Christine Feehan - Conspiracy Game

The doctor held on to his smile, looking cheerful. “I know it’s a bit of a shock, but many women have twins and do just fine. Everything looks good. You should be able to carry without any problems. We’ll want to keep a close eye on you.”

Briony nearly crushed Jack’s fingers. “Are you absolutely certain? Two babies?”

“Yes. I heard two heartbeats, and you can clearly see them on the sonogram. If you’d like more clarity, the hospital has a newer model and you could have it confirmed on their machine. I can set up the appointment.”

Jack pressed his free hand into Briony’s shoulder in warning. “That won’t be necessary.” We don’t need more of a paper trail than necessary. Let’s just stick with Dr. Casey as long as possible. “It’s a shock, that’s all, but a welcome one, isn’t it, baby?”

She swallowed the fear crushing her and hung on to his tender tone. If only he really loved her that much-wanted her that much. A woman could put up with a lot to have a man love her so much. How could he fake that look? That caressing tone? He actually sounded happy about the babies. She wished she had Jack’s strength.

The doctor casually wiped the smears of gel from her stomach. Jack pulled down her shirt. “Thanks, Doc. We’ll go celebrate. Do you have a nutrition expert who can give us advice on what she should or shouldn’t eat?”

“Ask the receptionist for our comprehensive tip sheet and don’t forget to take your prenatals,” Dr. Casey advised. “Any more questions?”

Briony shook her head. The man had already said a mouthful.

“Is there any reason why we can’t make love?” Jack asked.

Briony bit back a squeak of shock. Her gaze jumped to his face, but he was looking at the doctor.

“I’d like to know what we can and can’t do,” Jack added.

Briony closed her eyes. Just the thought of Jack touching her was enough to get her wet, make her body go into hormone overload. What was he thinking, bringing that up when they already had so many problems avoiding it. She should have influenced the doctor to say they couldn’t have sex, but no, he was going into great detail and Jack was just soaking it up. She lifted her hand limply as the doctor left.

“What were you thinking?” she hissed.

“I’m taking precautions. If you’re with me, Briony, it’s going to happen. We both know it, and we need the answers. I don’t want to take a chance on hurting you or the babies.”

She let Jack help her into a sitting position. She wasn’t going to go there. Not now, not when there were other, much larger problems. Babies. “What are we going to do? One baby I might be able to take care of, but two of them? Do you have any idea what this means?” She couldn’t disappear with two babies. It would be nearly impossible to protect two children from Dr. Whitney. “Can you see me running with a front and back pack, fighting enhanced soldiers off? This is getting worse and worse.”

Jack’s jaw tightened. “What do you want to do? The doctor said you’re eleven weeks along. What’s the cutoff time?”

Her breath caught in her throat, and both hands covered her stomach protectively. “For what? I’m not having an abortion, Jack. I might not be able to take care of my children myself, but I’ll be damned if I’ll have an abortion. They feel a part of me already. No.” She shook her head. “No way.”

“We’ll take care of them together the old-fashioned way, by ourselves.”

“Jack, you’ve never seen me around people without you there to buffer me from all the emotion.”

“I watched you perform. I didn’t protect you then because I wanted to see and feel what your life was like.”

She shook her head. “You did protect me. Not all the way, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as usual. You weren’t even aware of it. I’m just so afraid that if the babies get sick, or are upset… ” She looked up at him. “What if I can’t take care of them?”

“You performed night after night because you loved your family that much, Briony, why would you think you’d do any less for your children?”

She couldn’t pull her gaze from his. He was so certain, not in the least ruffled by the news. She was impacting his life in ways she hadn’t expected, and he was the one handling it, not her. “Okay. You’re right. We’ll just do whatever has to be done-one day at a time.”

Jack’s fingers circled the nape of her neck. “We can do this.” He flashed a small grin. It faded quickly, but fascinated Briony all the same. There was no softening of his hard, weathered features; rather, his eyes went from dark to light. Her stomach somersaulted in response, proving she was still way too susceptible to him. “And we always have Ken to do diaper duty.”

“Aren’t you worried about Whitney’s men finding us?”

“They’ll either come for you or they won’t, baby. We can’t stop living our lives because Whitney may find out where you are.”

Jack didn’t leave the room as she got back into her jeans; in fact he didn’t even avert his eyes. “You’re incredibly beautiful, you know that?”

“No, I’m not, but it’s nice of you to say so.” She tried not to blush as she zipped up her jeans. It seemed natural to have Jack in the room with her, and it added another layer of intimacy between them.

“You are, and I have good taste in women and underwear.” He bent to brush a kiss against the corner of her mouth. “Ken’s on the roof of the building next door. Maybe we should sneak out back and make our getaway.”

She laughed and took his outstretched hand. “I still can’t believe we’re going to have twins. Do you have any idea how large I’m going to get? You won’t be able to push me through the door.”

It took a few minutes to get out of the doctor’s office. Jack made certain they had another appointment and that he picked up the tip sheet on nutrition. Briony was fairly sure she was going to be sorry she allowed him to get his hands on it.

Ken joined them at the Jeep. “Congratulations, you two. When you decide to do something, you really go all the way, don’t you?” He stowed his innocent-looking case containing the sniper rifle in a well under the seat floor before locking the vehicle.

“Keep it up and I’m going to kick you in the shins,” Briony warned.

“Stay between us, Briony,” Jack cautioned as they started down the street to the restaurant Ken insisted had the best food.

The twins walked with easy, fluid strides, eyes restless, gaze constantly moving-up over the buildings, examining the shrubbery, watching the people. Briony should have been nervous, but she was too excited. She didn’t walk down streets in the middle of a town, have dinner in a restaurant, or go listen to music in a bar in the evening. This was a luxury-a gift from Jack. She felt no pain at all, just a wonderful sense of freedom. She smiled at a couple walking toward them, and joy blossomed when they smiled back. She didn’t read anything terrible, such as that the man was having an affair, or the wife wanted out of the marriage, or that they’d just lost a child. She could take them at face value-a happy couple walking on the same sidewalk.

Jack glanced down at her face. Briony was beaming, and he could feel the change in her with every step they took. The air was cool and crisp, a light breeze with night beginning to fall. She was nearly dancing, the elation coming off her in waves.

“Don’t you love this?” She looked up at him, flashing a smile. “I love this.”

“What?” He tried not to be distracted by her excitement, but something about her jubilation was catching. He was happy just walking down the damn street with her. She fit right beneath his shoulder, her head brushing against his arm as he walked with her and he felt-whole.