Stripper: The Fringe, Book 4 (34 page)

At that, Michael dropped his gaze to the reports. “I found what I was looking for, but I also found out you didn’t know.”

“Stop dancing around like this, Michael.” Duster rose and yanked the reports off his desk before Michael could stop him. Rapidly, he flipped through the pages. “Blah, blah, blah, it’s all a bunch of medical crap that doesn’t mean diddly to…” His voice trailed off as he focused on the tail end of the report. “Oh God.”

From her vantage point, Diane couldn’t read the tiny print. “What does it say?”

Very slowly, Duster restacked the pages. He pressed his lips together, then met her gaze. His eyes were watering. And then he did the same thing Michael had done—he opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

“What does it say?” She reached for the reports, but he pulled them away.

“I’m sorry.” Michael’s voice was quiet and almost unbearably miserable.

Duster looked at Michael. Their eyes met and held.

“I really am.”

Duster shook his head. “You should have left this alone.”

“I realize that now.” Michael’s voice was very soft. Obviously, he was deeply troubled by what he’d found. Diane’s heart sank. Michael was saddened by what he’d
found
, not what he’d
done
.

Diane lunged for the papers in Duster’s hand, yanked them out of his grasp, then moved away to read them. It was a detailed account of Scott’s birth from the moment she’d entered the IWOG hospital to when she’d been transferred to her regular hospital.

“Why do they have me listed as indigent?” Diane had paid the enormous bill, in credits, once she’d recovered from the emergency caesarian. She’d hated paying them for the mess they’d left behind. It had taken thousands of dollars to repair the hideous scar their butcher of a doctor created across her belly. And then she found her way to the last page. Here was the answer to Michael’s sorrow, Duster’s pain and her own worst nightmare.

“Tubectomy.” Diane read the word aloud, but it took a moment for the meaning to sink in. Her horror was so profound she felt numb. The rest of the words slipped through the block she tried to erect. They had done this procedure to her due to her indigent status. “But I wasn’t poor. I paid. I always paid my bills.” She repeated this several times, as if this would change what had been done to her against her will.

Duster took the pages from her unresisting hand.

Afraid to look at him, she kept her gaze on the floor. He wanted children so badly. She’d overcome her fear only to find out they’d taken the choice away from her.

“IWOG hospitals have a long history of sterilizing indigent mothers,” Michael said.

“But I—”

“I know.” Michael’s voice was quiet and kind. “When you came in, you were incoherent, bleeding, and they were told you were found by the trans tracks.”

“They just assumed I wouldn’t pay.”

Michael nodded. “They realized their error after Sheldon brought your bonafides to the hospital.”

“By that time, it was too late.” Diane remembered switching hospitals, and her regular doctor’s horror at the stitches along her belly, but he’d told her there was nothing to be done until she healed. Had she been able to get to him, she would have had laser surgery that would have left almost no marks. And of course, he couldn’t see what they’d done to her while they were in there. Diane hadn’t gone back to her regular doctor for the scar removal but to the plastic surgeon he’d recommended. “Wouldn’t my doctor have been given the paperwork?”

“It’s listed as being performed on a Jane Doe patient. They didn’t transfer it over to your bonafides.”

“Of course not. Then I’d have proof of their butchery.” She wanted to ask how he knew the Jane Doe was her, but Michael wouldn’t have brought the information forth if he couldn’t prove his accusation beyond a doubt. This Jane Doe was her. “You smelled this on me?” Finally she lifted her gaze to Michael.

Hands on his desk, leaning over with his gaze riveted to her, his face was solemn. “As strange as it sounds, yes. But I thought you had willingly undergone the procedure.”

No wonder he’d pushed to find proof. It was the one thing that would destroy her relationship with Duster. Even though it wasn’t her choice, she still couldn’t face him. She didn’t want to discover the way he looked at her had changed. All those hopes and dreams, all those fears, all of it meaningless now.

“But don’t lose hope.” Michael didn’t smile, but he tried to look less grim. “There are things that can be done.” He took another stack of reports and offered them out to Duster.

When Duster refused to take them, Diane thought her heart would break right then and there. Even though Michael swore he hadn’t done this to split them up, she realized he may well have, even inadvertently. As Duster turned his back on her, she felt everything slipping away.

And then Michael did the last thing she would have ever expected. He came around from behind his desk and took Duster into his arms. Duster clung to him, and Diane realized he hadn’t turned his back to cut her but to hide the fact that he was crying. He didn’t want either of them to see, but Michael refused to let him suffer alone. When her eyes met Michael’s, he motioned her over, and the three of them stood in a tiny circle, hugging one another.

For a long time, no one moved, but eventually, Michael let go, and Duster embraced her.

“I am so sorry.” Duster buried his face against her neck.

“Me too.” Diane squeezed him hard. “But it’s not hopeless.”

Duster pulled back enough for her to see his bloodshot gaze.

“I’m not going to give up hope this time.” If anything, she was going to have another child with Duster if she had to walk through fire to do so.

It took a moment, but eventually Duster straightened. “Neither one of us is giving up hope this time.”

She nodded. “We’ll find a way.”

“We will.”

“As strange as this might seem, I’m glad we found out now.” The look Duster flashed her was so dubious she blurted, “Think of how much worse this would have been had we tried for years and years only to discover it was pointless.”

Reluctantly, Duster nodded. He glanced at Michael. “But don’t think I’m going to thank you.”

Michael shook his head. “No. I wish I had left this alone. But now that you know, there are things you can do.” Michael tapped the papers on his desk. “Doc Murphy is a veritable font of information on the subject. And you know that I will do everything in my power to help you. Both of you.”

Diane realized the rift between her and Michael had finally been healed. Her relief was great. She did not relish living on a world ruled by a man who utterly despised her. It was unlikely they would ever be close, but at least they wouldn’t be at each other’s throats. Putting aside their differences would also be a blessing to Duster, since he wouldn’t have to play mediator anymore.

“The question is, are you willing?” Diane waited breathlessly for Duster to answer.

“Gee, let me think—yes.” A determined glint flashed in his eyes. “I kept telling you that you should have held out hope all those years ago, so I’m going to do that now.” After a gentle kiss, he added, “We can handle this. If we’re together, we can handle anything.”

“Together.” Diane knew an arduous journey lay ahead, but she also knew they would prevail.

Epilogue

“Be careful what you wish for.” Duster was still reeling from the information. Never in all his wildest dreams had he imagined this outcome.

“I need to sit down.” Diane sounded as stunned as he felt.

“Diane, honey, you
are
sitting down.”

The two of them were seated in Doc Murphy’s office. The man himself sat behind a desk that was strewn with papers and a collection of medical models. The surface of his desk looked like the aftermath of an explosion between a filing cabinet and a busload of mannequins.

“I’ll give you a moment to let that sink in.” Doc Murphy’s beaming smile seemed to light up the entire room. Considering what he’d accomplished, he had a right to be pleased with himself. Doc Murphy rose from behind his desk, walked around the edge, patted Diane’s shoulder, then left them alone, closing his office door firmly behind him.

Diane looked over at Duster, but her eyes were unfocused and slightly terrified. “I’m sitting down?”

Duster left his seat and crouched next to her. He took her hand in his. “We can do this.”

“We?”

“Well, I can help you do this.”

Diane took a very long, slow and deep breath. “Duster, I love you, but you simply can’t help me carry or give birth to seven kids.”

“Yeah.” He patted her hand. “But I swear I’ll do everything I can to…” He trailed off, trying to think of the right thing to say. “Help. I’ll do everything I can to help,” he finished lamely. Even to his own ears, that sounded asinine. Everything was on Diane for this part of it and they both knew it. Overcoming her fears of childbirth probably paled next to the sheer terror of carrying seven children.

Diane looked down at her still flat belly. “Oh God, it’s like what Scott asked Rena, about how many she was going to have. I’m going to give birth to a litter!” As her voice rose in pitch, it lessened in volume until she was practically squeaking.

“Calm down.” Duster patted her hand mainly because he didn’t know what else to do. “Doc Murphy said that with the advances in technology, we’ll be able to bring all of them to full term.”

“There’s that we again.” Diane’s eyes were focused somewhere far beyond the room they were sitting in.

“Diane, look at me.”

Slowly, she turned her head, but she was looking right through him. Patiently, he waited for her to focus. When she didn’t, he touched her chin and kissed her softly. After a lingering smooch, he felt her smile below his lips.

“That’s how we got into this situation.” Diane finally met his gaze, and her eyes focused. There was still a hint of fear in them but not the stunned terror that had lurked there before.

“We’re going to be okay.” Duster made his voice as reassuring as he could. Right now he needed to be strong for Diane, no matter how terrified he was inside. “We can do this.”

Diane nodded. “Yes. We can.” She gripped his hand and grinned. “And as I’ve always said, seven seems to be our number.”

About the Author

Reading, writing, and white-water rafting are the three things Anitra Lynn McLeod enjoys the most. You can visit her at
www.anitramcleod.com
.

Look for these titles by Anitra Lynn McLeod

Now Available:

The Fringe

Thief

Overlord

Runner

Onic Empire

Wicked Empress

Dark Empress

Far Too Human

There’s always a loophole. Just don’t let it close around your neck.

Runner

© 2011 Anitra Lynn McLeod

The Fringe, Book 3

Bounty hunter Foster Nash is a ruthless bastard—just ask him. Thanks to an ex-girlfriend who robbed him blind, and another who nearly bit off his trigger finger, he’s not too high on women in general right now.

Desperate for funds to refill his retirement coffers, he jumps at a very lucrative contract: to bring in the doctor who created the Tyaa plague. Except his voluptuous target doesn’t behave like a criminal. Instead of rattling the bars, she accepts her fate with cool, cultured aplomb.

Jynx Brennan toiled for three years to save humanity from a disease she’s now blamed for creating. Since she refuses to use her psi ability as a weapon, it doesn’t help her escape Never-Fail Nash. In a moment of clarity, she decides there’s no point in denying herself a last fling with a living, breathing erotic fantasy.

After he recovers his surprise, Nash indulges the full depth of his physical needs upon her body—often, and to their mutual pleasure. But when it leads to unexpected emotional intimacy, he finds himself willing to risk everything to break a contract that will force him to deliver her to certain execution.

Warning: Contains one bad-ass bounty hunter, a refined lady doctor, a ship with a vile history, a villain with a viler history, and a wide black leather belt, slung low.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Runner:

Foster leaned back from the main console, stretched his arms over his head and groaned. What he wouldn’t give for a solid eight hours of sleep. Not that finding Jynx Brennan had taxed his considerable skills. But damn, he hurt.

He checked his finger and thought of his last package. When he’d been forced to gag her foul mouth, Scary Mary had chomped his right index finger. The wound had looked bad two weeks ago, but it looked a hell of a lot worse now. He shook his head. Another woman, like Laura, his ex-girlfriend. He began to think none of them could be trusted.

Using his unbitten middle finger, he tapped up the audvid to the cell where he’d left his current package. Jynx slept curled up on the top of the bunk. Her short-hacked blonde hair fell across her tear-streaked face, making her seem broken, vulnerable and very pretty. She’d clean up something spectacular.