Page 24 of The First Cut

“It will only take a few?—”

“I said no. My son is all that matters.” I cup my stomach with both hands.

Hannibal’s quiet for a second. I can see him studying me out of the corner of my eye, but I refuse to look at him. “It will only get worse, you know.”

I don’t say anything. He thinks he has me all figured out—but he has no idea.

“Why do you stay?”

It’s that question—the one that makes me, and every woman trapped in an abusive relationship, want to scream.

I turn to look at him, his question lighting a fire inside me.

“Because choices are a privilege I don’t have.”

Chapter Seven

Hannibal

Ihead out into the hallway where Nevaeh and Havoc are making out like teenagers. The sound of the door has them pulling apart.

“She should see her OB-GYN.”

“Not sure that’s an option right now. I could force her, but I don’t think that’s the way to go here.”

I sigh, wiping a hand over my face. “Probably not.”

“How is she? Is the baby okay?” Nevaeh asks.

I look at her, then at Havoc, letting him know he’s a lucky bastard. She’s a good one. Not many women would give a damn about their man’s ex and her unborn kid. He’d better not fuck it up. Like he can read my mind, he gives me a nod.

“We’re lucky we have an ultrasound machine.”

“Why do we have an ultrasound machine, anyway?” Nevaeh asks with a frown.

“One of the old-timers lost a bet, which resulted in them stealing one. Don’t ask,” I tell her, shaking my head. “Baby looks good. Obstetrics isn’t my area of expertise, but by all accounts, he looks healthy, if a little small for his gestation.”

“He?”

“Oh yeah, it’s a boy. Lola already knows, apparently, but she hasn’t told Driller and wants it kept that way.”

“And Lola?”

I look at Nevaeh. “She was more than happy for me to check on the baby, but she wouldn’t let me give her a full exam. From what I could see, there are more bruises, both old and new, on her arms and chest, including what looked like a bite mark. She shut down anything that wasn’t baby-related. But if you’re asking me if I think Driller has made her his current punching bag, then the answer is yes.”

Havoc rubs a hand over his face. “She came here to give us a warning. Told me that Khan and Driller are planning something.”

“Nothing we didn’t already know,” I say.

“Midas asked me if she’s been sent here as a spy.”

“What do you think?”

He looks at the door to the exam room and shrugs. “She’s done a lot of shit I wouldn’t have thought her capable of.”

“You think she took a beating so it would make us more sympathetic to her and let her through the gate?” Nevaeh gasps.

“Nothing would surprise me anymore. But Driller wouldn’t have given her a choice either way if that was the plan he and Khan had devised.”