Preg-Not ✓

47

Your babies are alive.

Your babies are alive.

Your babies are alive.

Every minute of progress she made over the past four months caught fire. If she thought she knew despair, then she was wrong.

A hope so powerful that it hurt swelled in her chest. It punctured her lungs, pruned her guts, poisoned her blood, thundered through her neurons and destroyed her humanity.

Hope devolved her into a feral animal desperate for its cubs.

The text might be a trap, or a sick joke, but she didn't csre. She needed to take the risk if it meant getting her precious babies.

"Sweetness?" Knives called.

She shot to her feet. "I need to get to New York. We need to get there."

"What in rat's nest am I doing in that concrete jungle?"

She called the unknown texter as Knives watched her fidget.

"Please pick up... please... please..."

"Hello?" an elderly woman answered.

"Who is this?" Raelynn blurted. "Where are my children? Please, tell me what you want. I'll pay you anything. What do you want?"

"Grandmother?" a younger male spoke in the background. "What are you doing in here?"

Raelynn gasped, because she recognized that voice.

It was Dante.

"I forgot, sweetheart," the older woman said. "I'm sorry. You know this dementia eats my brain."

There was a scuffle as Dante picked up the phone. A harsh Italian curse was spat, and then he hung up the phone.

Raelynn called again, hoping Dante or his grandmother picked up. The phone had been turned off, but she kept dialing as she wiped her burning eyes.

"Damn it!"

"What is happening?" Knives stood up, his expression worried and his hand close to the gun he had strapped. He sensed danger, and his booted feet were ready for action.

"Hold on. Just hold on and I will explain." She dialed the only number that came to mind– Maksim's.

Like last time, he didn't answer.

Desperate, she called Viktor next.

"Hello?"

"Viktor. The babies. You need to help me. Maksim won't pick up, and I think Dante has my babies. Please–"

"Raelynn." His voice was tired. "Where are you? Are you somewhere safe? I think you are having some sort of episode."

"I'm not going crazy! Please don't suggest that. Anything but that. Take me seriously."

Although depression had been tempted to become substance abuse or insanity over the past months, she persevered.

Viktor was silent.

"Where is Maksim?"

"He is on a flight to Russia right now"

"When does he land? Doesn't he have reception?"

"It seems like not, since he is not picking up my call, either. He took off about an hour ago and should land for refueling in six to seven hours."

This couldn't wait until Maksim landed. She needed to squeeze Dante for all he was worth until she found out what he had to do with the babies.