Her fingers tightened around mine again.
“Don’t do anything until Healer confirms the gustation, Reaper,” Grimm said, coming out of the shadows of the room. I knew he hadn’t left. The silent man never left. He stayed hidden, observing, listening to everything.
“She doesn’t need this Grimm.”
“What if it’s yours?”
“Huh,” I said, turning to look at him.
“That baby might be yours, Max,” Grimm stated softly. “I saw her fingers move. “She’s telling you to wait.”
“What if it isn’t mine.”
“Then do what you think is best. If she doesn’t wake and tell you differently, you make the decision. She may hate you for it, but she will be alive with no living reminder of what she endured. You can live with that.”
Nodding, I knew he was right. I would gladly live with that. Hate was an emotion I was familiar with. I lived with hate every day of my life. I would willingly accept my fate where she was concerned.
Several more nurses and Remi’s doctor and Healer came and went in the hours that followed, each doing their own test. Yet when they accompanied a female into the room who dragged a machine behind her, I stiffened. The time had come.
“Mr. Doherty, my name is Isabelle Chastain. I will be doing a vaginal ultrasound on Remi. Will you be staying in the room with her?”
I nodded, refusing to move. Instead, I watched as two nurses moved Remi’s legs, placing them in stirrups that were at the end of the bed. In a matter of minutes, the doctor had inserted a probe into Remi, and I cringed, praying she didn’t wake up to this intrusion. She needed to sleep and rest. I worried this nightmare of hers wouldn’t end anytime soon, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I needed more information.
“Okay,” Dr. Chastain said, pointing to a black and white screen. “There is the fetus. The baby has a good heartbeat, and everything looks good. From the measurements, I would say Remi is about seven to eight weeks along.”
At that moment, Grimm ran from the room shouting, “I’m going to be an Uncle!” to which Savage was heard celebrating with him. I looked down at Remi, tears falling from my eyes. I gently kissed her lips and whispered. “You hear that, baby. You are gonna be a momma. I’m gonna be a daddy. Please wake up. Tell me your happy about this.”
Nothing.
She never moved.
TWENTY-FIVE
REMI
I wish I could say I was happy to see Grimm when he found me in the small closet in that house, but I wasn’t. Instead, I said nothing, did nothing as he picked me up and carried me gently to one of the erected tents on the front of the property. I could see everyone working tirelessly to help those like me, who were taken and abused so wretchedly. I worried for the others, but not me. I didn’t care anymore.
The Golden Skulls were not what they seemed. They were the same as the others. The vile creatures lurked in the night, stealing and taking what didn’t belong to them. They were part of the bigger scheme to sell, trade, and rape those who were innocent. I didn’t need to see anymore. I’d seen enough.
When Grimm placed me on a table, I was thankful to know that a medic, a real genuine person who only wanted to help me, worked furiously to make sure that I was okay. I wish I had told him I wasn’t worth it. To save the others. To let me die, but I couldn’t. I hadn’t been able to say anything for days now. My throat felt like a barren desert, and I couldn’t force my lips to move. In fact, my whole body felt off as if I were no longer part of it. I was thankful for that because I couldn’t feel what he was doing to me.
“Remi, oh God, baby, what did they do to you?” Healer whispered, looking down at me as if I were something precious to him, but I knew better. He was just playing along for the others. To make it seem liked he cared. I knew he didn’t. He was a Golden Skull. He was with them, but I knew better.
“Remi, hang on, sweetheart. Just hang on,” he kept saying over and over again. What for? I wasn’t going anywhere. He could do what he wanted with me. I was just a shell. I wasn’t there. I had delved so deep within my mind, I felt nothing, not even the needle he stuck into my arm. I just laid there, letting them do whatever they wanted. I had all I could take. My body was not my own anymore as I just waited for my heart to stop beating. I tried to move on, to find something better. To live without pain or fear. I wanted to die.
Why wouldn’t they let me die?
People moved about me as Healer shouted out orders, the others doing his bidding. I thought about warning them, to tell them not to trust him, but Grimm returned, gasping for breath.
I really liked Grimm. He was sweet. Gentle and kind. He was just an illusion like the others. No one could be that kind and be a monster. He was like the others, even though I had a hard time believing it, but the cut on his back told me everything I needed to know. He was with them—the others.
I heard someone scream in pain, anger, and sorrow. I wished I could go to that person and tell them it would be alright, but I couldn’t.
“Get him out of here!” Healer shouted.
There was a scuffle. I couldn’t see who it was, but it was close. Then I heard him, and I scurried deeper into my mind. He was here. Close to me. The very reason I was taken in the first place. Their leader. Death himself had come.
“Don’t make me leave her.”