Agony flares in me as I rush out of the dining room but out in the hallway, I bump into uncle. He’s late for dinner which isn’t unusual but what is unusual is that he seems bogged down and in the back of my mind, I wonder if what he does to Ram bothers him. He accidentally slams into me, robbing me off air and I land on my butt.
“Fuck, I didn’t see you,” he curses, “did I hurt you...?” He trails off, his eyes going lower, darkening and I know what he’s staring at. When I fell, my knitted sweater slid up, revealing my stomach. Gasping, I pull the sweater down and uncle’s hand is cold when he helps me up.
“What is that?” he slithers in a low voice and I do my best to hide that I’m trembling.
“What is what?” I whisper.
“Your belly,” he grits between his teeth. “Why the fuck is it protruding like that?”
Blood pounds in my temples as I try to come up with an excuse. I have to explain this away somehow and I breathe, “Uncle, why do you tease me so?” I pull a wounded girl pride grimace. “It’s just my food baby.”
He frowns. “Food baby?”
I nod. “You know...when you’ve had too much to eat. Dinner was delicious tonight...” I look down as if embarrassed by the conversation and uncle looks embarrassed too.
“Right,” he mutters, “sorry...”
He shakes his head to himself, about to brush past me and I pinch my lip. I’m going to betray him. Betray the man who raised me after his brother died in a shooting. Can’t say he was ever like a father figure to me but he was the only guardian in my life. I could always trust him.
And he used to be able to trust me.
“Uncle...,” I whisper and he throws a look over his shoulder, “um...” I want to say thanks for everything but instead I murmur, “I forgot to thank you for the birthday party. It was great. I loved it.”
Uncle flashes a smile. “Good. Next year we’re doing a bigger one. I’m thinking polar bears...” He winks at me before walking off and my heart dips. There won’t be a party arranged for me next year. He won’t want to have anything to do with me. And as much as I know that I should be furious with uncle for what he’s doing to Rammstein, I just can’t be.
Rammstein betrayed us. And uncle is just following the code but my loyalty doesn’t lie with him anymore. It lies with the man who stole my virginity just little over four months ago. I stroke a hand over my bump. I’m already crazy attached. To the bump, to Rammstein...they mean everything to me now.
Hurrying into the kitchen, I come to a stop before Mayra who throws me a suspicious glance. “You look like you want something,” she grunts, “the answer is no.”
“Please,” I plead, “you have to help me out.”
“Spit it out then,” she sighs, no doubt thinking I’ll ask her to do my laundry. “What do you need?”
I wring my hands. “Your car keys.” When she begins protesting I say, “I’m going to smuggle Rammstein out of the compound tonight.”
“You’re doing what?” she screams and I tell her to shush. “Forget it, I’m not helping you. They’ll slit my throat and what you really need is a good advice, missy.” She takes a deep breath. “And here it comes: stop fraternizing with the enemy!”
“He’s not my enemy,” I hiss, “you don’t understand.” Sucking a breath, I pull up my sweater. “I’m pregnant with Rammstein’s kid.”
Mayra turns white in the face, horror flashing in her eyes. “You little fool. It’s worse than I thought.”
Frantically nodding I say, “You’ll help me out then?”
She slowly shakes her head, looking at me as if she doesn’t know whether to give me a hug or slap me on the wrist. “You’ve made your bed. If you didn’t want to be in this mess, you shouldn’t have spread your legs.”
My face heats at the crude words. Spread my legs...oh yeah, I seem to recall they were wrapped around Rammstein’s neck. The heat increases and I ramble excuses before I start pleading again. But Mayra’s not having it, ushering me out of the kitchen and I turn cold.
Back up in my room, I throw myself on the bed and bury my face in the pillows. What do I do now? I counted on Mayra’s help but I can’t force her. The only other possible plan is to simply untie Rammstein, give him a gun and hope for the best.
If we’re lucky, we’ll manage to get out of the compound unscathed. I throw a look out the window, at the iron gates where guards patrol. Nobody gets in or out without being checked and I slam my hand onto the mattress. Damn, this is complicated...!
Getting up, I pace back and forth while trying to come up with the best solution. The hours wander past midnight and my eyes squeeze because I know what they’re doing downstairs. It’s another session. But I can’t help him now. I have to wait until I’m sure the whole house has gone to bed.
Waiting a little bit longer until I’m pretty sure the coast is clear, I sneak out of my room and go downstairs. I’m being careful, cautious not to get caught which is why I almost scream when I run into Julien.
What the hell? Where did she come from?
She looks like she’s been lying in wait for me, a calculated glimmer in her eyes and she crosses her arms over her chest. “Suspish,” she says with her brows raised, “that you would be sneaking around at this time.” She lets out a laugh. “Oh, I heard you talking in the kitchen to the slave. Wait until I tell boss you’re compromising our safety.”