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Alarm raced through Dawn as she noticed another man sitting in the driver seat.
"What—?"
"Not to worry," the first man said as he climbed into the front passenger seat and slammed the door. "This is my driver, Henry."
Henry nodded without looking around. Dawn heard the doors auto lock. She tried her handle—useless.
"Am I locked in?"
"What?" The man laughed, sounding embarrassed. "Oh, sorry. Child locks."
"You have kids?"
"Not yet, but I've had some young passengers recently. Don't think of it as keeping you inside—consider it protection against anyone getting in from outside."
"This is so totally weird. I don't even know your name."
He reached his hand back. It held a card. She took it and angled it into the scant light coming through the side window.
MR OSALA
That was it—no phone number, no address, just his name.
"It doesn't say you're a detective."
Henry put the car in gear and they began to move.
"That's because I'm many things. Sometimes I'm an investigator, and sometimes I'm a guardian—like now."
"You mean like a bodyguard?"
"Exactly."
"Are you taking me home?"
"Not at the moment. That would be unwise. Jeremy knows wh^re you live."
""Yes, but-—"
"Your mother wanted me to keep you safe, and the best place to do that right now is my place."
A warning bell rang.
"Your place?"
Another laugh. "Not to worry, I have no designs on you. You'll be staying in a beautiful duplex penthouse on Fifth Avenue where my staff will take excellent care of you."
Duplex penthouse? Fifth Avenue? Staff?
"You sound like totally rich."
"I am."
"Then why—?"
"—am I helping you? Because that is my mission in life—I exist only to help those in need. I was helping your mother, now I'm helping you."
She hesitated to ask, but he knew everything already, so why not?
"Do you think you could help me get an abortion?"
A pause, then, "I don't think that would be a good idea at the moment."
"Are you totally kidding? I thought you knew the story here."
"I do. I know—how shall I put this?—I know that the child you carry is also a sibling."
Dawn thought about that. Yeah, he was right. How totally gross and sick.
"Right. So then you can understand why I want it gone."
"Yes, but the child is your protection. Jeremy wants that child and will do you no serious harm while you carry it. Think of it as an insurance policy. If you abort it—"
"But I want it gone, out of me. He told me he'd been fixed but that was obviously just another of his lies."
And I swallowed every single one, she thought.
She wanted to retch. Lies weren't the only things she'd swallowed.
"There will be plenty of time to terminate the pregnancy once he's caught. As soon as we hear of his capture, I shall personally take you to a private clinic that will fulfill your wish."
"When do you think that'll be? I want this so over with."
"Not too long. And who knows? In the meantime you might change your mind and spare the child."
"Spare? Are you kidding?"
"Well, it's not the baby's fault. Why take it out on him or her?"
Him or her… she'd thought of it only as an it.
"You never know," Mr. Osala was saying. "Your baby might turn out to be someone famous. An Einstein or a Madame Curie—someone who'll change the world."
Change the world'.'' Where had she heard—?
Our baby is the Key. He s gonna change the ivorld!
"Jerry said something like that. Why doesn't anybody want me to get rid of this baby?"
Mr. Osala half turned and his hand darted toward her. For an instant she thought he was going to hit her, but his fingertips only brushed her forehead.
"Hush, now. You're exhausted. Get some sleep."
An overwhelming lethargy enveloped her. She fought to keep her eyes open but the lids suddenly weighed like tons.
Mr. Osala, the car and its driver, her cares… they all drifted away.