CHAPTER 8
Briony stared out the window into the pouring rain. The small villa where Jebediah had taken them belonged to an old friend of her parents, a fellow circus performer now retired. They traveled most of the night to get there and arrived tired, hungry, and irritable. Being in the close confines of the car had been hell for Briony. Her brothers were angry and scared and worried. Tyrel was in pain and trying to hide it. No one said a single word about Tony’s death-but it was on all of their minds. She threw up so many times Seth even began to curse, frustrated by all the stops they had to make.
“Briony?” Tyrel stood in the doorway. “Are you up to talking or do you need to be alone for a while?”
She turned away from the rain to look at her brother, love for him overwhelming her for a moment. He always inquired, and that meant a lot to her. “What are you doing up? I thought you’d be sound asleep by now.” Deliberately she curled up on the sofa to indicate she didn’t mind company.
“I was asleep, but my arms were hurting so I got up to try to find some aspirin. I brought you some just in case.” He held up the tablets and a glass of water.
“Thanks, Tyrel, I appreciate how thoughtful you always are. I’m not really sure if I should take aspirin. I didn’t ask Sparks how to take care of the baby.” She flashed a rueful smile. “It never occurred to me I’d ever be having a baby, so I never bothered to research what to do if I got pregnant. I wouldn’t want to take anything that might be harmful.”
Tyrel dropped into the chair opposite her. “I still can’t believe you’re having a baby. I had no idea you were seeing anyone.”
“I wasn’t-not exactly. I can’t be around anyone long enough to get intimate with them as a rule.”
“Are you saying Tony isn’t the father?”
She ducked her head, looking down at her hands. “I told Sparks he was. I wanted to see his reaction. He was acting so strange and I didn’t want to name the real father, so I used Tony’s name.” She looked up at her brother, horror in her gaze. “I swear, I had no idea they would kill him.”
“Briony.” Tyrel laid his hand over hers in an effort to comfort her. “Of course you didn’t.”
With anyone else, Briony would have drawn away, but Tyrel was always genuine. She could easily read his thoughts filled with love and concern. She let his hand stay over hers even those it was uncomfortable.
“Whatever these men do, it isn’t your fault. No one could have known they were going to harm Tony. We just have to figure out what they want.”
Briony frowned. “At first I thought they wanted the baby, but then the big man-Luther-seemed upset that Tony was the father. He even said I was promised to him-that he had volunteered to be a sperm donor.” She rubbed her temples. “I have a strange feeling that I’m supposed to give birth to a superchild.”
Instead of laughing at her, Tyrel nodded his head. “That makes sense if you think about it, Bri. You can run faster than anyone I know and you’re far stronger than even Jebediah.”
Briony took a deep breath and moistened her lips. “I think I was an experiment-genetically engineered. I don’t think I was Whitney’s daughter at all, Tyrel.”
Tyrel sat back in the chair, regarding her with his serious gaze. Before Sparks had tried to kidnap her, any one of her other brothers would have laughed and accused her of watching too much sci-fi, but Tyrel always took everything she said seriously. “It never made sense to Mom that Whitney insisted on providing his doctor for you. It bothered her, especially as you got older. We traveled so much, and it was inconvenient to wait for Sparks to fly in to see you when we had a doctor traveling with us.”
“I detested going to Sparks.” Briony shivered and looked at her gauze-wrapped arm. “I think this was an accident. I honestly think Luther would have killed you, but I don’t believe they want me dead at all. I think I’m the baby carrier.”
“Are you going to tell me who the father is?”
Briony sighed. “Jebediah will kill me.” Even as she said it, she knew her oldest brother was close. She caught his scent and looked up. He lounged in the doorway, beefy arms folded across his chest.
He shrugged lightly. “More likely I’ll pound the guy into the ground. Who?”
“Jack Norton.” Even saying his name still hurt. She bowed her head, waiting for the firestorm to erupt around her.
There was a stunned silence. Jebediah looked as if someone had punched him. “He touched you? That son of a bitch put his hands on you? After we risked our lives for him?”
“Jebediah,” Tyrel cautioned. “It’s been a long day. She’s gone through enough.”
“Jack Norton?” Jebediah repeated, obviously dazed. He sank into another chair and put his head in his hands. “Briony, you have no idea what you’ve done.”
“I got pregnant, Jebediah,” Briony said, allowing exasperation to creep into her voice. “I’m not a teenager. I grew up a long time ago, and being pregnant isn’t the end of the world. If you don’t want me around, just say so.”
Jebediah’s head jerked up, shock showing on his face. “I’m not upset that you’re having a baby. Shocked maybe. Traumatized that my baby sister actually had sex, but nieces or nephews are fine with me. But Jack Norton… ” He broke off abruptly.
Briony sighed. “Does it really matter who the father is, Jeb? He isn’t ever going to be in the picture. He’s in the States, far away, we’re in Italy. What does it matter?”
“Oh, honey,” Jebediah assured her, “it matters. Jack Norton always matters. He’s totally unpredictable and he lives by an entirely different set of rules than the rest of us. Do you remember when I first saw him in your room and I was yelling at you for going out into the jungle by yourself?”
“Of course.”
“Do you remember the threat he made?”
“He said he was going to rip out your heart if you kept talking to me like that,” Briony said.
“That’s right. It wasn’t a threat, Bri. Jack would have done it.” He leaned forward. “I’m serious, honey. Jack Norton is a straight-up killer. He has a code and all that, but when push comes to shove, Jack’s going to be the one standing. There’s something different about him.”
Pain twisted her heart. “He’s like me.”