Authors: Stella White
''There's more. I want you to let the girl go,'' Christian said.
''You've gone mad. No way. I told you
before, she
'll just grass us up. She's going to die.''
''What? No, wait until her father gets here,'' Christian said trying to buy himself more time.
''You don't know do you? Her father isn't coming. He doesn't give a shit about her. In fact, he told me we should get rid of her.''
Christian had expected that. Surely every man loved his daughter. ''So what are you going to do?''
''Kill her. Alberti should be doing that about now,'' Fabio looked at his watch. ''I think the delivery will have arrived.''
Christian leaped over the desk and kicked Fabio in the chest. He fell back from his chair and landed on the ground. Christian took him by the collar and punched him so hard he knocked his front teeth out. When Christian banged Fabio's head on the
desk,
Fabio fell into unconsciousness.
*****
Alberti's hand shook as she put the syringe into the pot of morphine. In his drunken haze, he couldn't remember whether he should inject her three or four times.
What the
fuck, he would pump the whole bottle into her, that would do it, he thought.
He climbed the stairs to the bedroom where Amy was lying and opened the door. When he saw her, he began to breathe more heavily. He looked at her breasts which were still encased in the dress she'd worn at the wedding. He walked to her, lifted her dress and looked inside.
''Nice,'' he said when he saw her smooth legs.
She woke up and screamed. She thrashed around as never before but was still unable to move the rope from her.
''Be quiet. I'll be very gentle,'' he said. She was wild, she saw the needle in his hand and realized what he was going to do.
Better give her a little bit to calm her down, he said to himself. He couldn't have any pleasure with her in that state. He grabbed her arm, slipped it between his legs and held it. He found the vein and injected her.
Amy felt a sudden calm. All feeling in her body was
gone,
and she was floating without a care in the world. She was conscious of him, but he was insignificant. Alberti went to the foot end of the bed and lifted her dress again. This time, he began to push the material up her legs.
The sound of the metal bar hitting his skull made a hideous sound. A dull thud of death. Christian stepped over him and looked at Amy. Her eyes were glazed
over,
and she was smiling at nothing in particular. He untied the ropes, picked her up and carried her downstairs.
When he reached the
hospital,
he burst through the door with her in his arms. ''Get a doctor,'' he shouted.
The waiting room smelled of stale sweat. It was one of those rooms that
was
constantly open to the public and always smelled a certain way. She'd been in the emergency room for more than an hour. Surely they knew what was happening to her by now, he thought.
He stood up and paced around anxiously. When a nurse arrived, he took her by the arm and asked her what was happening. ''The doctor will be out in a while,'' she said. Another hour went by before a tall man in a white coat arrived.
''She's going to be alright. She's had a high dose of morphine but not enough to bring any lasting damage.''
''Can I see her?''
''You can see her,'' he said.
Christian followed him through two double doors into a large room full of frightening looking appliances. ''She's in the last room on the right,'' the doctor said.
When she saw
him,
she stiffened and sat up in bed. ''Doctor,'' she screamed. ''Help.''
The doctor came running into the room. ''This man means me harm. Call the police,'' she said.
''But he was the man who brought you in here,'' the doctor said.
She looked surprised. ''Really?''
''Yes, without him, lord knows what would have happened to you.''
''Alright. I will talk to him, but only for a short time. I don't trust him.''
Christian walked to her bed and stood next to it. She looked pale and drawn. ''I'm sorry,'' he said. ''I was terrible to you. If you can ever forgive
me,
I would be very grateful because I have fallen in love with you.'' It hadn't been as bad as he'd thought, getting his feelings out.
''You love me? You've got a very strange way of showing it.''
''I killed him.''
''Who.''
''The man who injected you. He's dead, and I don't think Fabio is very well, either.''
''What am I to think of you? When I first met you, I ignored the fact that you are arrogant and strut around the place as though you own it. When we made love, I was more turned on that I have ever been. But you put me in so much
danger; I
was almost killed.''
He took her hand. She let him. ''I know I have done wrong. You are the most wonderful woman and I don't want to live without you.''
She smiled at him. ''You are an impossible man. You are dangerous, conceited and aloof. I don't know whether to trust you or not. I'm attracted to you, but I don't like what you are.''
*****
''Have a word with your son. He's out of control. I can't handle him. I don't want him turning out like you.''
''Okay. I will.
But you know I wasn't so bad.''
''What? You killed people. You took money from poor innocent people. What do you mean you weren't bad?''
''I was young and wild then. I've provided for you and the kids from the proceeds of honest endeavor since we got married, haven't I.''
''Yes you have. But you were bad once. That's why I'm so scared our son will turn
out like
you were back then.''
''Okay I'll speak to him. Come here.''
She leaned against him and put her head on his chest. ''You know you're still a good looking chick, for your age. How about we go upstairs. The kids won't be home for ages.''
''What do mean, ' for your age?' You cheeky swine. Look at yourself. You're gray.''
''But you love me don't you?'' he said.
''Come on, let's go,'' she said taking his hand.
When Christian finished and slumped on her, he kissed her forehead and cupped her face. ''You will never know how glad I am that you gave me the benefit of the doubt after the kidnapping incident.''
''You were very lucky. I had a lot of other offers from noncriminals at the time.''
''Did you,'' he said slightly shocked.
''Yes.''
''So why did you choose me?''
''Because you were tough and I knew you'd look after me. I believed in you, despite everything.''
''But it was a year before you called me.''
''It took me a long time to get things straight in my head. Or said another way, it took a year to realize if I didn't marry you, you would never leave me alone,'' she laughed.
He put her nipple in his mouth and sucked. She gasped when he bit it gently. ''You still like that don't you. After all these years you still like having your nipples sucked.''
''Yes. But be careful, if you keep doing that, I'll get turned on again and want more. You're not as young as you used to be.''
''I can perform whenever you ask me. Whether I've just had sex or not.''
Amy laughed. ''You still so full of shit,'' she said.
''But that's why you love me.''
''Maybe. But I don't love it
in
our son. I want him to be normal. I want whichever woman decides she wants to be with him to have a nice life. Not have to worry about what he'll do next.''
Christian rolled from her and played with his penis for a couple of minutes. ''See, I'm not as full of shit as you think,'' he said when he began to get hard again.
*****
THE END
Chapter One
When Mary Ann fell back against the pillow, she was exhausted and grateful that the ordeal seemed
to be finally
over. Both babies had left her
body,
and she was on the verge of passing out from the strain of having given birth to them both.
She
could barely see the
mid-wife
finishing whatever she had to do and the two nurses holding the babies swaddled in blankets. Her heart was pounding hard for
them,
and she held out her arms to take them from the nurses.
“Let me hold them,” Mary Ann murmured. Both nurses came to her bedside and gently laid the tiny girls in her arms. Tears rolled down her face when she looked
in
their precious faces. They were identical – or so it seemed to her eyes. She could not believe how beautiful they were. Andrew, her husband, wouldn’t be
happy; she already
knew that. But at this point, she didn’t care. She had carried them for nine months, trying her best to stay healthy and stress-free despite the fact that he was so adamant that he’d never wanted children. It wasn’t just something that could
be prevented
. He was the one who had taken her to bed. She had no control over whether the babies were conceived or not.
She was afraid of what he would do to them all. Since he’d found out she was pregnant, he had turned into a vicious monster, with his words and his fists. No matter what he’d done, these babies survived and so did she.
She felt blessed to see their healthy faces. Even though they were underweight and so tiny they both fit in her arms comfortably.
Their eyes were closed, asleep. She kissed their noses and snuggled her face into them.
“My sweet babies. Sweet, sweet babies.”
“What will you name them, madam?” Asked one of the nurses as they stood looking on with soft smiles.
Mary Ann looked up at them both. “I think Rebecca and Annabelle. What do you
think
?”
“Those are
wonderful
names, Miss!” The other nurse gushed. Mary Ann smiled wide and gazed down at the babies again.
They were so beautiful.
She felt her heart overflowing with love for them.
Her heart almost came out of her chest when the door burst
open,
and Andrew came stomping through,
a hateful
look on his face.
“Are you done?” he asked, approaching the bed as the
nurses
scattered.
She instinctively held the babies closer to her.
“Yes,
” she answered, fear
obvious
in the
lone
word she said.
“Good. Give them to me.”
She held them even closer. “What are you going to do? I can’t give them to you. They need
me; I
just had them.”
“I said give them to me
now
! I told you I don’t want children. I’m giving them both to the orphanage. You will never see them again!” He was enjoying himself. She could see it by the look on his face. His scowl mixed with a sneer was almost a smile.
“No! No, you
can’t take them
! They’re
mine
!”
“Oh no? Watch me.” He reached down to grab the
children,
and she turned away, holding them against her chest so that she could keep them in her arms without suffocating them against her large bosom.
“No!” She cried out, tears streaming down her face. “No!”
“Give them to me
now
!!!” Andrew screamed at her.
“No! No!”
Andrew pulled back and growled at her.
“Look, you
can give them to me now or suffer the consequences later. I’ll tell you what, you give me one of
them,
and you can keep the other.”
“No! I can’t separate them! It’s not right! You can’t do this!”
He grabbed her shoulder and yanked on it so that she fell back against the pillow flat again, unable to resist his strength in her weakened condition. “You won’t choose?? I will!” He began to wrestle Rebecca out of her hands. She was too weak to hold on to the little girl and felt her heart being ripped out of her chest as he pulled the baby away.
“No!” she screamed, reaching out
to
the baby. “No, you can’t take her! You can’t take her!”
“Take a good look at it, Mary Ann! I told you what would happen if you had any children. I told you I didn’t want any! And now you get to see what happens when I don’t get what I want. You get to suffer! You shouldn’t be
worried, you
can still see the same face in the one you have left. Cherish that because you are going to suffer for this. I promise you!”
The nurses had surged around the bed but couldn’t say anything to the man. The three nurses that were in the room and the
mid-wife
all knelt next to the bed, putting their hands on Mary Ann and bowing their heads. Two of them were already crying. The other two were whispering prayers.
“Bunch of stupid women. Like I want
two
more whining women in my house! You couldn’t even give me a son! You’re worthless and a complete waste of my time!”
“No, Andrew! Don’t take her!
Don’t take her away from me! Don’t take her!”
She continued to grab for the child. Her fingers touched the soft pink blanket just before he turned away quickly so that she couldn’t see Rebecca’s face.
“
Rebecca
!” She cried out.
“Already gave it a name?” Andrew continued to sneer. “Say goodbye! You aren’t going to see it again. Count yourself lucky I let you keep that one! You’ll be alone taking care of it!”
“
Rebecca! Rebecca
!” Mary Ann cried out as he left the room, reaching for her baby. When the door slammed behind them, she pulled Annabelle up to her face, showering the child with wet kisses. “We’ll find her,
baby, we
’ll find her. I’ll get her back. I’ll get her back somehow.”
Once he was gone, the nurses threw themselves over her legs and held on to her arms, crying with her and saying soothing words. She was crying harder than she ever had and didn’t know if she would ever stop.
Despite his anger, Andrew held the tiny newborn gently against him as he stomped out of the house. He wondered if he could get any money for it. There might be somebody at the orphanage who would pay him for it. It seemed healthy
enough,
and it had all of its fingers and toes. It still hadn’t made a sound or opened its eyes.
Still holding the baby girl tightly, he pulled himself up into the saddle on his horse and took off toward town. The orphanage would take
it,
either way, he knew. He thought about what he would do to Mary Ann and the one that was left when he got back. He was going to make sure she was as miserable as he was for having made him a father. He resented the fact that she couldn’t even produce a boy for him. Either way, he didn’t want any sniveling rats running around his feet.
The ride to the orphanage was short. The town was small. Along the way, he stopped at the general store and picked up a wicker picnic basket with a lid. He ignored the look the clerk gave him when he immediately put the baby
in
it. He left the lid open until
he left
the general store and then closed it once he was back in the saddle. The orphanage was just two blocks up and to the right. He didn’t need everyone in town staring at him carrying a baby and leaving it on the stoop of the orphanage. He didn’t need their judgmental looks. He did need the customers for his carpentry business, so they didn’t need to know anything about his personal business. No one in town had even known Mary Ann was pregnant except the nurses and
mid-wife
and he’d already told them what they would get if they spread the word.
Now he was going to have to contend with the one that was left. Mary Ann would be sorry for betraying him by getting pregnant and having not one but two more females for his house. An only child, the loneliness of growing up alone with stand-offish
parents,
made him jealous and spiteful of his twin daughters.
He got to the orphanage quickly, slid from his horse and left the basket on the front stoop, leaving as
quickly
as he came. They would find it sooner or later. He wasn’t worried.
As he rode back to the house, he pondered all the fun things he was going to do to make Mary Ann pay for what she’d done. He was smiling and whistling as he imagined denying her food she would desperately need in her condition, making her do extra housework, forcing her to neglect her child when it was crying.
He
chuckled. He was going to have fun.
His smile turned in
to
a frown when he saw two men on horseback heading in his direction. He knew who they were. They were
customers,
and he’d cheated them on the price he’d given them for some repair work on one of their buggies. He wondered if they knew he’d cheated them. From the looks on their faces when they saw him, he could tell they did. He sneered, slowing his horse down so that it would take longer for them to get close to him.
He reached to his side but felt an
empty space
. He hadn’t come prepared for this. He’d left the house without any protection because he was carrying the baby. He remembered his gun belt was on the table by the door. He gritted his teeth. There was little chance he was getting out of this using words. He didn’t like these
two,
and they didn’t like him. He was betting they were armed and ready to fight.
He stopped in the middle of the street, scanning the two to see if they were reaching to their sides. When he saw them both
reaching
, he turned his horse around and kicked her sides to take off in a gallop back in the direction he’d been
coming from
. He could hear the men yelling
behind
him and knew they were giving chase. He leaned forward, urging his horse to go faster when he felt and heard a bullet whiz past his head.
That was
close
, he
thought just before he felt something hit the back of his head and didn’t feel anything anymore.
When Nurse Green entered the room, it was getting dark. She was holding a gas lamp and set it down on the side table next to Mary Ann. She sat on the
side
of the bed and leaned over to brush some of Mary Ann’s long brown hair from in front of her face.
“Miss Mary. Miss Mary, wake up.”
Mary Ann was awake quickly, the stress she was
under
making her sleep very lightly. Her eyes snapped
open,
and she looked directly at the nurse. “What is it? Where is Annabelle?”
“She fine, madam, she’s
fine
. I came to tell you something. Something has happened.”
Mary Ann couldn’t tell if the nurse looked sad or happy. Her face was a mix of emotions. She sat up in bed, pushing herself up in one motion with both her hands.
“It’s Andrew.”
Mary Ann’s eyes opened
wide,
and her heart thumped hard in her chest. “What is it?”
“He was killed
in
the street today.” Nurse Green said bluntly.
Mary Ann’s eyes opened
wide,
and she gasped. “My baby! Where’s my baby!”
Nurse Green shook her head, her
face
sorrowful. “He didn’t have her with him.”