you, don’t think I’ll let you start talking back to me.” My silence had him continuing. “But now that we’re speaking of the kid, we need to talk about your eating. You’re getting better, but it’s not good enough. From here on out, you’ll stuff that mouth of yours until you can’t anymore. I don’t need the damn thing born sick.” The bed shifted as he stood and headed for the dresser. “And you’ll start taking these prenatal pills. One of these every day, no exceptions.”
He untwisted the top of the bottle, spilling one onto his palm. I opened my mouth without argument, and he pushed the pill just past my lips. When he poured a little water into my mouth, I swallowed, tasting the blood even stronger. I let it be a reminder. For now, I’d comply with everything he asked. My own killer was smart. She knew how to manipulate. And I would. I was molding, and eventually I’d warp this man’s thoughts one way or another. If I could only get him to trust me in the smallest amount, it was all over for him.
“There.” His eyebrows drew in and he went to stand, only to sit back down. “Do you think my child will be a killer like us?”
For seconds, I couldn’t speak. Sickness bubbled and the cuff stopped my hand as instinct had my palm wanting to press against my stomach protectively.
“I hope not. I hope he or she can live a normal life. A happy life, without these urges. That’s all I want.”
Angrily, his lids lowered to slits. “You didn’t want this baby. You didn’t want me to want it either.”
“I was in shock. You had just branded me. I was preparing myself for death. To suddenly be pregnant and fear for a child…it was natural to try to deny its very existence. But you’re not going to kill it, are you? I mean, you wouldn’t be trying to take care of me like this if you were going to, right?”
The fear in my tone was real as I stared over at him.
“The kid will live. You will not.”
Swallowing was almost impossible, but I nodded. “As long as the child lives.”
“As if you mean that. Luckily, you don’t have a choice in the matter. It’s mine. I don’t turn my back on what belongs to me.”
“Of course.”
He did stand then. When he left the room, I closed my eyes through the nausea constantly plaguing me. The slow, deep breaths helped, but not much.
A good half hour went by before No One came back. The rich smell of meat had my head turning, trying to escape the aroma. The disapproving sound that left him was instant. He rushed over, putting the plate down on the nightstand and reaching for the bowl. No words left me, but my last meal did.
“Jesus. I could just…beat you. What did we just talk about? It’s like you’re not even trying not to become sick.”
“I’m sorry. I swear I a-am.” I gagged again, but managed to stop anything else from coming. Weakness was taking its toll and all I wanted to do was rest. That didn’t happen as he headed out of the room and returned with the clean bowl. Anger was etched into his features as he placed the plate on my lap. When he reached forward, removing one of the cuffs, rebellion wanted to take over. Instead, I took the water he handed me.
“First, you’re going to feed my child. Then, we’ll clean you up. If you get sick again, you’re going to wish you hadn’t.”
“I’m not doing it on purpose.”
“You were doing better. Now this?”
I frowned, shifting through the ache still there on my thigh from the brand. “It comes and goes. I have no control over when it happens. I want the baby to be healthy just as much as you do. It is mine, too,” I said, glancing up to meet his hard stare.
“Wrong. It belongs to me. You are just a vessel—a shell. Nothing more.”
My eyes lowered and I took in the small cut up chunks of steak. The meat alone was enough to feed a man with a healthy appetite, but the potatoes and green beans on top of that made the portion seem small. There was no way I was going to be able to come close to finishing.
The fork shook in my hand and I paused at the nothingness of my ring finger as my fingertips held the silver and curled in. The chill that raced down my spine at the slight phantom feeling left a sheen of sweat appearing over my skin. No, I couldn’t think about that now. I wouldn’t be able to get through this if I did.
I brought the fork forward and stabbed it into the steak. The moment the flavor washed over my tongue, I hesitated. Slowly, I chewed…waiting. Relief surfaced when the sickness didn’t come. No One didn’t move from the bed. He sat patiently. Silently. Time dragged on, but it didn’t seem to matter to him. I focused on getting as much down as I could, not letting my nerves get the best of me. I tried to ignore the open space of where my finger no longer was, but it was impossible. I knew the moment I couldn’t go further. Only then, did I bring my attention back to the man’s cold stare. Still, he was quiet.
“I’m finished.”
“Are you sure?”
His tone made me feel as though it were a trick question.
“I’m positive. I can’t eat anymore.”
“I don’t believe that to be true. Your mind may believe you’re full, but I think you can eat more.”
I glanced at the plate, then returned my gaze back to him. “I’ll get sick if I do. I really did eat as much as I could.”
“No. You’ll eat more. And you won’t get sick, because if you do, I’ll punish you.”
Begging was on the tip of my tongue. To eat more was going to be a mistake. Anna would have pled to her captor. Annalise wouldn’t even give it much thought.
I angrily picked up the fork and shoved green beans into my mouth. The texture was enough to trigger my nausea, but I kept going, moving to the potatoes, then eating two more bites of steak. Mid-chew, I paused, closing my eyes as I slowed the pace.
“Swallow.”
I tried, only for my throat to feel as if it were closing. My fists clenched as hard as they could and that phantom feeling made itself known again. Somehow through the panic, I forced the food down.
“Another.”
Tears welled, and I sniffled. The shaking increased, almost making it impossible to scoop up more potatoes. Getting them down was worse than before.
“Water, please.”
No One leaned over, grabbing the bottle. I almost couldn’t hold it steady enough to bring it to my mouth. My mind screamed that I was going to be sick. The warnings repeated over and over until tears fell free.
“If you want a reason to cry, I’d be more than happy to give you one.”
“No.” I wiped the wetness away, instead focusing on my anger.
The plate was removed and set on the bedside table. My eyes stayed on the fork and visions of stabbing him in the throat or eye almost had me asking for another bite. But I knew better. He was too far away to be certain. And if I missed, I’d pay with more than a beating. I couldn’t risk that yet.
“Shower time.”
The other cuff was undone and I was pulled to stand. My legs were weak from weeks of underuse. Each step was almost impossible and had me clinging to my captor like an anchor. I hated it just as much as I hated him.
We headed to the adjoining door on the far side of the room and he left me holding the sink while he retreated to stand at the threshold.
“Brush your teeth first. Restroom second. Then you may begin your shower.”
When he pulled out his phone, I obeyed. The longer I stood, the stronger I became. But not by much. My movements were slow and I felt weighed down. But I could walk. That was the important thing.
“Bubby, what you got?”
My head wanted to shoot around, but I stayed still as I kept my eyes averted and listened.
“I’m not risking anything by calling. You know I’m smarter than that. Besides, they’re fools. They have nothing.”
Silence.
“Right. Really?” He laughed, and I sat down on the toilet, my gaze still averted. “Well, I’ll be damned. So they know. Sorry you had to hear the news from them and not me. What do you think about that?”
I glanced up to see anger melt the smile from his face.
“Of course it’s mine. Mm-hmm. Yeah. No. That’s it? Okay, I call back in a few weeks.”
I flushed the toilet, then stood and pulled back the shower curtain. His voice stopped me.
“Seems the news is out. Or evidence, I should say.”
No One glanced up from his phone, and I could see his excitement and thrill. It always came when it involved me or something he’d done.
“The Rock River Killer’s latest victim was pregnant. Seems they finally learned the big news. Everyone will know by tomorrow.”
“Braden,” I breathed out.
“Yes. I’m sure he already knows. That would explain why he’s moving on.”
My heart pounded as I stared up at No One, but I didn’t see the smug look on his face. All I could see was the picture of Braden and Janneke. It caused my rage to come back a million times more intense. If he knew I was pregnant, he’d know it was his, wouldn’t he? Yet he was still moving on so easily?
I held my stomach, praying for a way out. Praying to a God I felt had betrayed me just as Braden had done.
“Maybe I’ll ask him.”
I stiffened at the fear of my secret getting out. “You mean…call him? Why would you want to do that? What will you say?”
“You don’t worry about that. I’ll give it some time in case they’re trying to bait me by releasing the news. Rest assured, though, he and I will chat soon.”