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or months from now. Once Jude was done with me, would there even be anything left?
    We drove back to the ranch in silence and said our goodnights. Alone in my room, I pulled out one of the bags I’d brought home from the shops this morning and took out a small box. I disappeared with it into the bathroom, my heart inside my throat.
     
     

Chapter Seventeen
     
    A rock dropped into the pit of my stomach. I slumped against the door and slid to the floor, tightening my fingers around the pregnancy test stick.
    Two days ago, I missed my period. I never, ever missed my period. But I hadn’t worried, thinking it was my body reacting to the stress. When I was with Jude, I’d been on the pill. When I left suddenly, I didn’t have time to get them from where I had hidden them, but I also hadn’t planned on having sex in the near future. I wasn’t even sure why I bought the pregnancy test. I guess I just wanted to rule out all possibilities.
    Confusion whirled through my mind. How could this have happened? Yes, Jude raped me repeatedly, but I’d also religiously taken my pill, never forgetting it once.
    A chilling thought hit me and I clapped my hand against my mouth, gagging. Jude had something to do with it. That was the only explanation. What if he had somehow found the pills and replaced them with something else? He had been determined to get me pregnant and he would have done anything to make sure it happened. Well, he had succeeded.
    Saliva pooled into my mouth and I crawled over to the toilet, vomiting until I felt completely empty. I dabbed my mouth with a wad of toilet paper and then wept into it.
    A baby. What would I do with a baby while on the run? Even worse, Jude’s baby. A monster’s baby, growing inside me.
    Jude had done it again, just like he always did. He’d succeeded, even from a distance, at controlling the course of my life. No matter how far or how fast I ran from him, we’d forever be linked by a life—an innocent life. My life as I knew it was well and truly over. How could I run now? How could I go to the cops? It was no longer just about me.
    After sitting in the bathroom for over an hour, I went to bed, feeling like a zombie. I woke up before dawn and knocked on Dustin’s door.
    Dustin’s eyes widened with worry when he saw my face. When I told him, he stumbled back with shock. He pulled me into his room and lowered me onto his bed. It was a lot smaller than mine.
    He remained on his feet, pacing the room, running his hand through his hair occasionally. “Didn’t you…?”
    “I did. He wanted a baby; I didn’t. I was on the pill behind his back. I…” I drifted off, feeling myself burn up inside. I hated Jude. I hated him with everything in me. “I think he messed with my pills. How stupid was I to think he wouldn’t find them?”
    “You think he switched them?” Dustin’s voice was steely and he lowered himself next to me, studying my face.
    “And he did a damn good job.” I hadn’t noticed anything different. He had really gone the extra mile to fool me.
    Dustin ran his hand roughly through his hair. “The bastard. He deserves to pay for everything he’s done. Did he really think you would forget everything he had done to you and stay just because he got you pregnant?”
    I wiped my cheeks and inhaled sharply. “As far as he was concerned, I wasn’t going anywhere.” If he ever found out about my pregnancy he would move heaven and earth to find me. Then what? He’d hold me and the baby hostage? Bile rose up in my throat again, but I swallowed it down. “I feel defeated, Dustin. I don’t know what to do now.”
    “Haley.” Dustin took me by the shoulders and turned me to face him. “You can’t let this throw you off.”
    I gave a choked laugh. “I really don’t know where to find the strength. I need so much more now. I’m no longer just making decisions for myself.”
    As much as I ached to rip my womb right out of me, the baby—even if it was the result of