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Kara rose with the daanting to get an early start, even though she wasn&039;t sure where to look first
Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she closed her eyes as a wave of dizziness assaulted her Sto, she ran into the bathroom, dropped to her knees in front of the toilet, and retched
"Kara? Are you all right?"
"Fine," sheoff several sheets of toilet paper, she wiped her ly, she felt much better
"Are you sick?" Gail stood in the doorway, looking worried
"I don&039;t think so" She wiped the perspiration fro, as she did so, that she&039;d felt sick to her sto, too
"Kara?"
"I think I&039;nant!"
Kara nodded, wondering why it hadn&039;t occurred to her before She was pregnant
"Who&039;s the father?"
"Alex"
Gail&039;s mouth fell open, her expression one of utter astonishment "But he&039;sDoes he know?"
"No" And he probably wouldn&039;t be too happy with the nehen she told hi her that a pregnancy could be dangerous, even fatal, for her and the child
"Are you scared?"
Kara nodded "Gail, what aed "I don&039;t know" And suddenly, it was as if Gail were the older sister, and Kara the younger "I guess you&039;ll either have the baby, or not"
Kara aze "An abortion?" She shook her head "I couldn&039;t" Not Alex&039;s baby She rerant her She had been so sure of those words when she had said them, but now
She couldn&039;t kill it, couldn&039;t murder her own unborn child Even if it was half-alien, even if it was a monster, she couldn&039;t commit murder And it was murder No matter what the pro-choice people said to the contrary, once conceived, the fetus was a huht to life She believed, with all her heart, that if it rong to kill a child once it was born, it was also wrong to kill it in the womb She had seen pictures of babies who had been aborted_tiny hus who had been vacuus torn off Who knehat horrible pains those unborn children had suffered? How could anyone ever say such a thing was right?
"Gail, I have to find Alex" Just saying his nath
"But how? Where e look?"
"We&039;ll start in Moulton Bay"
An hour later, Gail had a bag packed and they were ready to go Kara and Gail thanked Nancy and her husband for their hospitality, then bid Nana a tearful good-bye
"You&039;ll be careful?" Lena said "Promise ed her grandmother close, relieved that she seemed fully recovered from her earlier illness "Try not to worry, Nana I&039;ll call as soon as I can"
Lena Crawford nodded She hugged Kara once more, kissed Gail on the cheek, then stood in the driveway, blinking back her tears, while Kara drove down the street
Gail glanced out the backand waved "She&039;ll be okay, won&039;t she?"
Kara nodded "Of course Nancy will take good care of her"
"Where are we going to go first?"
"Alex&039;s house"
"You think he&039;s there?"
"No, but I&039;ve got to look If he hasn&039;t been there,
I&039;llknow And if he has been, well, I&039;ll know that, too"
Gail frowned "Hoill you know?"
"I just will"
"If you say so" Gail turned on the radio Locating KROQ, she sat back, her foot tapping in tiht in a , they drove to a small restaurant for breakfast Gail ordered pancakes, Kara settled for dry toast and coffee After breakfast, they stopped at one of the e of clothes, underwear, and a nightgown Froht a comb, a hairbrush, a toothbrush, and a lipstick, and a s in As she paid the bill, it occurred to her that she&039;d been doing a lot of buying on the run since she ain by eleven-thirty
"Where e look if Alex isn&039;t home?" Gail asked
"In Silverdale"
"Silverdale? Why? What&039;s there?"
"Barrett has a lab there"
"I never even heard of Silverdale Do you kno to get there?"
"No, but I&039;ll find it if I have to"
It was almost three o&039;clock when they reached Moulton Bay Kara&039;s heart was pounding as she drove down the street to Alexander&039;s house and pulled into the driveway
Kara&039;s steps were slow as she walked around the back of the house and opened the back door She knew immediately that Alex hadn&039;t been there recently The house was dark and cold, empty of all trace of life
Her footsteps echoed off the walls as she walked down the hallway toward the den She was hardly aware of Gail behind her as she stood in the doorway, her gaze draard the painting over the fireplace She stared at theblack hair ruffled by the wind, at the broad shoulders that seeht of the world on his back She kneasn&039;t Alex, knew she was being fanciful to even think so, and yet it could have been Alex
"He&039;s not here," Gail said She pointed at the painting "Kind of looks like Alex, doesn&039;t it?"
Kara nodded, wondering if she&039;d ever see Alex again
"This place gives me the creeps," Gail remarked "Are you sure he isn&039;t a vaht back"
"Where are you going?"
"Upstairs for a minute"
"I don&039;t want to stay down here alone"
"I&039;ll just be a minute"
Gail looked at her sister oddly, but didn&039;t argue further
Drawn by a power she couldn&039;t explain, Kara climbed the steps to Alex&039;s bedroom She stood inside the door for a ination, or could she feel his essence lingering in the room?
She opened the closet door and ran her hand over his clothing Pressing her face against one of his coats, she took a deep breath, filling her nostrils with his scent
"I&039;ll find you," she whispered "Somehow I&039;ll find you"
Alex ith a start, Kara&039;s naht, and yetHe sat up and sue to mind Kara Rich russet-colored hair Dreah Kara
He closed his eyes and knew, knew, she was in his house, thinking of him
He tried to reach out to her, to warn her away, but the distance between thereat Perhaps, if the sun hadn&039;t been directly overhead, if he&039;d been able to concentrate, he would have been able to reach her But not now, not with the sun blinding hi Barrett&039;s footsteps outside the door, he sat up, his body tensing
Barrett entered, followed by Hae from his lab coat "We&039;ll need some blood," he said
"No"
"No? No? It would be to your advantage to do as you&039;re told"
"Really? Why? What are you going to do to me if I refuse?"
A cold smile twisted Barrett&039;s lips "Jarvis was a friend of Kelsey&039;s He&039;d love to have a crack at you"
"Let him take his best shot"
"Hamblin Jarvis Hold him down"
Alex kneas useless, foolish, to resist, but he lashed out with his feet as Harunted with pain as Alex&039;s foot caught hiroin
Jarvis stued forward, their weight bearing hih blood to fill a so call our man in Hollywood and tell him I&039;ll have the results on this batch in a few hours Tell him if he&039;s still interested, the price just went up five thousand dollars"
"Right, boss"
"It&039;s all aup, be braced his back against the wall and stared at Barrett
"You don&039;t have enough blood to heal the whole world," Barrett replied "Research costs ht"
"You doubtto yourself This isn&039;t about helping mankind anymore It&039;s about you"
"That&039;s not true!"
"Isn&039;t it?" Alex asked contemptuously "What kind of man keeps another chained to a bed while he steals his blood?"
"But you&039;re not a man," Barrett retorted with a smirk "You&039;re an alien who&039;s about to do et rich in the bargain, so enerous with the vaccine once the formula is established and I&039;ve ined the accolades he would garner froements, the papers he would publish In due ti, he would donate the vaccine to so interest in his work
"You&039;re no better than a va my blood to keep your dream alive"
"Shut your mouth!"
"Why? Can&039;t stand to hear the truth?"
A sharp rap on the door cut off Barrett&039;s reply A moment later, Hamblin stepped into the room "Franklin&039;s on the phone, Doc He says you were supposed to o"
Barrett swore under his breath "I forgot all about it Keep an eye on hi his chin in Alex&039;s direction "I&039;ll be back late"
With a last baleful glance at Alex, Barrett stalked out of the roo under his breath
"My offer still stands," Alex said "A hundred thousand to let htful as he straddled the chair located across fros account with the first check It gave hi he had a tidy suet-rich quick scheet another hundred thousand
He shook his head "I can&039;t Barrett would_"
"I&039;ll take care of Barrett"
"And Jarvis?"
"If I have to Just turn ht, prop it open, and get out of here"