I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on in this house or in my head.
I don’t know what I want.
Thirsty, I turn my face up to the flow of the shower and drink but it’s a mistake. The nausea that’s now becoming familiar overwhelms me and I quickly switch off the water and grab a towel, dropping to my knees and raising the toilet seat at once. I throw up the little bit of water I just drank along with the toast. From beneath the cabinet, I hear my phone buzz. I’d moved it there from behind the bed a few days ago. I heave once, twice, and although nothing comes, I feel sick.
The phone buzzes again, stops, starts again. It’s not like Julia to keep calling if I don’t pick up. I have been calling her back when I see I’ve missed a call. She knows he could be in here anytime and if he caught me with the phone, I’m sure he’d take it away. So, after the next round of dry-heaving, I crawl toward the cabinet, open it and rummage for the phone. I sit back against the tub. The phone starts up again and I swipe to answer.
“Hey,” I say to Julia. “I was sick, I’m sorry—”
“I’ve been calling for hours. Isabelle there’s a problem.” She sounds strange. Like she’s upset. Very upset.
“What is it? Is it Matty?”
Someone enters the bedroom and a moment later tries the door but it’s locked.
“Isabelle?” It’s Jericho.
“Just a minute!” I call out in a panic. “I have to go,” I say into the phone.
“Isabelle wait.”
Nausea turns my stomach again as Jericho knocks and tries the handle again. “Doctor’s here.”
“I’m going to be sick,” I tell Julia.
Just before I pull the phone away and turn my attention to the toilet, I hear her say something. “I have them! I found them. You’re not—”
Again, I heave. More toast. I only ate a few bites how can there be more? My mouth tastes awful. I feel drained and empty.
“Isabelle. Open this door.”
I puke in response. I put the phone back to my ear at the next break. “I have to go. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”
“Listen to me. Listen. The pills. I found them. They’re here. Almost three months’ worth. They’re all here.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Birth control, Isabelle.”
“I’m coming in,” Jericho calls out.
“No. I have them. I’m taking them. Oh god.” I grip the edge of the toilet and lean over it and I swear my stomach feels like it’s been turned inside out and as I heave, I hear what she’s saying. Hear the panic in her voice. I remember taking the little packet of pills from inside their hot pink plastic case and popping them out. I remember thinking they looked different, just a little different. And I remember the few drops of blood I bled during the week I usually get my period. I thought it was stress.
I sit back down, and I count. And I barely register the popping of the lock. The opening of the door. Because this can’t be.
No. God. No.
“Julia?” I say, just as a large hand closes over mine and I look up at the blur of him. The vomiting has tears streaming from my eyes.
The vomiting and the betrayal.
Jericho St. James stares down at me, hard and angry, his forehead furrowed, eyes blazing as he slips the phone from my hand, looks at the screen before he disconnects it, cutting Julia off mid-sentence and pocketing the phone.
“What did you do?” I ask him, crawling away from him those few feet until my back is against the tub. I’m still naked and freezing now, shivering even as sweat runs down my spine. “What did you do!” I scream and it’s not a question. It’s an accusation.
And I know with the next wave of nausea that has me doubling over the toilet what this is. Why I’ve felt sick. Why I haven’t been able to keep anything down and why my favorite foods have me retching.
I’m pregnant.
I’m pregnant with Jericho St. James’s baby.
Thank you
Thank you for reading Devil’s Pawn. I hope you love Isabelle and Jericho’s story.
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Their story concludes in Devil’s Redemption which is available in all stores.
One-click here to buy Devil’s Redemption!
Also by Natasha Knight
The Devil’s Pawn Duet
Devil’s Pawn
Devil’s Redemption
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To Have and To Hold
With This Ring
I Thee Take
Stolen: Dante’s Vow
* * *
The Society Trilogy
Requiem of the Soul
Reparation of Sin
Resurrection of the Heart
Dark Legacy Trilogy
Taken (Dark Legacy, Book 1)
Torn (Dark Legacy, Book 2)
Twisted (Dark Legacy, Book 3)
* * *
Unholy Union Duet
Unholy Union
Unholy Intent
Collateral Damage Duet
Collateral: an Arranged Marriage Mafia Romance
Damage: an Arranged Marriage Mafia Romance
Ties that Bind Duet
Mine
His
* * *
MacLeod Brothers
Devil’s Bargain
Benedetti Mafia World
Salvatore: a Dark Mafia Romance
Dominic: a Dark Mafia Romance
Sergio: a Dark Mafia Romance
The Benedetti Brothers Box Set (Contains Salvatore, Dominic and Sergio)
Killian: a Dark Mafia Romance
Giovanni: a Dark Mafia Romance
The Amado Brothers
Dishonorable
Disgraced
Unhinged
Standalone Dark Romance
Descent
Deviant
Beautiful Liar
Retribution
Theirs To Take
Captive, Mine
Alpha
Given to the Savage
Taken by the Beast
Claimed by the Beast
Captive’s Desire
Protective Custody
Amy’s Strict Doctor
Taming Emma
Taming Megan
Taming Naia
Reclaiming Sophie
The Firefighter’s Girl
Dangerous Defiance
Her Rogue Knight
Taught To Kneel
Tamed: the Roark Brothers Trilogy
About the Author
Natasha Knight is the USA Today Bestselling author of Romantic Suspense and Dark Romance Novels. She has sold over half a million books and is translated into six languages. She currently lives in The Netherlands with her husband and two daughters and when she’s not writing, she’s walking in the woods listening to a book, sitting in a corner reading or off exploring the world as often as she can get away.
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Write Natasha here: [email protected]