Covet Not (34 page)

LVI

Clara stretched and felt a too
warm body draped across her back. It wasn't really surprising, but having a
body against your front at the same time, was.

She tried to
recapture the dream that was drifting like smoke, but it separated itself from
her front and her back, revealing the reality that she was in between two men.

Her mother
would just die.

The previous
evening came back to her, and she squirmed as the body behind her moved closer.

Christ, what
had they done?

She didn't
regret a second of it, but the danger couldn't be denied.

They would
have to be careful.

She felt a
hand move across her stomach and ribs. “Relax,” Raphe whispered.

“
We have to be careful,” Clara whispered
back.

“
Oh.” He didn't say anything for a minute.
“We will.”

Clara
frowned. “Why did you think I was tense?”

“
Morning after regrets,” Raphe enunciated
slowly.

Clara turned
and faced him. “Not a chance.”

“
Greedy cunt.” He pulled her against him
and rested his cheek against the top of her head. He was normally tactile and
affectionate, but he'd given her some space those months together, though he
would sneak a cuddle in and pretend it was an accident.

“
Good thing I've got two of you, then.” She
could hear his heartbeat speed up when she spoke.

“
Pretty soon you'll be begging us both to
take you at the same time.”

“
That's...ambitious?”

Raphe
laughed. “That's one way of putting it.”

“
Is this cuddle routine something y'all did
every morning?” A muffled voice came from the other side of the bed.

“
I don't make a habit of cuddling the wives
of other men...unless I'm fucking the husband, too.” His heart pounded in
Clara's ear. Sometimes she wondered if he was aware of what he was saying or
did he wait until after to think about it.

“
We're fucking?” Jude asked, and Clara
could hear him stretch. Raphe's heart was going to beat straight out of his
chest.

She felt Jude
turn and press fully against her back, and then she could hear them kiss until
thunder clapped loudly.

Then, a mouth
moved across her shoulder to the back of her neck.

“
Anything need to be done today, boss?”
Raphe asked, though he didn't intend to leave the bed.

“
Not in this weather. We need to teach you
how to shoot, though. Or at least get you comfortable enough to handle a gun.”

“
Won't I be with you?”

“
Father expects to catch us fucking. He's
hoping for it.”

“
Okay.” Raphe didn't quite understand.

“
Clara, do you remember the night we first
had dinner? Before that storm?”

“
And your barn caught on fire?”

“
Yeah. Not an hour before, I was in the
barn being fucked by a man who had worked with me for a while. Father shot him
in the head
‒
”

“
While he was fucking you? Fuck.” Just when
Raphe thought he had a handle on Agnesson, he found out something worse.

“
You burned the barn to clean up the mess,”
Clara said, working it out.

“
Yes. I regret it, but at the time, I could
see the chain of action clearly. Father would've said he walked into an attack,
and even if I denied it, and said I wanted it, Father could still say it looked
like an attack. Martin would rather be dead than have his name dragged through
the mud as a faggot.”

“
Your father. He's just been allowed to run
wild all this time,” Raphe murmured, thinking of clever ways to take him out.
With his dick.

“
Tell Jude about Daniel, Raphe.”

“
I've heard of a Daniel, I think.”

“
I'm under the impression that when he
needs something done that isn't entirely legal, or ethical, he goes to the
Snawder’s. I met Daniel in Arkansas
‒
”

“
How did he get past the border?”

“
I imagine the guard was paid because he
was in and out fairly quickly. He was after something specific. Someone who was
blond and who wouldn't be missed. Daniel was...infuriating. He was hot as fuck,
but truly an idiot and it drove me crazy. He hated wanting me, but still kept
coming back for more. The last night we had together, he told me he loved me,
and that he was going to take me back home. I'm assuming your father
overheard.”

“
Oh, fuck.”

“
Yeah. He made Daniel blow him, which
wasn't a hardship for Daniel because he worshipped him, but at the end,
Agnesson cut off his air. Daniel eventually died by inhaling Agnesson's
ejaculate. It was the most horrible thing I'd ever seen, and I want to kill
him.”

The thunder
shook the house, and they could hear a knock on the door. Raphe ran to the
bathroom and Jude pulled on his pants, then went to see who it was. He hoped
Shula was okay.

It was Sofia,
and he ushered her in quickly, not knowing when the rain would start. “I can't
stay. I've made Clara some fresh juice. For the baby. It's nutritious and will
help ease morning sickness.”

It took Jude
a few seconds to remember that his wife was pregnant. He took the drink from
her. “Oh. Thank you. I'll get her
‒
”

“
Don't worry about it. We'll all talk
later. I need to get back before it starts to pour.” Sofia opened the screen
door. She looked back and was reluctant to ask. “Any luck finding Jared's
wife?”

“
Oh! Yes! I'm so sorry we didn't think to
come tell you. She was alive. She was freezing, but Jared warmed her in the
bath. We left them when she woke.” It didn't even occur to him to let Sofia
know. His father certainly didn't care.

“
I can't believe it. How did she survive?”

“
The mud. She was brilliant. She took her
dress and hung it on the tree branches and pressed herself into the side of a
muddy tributary. She was a hundred miles down at least.”

“
That's amazing. I'm so happy she was
found,” she said as thunder clapped again. “I'll let you know when your father
takes a day away. We have a lot to talk about.”

He nodded and
held the screen open. He had no idea what needed to be said. It sounded
terribly cryptic. Unless she had been able to uncover some things. “Walk fast.”
He looked at the sky. He watched her jog back, but lost sight of her before the
rain started.

Spending the
day in bed sounded perfect.

“
Who was that?” Raphe asked as he crept
around the corner.

“
Sofia. Father's live-in,” Jude said. “She
brought Clara some sort of juice that is good for the baby.”

“
Like a maid? How does your father keep
them?”

“
He doesn't. They go missing or they leave
quickly.” Jude was trying not to let Raphe distract him, but that was difficult
when he walked nearer. Naked. He took the cup from Jude. And took a sip. “Mmm.
That's...not very good after a second. Clara doesn't have to drink this, does
she? It's like ginger beer and cooked spinach with some pineapple to cover the
taste. I don't see how this would be healthy for the baby.”

Jude laughed.
“Let's take it to her and see how long we can keep her there.”

LVII

The drive to McAllen was one
blown out tire to a blaze. It wouldn't take much to ignite the southern part of
the state.

It was a
graveyard of wind turbines, but the old rusted pump jacks shrieked with each
plow and pull as it gutted a near-barren land.

But Texas was
steadfast and resilient. History had proved it. And there were millions of
acres still untouched in west Texas. Protected until needed.

There was
still even more oil to be found, but it was deep, and most of it was in the
Gulf.

The rest of
the world had moved on, and had recently started making a fuss about all of
Texas' offshore oil platforms.

Animals
weren't stupid, they could easily leave the area and adapt elsewhere, and the
ocean was so vast, it was nigh improbable for Texas to ruin entire ecosystems.

Such drama.

All the
photographs on the world news circuits of the dead animals on the beaches of
eastern Mexico were fabricated.

Texas was
invited to a world summit on preserving the world as it was, but James thought
it was something they shouldn't get involved with. They left everyone else
alone, and they expected the same courtesy. Those suits in Austin would get
eaten alive if they went, and while he was known as one of the old moneyed
families who ran the state, he wasn't a city slicker, and he preferred working
on a local level. He found he could be more effective and convincing
politically that way.

From the
shoreline in McAllen, you would have never known that the water swallowed up
the promiscuity of Padre Island. If he believed in divine intervention, that
would've been perfect. But the people believed that nonsense right away.

He wasn't
concerned with the climate or pollution because life wasn't that long anyhow.

The coastal
cities were connected by oil platforms. It acted as a barrier. Houston was
under water, but you'd never know it. The scrap metal of the city heated into
an intricate labyrinth of platforms, rigs, and refineries.

Houston had
the only working refineries in the world.

Many people
in Texas had no idea how far up the water came. Any maps they might have, if
they could read them properly, would be outdated. Everyone born in the last
hundred years was taught that the ocean was a place of industry and not a place
for families. That it was dangerous and unpredictable.

But the flea
markets brought them in.

James could
see why. There was shop after shop of little nonsensical trinkets and
interesting foods, so the experience was quite different than any of the
cities.

There were
several decades after secession where the flea markets weren't allowed to
operate, but as the ocean rose, and more platforms were built, more jobs were
created, which brought people to the coast again. The flea markets were allowed
back in to bring money into McAllen, and to supply goods and services to the
families of rig workers.

Which brought
in tourists. But the drive was tedious, so McAllen opened inns and became a
little hub of a seaside city that amounted to nothing at all beautiful.

He'd searched
the Internet asking where to find pills to help relax you in McAllen. It
brought up a handful of shops. He searched for pills to help you start
menstruating, and that narrowed it down to two shops.

James wasn't
sure how accurate a message board could be, but no one was contradicting the
information.

There were a
lot of inquiries about the last one. Abortion was perfectly legal if you
weren't the one carrying the fetus. The Bible was clear on that fact. If a
pregnant woman is harmed, and she loses the fetus, the person who harmed her
isn't penalized for killing the unborn. And no time limit is placed upon it.

The husband
decided the fate of the attacker with no regard to the lost baby if he chose to
do so.

Only men and
judges decided if a woman could get an abortion. Whether she liked it or not.
She would be institutionalized if she self-harmed, and the baby taken away.

She would
also be without choice if the husband decided to end the pregnancy. Even
without justification. But most of the time it was due to already having more
children than they could care for.

But sometimes
it was chosen to remind the woman that she had someone she must always answer
to.

If a woman
has relations before she is wed, she'd not be able to hide her secret, and it
was another way to keep women from denying their sinful nature while being
scrutinized and judged by perfect strangers.

Though James
didn't have to bring in sin. Women were manipulative creatures, God or no, and
it was good to keep them where they could do the least damage.

Because even
history couldn't deny the destructive nature of women. Wars were fought for far
less.

It didn't
take James very long to acquire the medication he sought. The market was dusty
and crowded and full of wild children running from their harried mothers. Chaotic
enough not to be noticed.

He'd hoped
for more discretion, but the shop owner was very good with pretending the
language gap was larger than it was. There were others there buying various
things and James had a hard time figuring out what was being bought.

There were a
lot of women with babes in arms and he wondered how common it actually was for
women to kill their babies.

He was
tempted to introduce legislature for it later on, but he didn't have time for a
pet project. And there was always the possibility that someone in Austin had
knocked up their mistress and sent her down to take care of it herself.

James didn't
want to alienate himself from the political side just in case he wanted to
further his own agendas.

He still went
in with a plan just in case he was recognized. He had planned to say his
youngest grandchild developed an intolerance to penicillin, and he was told to
come down here to get an alternative because it would be faster than getting it
from the manufacturer.

But he
doubted anyone cared. That's one thing that was so great about Texas: rules
were set up early and remained steadfast. With that sort of order, a population
didn't require any additional control.

Additionally,
they wouldn't have any volunteer police walking the market simply because it
was the bread and butter of so many who didn't have the money to leave the
area.

The
medications weren't strictly illegal. There wasn't any legislation at all, but
the waters turned muddy when you were a woman seeking an abortificant. She would
have to be vague, and the shop owner would need to understand her vagueries.

It was good
economics. The laws on medications were done away with quickly after secession.
Texas rid itself of the addicted riffraff, and there were a few pharmaceutical
companies that stayed and thrived.

One didn't
need a half dozen medications to keep your dick hard. Or a dozen more for pain
relief and allergies.

But there
would always be a need for simply
more.
And this dusty, dirty, crowded
market in McAllen, Texas gave the people more.

And he'd
bought enough pills to tranquilize a horse for six months. He cleaned out the
man's supply.

He'd need to
plan carefully. Hopefully it wouldn't take very long to get her pregnant.

And he'd have
plenty on hand to keep his family from taking over.

“
Per our records, it doesn't appear you
came in for the follow-up. We need to know for certain to prevent any
unnecessary procedures.” The doctor's assistant didn't look any older than his
youngest son. Surely, he didn't know what he was doing.

James
would've walked out, but this needed to be done. “It slipped my mind. I'm a
very busy man.”

The assistant
didn't seem surprised. It must happen a lot. He retrieved a small plastic cup
with a lid and wrote J. Agnesson on the side with a marker. “Fill this up. This
room is private. The door locks automatically. When you are done, put the lid
on and leave it up there in the window.” The young man pointed to the small
sliding window before he stood.

James took
the cup. He stood when the man walked out and the lock engaged.

He worked on
his pants. It took him a full minute to rub himself hard, but once there, he
let his mind drift from Shula and having her hard and fast against her front
door. He also thought of fucking that little blond's mouth right before taking
his ass.

He filled up
the cup while thinking of an obedient and broken Sofia pregnant with a
beautiful blond son. One after another.

He wouldn't
let her go. Maybe he could catch her off guard with a ring.