If Regina were anyone else, I would beat the shit out of her with the butt of the gun until she told me the truth, but one scream out of her mouth and this room will flood with killer bodyguards faster than the sand from a smashed hourglass.
I stalk around the desk and crowd Regina up against the wall. She clearly trembles as I press the pussy pistol to her throat. “I would think twice before pulling a gun on me again,” I threaten. “Unlike you, I’m not afraid to pull the trigger.”
“Stevie,” she forces out a fearful warning. I hear her loud and clear. I just hope she hears me, too.
I lower the gun, and she visibly sags. I step back and drop the silver revolver on her desk before I storm out of the room without another word.
AUDIOSLAVE CROONS THROUGHthe speaker for the ten millionth time.
It’s been three months since I ran out on Baz. Since I turned my back and went on with my life. I wanted to look for him. But I didn’t. After I walked out of Regina’s office, I decided it was best if I just let him go. It may have been the worst decision I’ve ever made, but I’ll never forget that hurt, betrayed look in his gorgeous green eyes as he stood there holding my gun. How could he ever forgive me? How could he ever trust me again? He was right. I lied to him from the minute I met him. Maybe not about my name, but definitely about everything else.
As good as we were together, we are better off apart. Which, if I’m honest, is devastating. But that’s life.Myfucked-up life.
My stomach rolls again as I stand in front of the mirror finishing up my makeup. I’ve been nauseous for days and barely surviving on crackers and ginger ale.
“¡Dios mío!” I hear Claudia before I see her. “This song again?” She leans on the doorframe of the bathroom and rolls her eyes. Okay, so maybe I’m a little obsessed. But this song is all I have left of Baz.
“You can turn it off if you want.”
Her expression softens. I hate it when she looks at me like that. “I guess if you are going to pine over a lost love, today would be the day.”Valentine’s Day. Ick.“I brought you presents. More ginger ale and this?” She pulls out a small, neatly folded paper bag from her little messenger purse that’s draped across the front of her body. I take it curiously. When I look inside the bag, I swear all the blood drains from my face.
“A pregnancy test?”
“Don’t act surprised, chiquitina. This is just to validate what we already both know.”
I stare at Claudia stoically. She knows everything. Every small, minute, glorious, arousing, heart-aching detail.
And as soon as I started to get sick, suspicions rose.
I place my hand on my sour stomach.
“Have you given any thought about what you’ll do?” she asks supportively.
I shrug unsurely.
“An abortion?” she offers delicately.
“No,” I immediately contest. “I want it. I’ll keep it.”
Her eyebrows furrow worriedly. She knows who I am. What my life is like.
“How would that work?”
“I don’t know. I’d have to figure it out. Maybe I’ll run. Start over somewhere. I just know I won’t get rid of it.”
Claudia steps into the bathroom and throws her arms around me. I hug her tightly. She’s my only friend, and I love her more than words could ever express.
“My brother could help you. He knows people,” she hints. “He could get you a new identity.”
“Claudia, no.” I push her back so I can look at her face. “I would never ask you to do that. I would never put you in that position.” I know how tumultuous her relationship is with her criminal brothers. I know being mixed up with them is what got her hooked on drugs and nearly ruined her whole life. No way. I can handle this myself.
There’s a hard bang on the front door, and we both startle.
“Shit, that’s my ride. Listen, stay right here, out of sight. Wait ten minutes before you leave.”
She nods. No one in my other life knows about Claudia, and I plan to keep it that way.
I give her one more quick hug, grab my coat and purse off my bed, and hurry to open the front door. Right before I do, I stuff the pregnancy test into my clutch. I swing the door open to a man who looks like a secret service agent. Tall, indifferent, dark suit impeccably pressed. He’s one of Regina’s henchman, and he’s here to escort me to some stupid party in the city she demanded I be at.
