Page 32 of Angel Captive

Fuck me. “What does that mean?” I squeaked out. “Like I’m going to have a baby in the next hour? That can’t be healthy for me or the baby.”Xaden. We were going to have a baby together? I was both elated and scared shitless.

“Of course not,” Ursmeve chided. “The youngest human fetus to survive a premature birth was twenty-three weeks. But with our technology, you’ll have this baby in three months tops, but the fetus will be fully grown as if you’d carried full-term.”

“No,” I said in a whisper, not quite believing what I was hearing.

“Oh yes.” She plugged in the machine. “One month per trimester. So even though you’re only days pregnant by our calculations, your pregnancy is actually weeks ahead.”

I jerked against my bindings, but the cloth-covered cuffs were tight, the chains clanked against the bottom of the table.

“Don’t strain yourself. Aren’t you anxious to see your baby?” She flipped on the ultrasound and it hummed to life.

20

Riley

Chills raked all over my body and goosebumps coated my flesh as Ursmeve squirted out a gel over my stomach. Luckily, the waistband of my cutoff shorts sat low on my hips and I prayed that she wouldn’t notice the scalpel I had in the hem.

She placed the wand of the ultrasound on my stomach, clicking her tongue as she moved it around. Maybe there was hope that I wasn’t pregnant. Then they’d have to put me back with Xaden and I could see him again. Make sure that he was okay and healing. God, I missed him so much and I wished with everything that he was here with me now to see our child if there was one.

“There you are, stinkers,” Ursmeve said.

I jerked my head up to see the monitor. “Twins?” I couldn’t keep the awe out of my voice. I’d always wanted a sibling and to know mine and Xaden would have an instant brother or sister was the coolest thing I’d heard since getting recaptured.

“No.” She tapped three black blobs with white centers. “I knew from your bloodwork you were a prime candidate.”

Bloodwork? Oh God, she must mean the sexual diseases test all the contestants for the speed dating had to do along with a complete medical history forms.

“Triplets.” She sighed contentedly as though she were the one pregnant instead of me.

“Three—Three babies?” I couldn’t believe it and stared at the screen.

“Yes, it’s so wonderful.” She flipped off the machine. “I’ll be right back; you need your rest and I’ll have some more nourishing food brought to you right away.” After she pushed the ultrasound out of the way, she practically skipped out of the room.

The guard left with her, closing the door behind him. I didn’t doubt that he’d taken post outside the door.

My insides quivered at the thought of carrying three babies. Triplets. I had to get out of here. I had to get Xaden out of here too. There was no way I was going to leave the father of my children and the man I was falling in love with behind. First, I had to get out of these cuffs. I yanked on the chains realizing that they hooked around underneath the gurney. So, I pulled as far as I could on my righthand side. The edge of my fingertips nearly touching the hem of my pants. I strained, pulling on the chain some more but there was no more give. I couldn't give up. I had three lives inside me to counting on me to save them and myself.

I tried again and this time I lifted my hips scrunching my abs as hard as I could. My fingers lightly brushed across the hem of my pants and I grabbed them and yanked them up higher. I gasped, panting from my excursion, but I could reach the hem much easier now. Biting my lip, I worked the scalpel back out of the hole I'd cut in the fabric. My palms were sweating as I turned the scalpel in my hand, using the sharp edge toward my wrist and the cloth cuff. Slowly, I worked the blade back and forth as well as I could on the strap holding the fabric together. Every second my gaze flashed to the door expecting one of the Roulex to burst inside and catch me. My hand cramped as I worked, but I didn't stop. All I had to do was get this one cuff off and then the other three would be easy. Sweat stung my eyes, but I blinked rapidly trying to clear my vision.

Outside the door, voices murmured, and I started to shake and try to cut the cloth faster. I accidentally jabbed the pointed end of the scalpel into my wrist and inhaled sharply from the sting. Blood dribbled from the wound.Keep it together, Riley.If I didn't stay calm, then this was never going to work. I sped up my cuts of the cloth, feeling like I was running out of time. With the cloth finally broke off my wrist I turned to my left and started to saw the second cuff. This time because I could move my hand while I cut, the cuff came away much faster. I panted as I sat up and began working on the cuff on my left leg, and my right. Free from the gurney I jumped up and ran to the supply closet that Ursmeve had left open. Hoping, that I would find more computer equipment in order to rig a trap for when Charred and Ursmeve returned. But there was nothing in the tiny supply closet except a few extension cords and another ultrasound machine that looked even older than the one Ursmeve had out. That was okay I could work with that.

I popped off the back of the ultrasound machine and started to pull out the wires that I would need to cause an electrocution. Then I pushed the ultrasound machine to the side of the door, wrapping the exposed wires around the doorknob. It wasn't as good as a swollen battery would've been, but it was enough to give whoever came in through the door enough of a shock to buy me precious seconds. Then I would take whatever I could get.

Heavy footsteps sounded outside the door along with Ursmeve's excited voice. I stepped back holding my scalpel ready and ducked behind the ultrasound machine. I prayed it would be Charred who would open the door as he would be harder to fight then Ursmeve. But then again, any of the Roulex guards would be difficult to get past even with my weapon. The doorknob turned and then a pop-pop-pop sounded. The sound of a body smacking against the floor had me holding my breath. If whoever was out there decided to call reinforcements before they came in, I was screwed.

"What's going on here?" Ursmeve said, stepping over the threshold.

With all my strength I shoved the ultrasound at her. She screamed falling to the floor. I dove over her body and out the open door. Charred lay twitching on the floor and I wanted so much to kick him while he was down, but I couldn't waste time. Another Roulex, shorter than Ursmeve and dressed in a similar lab coat rushed up to me, but I slashed at him with my scalpel and he backed away holding up his hands. I had to throw them off my trail because this place was going to be crawling with Roulex everywhere especially now that they knew I was pregnant carrying triplets.

"Where is the stairwell to the shuttle?"

The Roulex stared at me like I had lost my mind. "What-what shuttle?"

"The ones on the roof." Was he just trying to stall me to give the others time to corner me? "Where," I said through gritted teeth stepping forward with my scalpel ready.

His reptilian eyes darted back and forth as though seeking help. "Around the corner, the fifth door down on the left."

An odor like rotten eggs drifted toward me and I backed up shaking my head. Why did I smell such horrible things sometimes and not others? Did have to do with my pregnancy? My mind raced with the other times I had smelled something horrible. Was it only when people lied… Or was I reading into things? I straighten my shoulders because it didn't matter.

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