Page 38 of Reclaiming Adelaide

I smiled, wishing my problems were so easily handled with a bullet to someone’s brains.

Adelaide’s chest moved up and down in a steady rhythm as I moved my hand down to her belly.

Was there something there that would tether her to me forever? Would that be so bad? It was what I wanted, but not anymore. Not after what had come to light.

This was what happened when you acted impulsively. She drove my recklessness into new heights, and now look…

Her shirt rode up, exposing her belly and a purple, ugly mark marring her skin. I pushed it higher, then dipped my fingers into her sweats and pulled. A deep, angry bruise covered her hip.

The inside resembled that of a galaxy with its swirls of purples, blacks, and specks of white scattered throughout—all the places the blood didn’t touch. The outside branched into yellows and greens, and that’s where the ugliness lay.

What the hell happened to her?

Anger sliced through me as I thought of those men who put their hands on her.

Didn’t I say I relinquished my claim on her? Three days ago, I couldn’t imagine being here—protecting her, bringing her to the basement.

I wassupposedto be mad at her—Iwasmad at her.

No. Iammad at her. And mad didn’t seem like the appropriate word for this situation.

There was no forgetting what she’d done, but that didn’t mean I wanted her to die, especially after this…

My hand slipped back over her belly, feeling the thump of her pulse beneath my touch.

What the hell had we gotten ourselves into?

What drove me to the point of madness that I’d come inside her?

And after how I treated her, it wouldn’t surprise me if she never told me she had my child growing inside of her.

Her smooth skin dipped as I moved my thumb back and forth, caressing her abdomen, my head tilting to the side as I stood mesmerized by her exquisiteness.

“Clean your hand before it gets infected, and I have to use my favorite bone saw,” Tonk said, jolting me out of my hypnotic state.

I sucked in a breath, forgetting about a world made up of just Adelaide and me.

“You’re morbid.” I turned my rag-covered hand over, examining my blood-stained fingers. “I’ll be fine.”

“I wasn’t asking.”

Pulling Adelaide’s shirt back over her torso, I laid her hand over her belly and stood. “How long will that keep her out?”

“Depends on her metabolism, but I’d say around twelve hours, maybe longer.”

Enough time for me to figure out what was going on and let her parents know she was okay. Lord knows she didn’t have the courtesy of saying anything to them.

I walked away from her with trepidation.

After everything that she’d done—the scheming, conniving little bitch—I still wanted to protect her. In fact, I saw myself doing anything to keep her safe.

Why?

What was so special about her that I’d erase my rules for life?

Loyalty was essential.

But I’d lay down everything for her?

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