Brawn - Laurann Dohner [74]
The doctor softly swore. “Yes. Eat more red meat. Some New Species get sick on chocolate. I don’t know if it would affect a baby but it can make some of them really ill. Don’t chance it. A doctor would get odd results right away if it were a Species baby and think something was wrong with your pregnancy. He’d run more tests and they would figure it out quickly. Come to Homeland. You—”
“That’s never going to happen. I’m sorry but forget that. I won’t see you.”
“Can you at least call me every day? Do you have a pen? I’m going to give you my cell phone number. We’ll talk and you’ll get to know you can trust me.”
Becca hesitated. “You won’t try to trace the call or anything?”
“I swear.”
Becca reached into her purse, knew it was a bad idea, the doctor was probably lying, but she was desperate. “Give it to me.” She wrote down the number. “I’ll call you in a few days. This isn’t a prank. I really am pregnant and it really is by a New Species.”
“Please, I’m begging you,” Doctor Trisha urged softly. “Let me come to you or you come to Homeland. Just walk up to the gate and tell them to page me. No one but me needs to know right now. Please just—”
Becca had hung up the cell phone and slid the back off to remove the battery. Two miles later she’d ditched the phone in a trash can and continued on her drive to her rented cabin. She pulled her thoughts from that conversation and stood from the couch. She stretched and knew she needed to run errands soon. She had to make one more call first. Yesterday something had happened that left her no choice. She needed to talk to Doctor Trisha again.
The new disposable phone lay on the dining room table. She bit her lip, debated taking a long drive to hide her location better, but her father would know if something were up. He never said anything in his emails, she felt safe no one suspected her of anything and she probably was safe. Doctor Trisha might honestly be trustworthy when she said she’d never try to track the phone calls. Some people were.
The number she’d scribbled down lay next to the phone. Her hands trembled a little as she reached for both. I need to make this call. She bit her lip. Another flutter in her belly made her gasp. She dropped the paper and rested her hand over the curved mound of her belly. Hot tears surfaced, caused by worry and confusion. She could feel the baby move. How is that possible?
She stood there debating what to do. The smart thing would be to rush to Doctor Trisha and let the woman take care of her and the baby. Of course reality prevented that. Her dad would kill Brawn. He’d end up going to prison instead of leading the task team and she’d have to explain to her child why he didn’t have any family besides her. She couldn’t do that, no matter how terrified she was. Tim Oberto was a lot of things but rational and controlled weren’t two of them when it came to his daughter. He’d never believe Brawn hadn’t forced her and he’d see blood. Brawn’s.
Thinking about the big New Species made her feel guilty. He had a right to know he was going to be a father. She knew right from wrong but that was one hurdle she wasn’t ready to take on yet. After the baby was born, she’d face that issue. First she needed to have it, keep it safe and figure out a way to deal with her dad. Hopefully meeting his grandchild would go a long way toward muffling his murderous rage.
Guilt turned to anger in the next moment. She chalked it up to her hormones but if Brawn had called her he might know he was going to be a father. It took both of them to get her in the mess but it was up to her to try to contain the fallout. She’d been tempted plenty of times to try to reach him but had no idea how without having to go through the NSO switchboard. They’d ask why she wanted to talk to him, might investigate her to make sure she wasn’t a threat and that meant having her father and his team come after her. It was just too risky. Calling a human was one