Page 94 of Protected By the Convicts
No one else spoke. Stupid, every one of them. They didn’t understand how their reactions could crush Hannah. She was vulnerable now, not sure how they’d react, if they’d still want her. Ky’Li and Ren especially. Both had said they didn’t want kids.
Hannah’s face fell as she searched the men’ faces and didn’t find what she’d hoped to see. . . approval.
The protein bar fell from her hand as she turned over on her side, her back to them. Sersie sat beside her and massaged her back. “We really are excited, Hannah, even if no one else is smiling.”
“I’m smiling,” Ky’Li said.
Hannah peered over his shoulder. “Yes, he’s smiling.”
“Damn, and here I thought that was your constipated look, Ky’Li,” Sersie said.
Hannah laughed. Sersie always could make her laugh.
“You wouldn’t mind having a kid, Ky?” she asked. “Even knowing you may not be able to father one yourself?”
“I will be just as much a father to this or any other children you have, sha’vi. Our child will be spoiled though, with so many fathers.”
“When he or she is young. Eventually, it will be just me and the baby. All of you will leave.”
Vaughn felt sick at how insensitive he’d been. It all made sense, suddenly. “Is that why you didn’t want to return here, Hannah?” he asked. “You thought we’d leave without you?”
“I’m still Level 5. That’s not going to change. Whether it’s here or on Veenith, I’ll always be in a prison colony. But all of you will go home one day. Ren’s practically gone already.”
Ren had turned his back on the group. He stared out the window at the mountain behind the med-center.
Hell, if Ren rejected her, it would destroy her.
* * *
HANNAH
Hannah didn’t want her guys to stay because of her or the baby, especially Ren. He wanted to be anywhere but here on Narkos. He’d said as much. He’d spentyearsbuilding a ship.
One week until he left. Ren deserved to go home. Even now, he struggled with a choice he never thought he’d have. It’s the very reason she’d stayed on Veenith until Manager Thorne forced her onto that transport. Ren deserved to go home, they all did.
“Ren?” Vaughn asked.
“I’m thinking,” he said without turning.
“The baby’s probably not yours, Ren,” Hannah said. As much as it pained her to lose Ren, she needed to let go of him. “Only a 33% chance.”
“The baby is mine,” he countered, his voice harsh and steady. Still, he refused to face her.
“You don’t know that.Idon’t even know that.”
“It’s your child, Princess, which automatically makes it mine.”
“Not legally. Our unit has been disbanded. You can leave here, like you’ve always wanted. And maybe it’s for the best, considering you don’t want kids.”
Hannah couldn’t stop her body from shaking. Sersie tried to pull her against him, but she didn’t want to be comforted. She’d only fall apart again and cry like a weak fool. She’d known from the beginning that one day each and every one of her guys would leave her.
Foley had actually done her a favor by sending her to Veenith. It had been unexpected, but he had essentially freed her men to leave guilt-free when they completed their terms on Narkos. Now, each one would sacrifice to stay with her, or they’d leave her behind even if they didn’t want to. She refused to saddle them with that emotional burden.
While Hannah didn’t want Ren or any of them to leave, ultimately it wasn’t about what she wanted, but rather what they needed. It’s all he’d dreamed about for years. He’d been sent here unjustly, and then kept here, again unjustly. Ren needed to go home.
Without warning, Ren turned. Bright blue eyes caught her, the anger in his face all too familiar. He despised her for putting him in this position.
“Fuck Foley and him disbanding our unit,” Ren said. “We’ll re-register. Make the baby officially mine.”
