Brawn - Laurann Dohner [72]
The thought of Brawn made her sit up and clench her hands together over her thighs. She’d been sad at first when he hadn’t tried to contact her but as the weeks passed, it had turned to anger. How dare he not even check on her? It would have been polite to at least get in touch to see if she had recovered from their traumatic ordeal. The fact that he’d had sex with her made it twice as unforgivable not to make that effort. So much for being a team.
His belongings were taken away by one of her father’s men the day after she’d returned home. She’d had to deal with repairmen for two solid weeks, patching up her poor damaged house, and she’d closed the guest bedroom door after they’d left to avoid being reminded of him. It hadn’t worked though. Every single time she passed through the hallway to go to her bedroom, she caught her glance straying there.
Four weeks later she’d made a shocking discovery that had changed her life. She’d had to plot and plan, make up a bunch of lies and move to a cabin in Northern California. She’d worked quickly to make calls to set up an elaborate deception. She discovered she was good at it and believed she’d covered all her bases. Her dad would have tipped her off if he grew suspicious.
Worry struck hard and pitted inside her stomach at the thought of making a mistake. Even the memory of the dreaded phone call she’d made three weeks ago on her way to the cabin had her tense. I bought a disposable cell phone, paid cash, kept the call reasonably short and it was far from here. I even remembered to remove the battery from it and throw it in the trash in case someone tried to track the phone. She took deep breaths. You did it all right and no one knows it’s you. That calmed her a bit.
The phone had rung twice when she’d placed that call. The NSO operator had answered and she’d asked to speak to Doctor Trisha, had lied and said the woman was expecting her call. Becca had given a false name and even used a Texas accent. She’d lived in that state for five years when she’d been a kid while her father was stationed there as a combat instructor. She felt sure she could pull it off and believed she hadn’t forgotten to keep her voice altered.
Doctor Trisha had picked up after four rings. She would never forget the way her stomach heaved at hearing each ring, her heart had raced and fear had gripped her. It was too dangerous to make the call but she’d needed some answers to some important questions.
“This is Doctor Trisha.” The woman had a cheerful voice.
Becca knew that would change. “Hello,” she’d managed to get out. “I don’t have much time, I’m afraid you’ll trace the call, but we need to talk.”
“Um, okay.” The doctor’s happy tone changed to one of hesitancy.
“Is it true that some New Species are allergic to chocolate and it makes them really sick?”
The silence had stretched longer than Becca liked, every one of them counting since time was limited. They could try to track the phone but by the time someone got there, she’d have disabled the battery, been gone and planned to dump it somewhere else in a trash bin.
“You need to address all your questions to the public relations department of the NSO,” Trisha had finally responded. “Have a nice day.”
Panic gripped Becca. The doctor planned to hang up. “Wait! This is urgent.”
More seconds ticked but the line remained open. “It’s urgent that you know if they are allergic to chocolate? What kind of nut ball are you?” Anger altered her voice again.
“I’m pregnant,” Becca blurted, clenched her teeth in regret but knew she’d have to reveal that fact to get the answers she so desperately needed. She took a calming breath to remember to talk with the false accent. “I slept with a New Species and I’m pregnant. I’m afraid that if I eat chocolate that I’ll hurt the baby. I need to know if that’s a possibility.”
“That’s not funny.”
“I’m not laughing.” Becca hesitated. “It’s true and I am afraid to go to a doctor, considering