To convince your only child, a young beautiful girl, that if she found happiness in life she would perish that. Just…fuck.So now I'm left with the unenviable task of trying to shock her out of this way of thinking. I was so not looking forward to this shit but she needed a wakeup call and she needed it quick."Do you want to have an abortion?" I wanted to burn off my tongue as soon as the words left my mouth.She jerked as if I'd punched her."What, no, what...Gideon...how could you?" She tried to get off my lap but I held her tight. "Blossom be calm, I don't want you to have one either but if you believe our child will kill you then there's no way I'm going to let that happen.""But it's just an innocent baby.""Not if it's going to kill you." Please let this shit work; please don't let her start thinking of me as the fucking monster."But..." She covered herself protectively as tears flowed down her cheeks."I don't know what to do, what should I do?" And that's w

Had it been only a few short weeks ago that I'd seen her for the first time? How could life change so drastically in such a short space of time? And what the fuck else was going to come at me next? I walked over and looked down at her as she slept peacefully I had to go see Gage which meant I had to leave her. I took the monitor with me in case she woke up while I was gone.Gage was looking out the windows of my home office when I got there. He turned at my entrance and with a nod took a seat across from my desk."Do we know as yet how Halston and Sanders paths crossed?"I've had him doing some digging while we were in the hospital. Though the tapes had revealed much, they hadn't answered that little kernel. Those two didn't move in the same circles and I needed to know everything before I moved. I wasn't about to leave any stone unturned I wanted the names of all the players down to the smallest one."She was having you followed. I pieced that little tidbit together from all the s

She looked at me and it was as though a light went on in her eyes."I always knew He'd send someone, sometimes I lost hope, but most of the time I believed he'd send someone...and He did."Jesus...who was this girl? Who the hell could live through that shit and still hold onto that kind of hope?I wanted to cry when the fullness of what she was saying penetrated. I was her hope, maybe an answer to a prayer. How did that shit work, what was I supposed to do with that?I'd just seen a beautiful young girl whose beauty cut straight to the heart that first day, she'd seen hope. Somehow it didn't feel like a burden, it felt like I was the strongest man alive, like I could move mountains. Damn, is this what love did to you? How could something make you feel weak in the knees and strong as a team of oxen at the same time?She seemed to believe what she was saying to me, not like she was just repeating something she'd heard. That was some potent shit. Was I her knight in shining armor t

I set up in the bedroom so I could be close to her and she wouldn't have to move around too much."I've set up a running program love, cross checking the senator's and the doctor's travel agendas. We're looking for anything that overlaps, even within a few days of each other. Do you understand sweets?""I think so yes, the program would find any hits where they're both traveling to the same place at the same time or within days of each other.""Good girl, now that shouldn't take too long, but if you get tired I'm right here okay?"I leaned over her small frame and kissed her before sitting at the desk I'd placed next to the bed.I'd had her not half an hour ago and I wanted her again but her poor little body needed rest. I'd been inside her for most of the afternoon as it is, she'd been just as greedy as I having missed days of loving, but I was afraid of hurting her if we kept that shit up.It was amazing how having her close to me made me feel light and happy and a million othe

I met with the guys in the underground office I'd had set up for highly sensitive meetings like this.Gage, Dmitri, Stefan and Maurice sat across from me going over the printouts I'd made for them of what I'd found so far."Are you fucking shitting me?" Maurice was out of his seat in a fighter's stance, fists folded, ready for action; ever the hot head."What I don't understand is why Southeast Asia? Don't they usually just exploit their own kids?" Stefan threw down his copy in disgust."I think there's more going on here we have to keep digging because this shit doesn't make any sense. It's like Stefan said, that region is known for its fucked up perversions against kids, but why would these two assholes be selling American kids over there?""So what do you think Dmitri, any ideas?" I too had wondered about that, it didn't exactly make sense but I couldn't figure out the missing link. I kept an eye on the monitor on my desk where I could see Ashley still asleep. Surrounded by all