he abandoned pregnant wife
Chapter One
Nine months pregnant and all, that
disgruntled ex–employee, the one who held a
grudge against my hubby for snagging his
promotion, he took me hostage on the
freakin‘ roof.
And my husband, the head of the local rescue
squad, he rerouted everyone to save his high
school sweetheart, who was apparently
having a mental breakdown.
I didn’t beg him to come get me.
Last time around, when I’d called him like
that, he’d ditched his precious angel to come
rescue my pregnant butt.
L
Me and the kid survived, yeah, but his first
love ended up torching her apartment and
going up in flames.
He acted like it was all good, even booked me
a fancy VIP suite at the hospital.
But then, the day I went into labor, he tied me
down and personally offed me and the baby.
“You and her, you were in on it, right? That
little knife scratch wasn’t serious! You weren’t
gonna die!”
“You liked getting stabbed so much? Fine! I’ll
give you what you want!”
Next thing I knew, I was back on that roof,
about to get shanked again.
Г
This time, I figured I’d just let him go play
hero for his damsel in distress.
:
When that ex–employee, old Mr. Henderson,
stuck me five times, the blood soaked right
through my white dress.
Henderson held the bloody blade to my
throat, voice all raspy: “Call Jack. Now.”
I hesitated, face white as a sheet, then dialed
the number.
“I’m being held hostage by Mr. Henderson.
Top of our building. Get over here.”
Silence on the other end, no panic, just a flat,
cold voice: “Oh great timing Right when
く
Tiffany’s about to pull the plug. You couldn’t
have picked a better moment?”
“Henderson’s got you hostage? How’d he
even find our new address? We kept it on the
DL.”
“Next time you decide to pull this crap, try
coming up with a story that doesn’t sound
like it’s straight out of a bad soap opera,
okay?”
His icy words cut deep, and Henderson’s
eyes, all lined and hard, filled with hate. He
pressed the blade harder.
A red line appeared on my neck.
I wanted to bawl, but I fought it back, trying
to sound reasonable: “I’m not trying to stop
L
you from saving Tiffany! If you don’t believe
me, just send a couple of guys to check it
out…”
“Enough!”
Jack cut me off, all impatience. “I don’t have
time for this. I gotta get to Tiffany.”
Then, turning to the dispatcher, he barked:
“Call in a false alarm for ‘rooftop stabbing.”
Ignore any calls about it!”
He hung up.
Henderson’s hate burned brighter, and a wave
of pure dread washed over me.
I never thought Jack would go this far.
く
Last time, when Henderson had taken me
hostage, he’d stabbed me the same way, five
times in the gut.
I’d been terrified of losing the baby, so I’d
called Jack over and over.
He’d finally caved and come to save me.
Tiffany found out and went off the rails,
setting her apartment on fire and burning
herself alive.
That night, I noticed Jack acting weird and
asked if he was pissed.
His face softened, and he gently touched my
stomach: “Why would I be mad at you? She
got what she deserved. Don’t worry about it,
babe. Just focus on having the baby.”
T IT LUUN LAIT UI TIIT FInt`i wad maut vi yiasɔ. I
actually thought he’d come to his senses.
Then came my delivery day. He strapped me
to the bed, eyes bloodshot, and told me me
and the baby were going to hell to pay for
Tiffany’s sins!
“Was that a joke? You didn’t want me there!
Did you lie about being hurt?”
“Since you like being stabbed so much, here
you go!”
I blinked, and he was stabbing again…
I tried to explain that it had really been
serious, but he just got worse!
He didn’t believe a word I said.
く
I remembered the baby, how tiny and perfect
it was when he was torturing it. There wasn’t
one spot on him that hadn’t been damaged.
Even his bones had been exposed.
After the baby died, Jack set the room on fire, trapping me just like Tiffany had been
trapped.
The memory, the sheer panic, almost shattered what little was left of my sanity.
Henderson saw he wasn’t getting Jack, and
his eyes went wild. He cut me again.
A warm rush flowed down my leg, dripping
onto the black rooftop.
en I thought I was done for my
Just when I thought I was done for, my
mother–in–law came barreling out.
She saw me covered in blood and almost
passed out.
Once she got the gist of what was happening,
she blurted out, “Mr. Henderson, please,
don’t! We’re sorry. I’ll call Jack right now. Just
don’t hurt her. She’s nine months along!”
Henderson froze for a second, like he actually
believed her.
My mother–in–law fumbled for her phone,
hands shaking.
I could hear noises on the other end, a
woman sobbing.
