Dr. Sparks turned away from her and opened a cabinet. “Let me know, Briony, and I can certainly help you with whatever you decide. In the meantime, you’ll need prenatal care, just in case you decide you want to keep the child.” With his back to her, he glanced over his shoulder, busying himself with a syringe. “Did any of your brothers come with you? Perhaps if I spoke to them they’d understand that it would be difficult for you to remain in a relationship for any length of time.”
“No, I came alone.” She had no idea why she lied. Jebediah drove her, afraid she’d be too sick to stay on the road, or-more likely-afraid she wouldn’t actually see the doctor. Her eyes were on Sparks’s face as he turned, and her heart jumped with fear. His reptilian features seemed nearly alien, twisting with a kind of fanatical glee as he approached her with the needle. Briony drew back. “What’s that for?”
“Vitamins, for you and the baby. You look a bit pale to me. You don’t want birth defects if you decide that you’re going to have the child after all.”
She inhaled and knew immediately there were no vitamins in the syringe. “Back off, Dr. Sparks, I’m not getting a shot of anything.” She was in danger, every sense on full alert. Adrenaline flooded her body, rushing through her veins with certain knowledge.
“Don’t be silly, my dear; this is necessary and it’s just a small stick. You’ve had stitches and far worse than this.”
“Maybe, but I’m leaving now without a shot. If I need vitamins, I’ll get them the old-fashioned way-over the counter in pill form.”
Dr. Sparks raised his voice. “Luther, will you come in here, please?”
The door burst open and Luther blocked the only exit. He was big, and Briony knew immediately he was enhanced. Maybe it was his scent, but more likely she simply sensed the enhancement in him the way she had in Jack. Briony inhaled sharply and found herself frowning. There was something about Luther that repelled her.
“Sit still, Briony; we don’t want to make this harder than necessary,” Dr. Sparks said smoothly, still smiling at her.
Luther grinned at her.
The ape and reptile, she thought a bit hysterically.
Briony held up her hand as if to ward off the doctor, her gaze on Luther, mind racing to figure a way out of the room. “What exactly is that? And don’t tell me vitamins. What’s going on?”
“I can’t have you running out and getting an abortion. I think we’ll just calm you down until you’re more reasonable.” Sparks stepped closer.
“I’m more than reasonable,” Briony said. “I don’t understand.” She lowered her hand as if in surrender, but kept her gaze on the huge man in the doorway.
“That’s a good girl.”
“Incubator you mean,” Luther said with a little smirk. “I even volunteered to be the donor.”
Dr. Sparks glared at Luther. Briony kicked out hard as Sparks turned his attention from her. She wrenched the syringe from the doctor’s hand as he went down, screaming, clutching at his groin.
The smirk fading from his face, Luther rushed her, leaping over the doctor, his arms outstretched to wrap her close. She was grateful for her smaller size-one that allowed her to perform all kinds of aerial tricks, and to slip through small spaces. She used the gurney to kick off of, going up and over the arm reaching for her, and stabbing at Luther with the syringe. She couldn’t push the plunger to release the liquid-liquid she was certain was a knockout drug-but she managed to complete a full somersault in the air and kick out, going feet-first through the window. She protected the baby with one hand and her face with the other, although her feet pushed most of the glass out onto the street.
She landed in a crouch, and was up and running toward the parking lot. Luther was too big to get through the window, but strong enough to smash the frame out. She heard him swear as he hit the pavement.
“Start the car, Jebediah,” she yelled, putting as much urgency and command into her voice as she could.
Fortunately Jebediah, sitting in the driver’s seat, threw his newspaper, started the car, and pushed open the passenger door.
“Go! Go!” She ordered, gesturing with her hands, running at top speed toward the car. She dove into the seat as he pulled away from the curb. Slamming the door, she glanced back to see Luther racing toward a vehicle with two men in it. He had a gun in his fist and fury on his face. “Hurry, Jeb! He’s coming after us. He’s got a gun.”
Jebediah didn’t ask questions, but reacted the way she knew he would, grim-faced, driving like a pro, turning off the main street the minute he could and taking a back route through narrow streets toward the circus grounds.
“What the hell’s going on, Bri?” Jebediah demanded when they were racing down the highway.
“Sparks tried to drug me,” she said. “I don’t know what he wants, but it has something to do with the baby.” She pressed both hands over her stomach.
He glanced at her sharply, shock written on his face. “The baby? What baby?”
“I’m pregnant.”
“You can’t be pregnant. You’re never with anyone. Where the hell have I been? And why would Sparks drug you for your baby? Look in the small compartment under my seat and get out the gun and ammo. Hurry, Bri.”
“I don’t know, Jeb, but he asked me if you were with me and I had the feeling you would have been in danger too.” Briony found the gun and hastily slammed the clip in. She handed it to her brother. There was a certain comfort in being swamped with his emotions. There was no doubt Jeb loved and wanted to protect her. “Something isn’t right about my adoption and the story they gave Mom and Dad. I think whoever these people are, they murdered Mom and Dad as well.” She kept her gaze glued to the back window. “Because of me.”
Jebediah’s jaw tightened. “Whoever murdered Mom and Dad is responsible, Bri, certainly not you, and I never want to hear you even imply that again. They loved you every bit as much as they did all of us. There were no regrets adopting you. None whatsoever, not for them and not for us. Damn it, Briony.” He hit the steering wheel with the flat of his palm. “I should have picked up on this. You knew something was wrong. You always knew. I didn’t want to know.” He swore again. “How many with guns back there?”
“I only saw the man Sparks called Luther with a gun, but Sparks probably has one as well. I’ve always detested that snake. He gave me the birth control pills. All my medications came through him, not a pharmacy. How can I get pregnant on birth control pills? Doesn’t that bother anyone but me? Why would a doctor fly in to see me every time I managed to catch a cold?”
“You didn’t get colds, Briony. You’ve never had one in your life; that’s why I was so worried about you being sick now. You don’t get the flu and you didn’t get childhood illnesses. Mom and Dad agreed to allow Whitney’s doctor to have your full health care. That was part of the adoption agreement, and I’ve always insisted because you’re so different and another doctor might not be able to treat you adequately. Sparks knows your history-knows how to treat your special circumstances.” All the while he talked to keep her calm, Jebediah drove through the streets with the precision of a race car driver, the gun at his hip.
“And that’s another thing. Why am I so different? He knows my history all right, a lot more than he ever told us.”