by: iluvaqt@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: As per default chapter. I also don't claim ownership of the lyrics to "Baby Boy". They belong to Beyonce & Sony.
iluvaqt's Notes: Thank you all for sending me feedback. Lexie, Superblonde, Rose, Black Rose9 and BlueAngel, I'm really glad you're all enjoying the story so far. I just hope this story meets with everyone's expectations. I'd hate to disappoint. :(
Chapter 5 -
The Blue 47, Las Vegas
Friday, February 28, 2020
The sexy beat pulsed in her head as she danced to the music.
"And in the words of love I got ta get it certified But I give you da toughest longest kinda ride - girl…"
Jondy curled on leg around the dance pole and bent over backward. Her hair just brushing the floor, she looked out at the crowded club floor to come face to face with fierce blue eyes.
"Baby boy, you stay on my mind…"
Smack. She came up against the pole a little too hard.
"Fulfill my fantasies."
Tearing her eyes away from his gaze, Jondy forced her body to continue the routine. Pulling the fur-lined cuffs from her garter belt, she snapped one around her wrist. She gave the man grinning up at her a smouldering look, and reached for his hand.
The guy was rudely pushed aside and the cuff flicked over another man's wrist. A man with flashing blue eyes and his lips were pursed in a grim line.
His face within inches, her knees buckled and she fell forward off the stage. The floor came up to greet her in slow motion. She heard shrieks and a few of the clubs male occupants made gallant efforts to break her fall. About a foot from the carpet, a strong arm broke her fall.
Xander, who'd been watching from the wings, wasted no time in prompting Eve to take over. And before Jondy had a chance to recover, she was roughly pulled upright.
Zack was seething. Seeing Jondy immortalized under white light, wearing next to nothing, made him see red. The corset she was wearing barely contained her bulging breasts and her garter belt looked like it was about to split at the seams. She'd certainly gotten a lot curvier since he'd last seen her, and she seemed more than comfortable flaunting it in front of a horde of sleazy, ass hungry males.
The music faded into the background the moment she'd realized whose hand she was attached too. Her voice proved just as dysfunctional as her legs, and she couldn't utter more than, "Um…"
"I risk my neck, drive hundreds of miles to see you dressed up like a hooker, parading around like a cheap…" Zack gripped her forearm and shook her.
"What the hell is going on here?" Xander growled.
He was a big man and Zack didn't intimidate him in the slightest. Jondy took a step to the left, ready to block Zack if made a move at her boss. She knew, even without the mood Zack was in, Xander very well should be. Zack could tear him apart with his bare hands.
"Back off," Zack said icily. He was giving the guy a warning. If he was smart, he'd take the hint. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Zack realized the guy wasn't so smart.
"Zack, please," Jondy pleaded, finally recovering her voice. She gave Xander an apologetic look, "I'm sorry, Xander."
"I told you, you shouldn't be dancing in your condition. I can I roster you for waitressing now?"
Jondy nodded and avoided Zack's piercing glare.
"You sure you're okay?" Xander gave Zack a suspicious look.
"He's family," Jondy assured him. Zack had loosened his grip and she quickly put her hand up to cover the red mark from where his hand had been. No point getting Xander involved in their fight. He'd only end up with a black eye, or worse…
Zack pulled Jondy aside, trying to ignore the stares they were getting. He hated being watched. Shrugging off his jacket he threw it around her shoulders. "Cover yourself up," he hissed. "Aren't you embarrassed, they're gawking at you."
"No Zack, that's over the scene you just made. I work here okay. I don't have to sleep with anyone and I don't strip. It's good money. And I think I'll be needing a lot of it soon."
"What's that supposed to mean? And what was he talking about?" Zack demanded.
Jondy clenched her fist to keep her hand from shaking. "Who?"
"That guy. He said you had a condition?" Zack said impatiently. This place was making him uncomfortable. And being around Jondy again, wasn't turning out the way he planned. He thought he could pretend that everything was the same as it had been before. But it wasn't. She still smelled the same, although, tonight she was giving off a slightly different smell too. A sweet smell, it was faint but distinct.
All of a sudden, Jondy felt an odd sensation from her breasts. She clutched the sides of Zack's jacket, closing it.
He watched her face, reading her shock. "Feeling modest all of a sudden?" He grabbed her hand and got a strong waft of the sweet smell. The edge of his jacket felt a little damp and lifted his fingers to his face. "What?"
Jondy crumbled. Her gray eyes moistening over and her face paled. "I'm pregnant." Zack froze. He stared at her as if she'd just grown horns and a tail. His hand had stilled mid-air. There wasn't more than a foot space between them but Jondy still felt as thought he was miles away.
"You're not." Zack said.
As if his protesting would disprove the fact.
"Three months," she said quietly, secretly hoping that she wouldn't have to say more to jog the intelligent part of his brain into action.
"Three…" Zack repeated. Suddenly, a dark look crossed his face and his eyes flashed dangerously.
Jondy took a step back. She knew he'd be upset, but this wasn't the reaction she'd been preparing for.
"I can't believe it," Zack growled. "You can't handle it, so you jump into bed with the next guy you see?" He advanced and Jondy retreated until she came hard up against a cement column.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't," Jondy stammered.
"It wasn't enough to rub it in my face, you had to get knocked up?" Zack sneered. He planted his hands, either side of her head and forced her to meet his eyes. "Be honest, Jondy. You know I can take it. I've got a heart of stone, remember?" he said trying his best at being hurtful but only succeeded in sounding bitter.
"There's no one else," Jondy cried.
Zack stepped back. He couldn't be with her. Being so close to her, feeling her and her scent, it was driving him crazy. This wasn't the Jondy he'd come to rescue. Zack wanted to kick something. If he could kick his own ass, he would. Hadn't he got what he wanted? Hadn't he pushed her away? Hurt her, so she would move on? Shaking his head, he refused to look at her. He couldn't. Looking into her eyes was eating him up inside. He had to get out of there.
Turning away, he realized he was still joined to her. He held the cuff on her wrist and broke the chain. Without a word, Zack spun on his heel and ran out of the club.
Carmen had been watching the couple out of the corner of her eye. Xander had told her about the guy who was supposedly family. They both hadn't thought much of him. Seeing Jondy collapse, Carmen dumped her tray on the nearest table and rushed to her friend's side. "Jondy?"
Jondy couldn't hold back the tears any longer. She sobbed, her mascara running down her cheeks in black rivers. "He…he left," she choked out.
"Screw him." Carmen said, glancing around to see if the man in question was still around. Helping Jondy to her feet, she guided her to a chair.
Jondy hung her head. She couldn't tell Carmen she'd already did that. It was the cause of all her problems. Look where it had gotten her. She gratefully squeezed Carmen's hand. Her fingertips grazed leather. Zack's jacket. She was still wearing his jacket. Her heart skipped a beat, for a second she was both frightened and stupidly optimistic. He'd have to come back. She hoped that when he did, by some miracle he had come to his senses and realized how insane his accusations were.
She would have had more of a chance winning the $50 million national jackpot.
Some fantasy it'd all turned out to be.
She'd been sitting up in bed when he crawled through her window. It was a little past midnight and his mood hadn't changed at all. If anything, someone had taken the Zack she knew and replaced him with cold-blooded stranger.
Jondy's apartment, Las Vegas
Zack dropped to the floor, his boots making barely a sound as he crossed the room. She didn't move, but her eyes followed his movements.
"There's no one else…
"Stop. I don't want your lies. Get up and just listen," Zack barked.
Jondy was stunned for a moment, but did as he said. She crawled off the bed and stood by the window. He approached her slowly, as if assessing her.
"If you want to keep your baby, go ahead. Just know that I'll change the contact number."
"No," Jondy whispered in disbelief. He couldn't. Pleading, reached for his arm.
Zack stepped away, giving her an icy glare. "If you contact Syl, I'll cut her out too." Zack hated what he was doing, but it was necessary. She couldn't possibly think that she could have this baby. Who knew what kind of offspring a norm and an X5 would produce. Not to mention keeping off Lydecker's radar. She'd need a doctor. The kid would need to go to school. The kid would want friends. What kind of life did she think she could give it? He convinced himself he was making the hard choice again. It was the cruel decision. He had to be cruel to be kind. She had to know he was only thinking of her future. Her safety. He'd force her to do the right thing. They couldn't afford the luxury of forgetting who they were and what was hunting them.
Her hand started to shake and this time, she couldn't hide it. She couldn't do that to Syl. She would be forcing her sister to choose and it wouldn't be fair. Whatever she did, she'd do it alone.
Seeing that she was already beginning to think on an emotional level, she gave him no alternative but to drill reason into her. "We're soldiers, Jondy. Or have you forgotten the nine years we spent, training, fighting, killing." he circled her. "We're living in enemy territory. How long do you think you have before Lydecker tracks you down again? Say you do have this kid. Say you'd die protecting it. Then what? He's left to fend for himself against an evil he knows nothing about?"
Jondy didn't say anything. Everything he was saying made complete sense. She wasn't bred to be a mother. She didn't know the first thing about it.
"Get rid of it, Jondy. Do it while you still have a choice." Zack gritted his teeth. She didn't answer him and she was standing there like a numb mute. "Do you understand?" Zack demanded. He forced her to look at him in the eyes.
So far she'd done her utmost to address him as they had their TAC leaders back at Manticore. Staring directly ahead, but not seeing. It was the only thing that had helped her keep it together the whole time he kept up his lecture.
Finding inner strength, she managed to stare back at him. She forced herself to appear as callous and uncaring has he was. "Yes, sir. I understand perfectly."
Zack didn't say anything more. He turned away from her, unable to keep up his charade any longer. How could she have done this to him? After… that night, she'd been with someone else, and now she was pregnant. He kept thinking about how he'd reacted that morning. Maybe if he had talked with her, instead of walking out…how could everything have turned out so wrong?
Jondy was confused. He had made his orders crystal clear, why was he still here? What more did he want? She didn't dare move. He'd whirled on her, and almost killed her with a look when she'd lifted her hand before.
"I'll be back to check on you as soon as I can."
His voice had softened somewhat, but he still seemed very superior and indignant.
Even long after he'd left her apartment; she'd stood there frozen. She felt rocked to the core, never in her entire life had she ever dreamed something like this would happen.
She loved him so much, not that she could ever tell him. Even if somehow he could comprehend it, she wondered if he would care. Worse, she feared he would throw it back in her face. Telling her she was a fool for being weak and sentimental. She could almost hear him say, 'Love, pity, empathy, fear. Emotions make you weak. They mess with your head, and it'll get you killed…'
Jondy cried then, never knowing how alone she really was until that moment. She cried until her body felt empty and drained of all its energy. Stepping back blindly, she hit the wall and slid down till she was on the floor.
There she stayed, until Carmen found her the next morning.
It had taken a lot of calculated evasion, to get where she needed to go that afternoon. There was something she had to do. And just one word from her friend would be enough to make her resolve crumble. She had to do this. Not just because Zack had ordered her to. Her sisters meant more than everything in the world and faced with an ultimatum, she had made her choice.
Doctor's Surgery, Downtown Las Vegas
Lying on the table in a white gown, she stared up at the concrete ceiling. Waiting for the doctor to come back, she tried hard to ignore the stabbing pain in her chest.
Tears trickled down the sides of her face and she refused to acknowledge them. Tuning out all relevant thought, she concentrated all her attentions on irrelevant numbers. Using the technique she'd learned ten and a half years ago, she tried not to feel emotion. She wanted to feel what he felt. Looking at her with those cold blue eyes, so distant. She wanted to be able to feel nothing. Trouble was, she couldn't. Subconsciously, her hand went to cover the bump on her belly. She blinked, a sharp sensation interrupting her train of thought.
"Are you ready?" the doctor asked her gently.
Jondy's hand trembled and her voice shook. "I…I don't…know…"
"If you're having second thoughts…"
"No," Jondy protested.
The doctor nodded, and put a small needle into Jondy's hand. "Just relax. I promise I'll take good care of you."
"I'll take good care of you."
Jondy felt herself being pulled under. The doctor's voice sounded so soothing, so gentle. Those words playing over and over in her mind.
"I'll take care… of you…care…"