Her Only Son (7 page)

Kinsey and Tessa sat at the table out on the patio, enjoying some small talk, and watched a handful of women enjoy the park area. The table was set with a healthy dinner and drinks from Kinsey’s kitchen. After an appropriate amount of time had passed, Kinsey turned to Tessa.

“So, tell me, what do you think of this program?”

Tessa swallowed her mouthful of drink and smirked. “Hmmm…that’s a loaded question and I’m not sure how to answer it.”

Kinsey gave her a look. “How about an honest response.” She paused. “You can trust me, Tessa. I think you and I have a lot in common here.”

Tessa looked confused on how to respond, so Kinsey redirected the question. “Okay, why don’t you tell me about you and your life outside the program?”

Tessa smiled. “That’s a good place to start.” She grabbed a handful of pita chips and nibbled on one. “Well, you know my name is Tessa Sloane. I’m twenty-four years old and live in Texas on my family’s farm.”

“You live on a farm?”

Tessa laughed. “I do. Mainly horses. I’m currently in vet school, so I’m still living with my parents. They’re helping me until I finish school.”

“That’s great. You must like horses to live on a horse farm?”

“I love them. Actually, I love all animals, but horses are my favorite. When I was sixteen one of our horses died; it was then I decided to become a vet and hopefully be able to save the lives of animals.”

“I’m sorry about your horse. That must have been hard.”

“It was, but it was also a turning point for me. It helped me decide what direction to take in my life.”

“So, how were you chosen for the program? Did you just get a letter in the mail?”

Tessa shook her head. “I wish it was that easy, but no.”

Kinsey nodded. “I didn’t think so.”

“Did you just…get a letter in the mail?”

Kinsey laughed. “No.”

“I didn’t think so, either.” Tessa paused and took a sip of her drink. “I saw the way Hakon looked at you during the welcome meeting. I didn’t like it.”

“To be honest, neither did I. There’s more than meets the eye with that man.”

Tessa shot her a look. “You have no idea, Kinsey. He hasn’t bothered you since then has he?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, have you experienced anything out of the ordinary since that night?”

Kinsey thought of her nightly intruder and decided to trust Tessa. If she wanted Tessa to trust her with information, she’d have to do the same. “Yes, actually I have.”

Tessa’s eyes came alive and she leaned forward. “What happened?”

“The first night I was here, someone came into my room and stood over me while I was sleeping.”

“Did they do anything to you? I mean, physically?”

“No, just stood there, but when they left…” Kinsey paused.

“When they left…what? You can tell me, Kinsey.”

“Okay, hold on. I have something to show you.” Kinsey went inside and returned with the photo of her sister. She handed it to Tessa. “This was left on my nightstand.”

Tessa took the picture and studied it. A look of horror shadowed across her face. She looked up at Kinsey. “Who is this?”

“My sister.”

Tessa’s eyes widened. “Your sister?” She looked back down at the photo. “What happened to her?”

Kinsey leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath. “This was my warning. More to come if I didn’t participate in the program.”

Tessa became angry and put the photo on the table. “You, too, huh?”

“Yeah, I had a feeling you were here against your will.”

“I believe most of us are. You can see it in the eyes of the women here. It’s not voluntary. Although, some are here truly for the money and didn’t fight the process.”

“That was my feeling, too. I was threatened that my parents would be next if I didn’t get on a plane Monday morning.”

“No one got hurt on my end, but the threat was there. I was sent pictures of my parents and little brother out enjoying their daily lives.” Tessa paused. “The threat was there, if you know what I mean?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Since you trusted me with this,” she pointed to the photo, “I’ll trust you with something.”

“Please. I want to know everything I can about this place.”

Tessa adjusted in her seat and blew out a breath. “The night before I was suppose to have my procedure done, Hakon paid me a visit as well.”

“You think it was Hakon that came into my room?”

“Who else would leave you a photo like that, Kinsey? Hakon is behind all of this. He’s in charge of this compound.”

Kinsey felt a shiver run down her spine. She never thought of Hakon being her intruder, just one of his minions.

“Is he always here? On the compound, I mean?”

Tessa nodded. “Not in our living quarters, but his main office is here, yes. This is his domain and his word is final.”

“Does he live here?”

“Are you kidding? He has an estate a few miles away, but this is where he works.”

“Okay. So, Hakon paid you a visit?”

Tessa leaned against the chair, stretching her back. “Yes, he did, but I wasn’t left with a picture on my nightstand.” Tessa gave her a look.

Kinsey tried to process the look on Tessa’s face and suddenly understood. “No! Tessa, he didn’t?” She leaned forward and whispered. “Did he rape you?”

Tessa simply nodded. The details of her attack that night started coming back, but she pushed them aside.

“Holy shit, Tess!” Kinsey sat back, knowing there was nothing Tessa could have done. “What did he threaten you with?”

“You name it. My parents, my brother, my future as a vet.” She leaned forward and whispered again. “He has the power to take away so much, Kinsey, and he knows it. There’s nothing we can do.”

“There has to be a way to stop him.”

Tessa laughed. “I hope with everything in me you’re right, but I don’t see it happening anytime soon.”

A thought occurred to Kinsey. “You said he raped you the night before your procedure.”

Tessa nodded.

“How do you know he’s not the father? What if your pregnancy isn’t the result of the procedure?”

“Don’t think I haven’t already considered it.”

“God, Tessa, I’m so sorry! How are you dealing with that?”

“The best I can. What choice do I have?”

“It’s scary to think he may pay me another visit. I don’t think he’s too happy with me and the fight I put up before entering the program.”

“Well, you’re here now, maybe he’ll accept that and not bother you anymore. I’m thinking if he was going to do something, he would have done it then.”

“Yeah, let’s hope. I’m still sorry you had to endure that.”

“I didn’t have much of a choice. I let it happen to keep my family safe.”

“He seems to know what buttons to push.”

“Yes, he does, and he uses every weakness you have against you. Just keep your head down and act like you’re all right with what’s going on now. Don’t rock the boat, okay?”

“I understand. Hey, what do you know about the security in the rooms? I always wondered if our rooms were bugged.”

“I don’t trust the phones in the room. Better to use your cell phone, but you never know. If Hakon feels you may be a threat to his program, we already know what lengths he’ll go to shut you up. He’s probably keeping track of more than we know.” She paused. “From what I understand, there are no security cameras in the private rooms, but again…you never know with Hakon.”

Kinsey leaned down and looked under the table.

Tessa grinned. “What are you doing?”

“Checking for bugs.”

“Find anything?”

“Not that I can see.”

“Good, I don’t want to run around paranoid all the time.”

“At least your sentence is almost over. I’m just getting started.”

“Believe it or not, it goes by pretty fast. Just stay busy, take the classes that are offered, and the days seem to pass by quickly. Maybe apply for some of the odd jobs they have some participants do. That’s what I did. It helps pass the time as well.”

“Yeah, maybe I’ll do that.”

“So, you start tracking your temperature tomorrow morning?”

“Yep. Maybe I’ll get lucky and the procedure won’t take. Then I can just say ‘Sorry it didn’t work out,’ and be sent home.”

“That doesn’t happen very often, so don’t count on it.”

“I was afraid of that, but a girl can dream, right?”

Tessa nodded. “Without our dreams, we’re nothing. It’s the only thing that keeps me going right now.” She glanced at her watch. “Well, I have to get going. Thank you for the talk. Maybe we can fit in that movie next time?” She stood and stretched her back.

“Thank you for your honesty. I hope you know you can come to me anytime you need to talk. Let’s try to be there for each other, at least until you’re released to go home.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that. There isn’t anyone here I trust enough to talk to like we’ve talked tonight.”

“I feel the same and I haven’t been here long at all. I’m glad you’re going to be here, for the next few months anyway. What room are you in?”

Tessa smiled. “Room 350. I’m glad I have you here, too. Let’s not lose contact after we leave the program.”

Kinsey shook her head. “No, I don’t want that either. I think we’ll both need someone who can relate.” She winked.

“You know it, girl.”

They hugged and Kinsey walked her out. Kinsey went back out on the patio and cleaned up the table, then decided to watch some television. She couldn’t help but think of Tessa’s rape. Who the hell did this guy think he was? She could only hope that someday, someone would be able to stop him.

The next morning, Keith sat in his car outside the hospital and watched Donna Garrick get in her car and drive away. He assumed it was Daddy’s turn to stay with Brianna. He’d been keeping an eye on all of them since he dropped Kinsey off at the airport, and to be honest, he was getting bored. He didn’t understand why Hakon wanted to keep such close tabs on these people. They appeared harmless. He’d put a call in to Hakon’s office this morning and was hoping he’d call back soon. He decided to drive to the bank where he knew he’d find Sheila’s car in the parking lot. Sure enough, just like clockwork, she was there.

These people are too predictable,
he thought.
I don’t know why I’m still doing this.

He breathed a sigh of relief when his phone rang and he saw it was Hakon returning his call.

“Hakon. How’s it going?”

“You called me, Keith, so don’t waste my time. What’s going on?”

Keith shook his head and silently cursed the man. “Nothing has changed here. Everyone is living their lives, so I don’t understand why you want me following them around all the time. I think it’s time to let this go.”

“I’ll decide when to let things go, Keith. You just do what you’re told, or you know what the consequences will be.”

“You have Kinsey in the program and she’s not going to do anything that may cause harm to her family. Let’s just move on, okay?”

There was a pause on the other end. “Stick with them until the end of the week. If there’s no change, you can abort the mission.”

Keith rolled his eyes.
Abort the mission.
“Okay, sounds good.” He heard a click at the other end.

He sat back in his seat and contemplated whether or not to follow Hakon’s orders. How would he know if he decided to take off? There was no reason to continue to stalk Kinsey’s family or Sheila, and he was feeling guilty for being the reason Brianna had her accident. He was starting to think Hakon was getting out of control, but he didn’t know what to do about it. Once Hakon had you in the palm of his hand, you stayed there until he decided to drop you; and even if that happened, you had to pray he dropped you and forgot you even existed, which didn’t happen very often.

That same morning, Kinsey woke up and almost forgot she had to take her temperature before getting out of bed. She stuck the thermometer in her mouth and waited for the beep, then went to the computer and entered her information.

She jumped in the shower and got ready. Tessa was assisting with an exercise class this morning she had signed up for and she was looking forward to seeing her again. She gained a lot of information the night before and would be there for Tessa in anyway she could.

Raped by Hakon. My god, how was this girl keeping her sanity?

She arrived at the class about ten minutes early and was happy to see Tessa already there, pulling some large elastic bands out of a cupboard.

“Good morning, Tessa.”

Tessa turned around. “Hey, good morning. You taking the class this morning?”

“Yeah, why not.”

Tessa laughed. “It’s pretty low key, six months gestation and over. You’ll be bored silly.”

“That’s okay. It’ll pass the time.”

“You got that right.”

Kinsey stood beside Tessa and whispered, “How much do you know about Hakon? I mean on a personal level?”

Tessa looked around before she answered and continued to separate the bands. She spoke quietly. “No one really knows anything about him other than he’s in his early sixties and has a solid military background. His father was military as well and he grew up on base, moving here and there, wherever his father had to go.” She turned to Kinsey and lowered her voice even more. “Let this go, all right? You don’t want to take him on, Kinsey.” Her eyes darted around the room. “Besides, we shouldn’t be talking in here.”

Kinsey nodded. “Sorry, I was just curious.”

“Leave the curiosity for our room chats.” She winked and walked over to put some bottles of water in the large cooler against the wall. Kinsey walked over to help.

“So, how can I apply for the odd jobs you spoke of?”

“Human resources will have a list. You just pick the job, or jobs, you want and they sign you up.”

“Sounds easy enough.”

The room began to fill with waddling pregnant women and Tessa began handing out the large bands. The instructor walked in and took over. Music started and a series of slow gentle stretches ensued.

Kinsey received a few strange looks, as many wondered why the hell she was taking such a low-key class when she was obviously capable of much more. She shrugged her shoulders at Tessa, who simply shook her head and laughed.

Just as Tessa predicted, the days started flowing into each other and before Kinsey knew it, Friday morning had arrived. After hearing the beep from the thermometer, she immediately jumped up and called her mom to get an update on Brianna.

The call was quick as her parents were in the middle of talking to the doctor about removing the tube that afternoon. Kinsey preferred these quick conversations because it didn’t give her mom time to ask too many questions and Kinsey didn’t have to pretend to be happy just to keep her mom satisfied. Before she hung up, she promised to call back that night to see how the tube removal went.

Kinsey went to the computer and logged into her account. When she looked down at the thermometer to read the number, her heart sank. Her temperature was higher, not a lot, but enough to notice. She entered the number and hit save.

She walked to Tessa’s room and hoped she was still there. When she opened the door, Kinsey let out a breath and rushed in.

“Oh, thank god you’re here.”

“Tessa checked the hallway and closed the door.”

“Why? What happened?”

Kinsey spun around to face her and placed a hand on her forehead. “My temp raised this morning.”

Tessa tried to stifle her laugh. “Is that all? Your temperature’s rising? Girl, you should be happy. The faster it happens, the sooner you get to leave.”

Kinsey dropped her hand. “Yeah, I know, but this is happening fast. I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”

“You don’t have a choice, my dear. Did you remember to enter your new temp in the system?”

“Yes.”

“Well, if it’s still elevated in the morning, don’t be surprised if they’re calling you in this weekend for your procedure.”

“This weekend? They do procedures on the weekend?”

“Kinsey, they’re dealing with ovulating women. They work when they have to. It’s not like they can tell the eggs to halt for a few days until it’s more convenient for them.”

“Yeah, I guess, but I’m still not ready.”

“Well, clear your head and get ready.”

Kinsey sat on the couch and took a deep breath. “You’re right. Holy shit, Tess, this is really happening.”

Tessa came and sat beside her. “Yes, Kinsey, it is, but you can do this. You
have
to do this, so suck it up and do whatever the next moment requires.”

Kinsey nodded and took a deep breath. “I know. I know.” She took another breath. “Okay, I’m better now. Thank you.”

“I’ve been where you’re at and I know what you’re feeling. Just get yourself through it, Kinsey. That’s all you can do.”

Kinsey leaned against the back of the couch and closed her eyes.

Tessa smiled. “Let’s change the subject. Any word on your sister’s condition?”

Kinsey’s eyes popped open. “Yes, I talked to Mom this morning and they’re planning on removing her breathing tube today.”

“That’s wonderful news!”

“Yes, it is! I have so much of my own stuff going on, but I should be focusing more on my sister.”

Tessa took her hand. “Listen to me. You’re only human, so quit beating yourself up.” She paused and lifted Kinsey’s chin to look her in the eye. “Do your parents know why you’re really here?”

“No, of course not!”

“Didn’t think so; neither do mine. I know how it feels to keep up the act, Kinsey. To try and keep your head on straight, when all you can think about is if everyone you care about is safe and sound, is not easy.”

“No, it’s not.”

“I truly think as long as you don’t make any waves, your family will be fine. I have to do the same thing. Just get through this, Kinsey.”

Kinsey nodded. “You’re right.” She stood and walked to Tessa’s sliding glass door. “I just have to take one step at a time.”

Tessa walked up and stood beside her. “Have you had breakfast yet?”

“No, I came straight here.”

“Great! I’m starving, so let’s go hit the cafeteria and see what they’re offering this morning. I have nothing going on today, so after that, let’s just see where the day takes us.”

“That sounds good. I need some distraction.”

“Yes, you do, so let’s go find some.”

Kinsey spent the day with Tessa hanging out in the park with the swimming pool. They talked about Tessa’s life in Texas and Kinsey filled her in on life in Chicago.

Later that evening, Kinsey checked in with her mom to see how Brianna was doing. Her mom told her the tube was removed and Brianna was breathing on her own, so things were moving forward there. Kinsey wasn’t trying to be harsh, but she had a lot on her mind, so once again, she kept the conversation short.

The next morning, Kinsey’s temperature was still elevated. She entered her information into the computer, knowing full well what was about to happen. When she talked to Tessa, she confirmed her thoughts.

Tessa gave her a sympathetic look. “Don’t be surprised if you get a phone call by tomorrow.”

Tessa was right. Sunday morning arrived and Kinsey received a call from a very excited Dr. Westcott, telling her to get in as soon as possible; it was time for her procedure.