EPILOGUE TWO

AVERY

I STAND IN MY CELLAR, MY sleeves rolled up to my elbows. My first two buttons undone and my hands fisted.

“It’s not what you think,” the man cries from the chair before me. As usual, I’ve nailed his hands to it.

“Then explain it to me,” I counter. The guy has nothing, and we both know it. He’ll be dead within the hour. And Kayn will bury him with the rest of the sorry bastards I take out.

Just then, the door opens, and I spin around to see Marvin standing there with his arms behind his back. “Sir, Mrs. Decker is looking for you.”

“It can wait,” I snap, pissed that he interrupted me. He knows better …

“She’s in your study.” He goes on. “And she is upset.”

I look at Kayn as he stands off to the side, and he nods his head once, letting me know he’ll keep an eye on him. I grab a towel off the table and try to wipe off some of the blood. My knuckles are cracked and muscles tight. I need answers about Victor and Damon, and no one seems to want to give them up.

Storming into my office, I find Bunny sitting on my couch. Her head in her hands. “What?” I snap. “I’m in the middle of something.”

She looks up at me, and tears run down her gorgeous face. Her eyes are red, and she’s practically gasping for air. My anger fades instantly. “What’s wrong, Bunny?” I ask, coming to kneel in front of her.

Her eyes scan the blood that lingers on my clothes and skin, but she doesn’t question it. She prefers to stay in the dark when it comes to my job.

Her lips begin to tremble. “Bunny, talk to me. What happened?”

She buries her face in her hands and sobs while mumbling something I can’t understand,

“What?”

“I’m pregnant,” she cries out.

I pull her hands from her face and hold them in mine. My eyes roam hers as I try to make out what she is telling me. “What … that can’t be …”

She pushes me away and starts to dig in her purse that sits beside her. She pulls out four pregnancy tests and tosses them onto the floor.

I bend down to pick them up.

“I bought them earlier today when Kayn took me shopping.”

I hold them all up and shake my head. “No. This can’t be.”

“I’m sorry.” She begins to sob again.

“You had a hysterectomy.” I state the obvious.

Her head snaps up to look at me when I stand to my full height. “What did you say?”

“You had a hysterectomy.” I repeat.

She just stares up at me blankly, tears still falling down her cheeks. Seconds tick by that turn into minutes. And I begin to think that I’m missing something.

Finally, I break the silence. “I had Kayn do a medical report on you.” I know she remembers me showing it to her. “It states that you had a hysterectomy.”

She takes in a deep breath. “When I woke up from my coma, Lance told me that I had lost the baby and had to perform an emergency hysterectomy. But months later, I found out he had just said that to scare me.” Her eyes drop to the floor. “When I found out it was a lie, I got an IUD. I’ve had one ever since.” She sniffs.

“Wait a minute.” I drop the pregnancy tests. “How is that possible? How was your information not updated by other doctors?”

She shrugs. “How do they twist shit? Money.”

I run a hand through my hair trying to wrap my head around all of this. “So, we’re having a baby?”

Her eyes instantly tear up again, and she shakes her head. “It’s … it can’t be …” She begins to sob so hard she can’t talk. “I think …”

I lean back down and cup her face. “What? You can tell me.”

She swallows. “I haven’t had it removed.” I frown at her words. “I remember Lance checking me before I passed out …” Her voice trails off, and I begin to understand why she is so hysterical. “He must have taken it out. And your father …” Her voice trails off and I stand up. “I didn’t think he had raped me.” She hiccups. “But I was in and out of it a lot. Maybe I just don’t remember.”

“No,” I say.

“What if it’s …?”

“He didn’t rape you that time,” I say and my jaw tightens.

“But what if …?”

“He didn’t rape you!” I shout.

Silence fills the room, and she stares up at me. “How do you know? You weren’t there.” Her voice rises with anger.

I take in a deep breath and say. “Because your brother sent me a tape. He recorded everything that they did to you for those forty-eight hours.”

She slowly stands, a look of disbelief on her face. “You watched another tape of me?” I stay silent because I already told her that. “You didn’t tell me.”

“Bunny …”

“What the hell Avery?” She yells my name.

“I didn’t think you needed to know.” It’s that simple. Contrary to what she thinks, I don’t like hurting her.

“I’ve been sitting in our room for the last three hours trying to decide how to tell you that I could be pregnant with your father’s baby to find out that it wasn’t even a possibility,” she screams.

I reach out for her, but she pushes me away. “Don’t touch me!” She shoves me out of the way and stomps toward the door.

“Where are you going?” I ask.

“To bed. And don’t bother coming after you’re done torturing some sorry bastard,” she snaps. “You can sleep in your dungeon!” She opens the door and then slams it shut.

I spin around and slam my hands down on my desk, making everything rattle.

We’re fucking pregnant. I didn’t even know it was possible. We never spoke about it, and now we’ve got a baby on the way. It’s the best fucking news I’ve had in a long time. I don’t care if she’s mad at me for keeping the video from her. I care that my father, once again, managed to fuck with her. For three hours, she thought he had raped her again and knocked her up. That’s why he wanted Lance there. He had checked her and removed it. He said he was supposed to keep her alive. Was Victor planning on knocking her up, but he just didn’t get the chance? I don’t put anything past that sick bastard.

That sorry piece of shit will pay with his life. And that can’t come soon enough. Especially since Bunny is pregnant. I can’t let him find out.

I storm out of my study and make my way back down to the cellar. Walking in, I remove my shirt and toss it to the floor. “Now. Let’s try this again. Where is Damon and Victor?”

“I don’t …”

I punch him in the face, and his head snaps back. “I can do this all night.” I laugh. Because my wife has probably locked me out of our bedroom. I’ve never slept on the couch before, and I’m not about to start now.

THE END

Thank you for taking the time to read Slaughter. Avery & Presleigh’s story has come to an end. But you can see more of them in Tristan & Chloe’s book, coming 2019. Add it to your TBR list now

Continue on to read the prologue of my novel I Dare You. It’s a young adult romance with very mature content. Readers are calling it deliciously dark. It is FREE in KU.