Beep-beep, beep-beep.

No, no, no! This couldn’t be happening. I couldn’t be pregnant. I thought of what Dare’s men had done to me. Kicked me in the stomach. In the back. Broke my bones. Oh, God. Tears obscured my vision.

Oh, Christ—did my mother know about this? She hadn’t said anything. Maybe she didn’t know. Oh, please let her not know. Lon didn’t know.

“She’s hemorrhaging. We can’t wait any longer.”

Wait—hemorrhaging where? What was going on? Was I losing the baby?

“I’m putting her under.”

Maybe it was better if I lost it. I was a monster. Lon was a demon. What the hell would we create together? Something unnatural and wrong?

Or something beautiful?

I’d only known about it for a minute. Now it suddenly seemed like the most important thing in the world. More important than killing Dare. More important than my mother’s diabolical plans. More important than running off to Florida.

Whatever it was, Lon and I created it. And I wanted it.

I had to tell Mick somehow. He had to save it.

“She’s almost under,” he said as my eyes closed. “Let’s get started.”