Still Life (Still Life Series Book 1)

by Isobel Hart

  “This place is where they’re bringing any local pregnant women,” I explained to Heidi. “They have cells here too, that’s where I was first held when they arrested and committed me – like you – until they discovered my pregnancy. The rooms upstairs may be nicer, but don’t be under any illusions. It’s still a prison.”

  “Have you seen Edward?”

  “Yeah, he’s been around here too.”

  “Elliott was looking for you. As far as I know he’s still looking for you.”

  Thinking about him sent a pang of longing through me.

  “After they arrested me I never stood a chance. They’d stitched me up. Even the lawyer Elliott arranged for me was one of them. As you say, all the men are in the positions of power. They’ve taken control, barely even needing to lift a finger. All they needed to do was transition the man in the position of authority – they’ve been doing it by strangling them.”

  Heidi nodded. “Yeah, we worked that out too.”

  “We’re screwed,” I said, and Tara nodded.

  “Maybe not,” Heidi suggested, bringing our attention back to her. “Before I was taken, women had started to gather in strongholds. Female-only strongholds that were defendable. They’d formed a number of collectives. Those are just the ones I know about. Women were being encouraged to fight back, to not allow themselves to be used by these creatures. If we can get out of here, we could go to one of those camps.”

  “If we can get out of here. That’s a big if. Have you seen all the guards they have on us?”

  “Some of us don’t want to get out of here,” Ella said. “I won’t help you.”

  “Fine, you can have them all to yourself,” I spat at her. “That should make you Queen of the Zombies. A role that’s perfect for you from what I’ve seen.”

  Tara sniggered. Even Heidi smiled.

  “Yeah, well, you’re forgetting that right now you’re a hot commodity,” Ella said. “Even Aiden wants you, although God knows why. They’re never going to let you out their sight until some of the rest of us go beyond the first trimester. So you’d better make yourself comfortable. I can’t see you getting out of here anytime soon.”

  “We’ll see,” was all Heidi said. She was stopped from saying any more by the sound of the door unlocking. Richard appeared, with Edward.

  “Ladies, sorry to break up the happy reunion. We’re needed at dinner,” he announced. Edward waited behind him, silent, his eyes fixed on me.

  “Edward,” Heidi said, “how lovely to see you again. And looking so well.”

  He gave her a pained smile, unable to miss the sarcastic tone to her voice. “Heidi. I heard you’d arrived. It will be nice for Sam to have you here.”

  “I hear congratulations are in order,” she said with a bitter laugh.

  “Twice over, actually.” Ella grinned. “I have reason to believe this baby is Edward’s too,” she said in a voice so smug my skin shivered. Anger flamed inside me. Her smile broadened when my own expression dropped, knowing she’d scored a direct hit.

  “You don’t know that, Ella.” Edward looked furious.

  “I’m six weeks’, darling. You know that fits with our weekend together. You just couldn’t leave me alone could you, baby? We had sex more over those few days than I had the rest of the month. I couldn’t get enough of your big cock . . .”

  “Enough!” Edward roared.

  “Fucking hell, you haven’t changed,” Heidi said. “You always were a complete dog. You’d stick your dick in any old skank. You’ve really scraped the barrel this time.” She sneered as she looked Ella up and down with disdain. “Come on, Sam, we’re expected at dinner,” she said, taking hold of my arm.

  My eyes filled, both because I was grateful for Heidi’s staunch defence of me, despite everything she’d just heard, and because he’d hurt me – yet again. Of all the women he could have got pregnant, it had to be her.

  I let Heidi lead me out into the corridor, Richard stepping back to let us pass. “Sam,” Edward said as I walked past him. He reached a hand out, but I jerked my arm away from his grasp. “Sam!” He sounded angry now.

  “Edward, walk with me,” Ella cooed.

  He ignored her, closing ranks behind Heidi and me, walking beside Richard and leaving the guards to see to Ella and Tara.

  Only when we reached the entrance hall did I realise I had no idea where we needed to go. “This way, ladies,” Richard said, taking hold of my arm and leading me up the stairs to a set of ornately carved wooden doors. He pushed them open with a flourish. Inside revealed a large dining room, the table centre stage, made of what looked like polished walnut. The walls were a rich burgundy colour, papered with a flock design. To my eyes it looked like blood. Everywhere else was gold leaf. Opulent and overbearing, it felt as if I’d walked into an autopsy.

  Richard led me to the seat to the right of the head, and Edward immediately assumed the position to my own right. Without being asked, Ella moved to the position to the left of the chair Aiden would fill. It seemed given a choice between Aiden and Edward, Ella would pick the head man every time. Heidi sat beside Edward, and Richard beside Ella with Tara to his left, collectively filling six of the twenty seats at the table. As we waited, men drifted in and occupied the remaining chairs. Aiden arrived ten minutes after everyone else and took the final place.

  His gaze swept around the table, pausing briefly on Ella before stopping on me. He smiled. “Good evening, everybody. Apologies for the delay to the start of our meal. I’m delighted to inform you we have now taken control of all the G12 countries. We’re well on track with our plans. Please, let’s take a moment to celebrate. Champagne,” he said to one of the waiters hovering at the side of the room as he pulled out his seat and sat down. He waited until all the glasses were filled and then raised his own, announcing to the table; “To the future.” “The future,” echoed back from around the table, the men all smiling at one another. Only Heidi and I failed to raise our glasses. Once he’d place his glass back down Aiden turned to me, as conversation broke out along the table.

  “You don’t wish to toast our future?” he asked me quietly.

  “Not the future I’ve seen painted by your people so far,” I said, holding his gaze with my own. There was a hardness to his otherwise attractive veneer.

  “Can I ask why not?” He seemed genuinely interested, but a warning squeeze on my leg from Edward suggested otherwise. Past caring, I rammed my leg up towards the table, crushing his hand in the process, before turning my back on him to face Aiden. Aiden must have caught the wince on Edward’s face, because he raised an eyebrow at me in amusement. “So?” he said again.

  “Do you really think that oppressing women, forcing them against their will, raping them, making them nothing better than slaves is a future that I, or many other women, would willingly sign up to?”

  “Some of us are happy to submit to you,” Ella said in her whiniest, most sycophantic voice.

  Aiden ignored her. “So tell me. Putting what has happened to one side, what is it about what you have seen our people do that makes this future so unpalatable?”

  “But that’s the point. You can’t just ‘put all that to one side’. You’ve kept me prisoner. You’ve raped my friend and threatened to kill her if she didn’t make me behave as you wished. You’re holding women at a prison and forcing them to get pregnant. Those are the things I already know of, and that’s just while I’ve been held here for the last six weeks or so. Even the men who came from settled, monogamous, happy relationships – you’ve torn those apart, forcing them to break their marriage vows.”

  “Do you think if we allowed women to have relationships in the way they were more used to, they would be more accepting of us?” He moved slightly to the right, allowing a server to place a starter of a selection of cold meats onto the plate in front of him. “Thank you,” he said, taking a moment to look up at the man who had served him. “So, do you?” he asked again, looking at me intently.

  “What
? Well, yes.”

  “And if I told the married men to service only the women they are married to?”

  “It would be a start,” I agreed, thinking of the man – Peter – I had met earlier.

  “I’ve heard this has been difficult for some of the men. We’re not usually monogamous, but it seems the nature of your people is sufficient to overcome our own natural inclinations.”

  “Not all our men are monogamous either,” I said, my message intended for Edward.

  “Yes, well, I think for those who wish to be, monogamy should be allowed. Certainly, those who are married or in a committed relationship. For all others we will make it as easy as possible to have intercourse with as many people as they wish. That is our nature. Contraception will be outlawed and intercourse encouraged from the age of sexual maturity. Provision will be made to care for any offspring we create, with the choice given that either the mother can care for the child herself, with financial support provided, or else the child will be cared for by others who wish for a child in their lives but are unable to produce one themselves. I believe there are many among your kind afflicted by such problems, are there not?” I looked at Heidi, who was now staring at Aiden with awe.

  “Yes,” I agreed slowly. “I think that would help.”

  “Then that’s what will happen. Richard,” he said, “ready the necessary papers. We’ll need press releases to accompany the statute amendments. It should help silence some of our religious opponents, so make sure they know first. Ensure the right individuals are in place to push this through with the minimum amount of fuss, and make sure all our people know of the changes. There should be no women forced to do anything they are not happy to do. The only women who remain locked up should be the women who openly organise against us. Oh, and make it clear that these changes occurred thanks to the wisdom of Samantha here,” he said, patting my hand. He left his hand placed over mine as he said; “It’s her guidance that will ensure the amicable blending of our species. Our people owe her a debt of thanks.”

  I stared at him, I had a feeling my mouth was probably open, as Richard stood and hurried from the room to make the necessary arrangements.

  Silent for the remainder of the main course, Ella used the time to attempt to charm Aiden. She came across as vulgar and easy, and he tired of her quickly, clearly suffering the remainder of the meal out of courtesy.

  “Sam,” Edward whispered when Ella had launched into yet another dull story about some C-list celebrity she had once met and slept with. I ignored him. “Sam,” he said again.

  “What?” I swivelled on my seat to look at him. “What is it now? What could you possibly want to talk to me about? There is nothing left for us to talk about.”

  “I will not let her sabotage us,” he insisted. “You knew I slept with those women. All of them. You heard Aiden – it’s what we were instructed to do. If the child is mine . . . well, I doubt it is, frankly. She’s had more dicks in her than I’ve had hot dinners. It is only the fact we don’t sicken from sexually transmitted diseases that meant I didn’t use a condom before I went anywhere near her.”

  “I don’t want to know about it,” I said. “I certainly don’t want to talk about it. I knew what you were like, especially at the end of our relationship. You were wrong to assume I’d forgive and forget. I have no doubt enforced promiscuity wouldn’t have been a hardship for you, that’s for sure. But . . . what I find especially hard to forgive is that you made her pregnant,” I said, making it crystal clear exactly what I thought of Ella. “As irrational as that may seem, I find the fact you made anyone else, especially her, pregnant unforgiveable.” It was completely irrational, given the current situation, but I knew as soon as the words came out my mouth that it was the truth. Edward stared at me, looking stricken.

  “Samantha,” Aiden said quietly behind me, “if you’ve finished your meal, allow me to see you settled for the night. It is not good for you to make yourself so upset in your condition.” I looked down at the untouched plate in front of me and back at Edward, whose expression beseeched me to stay. Heidi caught my eye and nodded.

  “Yes, please,” I said to Aiden, standing. “Heidi, I’ll see you tomorrow.” I looked towards Aiden for confirmation.

  “Of course you’ll see her tomorrow,” he said. “Come, my dear.” He put his arm out for me to hold. I’d barely touched him before Edward shot to his feet, moving to stand between Aiden and myself. “Edward, what are you doing? Think very carefully before you do anything stupid,” Aiden warned him.

  “Your proclamation tonight, did you mean it?”

  “Which one? Regardless, yes, I meant all of them. To which one were you referring?”

  “The one about monogamy. Samantha, she’s mine.” Edward’s chest rose and fell rapidly with the strength of his feeling on the subject.

  “Is that so? It didn’t sound that way to me. If I ask Samantha what she thinks, would her answer be the same, I wonder?” Both men looked to me for a reply.

  “Edward has never managed monogamy in his life. I’m tired, Aiden. I’d like to go and lie down, please.”

  “Of course, Samantha,” he said, moving past Edward to take a hold of my arm again. This time Edward did not stand in his way.

  As we left the room Ella said, “Come here, Edward, I know how to make you feel better.”

  Chapter 30

  It was only as Aiden led me down an unfamiliar corridor, stopping at a door to a room I’d never visited before, that the phrase out of the frying pan, into the fire came to mind. We’d been accompanied by two guards, who insisted on checking everything inside was safe before indicating we could enter. “Come along, dear,” Aiden said.

  “I . . . I . . . I’d prefer to go back to my own room,” I said, as concern at the situation I now found myself in had me hesitating in the doorway.

  “Samantha, I thought we’d discussed this already. You’re to stay with me. I am best placed to keep you safe. Now stop your silliness and let’s go to bed. We need to get to know each other a little better.” He moved behind me, placing one hand against my lower abdomen and the second against my hip, pressing me back against him as he leant in towards me, his face burrowing into my neck. “This could be good, Samantha, you and me. I can feel it. Together we’ll make better decisions for everyone. We already have.” His lips caressed my neck, as my body froze.

  “You promised you wouldn’t force anyone.” I thought of Heidi and what she’d had to endure and tears threatened as my fear escalated, my raised pulse nothing to do with arousal.

  “Rules don’t apply to me.”

  “Please, don’t do this,” I whispered. Then again, louder, I said, “No. Stop,” as I tried to slip from his hold.

  Aiden ignored my protests, maintaining his grip as he slid a hand lower until his arm slipped behind my knees and he swept me into his arms, cradling me as he carried me into the room. Fear froze me, leaving me unable to respond in any way, even as he placed me on the bed. He pulled me into a seated position as he unzipped and then removed my dress, before moving to undo the clasp on my bra. He smiled as he removed it, pausing to trace a finger over one of my exposed nipples.

  My breathing escalated, panic threatening, as his fingers slid into the sides of my knickers and pulled them slowly down my legs.

  Adrenaline kicked in. I prepared myself to fight, wondering what a naked woman could do against a six-foot-something man. I scanned the room for anything I could use as a weapon. Barring challenging him to a pillow fight, I didn’t find anything.

  He froze. “Samantha, you’ve been bleeding.” He sounded horrified as he stared at the gusset of my knickers. My adrenaline ramped up a level, as fear for the safety of my child overrode concerns for my own wellbeing. I sat up quickly, unconcerned now about my nakedness. Then I saw what he was looking at – the blood Edward had placed there earlier, now darker where it had dried. My relief was immediate. Aiden, oblivious to my own emotions, jumped off the bed. “Get the doctor,” he shouted to
one of the guards in the hallway as he ripped the door open. “Tell him it’s an emergency.”

  “Are you okay, sir?” the guard responded.

  “Just get the fucking doctor. It’s not for me, it’s for the woman. Tell him she’s losing the baby.” Then he slammed the door closed again. “Lie down, Samantha,” he said, with a look of concern. “You need to keep calm.” His own voice anything but. “It’ll be okay. You’ll be fine, and so will the baby.” He continued to try to reassure me. If I hadn’t known there was nothing wrong with the child I’d have been truly terrified. It gave me a glimpse into just how important this unborn baby was to them. That, more than anything else, terrified me.

  The sound of running in the corridor followed, moments before the door burst open. A panting Dr Nichols arrived first, Richard close behind. Edward appeared seconds after. His gaze appeared less panicked, although fury took over as he looked at my state of undress. I grabbed hold of the sheet and tried to cover myself from their scrutiny. “For fuck’s sake, give her something to cover herself with,” Edward said, with barely controlled rage. Aiden unhooked a robe from the back of the door and passed it to me while Dr Nichols inspected my underwear, Richard at his shoulder.

  I slipped the robe on quickly, while the doctor called to the guards to fetch the portable ultrasound machine, his brow furrowed with concern. “How long have you been bleeding, Samantha?”