Page 22 of Shelter (The Wanderers 4)

CHAPTER8

“I brought you some clothes.”

Rush was lying on his back on the cot, tossing his makeshift ball into the air and catching it over and over. Lord knew how long he’d been doing this. He’d made the ball out of several pages from the Playboy magazine to entertain himself. It was certainly an improvement over staring at the ridiculously endowed women in the magazine, and he’d long since read every article between the covers.

He caught the ball and turned his head toward Storm. “That was kind of you,” he commented snarkily.

“Lunch too.”

“Is that what time it is? Lunchtime?” More snark in his voice. If it weren’t for the arrival of meals every few hours during the day and the long silence at night, he wouldn’t have the first clue if it were day or night. This damn basement didn’t even have small windows.

Storm leaned a hip against the metal bars and stared at Rush.

Enough snark, Rush thought. The guy looked like he might be interested in conversation this time. That was golden.

The only two people Rush had seen since arriving here were Storm and the woman he now knew was named Marian. She’d finally told him her name.

He’d been here eight days now. “How long do they plan on keeping me?” he asked solemnly, his gaze trained on Storm.

“Not sure.” Storm had softened. Rush knew this guy was undoubtedly a servant in this house, hardly better off than Rush. “Depends.”

Rush chuckled. “On if the woman gets pregnant.” It wasn’t a question.

Storm shrugged. He drew in a breath. His lips parted, but then he closed them.

“What?” Rush asked spinning to sit on the cot. “Go ahead.”

“How will we know and when?”

Rush blinked, trying to read between the lines. Finally, he understood. “Definitively? With a pregnancy test or a blood test. I assume she has a doctor who inseminated her?”

Storm nodded. “Yes.”

Rush nodded. At least these people didn’t do it themselves. “Are her periods regular?”

“Yes.”

Rush stared at this man for several seconds. He sure knew a lot about the woman who’d been inseminated. Intimate details. “You can assume when she misses her period. An over-the-counter test might give you results a few days before that if you want to know before anyone else. Some women know sooner because their bodies change.”

“How?” Storm swallowed hard.

Shit. Storm was in love with this woman. Rush suddenly felt bad for him. The guy was fidgeting with nerves, and he didn’t look like he’d slept much.

Rush drew in a breath. “Some women’s breasts get tender within days. Maybe a week. They realize their bodies are changing before a test will show a positive result.”

“Okay.” Storm ran a hand over his head. Frustration was wafting off of him.

“I’m sorry, man,” Rush murmured. “I can see this is hard on you. Imagine how I feel.” That’s my fucking baby we’re talking about.

Storm nodded. “Right. Of course.”

Rush stood and took a few steps toward Storm. He didn’t want the man to panic and flee the basement, but he wanted to do everything in his power to get this man on his side so he could help him get the fuck out of here.

He suddenly had an idea. “Look. I know you don’t belong here. I assume whoever else is on your side upstairs doesn’t either. Not just the woman but whoever she’s married to. These people are your friends. Your family.” He was guessing, but he felt confident in his assessment.

Storm lowered his gaze but didn’t deny anything. Good.

“If you can find a way to get me out of here, I can take you somewhere safe. I have people. Good people. I was with them when I was kidnapped three months ago. I assumed I was taken for my medical skills, but that obviously isn’t the case.”

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