Page 152 of Misrule
She was pregnant. She loved babies and wouldn’t mind having ten or twelve or…or…however many she was blessed with. On the other hand, despite all the needless trouble Christopher had gone through, another pregnancy would only stress him out more. He’d have her to worry about, as well as the baby she carried.
Her agreement to his plan had been given after much consideration. He was taking her kidnapping so hard, and all Meggie wanted to do was help him.
It didn’t matter that she needed help herself. This was the closest she’d consciously come to dying. When she’d been shot in the chest, she’d been unaware the gravity of her injuries. This time, though, she’dfelther life draining from her and her soul slipping away.
She’d known the end was near.
A shiver went through her and her nostrils flared. She slid her gaze to the door that led to her closet. Her hands trembled and she clutched the material of her shirt. A small pocket-knife hid amongst her purses. All she had to do was get it, sink it into her flesh…and regain control.
Meggie closed her eyes. She’d fail Christopher, though. One of his greatest fears was that something would tip Meggie over the edge and send her back to self-harm.
Her kidnapping had definitely triggered her. She was doing everything possible to return to normalcy.
Trying to go out on her own had been a major fail. Still, the goal had been so important to her. How would she ever feel normal,safe, if she feared her own shadow?
Her fear didn’t help Christopher at all. Now, she had to tell him she was pregnant. She really, really,reallydidn’t think the news would ease his mind. Honestly, she didn’t think he was ready for her to be pregnant. Not yet. She was sure he’d believed they’d have six or eight weeks before she dropped the news on him.
Seeing the same results on the last test, Meggie sighed. One more time, she’d sneak out, arrange her thoughts, then find a way to tell her Christopher. Her words would have to soothe her husband. Although she didn’t believe he was ready for her to be pregnant yet, neither would he be pleased at the timing. Because of his unnecessary pain and suffering, he might show his displeasure to his urologist. In the meatshack.
She’d find the right…The pealing of Roxy’s ringtone broke into Meggie’s thoughts, and she grabbed her cellphone.
“Hey—”
“Meggie, baby, they are going to kill Knox. You have to stop them!”
“What—”
“Go now. They should be nearing the walkway in front of your house soon. I want to marry Knox. Tell them!”
“Okay, bye,” Meggie breathed, hanging up the phone without a goodbye, and racing down the hall, then three flights of stairs.
“MegAnn?” CJ called in confusion.
“Not now, potato,” Meggie yelled, reaching the front door and yanking it open.
“Meggie?” Bunny cried.
Meggie didn’t have time to stop and explain. The little parade was reaching the walkway beyond the gates of her house just then.
Mortician, with Knox thrown over his shoulder, paused as Johnnie stepped in front of him.
“Move your ass, John Boy. You constantly stopping me just delaying the inevitable.”
Sliding to a halt so fast she stumbled against the iron gate, Meggie met Christopher’s gaze.
“Fuck,” he growled. “Don’t say a fuckin’ thing, baby. This motherfucker hurt Roxanne.”
“That may be, but she still intends to marry him,” Meggie told him.
Mortician frowned. “No, the fuck she don’t.”
“She does, Mort,” Meggie countered.
“I do.” Roxy screeched to a halt on the curb in her purple Navigator. “You boys got this all wrong. I was going to tell all of you that Knox and me been working things out.”
Meggie sent Christopher a pleading gaze and he glared at her. She had sway in this matter because it involved their family. He knew it. She knew it.
Theyallknew it.
