“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.”
“Both Whitney and Sparks said you have a form of autism, that’s why you can’t connect with people.”
“I connect, Jebediah. I love you and Mom and Dad and the other boys. You know I do. I feel pain when I’m too close. I can tell what you’re thinking, not exactly, but your emotions. Right now you’re afraid and feel guilty and you’re really pissed off because Sparks tried to kidnap me. You think you should have seen the danger a long time ago.”
“Well, I should have.” He spun the wheel and took them onto a dirt road out away from the city. “I’ve got a few connections, Briony. I’ll see what I can dig up on Sparks and Whitney both. Mom and Dad kept all the original papers pertaining to your adoption in the safe in the trailer. We can take a look and see if anything in the papers will help us sort this out. And who the hell got you pregnant? I didn’t know you went out on a date.”
She shrugged, careful to avoid meeting his eyes. “I was curious, thought I couldn’t get pregnant, and slept with a hot guy just to see what it was like.”
“That doesn’t sound like you. Who are you protecting? Tony? Randall? Which one? They have to assume some responsibility.”
Briony burst out laughing. “Do you know how ridiculous that sounds when we have someone trying to drug and maybe kidnap me? The big man called me an incubator.” She closed her eyes briefly. “He said he volunteered to be the donor.”
Jebediah hit the steering wheel with the flat of his hand. “This doesn’t make sense, Briony. What do they want with you?”