Cheating Time (48 page)

"I thought I'd let you get the cubs settled
on a blanket near the fire. Then you and I can have a cup of tea
and talk before retiring. What do you think about that, Carlie?"
Barone asked, as if I had options.

"Thank you, John. I appreciate your
kindness." I lied.

Before he took back his offer, I grabbed a
blanket from the second bed, one I'd assumed to be mine, that had
been set up at the opposite end of the tent. I spread it out on the
floor near the fire and tucked the babies who were so new to the
world they couldn't even hold up their heads.

Knowing they needed Vixen and that her
presence was not possible, I tucked them into my chest and held
them close until they stopped crying. Little by little, I lowered
them down to the blanket and spooned them with each other so they'd
feel as safe and sound as they'd been when they were inside their
mother's womb. The only reason I put them down at all was because I
was worried Barone would tire of my attention being focused on the
cubs rather than him.

When they were content, asleep, hugged
together, and breathing rhythmically, I stood and noticed Barone
was studying me with an intensity that made me uncomfortable. I
tucked my chin into my chest and hooked my hair behind my ears.

"That tea smells wonderful," I said.

Barone nodded to the saucer sitting next to
the chair where he expected me to sit. I complied.

"Carlie… I'm not sure you understand how
important it is for you to support me. People will be quick to
claim we are at odds if you continue challenging me. Does what I'm
saying make sense to you?"

I stared down into the bottom of the cup and
swirled the tea remnants around. I took a sip of the black brew and
wanted to make a face it was so bitter. Instead, I picked up the
tongs and dropped three sugar cubes into the cup before diluting it
with the cream. After taking lots of time stirring the tea, I took
another sip. This one was much sweeter, creamier. It was tolerable,
and I smiled at a job well done.

If only I could make the
situation with Barone less bitter and more tolerable.

"John, I'm not even seventeen. Teenagers are
rebellious by nature. I'm trying to do what you want. I'm trying to
make sure the people I love are safe. That job in and of itself is
bigger than anything most teenagers have to deal with. When you
make keeping my family safe exponentially more difficult by
blackmailing me into marrying you, I lose perspective. I'm trying
to do what you want me to do when you want me to do it… It's just
that something snaps in me when I see something that seems morally
wrong," I said truthfully.

I gulped down another drink of the tea and
continued swirling the liquid around the cup.

"Thank you for your honesty, Carlie. I think
this is a big step for us. I think you're going to see that the
better I know you, the easier it will be for the two of us to bond…
for me to know what you're thinking and how to react to it."

I nodded in agreement.

"As for me… I can't stress to you how
important it is that you support my every decision regardless of
your opinion. What can we do to make that happen?" Barone
asked.

"John, I just told you I can't help it. I'm
hardwired to speak up when I see something I disagree with," I said
and realized there might be a better way to describe it. "I guess
you could say it's in my genes."

Barone very calmly drank his tea and let
what I'd said sink in. He was deep in thought as his stare fixed on
the sleeping cubs. The instant the pure white one rolled to her
side and the black paw of her sibling slid off of her leg, Barone
tilted his head to the side and smiled.

"Carlie, you've given me something to think
about and offered me a challenge, one that makes me want to prove
to you there are things I can do that will make you think before
you disagree or defy me ever again." Barone smiled sweetly.

Holy hell! What is this
asshole about to do?

"John, you don't have to do anything. I'm
going to work on it. I'm going to work hard on it," I swore.

"That's just it, Carlie. It seems to me you
don't respect and fear me the way you should. If you did, your
instincts to defy me would be squelched."

"I do respect you, John. My parents insisted
I respect you, your position, and the difficult decisions you have
to make," I said.

There was no hiding my anxiety. I heard the
threat in Barone's words and saw on his face the determination to
tame me.

Quicker than I could get to my feet, Barone
popped up, dashed over to where the cubs were sleeping, and snapped
them up and off their pallet. Without the first ounce of gentleness
and away from the warmth of his body, he held the siblings in the
palms of his hands. He wasn't holding them out to me. He was simply
making sure I knew he had control of the situation. He was making
sure I saw everything he did.

"If it were to save the life of these cubs,
would you swear to me that you would obey me unconditionally and
support my every decision?" Barone asked.

"I-I swore I was going to try. I will," I
answered with tears welling in my eyes as I comprehended how much
danger the newborns were in.

"That's just it, Carlie. I will try isn't
the same as I'll obey you unconditionally and support your every
decision. Say it," Barone ordered.

Without any delay at all, I followed the
president's demands and repeated his words. "I'll obey you
unconditionally and support your every decision."

"I think you can do better than that. You've
not been properly motivated," Barone said, and at the same time he
tucked the black panther in the crook of his arm and took the pure
white panther in both hands.

The next thing I knew, he'd grasped the base
of the cub's skull in one hand and its body in the other. Before I
could take the first step his way, he pulled hard and fast while
twisting his hands in opposite directions. After the animal's spine
had been dislocated, Barone dropped the twitching newborn to the
floor and held the still alive black cub out to me.

"NOOO!" I screamed, falling to my knees,
cradling the now limp and lifeless baby in my hands and snuggling
it to my chest.

Above me, I heard what could only be
described as a sociopath's calm words. "Do I need to give you
another demonstration of what will happen every single time you
defy me?"

"No… No… I'll be good. I'll do what you want
me to do. Just don't kill that one," I cried from the ground.

Barone chuckled. "I thought you might see
things my way if you were given the right incentive."

"You were right. You were. Please let me
have the cub. I'll be good," I promised, tears streaming from my
eyes and snot dripping from my nose.

Barone was more than pleased when he looked
down at me and handed me the only living cub, mewing like he knew
his sister had just been murdered.

I hugged the distressed cat to my chest and
whispered, "You're okay."
Oh my
God!
"I got you."
Oh my
God!
"Shh!"
Oh my
God!

While I was holding the baby panther, I
checked to make sure Barone hadn't secretly injured him also. While
I did that, Barone picked up the white baby panther's body and
threw it into the fire. Then he glanced back at me to see if I was
going to say anything or do anything. I didn't. I knew better.
Swiping the snot from my nose with my shoulder, I refocused my
attention on the clearly distressed black cub.

"That's better, Carlie. That was much
better. Now it's time for you to get to bed. Take that one with
you. It can sleep with you
tonight
if you want."

I didn't wait for him to say anything else.
I picked up the baby, keeping him out of Barone's line of vision. I
crawled into the bed, turned my back to the president, and tucked
the tiny cat near my stomach before protectively wrapping myself
around him.

Behind me and over the cub's
meows—
geared toward finding his
sister
—I heard, "Good night, my beloved Carlie."

Afraid of what staying silent would mean, I
curved even tighter in on myself and mumbled, "Night."

The stench of the cub's burning hair, blood,
and muscle quite nearly made me sick. I covered my head and
whispered words of comfort to the cub I secretly named Indigo, so
that my consolation felt more personal.

Preventing me from going to sleep as ordered
was Indigo's distress coupled with my inability to feel safe and
comfortable near a man who could kill a living, breathing creature
so casually. I lay in my bed for hours after Indigo drifted off,
while Barone wandered around the tent, made presidential calls, and
answered electronic messages.

Relieved was the only way to explain how I
felt when Barone finally turned off the computers and lamps, and on
the other side of the tent, I heard his shoes hit the floor and the
squeak of the bedsprings when he finally went to bed.

It wasn't until I heard his rhythmic
breathing that told me he was sound asleep that a restless sleep
found me.

"Carles," Jayden's urgent and whispered
words found their way to my conscience despite the sleep demanding
I ignore them.

"Carles," Jayden whispered again so close to
my ear that only I could hear.

My eyes fluttered open and I realized my
mouth was covered. It was a good thing because I might have
instinctively said something that would have alerted Barone to
Jayden's presence. I'd been too afraid that Barone was going to
make his way to my bed before I went to sleep.

When Jayden realized I was wide awake and
had an overwhelming amount of adrenaline pumping its way through my
body, he put his finger to his lips and jerked his chin over his
shoulder toward a door he'd cut in the side of the tent on the
opposite side of the real door flap.

Afraid for everyone I loved, afraid of what
Barone would do if he found out Jayden had been in the tent, I
shook my head and, without making a sound, said, "Go. Leave. He'll
kill you."

Jayden's jaw was set in a way that said he
was not leaving without me. He was blackmailing me in much the same
way Barone was. The difference was I wasn't afraid of Jayden. I was
deathly afraid of Barone.

After tonight, I can't
stay with him. He'll systematically kill everyone I love in his
efforts to control my mind, body, and soul.

I jumped up, made a cradle in my T-shirt,
and tucked in a still-sleeping Indigo, praying he didn't wake and
begin mewing again. Jayden had even less patience than usual. He
pulled me by the arm and had me duck through the secret
opening.

On the other side, I was helped up and
pulled to the back of the tent behind Barone's by Dad.
Holy hell! Dad!
One look at him and
I knew better than to say the first word. My job was to do without
question anything he and Jayden wanted me to do.

In the back of that tent, I saw another
homemade opening, which Dad motioned for me to go through. He and
Jayden followed me. This tent was empty. Dad grabbed my arm and led
me to the real entry and nodded toward it. He expected me to leave
this tent.

Rather than go through any more tents,
holding sleeping Surrogates, we began creeping around the campsite
and making our way to the forest where Jayden and I'd run
undetected earlier in the day. In order to lead by example, Jayden
went out in front of our group. I took every step he took. I knew
how quiet he could be so I made sure to land my footsteps exactly
where his had landed. Dad trailed behind and was just as
noiseless.

When a creak came that hadn't come from any
of us, Jayden had the three of us leaning against a tree and
waiting. When it became clear the campsite was coming to life and
our disappearance had probably been noticed, Dad looked at Jayden
and me and whispered, "It's now or never. Jayden, you lead the way.
I'll be behind you. You get her to safety no matter what happens.
My only concern is her." Then he turned to me and said, "I love
you, sweetie. Don't forget your mother and I have done everything
we've done in order to keep you safe. Don't forget that!"

"I love you, too, Daddy!"

Dad pulled me into his arms, kissed my head,
and pushed me toward Jayden. We all took off running, literally for
our lives. Right before we made it back to the cave where Sean and
Simon had been camping, Jayden took a sharp turn. With it, we found
ourselves on an undiscovered path. All around the forest, we heard
an entire army of people running, searching. None of them were
trying to be quiet.

They were stomping, hitting trees, yelling
among themselves, and doing everything possible to
bring back the president's prisoners
. I bristled
when I heard them speak about us as if we'd done anything that
warranted being called prisoners but knew better than to focus too
much on that fact because doing so would cause me to lose my
concentration and make a mistake.
Possibly a
fatal one.