Unnatural Relations (Lust and Lies Series, Book 1) (13 page)

According to the check stubs, she had paid out thousands of dollars, so the money must have been there, even though no deposits were recorded and no running balance had been kept.

She also thought he told her he'd balanced her account a few weeks ago when the bank statement had arrived, yet there was no bank statement in the box. It wasn't that she distrusted Russ. He was a saint. The deposit slips and statement were probably in another drawer somewhere. But a quick search of the apartment didn't uncover them, and she didn't want to waste any more of her free time.

The manager of Tiffany's was courteous and seemed sympathetic to Barbara's plight, but they would only refund seventy-five percent of the original cost of the ring: $45,000. She had known it had been expensive, but had never imagined an amount that high. The discounted refund was more than acceptable.

Her next stop was the bank, where she deposited the Tiffany's check and met with a bookkeeper to review her account. She was shocked to hear that her current balance was
under a
hundred dollars rather than the three thousand something Russ had told her she had after he'd balanced her account. There was only one moderate deposit, made last month, and that had been expended for regular bills.

She was relieved to see that the checks she'd signed had all cleared, but that didn't explain where the rest of the money from the returned jewelry had gone. She was no longer positive Russ was such a saint.

He was pacing the apartment when she returned late in the day.

"Where have you been?" he demanded. "I've been worried sick!"

"I went out for a while. I'm allowed now, remember?" She calmly set down her purse and went to the refrigerator for some orange juice.

"You could have at least left a note! Don't you have any idea what I've been going through for the last two hours? I called the hospital thinking you had another emergency and I wasn't here to help!"

Guilt pierced the protective shell she'd built around herself on the way home. No matter what he may have done with her money, she knew his concern for her was genuine. "Geez, I'm really sorry. I didn't expect to be gone longer than you. It was very inconsiderate of me."

Her apology placated him enough to lower his voice. "How do you feel?"

She walked over to her favorite chair and curled up in it. "Tired. The doctor was right about overdoing it too soon but I'm okay."

Russ sat down on the bed and studied her face. "But something's wrong. What? Where did you go for so long?"

"I re-registered at school. I'm going to take two basic computer classes and bookkeeping this term. It's time for me to aim higher than waitress work."

His shoulders relaxed and he took a breath. "Are you sure you can handle that much?"

"What's to handle? I just have to sit and use my hands and eyes. Since I can afford not to work for a few months, I want to make the most of my time before the baby comes. Anyway, I purposely picked three courses that run together on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so that I'd still have four whole days to rest. Classes start next week."

Russ nodded but his expression remained skeptical. "I guess it was real crowded at registration, huh?"

"Not really. I had two other stops to make." She said it as casually as possible.

"Oh?"

"I returned the ring. Then I went to the bank." She watched his eyes narrow and had the feeling she should take great care with her next words. "There seems to be a discrepancy. I know I've been out of it lately, but I thought you said I had about three thousand dollars. I also thought I had several more pieces of jewelry to return."

Russ lurched to his feet, his hands balled into fists and he turned his back on her. She held herself very still, not at all sure what he would do. But then he ran his hands through his hair and turned back toward her. When he met her gaze, she could see his eyes were moist. He paced back and forth as he spoke. "I should have known you'd find out before I could explain. I only meant to borrow the money. I was sure I'd be able to pay you back before you found out."

A tear slipped out of the corner of his eye and Barbara's heart wrenched. "I knew there had to be an explanation. Tell me what happened."

"I feel like such a stupid ass. I thought I could take a few shortcuts, you know, get rich quick. I'm too embarrassed to even tell you about it. I lost all the money. There's nothing left and I didn't know how to tell you."

He was guilty, but clearly remorseful. "So you sold the other pieces, too?"

He looked away. "Yes. If you want to call the police, I won't stop you."

"The police? Good God, Russ, I can't have you arrested. What you did was wrong but you're not a criminal. With everything you've done for me, you've proven what a good man you are. But this brings me to what else we have to talk about."

She rose, got her purse and sat down again. Russ watched her take out her checkbook and write a check for five thousand dollars, payable to him. "This is my way of saying thank you for getting me through these last two months. I couldn't have done it without you. This should be enough to get your own place and start over with your career plans."

He frowned at the check in her hand. "I don't understand. What do you mean, get my own place?"

She took a slow breath, knowing this was going to be the hardest part. "Russ, I know you were hoping something more... personal was going to happen between us. I care for you, but as a friend. I wish I felt differently, but—"

"You haven't even given me a chance. You've been sick and depressed. Nobody could fall in love while they feel like that. But you'll see, it'll be different now that you're feeling better."

She was about to contradict him, but he dropped to his knees at her feet and grasped her hands. He looked as though he was about to burst into sobs. "Barbara, please. I've shown you what a good friend I can be. You owe me the chance to show you what a good husband I could be. I swear I won't push you into anything you're not ready for."

"Just let me stay with you until after the baby's born. After everything we've been through together, I couldn't care more about this child if it were my own. I don't want anything to happen to you or the baby now. You need someone in the delivery room with you. Let it be me.
Please.
If you still don't want to marry me by then, I'll walk away without another word. In the meantime, I'll work twice as hard and ten times smarter, so I can pay you back every penny I took."

Her plan had seemed much stronger when he hadn't been able to present his arguments, when he wasn't begging on his knees with tears in his eyes. She wanted her privacy back, but she also acknowledged the fact that she might need someone in the coming months. She reasoned that with her classes and him working more, they wouldn't have to spend so much time together in the cramped apartment. That could make a big difference. Perhaps she did owe him another chance. "All right. You can stay. But I can't make any promises."

His face relaxed into a crooked smile; then he gave her a soft kiss on the mouth and tore up the check.

"You won't be sorry."

* * *

Barbara recalled those words again and again in the months that followed. He'd been wrong. She was sorrier than she'd thought possible and trapped by her own reasoning.

For three months, she held to her agreement to give him a chance. He was helpful. He was romantic. He was entertaining. He was contributing for his share of the expenses.

And he was driving her crazy.

He got a night job so that they would only be separated while she was sleeping. He registered for the same classes she did so he could learn some business skills and study with her. If she needed to go to the store, he went with her, for assistance and protection. She had no idea when he slept, if he did at all.

He never forced himself on her, but he touched her constantly. His kisses and hugs were undemanding, but there was no mistaking the fact that he was only waiting for her to give the slightest encouragement.

By the time she approached the seventh-month mark, she knew her feelings toward him were lessening rather than growing as he'd hoped, yet she didn't want to hurt him, either. How could he be expected to understand that his worst fault was the constant, devoted attention he showered on her? It might have given her great pleasure if she'd been wildly in love with him, but as it was, it was driving her up the wall.

"This isn't working, Russ," she finally said one night before he left for work. "I swear to God, I've tried to make it work, but I need some time to myself. We can still see each other occasionally, as friends, but I think it would be best if you moved out."

He promised to give her more space, to stop making even the slightest advance, be whatever she wanted him to be. He pleaded. He cried. Christmas was only three weeks away.

And in the end, she gave in again, rationalizing that she'd probably be glad to have his help now that her body had begun the final, unwieldy stage of pregnancy.

On the first day of the new year, her reasoning was proven faulty again.

They were watching the six o'clock news as they usually did during dinner when a picture of Howard appeared behind the commentator's head.

"Some sad news this evening," he said with an appropriately sincere expression. "Howard Hamilton the IV, sole heir to the Hamilton-Greene fortune, died today from injuries sustained in a car accident early this morning...."

Barbara didn't hear another word. Her fork dropped onto her plate as she stared at the television screen. There was Howard, playing polo astride D'Artagnan, laughing and chatting with celebrities. There were glimpses of his parents trying to evade reporters and Simon Decker giving a statement.

"Stop that!" Russ ordered.

She shut out his words as well.
Howard, dead? That was impossible. If he had died, she would have felt it. Somehow she would have known and felt his pain.

"I said stop crying! He was a bastard! He deserted you. He isn't worth your tears."

If Howard is dead, he'll never realize what a mistake he made. He'll never find out he has a child.

Russ slapped her face but she barely felt it.

"Snap out of it, you lousy two-faced cunt!"

He hit her again and the metallic taste of blood in her mouth jolted her back to reality.

"You're still in love with him, aren't you? All this time, pretending to care about me, leading me on. You were only using me until he came back!"

Barbara pushed herself up from the chair and tried to back away, but the kitchen counter was behind her. "Russ, please. You're wrong. Don't—" The back of his hand crashed into the side of her head and she stumbled to the floor.

"You're the one who's wrong, bitch. He's never coming back now. It's way past time for you to realize who you belong to!"

Desperate to escape his rage, she scrambled across the floor on her knees, trying to reach the door, but he delivered a vicious kick to her hip that knocked her onto her back. The next instant he straddled her at the base of her swollen stomach with her maternity dress pushed up to her breasts. As she squirmed upward to get away, he tightened his knees and grabbed both her wrists.

"He should see you now, with your fat belly and cow tits. I bet you'd comb your hair and put on makeup for him, wouldn't you,
bitch?"

He was twisting one of her wrists at such a painful angle, tears ran down her face. "Russ, please stop. You're really hurting me."

"I bet you'd have taken care of his needs even if you couldn't fuck. But then maybe you've been lying all the time about not being able to do it. Maybe you were just holding out, hoping he'd come back and fuck you with his big dick again. Well, too late, baby. All you got now is me. And I've waited as long as I'm gonna wait."

She heard the crack before she felt the pain in her wrist. It shot up her arm and stole her breath, so that her scream was nothing more than a high-pitched whimper. Incapacitated by the searing pain and disbelief, she couldn't stop him from ripping her underpants. A moment later he invaded her unprepared body with a savage force that burned and tore her flesh as if he were using a knife on her.

She tried to scream again, but his fingers wrapped around her throat and choked off the sound. As she struggled for breath, she begged for mercy with her eyes, but he didn't seem to see her.

"Bitch. Fucking bitch cunt. You're mine. And I'll never let you forget it again." He grunted and pushed and strained, while Barbara felt herself slip out of consciousness.

* * *

With the return of awareness came an intense pain that enveloped her entire body. The horror of what had happened nearly paralyzed her, but the fear that it wasn't over countered it. Russ could come back any moment. Fighting against the excruciating pain, she dragged herself to the table, pulled the phone down to her level, and dialed 911.

Chapter 6