His laugh was low. “I’ve never spent time with a pregnant woman. Everything they say about glowing and radiating beauty is true.” His gaze trailed to her belly. “I’m going to enjoy seeing you grow. Pity he won’t.”
The knife jabbed into her heart and twisted. He did it again. He lashed her with his words, cutting her soul open, and leaving it bleeding. It was almost too much to bear. Her chest heaved as she tried to bury her feelings, but the tears in her eyes were already a dead giveaway that Adam had won another round.
“Don’t fight giving expression to your feelings, angel, when you show them so beautifully,” he said softly, the cruel light in his eyes brighter than ever.
She dragged in a few deep breaths to steady herself, trying desperately to swallow her tears, but one slipped free and ran down her cheek.
“Your distress does to me what the ecstatic screams of a woman would do to another man,” he continued.
Suddenly, she understood. Adam couldn’t hurt her physically. They wanted her baby too badly. But he could torture her emotionally, and that was exactly what he was going to do. She’d have to stop letting him get to her.
“You deserve a reward for that beautiful performance, so I’ll bring you some books,” he said, wiping away the tear.
She slapped his hand away. She’d rather die of boredom than take anything he offered.
His smile was triumphant when he left.
Chapter 18
“It’s not what it seems,” Clelia said, but Lann wasn’t to be consoled.
He stared at the static dots on the screen where the video feed had disconnected.
Joss went to the other side of the library, poured Calvados from the decanter into a glass, and carried it to Lann.
“Drink,” the commander said.
The act conjured a painful memory of Lann handing Katherine a scotch after their erotic breath play in the den. He was more than ready to strangle her captors.
“Clelia’s right,” Joss said, his voice stern. “They’re trying to fuck with your mind. Don’t let them.”
He downed the alcohol in one shot and stared from the window. The video feed Vanessa had streamed had showed Katherine sitting in a kitchen, drinking tea or a warm drink with another man. He couldn’t see the man’s face, because his back was turned to the camera. He could see Katherine’s, and even if there was no audio, he could see her laughing when her hand went to her belly.
Your baby kicked for the first time, the subtitle of the feed read. Who had she been sharing the moment with? Who was the man sitting in the chair where he was supposed to be? Who was taking his place?
“Jealousy is not what Kat needs,” Clelia said. “She wants to be there as little as you want her to be. What’s important is that she’s healthy and doing well. So is Thomas.”
Lann listened to all their reasonable arguments. It all made sense, but it didn’t change the way he felt. Eve was working on cracking the formula. Eventually, she would. When she did, when he held the cure in his hands, he was going hunting.
After that first day, it was Gerda who exited from the door in the hallway every afternoon to take Kat to the medical room for an examination and to inject her with the serum. Nicolas was always there, the black book under his arm, but he seemed content to lurk in the background and watch Gerda work. He always looked at her with the pride she’d seen on his face that first day. What role did he play in the bigger scheme of things?
Gerda never said more than what was necessary. Nicolas seemed wary of the doctor. He never spoke unless Gerda’s back was turned, and then he uttered quick, slurry expressions, such as, “Gshood. Sdon’t worrysh,” always accompanied with reassuring nods.
Adam had kept his word and brought Kat books and a watch that also showed the date. At least he wasn’t trying to drive her mentally unstable, only to her knees with his constant emotional torture. As much as she tried not to let his jabs affect her, they were hard to ignore. Nicolas had showed small gestures of gentleness toward her. She was wondering if she could turn him into an ally, to find out what they had planned for her after the birth. She needed to work on an escape plan in case they weren’t going to set her free.
Three weeks into her stay, Kat got her first opportunity to speak to Nicolas alone. He was staring at Kat intently, clutching the black book behind his back, as Gerda ran the usual tests. When she started to prepare the serum, she cursed.
“Why are we out of needles?” she directed at Nicolas.
For a second, he seemed not to register her question. He simply looked at Kat like a child considering the overwhelming wonders of an amusement park. Then he turned to Gerda and pulled one shoulder up to his ear.