Page 120 of Cruelest Contract
A series of unsettling options gallops through my mind.
Did someone rummage through the bathroom trash and find the tests?
Are therecamerasover the toilet?
Is my internet use being monitored?
Is Cass psychic?
At this point, nothing would surprise me.
“Cecilia is expecting,” he explains. “Julian will want to be told immediately that he’s going to be a father.”
Fort and Getty are now gaping at me in shock.
By nature, I’m slow to anger. But right now my rage rises by the second. Cass has not only robbed me of my privacy but he’s stealing my right to inform my own husband that I’m pregnant.
This is outrageous. Inexcusable. Unhinged.
Seriously.FUCK HIM!
I throw my napkin down and stand. “I’m finished with lunch. You call whoever the hell you want.”
“Cecilia!” he roars as I flee the room.
He shouts my name again but I’m not stopping. I need to get out of here or I’ll start screaming.
Too bad I’m not a runner even in ideal circumstances. Usually the best I can do is pathetically trot along a few yards at a time until my knee starts to ache. Add a calf-length skirt and the effort becomes downright pitiful, as it is right now. I expect to get grabbed and dragged back to the dining room any second to face Cass’s wrath but I reach the front door and quickly unbolt the locks. Overhead, the bull skull’s death grin mocks me.
“Shut up,” I tell it.
Glancing behind me, I’m relieved that no one is chasing. There is only Louisa, hunched beneath the accent table in the middle of the foyer. Her unblinking green cat eyes study my every move but she remains still as a statue.
I shut the door behind me and gulp the fresh air. The clouds are busy overhead as they thicken and turn angrily dark. The front porch isn’t nearly far enough and I hurry toward open ground, wading through the grass and wishing I’d brought carkeys so I could take a drive to clear my head. I’d like to be alone for a little while.
Over by the barn, a horse trailer is being unloaded by Miguel and one of the cowboys. Closer to the house, two of Sonny’s Mafia soldiers meet up and exchange words. They both turn to stare at me and I wonder if Cass has already alerted the security team that I’m on the loose.
I used to be so lonely. Now I’m never alone, not really. Be careful what you wish for.
Resisting the urge to make an obscene gesture to the men, I face toward the mountains instead and drop into the grass. The last few days have been hot. Not Arizona level of hot but warm. Today there’s a refreshing breeze blowing and rain is expected. The last time it rained was the day I agreed to be Julian’s wife.
A moment later, a large body drops down in the grass just inches away. I’m not expecting that Getty of all people would be the one who followed me but here he is.
“That was fucked up,” he says.
“I won’t apologize. I don’t care how outraged your father is.”
“No, I mean it was fucked up to do what he did.”
“We are in agreement,” I sniff.
Thunder growls in the distance. The next gust of wind is strong enough to make me shiver.
“Fort’s better at shit like this than I am,” Getty says. “He’ll make sure Dad doesn’t tell Julian a thing. That’s your right and no one gets to take it from you, not even him.”
This unexpected morsel of kindness from Julian’s most difficult brother sends me over the edge. I pull up my knees and hug them. Tears spill over my cheeks and now my nose is running. I don’t care. I swipe the back of my hand across my face. If Getty is offended, he can look away.
“Here.” Getty has removed his shirt and hands it over in a ball.
