Page 50 of Consume Me

Chapter 19

CLARA

The door cracked open and I strained to see David peeking inside. “Clara?”

“I asked to see you,” I said.

He stepped into the room, shifting uncomfortably on his heels. He didn’t want to be here. That made two of us. But unlike me, he had a choice in the matter. I just needed him to see that.

“I need you to promise to look after the baby,” I said.

“Clara, I…” He shook his head. “I’ll do the best I can.”

“You owe me,” I said softly. Fiercely. “What’s happening now. You did this.”

“If I could change—”

“You can.” I wasn’t going to play into his lying game. He wasn’t going to walk out of this room without facing the truth. “Let me go.”

He stared at me like I’d sprung a second head. “You won’t make it out of here. There’s guards and security measures and…”

“Please.” My voice broke on the word, desperation pouring out of me. “Please. Don’t make me die like this.”

“You’ll die if you try to escape,” he whispered, moving closer to me.

“I would rather die fighting than be gutted on some table and left as scrap.” Tears rolled down my face as I considered what awaited me. When I’d taken a bite of the apple I’d known I might never wake up. There wasn’t going to be a second miracle. Once they rolled me into surgery, that was when my life ended.

“The baby,” David said.

“They’ll save the baby.” I knew that. No matter what they did to me. He would be saved. He was what they were after. He was the prize.

“You can’t take that chance.” But his eyes lingered over the cuffs.

“I can’t lie here and wait to die,” I sobbed. “Give me a chance. Help me.”

“Clara.” He shook his head. “I can’t—”

“If you ever loved Edward—if you loved any of us—undo these restraints. You’re my family. Not theirs. You promised him for better and for worse. Be better.” We both knew that this wasn’t going to end well. We also knew that if I walked out of here, everything would change. David wouldn’t be able to hide the truth and I wouldn’t lie for him. I just had to help him see that living with what he’d done would be a worse fate. “You’re better than this. If you do this, it will tear him apart. You won’t be able to live with yourself. Your marriage doesn’t survive my death.”

“And it survives your rescue?” He bit his lip, turning away from me. “You’ll tell him. You’ll tell all of them.”

“It’s never too late for redemption,” I said softly.

“Do you think Alexander will believe that, too?” he said darkly. “Or even Edward? I know how he feels about lies. He thinks we don’t keep them from each other.”

He was spinning out of control. I was losing him, but I still needed him.

“Someone will find out and when they do, there will be no second chance for you,” I said. “If you save me now…”

My final argument hung in the air between us. It was the best I had. We both knew there was no magical happily ever after waiting for all of us on the other side of this. I just had to show him that every path led to the same devastating ending—only he could contain how many hearts were broken.

“You’ll never make it,” he said. But he moved closer, his fingers dancing over the cuff.

“Tell me,” I begged. “Anything that might be useful. I won’t ask any more of you.”

A muscle twitched in his jaw, but finally he spoke. “They’ve reduced staff for the birth. Most of the organization knows the plan, but not the details. The less people who know the details…”

The less people there were to spill them. I nodded, my breath hitching as he began to unfasten the cuff.