TIFFIN 3

79

"Jake?" I asked in disbelief. 

That was such a normal name. Now, that I thought about it, Jake Evengot looked like your average Joe.

With his sleek appearance and graying hair, I wouldn't have expected him to be some psycho kidnapper. 

In fact, when I saw him at Jo's wedding, he didn't seem threatening at all.

Dear god, he'd been so near me that it would have been easy for him to snatch me then and there.

Why hadn't he? Had he been afraid that Hero would see him? 

Had he simply been casing me to make sure I was the one he'd wanted?

My stomach lurched as I pondered on this. I knew it wasn't good to mull over so close to my child's birth, but I couldn't help it. 

He'd been so close, so many times.
 
And his partner in crime sat mere feet from me, looking utterly unfazed by my response.

There was no way that Diedre Tiffin was a normal person. Perhaps she wasn't a person at all. 

She was the spawn of the devil, or maybe even the queen of devils... 

As I ran these thoughts through my mind, I felt a stream of sweat slip down my forehead. Hell, had it grown hotter within the last few minutes?

I frowned at the twisting in my stomach. 

"What's the matter?" Diedre taunted. "Couldn't handle the truth?" 

I clenched my teeth, aware that she was trying to get a rise out of me. 

"You're the devil. Utterly fucking evil, you know that?" 

She simply grinned. 

"You just can't face the truth, little girl. Sooner or later Hero will realize who he needs and I will be there to claim him again." 

I wanted to reply, I really did, but the urge to answer didn't seem very important. Instead, the will to hang onto my table for dear life, won. 

I gasped, earning attention from a guard who hurried over. Glancing down, I grimaced.

Crap. This pregnancy really had taken a toll on me. 

I'd just peed myself...

When the guard finally made it over, he sighed. 

"Ma'am, you have four minutes left." 

I ignored his statement and instead groaned at my embarrassment. 

"I'm sorry, sir. I think I may have had an accident on the floor." 

When I moved my chair to give him a better look, he narrowed his eyes, then focused on my evident belly. 

"Ma'am, that's not um... urine... I can see you're pregnant. Is everything alright?" 

For a long moment, I was confused by his questioning and stared at the clear liquid below me.

Then, as if in warning, a strong contraction rang through my body. 

No. NO. 

My water had just broke. 

I was about to give birth two months early. 

"I need to get out of here," I hissed out, "I'm about to give birth." 

As the guard rushed over and hefted me to my feet, I captured one last glimpse of Diedre who looked like she wanted to wring my babies neck for the disruption. 

I couldn't worry about that now.

I had to get to the hospital as soon as possible and hope nothing was wrong.