Page 100 of Lawbreaker

“For my outdoor cat,” Odalie lied with magnificent indifference. “She’s been stepping out. If we’re in time, maybe we can stop at least one litter!”

“Heartless woman,” the other clerk snorted. “Poor little mama cat!”

“She’s had two litters in a year. That’s enough,” Odalie replied. “Cat food is expensive,” she added, and because she was wearing sweats, as she usually did, they accepted that she was in the same income bracket as her companions.

“Tell me about it,” one clerk moaned. “I’ve got a German shepherd. He’s eating me out of house and home!”

“I’ve got two bull terriers, a golden retriever and three tabby cats,” the other one sighed. “I work to feed them. Good thing I’m not having to support a baby as well!”

They all laughed.

Odalie went home and used the pregnancy test, then held her breath while she waited for the results.

She watched the field slowly, slowly change color. As it did, her face grew whiter and whiter.

She stood staring at the plastic thing in her hand, while her mind fought against science to refuse the conclusion.

“I am not pregnant,” she told herself firmly. “I am absolutely not...pregnant...!”

She barely made it to the commode to throw up.

15

“You poor little thing,” Odalie cooed to her still-flat stomach, “to have such a low-down, cold-blooded animal for a father!”

She’d actually phoned Tony, thinking she might as well tell him what was going on.

She didn’t get a chance. The minute he heard her voice, he went on the attack.

“Why didn’t you go back on the stage that night?” he asked angrily. “They said you actually went home!”

“Of course I went home! It was useless to go back when they’d already replaced me!”

“You can get your place back,” he said stubbornly. “This is your big chance. Don’t blow it!”

She felt her heart dying in her chest. She’d hoped that he might have missed her, that he might want her back. She’d hoped that Mauve had been nothing more than an impulse to push Odalie toward the Met.

But it was obvious that Tony’s only interest in her was her voice. He didn’t want her, so he was encouraging her to go back to the Met and get out of his life. At least, it felt that way to an unwed mother at a crossroads in her life. She’d thought that she had choices. But she didn’t. Tony was telling her so.

“Listen, kid, you and I had fun for a few weeks,” Tony said, and she couldn’t see that he was grinding his teeth as he lied to her. “But we both know your future is on the stage. You have a beautiful voice. You’ll go far.” He drew in a breath. “I know you had a crush on me, but that was just physical. We burned out the passion, didn’t we? Had a good time. Enjoyed each other. But now it’s time to get back down to reality. We don’t belong together. It’s like oil and water. You’ll realize that one day. Meanwhile, you go back to the Met and patch things up. I’ll help. One day, you’ll be a famous opera star, and I can say I knew you when you were just a nervous beginner... Hello? Odalie?”

She hung up. It was useless to talk to him. He’d had his fun with her, and now he only wanted to see her as someone he’d known on the way to fame. He didn’t care. Probably he never had. He wanted her and she wanted him. So they had a few weeks to burn out the passion and now he was over it.

But she wasn’t. She’d taken everything seriously. She’d been thinking of a future with him. He’d been enjoying a brief affair. It was likely that he’d had many of them since his wife died. He certainly knew his way around a woman’s body.

So here was Odalie, pregnant and deserted and alone. She got up from the sofa and packed a bag. She wasn’t calling Ben or Tony or anybody else. She was leaving town. She wanted to get away from everybody and everything and just...just get over the past miserable weeks. Then maybe when she came back she’d be able to cope. Maybe.

Tony was just finishing lunch when his cell phone rang. He answered it immediately when he saw the number, with his blood running cold.

“What’s happened?” he asked Tanner without preamble.

“I just started the wheels turning to have Phillip James busted and his whole crew indicted for what happened in Iraq,” Tanner said. “I found a representative who was actually there at the time and took pics, ones I didn’t even know about. His photos were confiscated, but he remembered that I’d made waves at first, so he contacted me. We went on the attack in DC through his political contacts.”

“Good for you!” Tony said. “But why call me...?”

“Odalie,” he said at once. “You need to watch her like a hawk. She’s the most vulnerable right now, and James will be out for revenge. This is going to cost him his career once we get it to the right people. He knows that.”

“Oh, boy,” Tony said heavily. “Okay. We’re not exactly in contact right now, but I’ll make sure Ben doubles her protection.”