Page 75 of The Captive Missing

Val’s mind flashed to Charlie, strung out and hungry, exhausted from running all night long. Closing her eyes briefly, she opened them again to the discerning stare of her husband. Jason was remembering things, too. Long ago things she had confessed to him about Cambric’s effective punishments for Gabe and herself.

“You know him.” Jason watched her expression. “Are they starving him?”

She nodded, eyes brimming uncontrolled.

“What’s his name?”

She shook her head no, then gripped his wrists tightly in her hands.

“Why won’t you tell me?” Jason asked almost to himself, she could see him thinking. “You’re protecting him… from me. Have you slept with him, Val?”

“No.” She whispered it, eyes pleading, she began to shake. “Not yet.”

“Ah.” Jason grimaced as understanding washed over him. “How long do you have?”

“I don’t know,” she choked. “I have to convince him.”

“Convince him? What kind of sick game do they have you playing?”

“I don’t want to cheat on you,” she pleaded.

“Cheat?” He paused, thumbs still stroking the skin of her cheeks. “Have they got you wanting him? Is that it?”

He was so close, his face barely inches from hers, with his strong hands steadying either side of her face. Even though she wanted to, she couldn’t look away. His intelligent eyes absorbed her own, and the miserable truth that lay there. Finally, she let go of his wrists, hands falling slack at her sides.

“No,” he whispered. Wrapping his arms around her body, he pulled her tightly against him. “Don’t you let you go. I’m not letting go.”

Tilting her face up with his fingertips, he pressed his lips to hers, kissing softly. At first, she didn’t respond. It hurt too badly. But he remained undaunted, continuing to apply his mouth to hers until she parted her lips for him and kissed back.

One hand shifted around her neck, his long fingers curling in her hair. The other hand worked its way around her body, holding her in close against him. The heat of love that flowed from him overwhelmed her senses. How could she have forgotten what this felt like?

“Do you want to have his baby?” He broke the kiss, whispering it.

“No.” She was adamant, hands shooting up to grip the collar of his shirt.

He shifted then, ever so smoothly, creating just a hint of space between them. Val could hear the others talking in the background, they were arguing. Jason tugged on the front of her shirt where it tucked into her waist. Lifting the material, she felt him expose her skin. Then all of a sudden, a pinching sharp pain stabbed her. She gasped in surprise.

“Shhhh,” Jason soothed, and the pain stopped. “No more babies, right?”

“No more babies,” she repeated, realizing he had just injected her with another dose of birth control. “Thank you.”

Laying her head on his chest, she exhaled slowly while he worked to tuck her shirt back in unnoticed. What a wretched miserable wreck her life had become. And for what?

The stress of it all came on and her knees buckled. Jason held her upright, but called out for help. The nurse got to them first and they eased Val down in a nearby chair.

“When’s the last time you ate something?” The nurse asked, holding Val’s wrist limply between her own fingers as she timed her pulse.

“This morning.”

“And before that?”

“A few days.”

“Let’s get some food in here,” Jason demanded.

One of the lawyers scurried out while the rest of them resumed their debate. How much of this could they report to the court? What effect would it have on Val in the meantime? Should they change their strategy? Admit to the Kelly Martin identity and argue that Jace was born to a non-captive?

The room went back and forth. The nurse returned to her notes. Jason hovered, face awash with concern. Agent Finn’s expression was serious, unreadable.

---