Ultimate Fear (Book 2 Ultimate CORE) (CORE Series) (26 page)

“Is it possible that the kidnappers don’t just want a baby, but a newborn?”

When he glanced at her, she caught the disgust in his eyes. “Enough to kill a pregnant woman for her unborn child? That’s sick and, if that’s the case, I’m worried they’re going to do it again.”

“They didn’t get their baby,” she said, dread settling in the pit of her stomach.

“Right. And now that they know they can do it—”

“They could already be hunting their next victim.”

THE SECOND TRIMESTER

Hush-a-by baby

On the tree top,

When the wind blows

The cradle will rock.

When the bough breaks,

The cradle will fall,

And down will fall baby

Cradle and all.

—Mother Goose

Chapter 10

“PLEASE, JUST GIVE me a few more days,” Chloe Young begged the man who had been her pimp for the past three years.

“Gemini, I warned you this would happen.”

God, she hated the stupid street name he’d given her. Gemini wasn’t even her sign, but Cancer hadn’t exactly screamed sexy. “I’ll come up with the money.”

“How?” Roman, the fifty-something, balding, fat, disgusting pig looked at her rounded stomach, which peeked out from beneath the skintight tank top she wore. “Unless you start finding guys with a fetish, no man is going to want to
pay
to fuck a pregnant whore. Shit, even I wouldn’t fuck you right now and you’re probably one of the best pieces of ass I’ve had.”

“But I don’t have anywhere to go,” she whined, wishing the baby inside her didn’t exist. If only she’d known in time to have an abortion, she wouldn’t have to beg the pig for the shitty roof over her head. She’d have cash in her pocket, enough for her heroin and to keep her in Roman’s bungalow. Food was nice, too. But her need for a fix outweighed her hunger. She needed the high, the euphoria, the rainbows and sunshine to brighten the blackness that surrounded her.

“Go to one of those women’s shelters, or run back to Ohio. I don’t give a shit. All I know is if you ain’t pulling your weight, you ain’t living here. I’m not running a fucking charity.”

No. He was running a prostitution ring. He kept her and three other girls just like her in his house, used them, abused them and fed them drugs. At night, he would have them go into his van and then he’d drive to different locations throughout the Chicago area and sell them. She should be glad he was kicking her out of his house. There would be no more beatings, he could no longer force himself on her, or let his friends, or whoever he might owe money to, screw her. But Roman had what she needed. Heroin, and lots of it.

“I can’t go back home. Please. If you won’t let me stay, at least give me some H, just to keep me going until I can get some more.”

He snorted like the pig he was and shook his bald head. “Why would I waste my stuff on you? That’s for the bitches that men will actually want.”

Desperation clawed at her stomach and had the baby inside her squirming. She ignored the movement and sank to her knees. “Please.” She stared at the way his belly hung over the waistband of his jeans. “I’ll suck you off. For old times’ sake.” She looked up at him and gave him the practiced, seductive smile she knew lured most men to her, then ran her hand along his crotch. “Maybe you can even drive me to the Blue Line,” she suggested, hoping she wasn’t pushing her luck. She had enough money on her to take the L downtown and even buy her a dollar burger from McDonald’s. She could afford the bus, but that would leave her with about twenty-eight dollars. Even though she could probably find a drug dealer on her own and buy twenty dollars’ worth of H to help her through the rest of the day and most of tomorrow, she’d be screwed after that. Eight dollars wouldn’t buy her shit—maybe a pack of smokes and a Mountain Dew.

Roman pulled in a breath and lifted the hem of his shirt, revealing his hairy, doughy stomach. “Yeah, for old times’ sake I’ll let you suck my dick and give you a ride,” he said, unbuckling his belt. “If you do a good job, I’ll even give you a quick fix.”

Knowing she’d have heroin and a ride made taking him into her mouth a little easier. But once she boarded the L, she’d be on her own. Again. As she serviced Roman, she racked her brain and tried to think of who she could turn to next. Her ex-boyfriend, Jason, was not an option. The dickhead had been the one to talk her into running away with him to Chicago, and then had kicked her out on her ass a few months later after meeting some blonde slut. Since she hadn’t turned sixteen yet, she’d had no job. Without a job, she had no money. Carrying only a backpack filled with a couple of pairs of jeans and t-shirts, she’d wandered the streets for a couple of days, scared, alone, vulnerable.

Looking back, she should have swallowed her pride and called her parents. Stubbornness had prevented her. At the time, she’d thought she was in love with Jason. Her parents hadn’t approved of their fifteen-year-old daughter dating a twenty-year-old man, though. They’d threatened her and him. Had told Jason they’d go to the police and file charges of statutory rape against him. Jason, in turn, suggested they leave Worthington, Ohio, and make a life in Chicago. Instead of being sensible, instead of considering her future—finishing high school, attending college—she’d allowed herself to be seduced by Jason, by the ridiculousness of love, and the freedom he’d offered.

She’d given up so much for an idiot man. Her body, her soul, her future. When she’d met Roman that second night after Jason had kicked her out of the small apartment he’d shared with two other guys, she’d been prepared to run in the other direction. Until he’d offered her one hundred dollars for a blow job. She’d almost thrown up in her mouth and had turned him down. With the young girls he’d had hanging around him, she’d suspected what he was about, and had wanted no part in whoring herself. Until Jason, she’d been a virgin. The thought of letting strange men touch her for money had made her sick inside.

Roman hadn’t pushed her and hadn’t acted offended, but he
had
kept approaching her. Every night he sought her out, tried to lure her with food, a bed and money. He’d promised she would be safe with him, and had even introduced her to his girls. After six nights of living on the streets, cold, hungry and desperate, she’d swallowed her pride—and Roman’s dick.

And as she gave the man a blow job, she realized she’d come full circle. Three years ago she’d become a whore the night she’d taken Roman into her mouth. Today, she was no better than she was when she’d been living on the streets. But at least then she’d had her pride. Now, she had nothing. No home, no money, no job. No way to eat or afford the heroin she needed to make it through the day. She had a couple of months before the baby was born. Until then, she was screwed.

With her jaw growing tired from sucking off Roman, she massaged his testicles hoping to speed along his orgasm. Minutes later, the man released himself into her mouth, then quickly pulled up his jeans.

“Because that was frickin’ awesome, and because you’ve made me a lot of money, I’m going to give you a break.”

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “You’re going to let me stay?” she asked, hopeful.

“Hell, no,” he said, and looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “I told you. You don’t work, you don’t live here.”

“It’ll be born in a couple of months. That’s not so long.”

“A couple— Gemini, your brain’s turned to shit. Don’t you remember what that clinic doc told you?”

The clinic doc? What the hell was Roman talking— Wait. A fuzzy image emerged. Her lying on a table with goopy stuff all over her belly. Yes, the ultrasound. Now she remembered, but she’d been so friggin’ high that day, she couldn’t recall what that doctor had said.

“Can you tell me again?”

“God, you’re fucking stupid.” He shook his head and finished buckling his belt. “You’re having a boy, and you’re due August eleventh or some shit like that.”

“See, I’ll be ready to work sooner than I thought.”

“And then what?”

She shoved her hand through her hair, but her fingers caught on the tangles. “I…I don’t know what you mean.”

“Dumbass. What are you going to do with the baby?”

“Oh.” God, her head hurt. She needed caffeine, nicotine and a hit of H—and not necessarily in that order. “I figured I’d just leave it at the hospital.”

He chuckled and snatched his car keys off the kitchen counter. “Whatever.”

She stared at the keys in his hands. “So, that’s it?”

“That’s it.” He opened the cupboard above the refrigerator and brought down a cigar box. After opening it, he handed her a needle and a small plastic bag filled with heroin. “Here. If you’re smart, you’ll make this last for a couple of days. And don’t think about coming back looking for more. I don’t want to see you again. If I find you at my door, I’ll let The Bull have you. Understand?”

A shudder rushed through her. The Bull, as he was known on the streets, was a mean son of a bitch who took pleasure in giving pain—and lots of it. Roman had never let him have her, not because the pig cared, but because he hadn’t wanted The Bull to beat her so badly she’d be unable to work.

“I understand,” she said, and took the heroin from him. She stared at the bag, her skin tingling with eagerness.

“Good. Get in the van.”

With the backpack she’d been carrying when Roman had taken her in that cold November night over three years ago, she left the only real home she’d had since running off to Chicago. Unlike the scared fifteen-year-old girl she’d been back then, she was now more streetwise. But she was still scared. She had another six weeks before the baby was born and she could find another pimp to take care of her.

Six weeks.

That was a long time to go without money. Food, a place to stay…like Roman suggested, she could go to a shelter. But what if those do-gooders took one look at her stomach and somehow forced her into staying. If that happened, they’d watch her. Make sure she was eating. Take away her cigarettes. Keep her locked inside so she couldn’t find more drugs. She didn’t know if that could happen or not, but unless she became desperate, she’d try managing on her own before turning to a shelter.

When Roman pulled his van into the parking lot of the Cumberland Blue Line Station, fear of the unknown settled in the pit of her stomach. Her belly tightened. The baby gave her a hard kick. She pressed down on the spot where he’d kicked her, and thought about the heroin and needle stuffed in her backpack. A couple of hits and everything would be good. The rainbows and sunshine would return and block out the darkness. The world wouldn’t look as bleak. She wouldn’t be a whore. She certainly wouldn’t be pregnant and homeless. No, she’d go back to being Chloe Young, straight A student at Worthington High School, cheerleader, a well-demanded babysitter, a daughter and sister. People would actually give a shit about her. They would love her and take care of her.

She ignored the hopelessness and despair weighing heavy on her shoulders. Without a word to Roman, she stepped out of the van.

“After all I did for you, I don’t even get a goodbye?” he asked with a snort.

After all I did for you.

She looked at him. He’d made her a whore and a drug addict. He’d treated her like shit and used her to make money. He didn’t deserve a thank you or a goodbye. He deserved to rot in hell.

“Go fuck yourself,” she said, slamming the van door.

The tires squealed as he drove off, leaving the van’s exhaust fumes in its wake. She stared at the train station, the baby moved again and her stomach grumbled. Slinging the backpack over her shoulder, she began walking. She needed that dollar hamburger, Mountain Dew, cigarettes and to find a place to sleep for the night.

As the fear returned, the bag of heroin in the backpack taunted her.

No. What she needed was rainbows and sunshine.

*

Jessica drove her SUV through the familiar streets leading to the neighborhood she’d called home before moving to the apartment. When they’d arrived back in Chicago, Dante had insisted that he wait inside her apartment while she’d packed a few things to take to their house. After she’d changed out of the clothes she’d been wearing the past two days, she’d shoved her toiletries and an outfit for work tomorrow into a bag. The rest of her clothes remained in the closet and drawers. She’d wanted an excuse to return to the apartment. Unsure how tonight would go, she’d needed that safety net.

As she drove behind Dante’s Camaro and neared their street, she realized she needed more than a safety net to protect her. This weekend, they’d reached a pinnacle point in their relationship, and she was either going to nose dive off that precarious peak, or hang on to his hand and remain on top. And that was exactly where she was right now. On top of the world, waiting for the other shoe to plummet. She loved Dante, had finally been able to tell him and show him, and in return, he’d done the same. He’d given her the strength and confidence to push past her doubts and insecurities, and try again. Loving Dante was as easy as breathing and had never been the problem. Until her daughter had been taken, living with him hadn’t been an issue, either. After falling asleep last night, then waking up in his arms this morning, she couldn’t imagine going back to her crappy apartment and twin bed. Yet, sleeping in
their
bed, down the hall from their baby’s room, scared the hell out of her.