Claiming His Unexpected Baby (Assassins Guild #2) - Michelle Howard Page 0,2

ethical by any means.

Scarlett’s shoulders slumped. When her blonde hair fell forward in her face, she swiped at it. “You’re right. I was desperate to help.”

Relief flowed through her. At least she wouldn’t have to fight Scarlett on this. Knowing they’d made the right choice, Amelie stood. “I’ll get dressed and we’ll think of another way.”

“But you don’t have much money left and nowhere to go. I’m the only friend you have and your family won’t help you.”

No, her parents wouldn’t help. They were farmers through and through and hadn’t approved of Amelie dating Roan to begin with. They wanted her to settle with a farmer of their choice, preferably older and mimic the life they lived. No way she could tell them she was pregnant and abandoned by the father.

Amelie put a hand on her stomach, protectively cradling the life growing within her. “I might not have planned for this baby but I want him or her. I don’t need Roan or my parents to love my child.”

Scarlett stood and offered her a confident nod. “I know. You’re strong. People underestimate you. I wish Roan was here. I’d jab him in the eye.”

The thought of Scarlett hitting Roan and his reaction drew a reluctant laugh from Amelie. Scarlett was tall, at least six feet and had attitude and confidence to back up her bold personality. Roan had never liked Scarlett, blaming her for the few times Amelie pushed back against his attempts to overrun her every opinion and life.

“We don’t need violence, Scarlett.”

An inelegant snort escaped Scarlett’s lips. “If anyone is in need of being knocked down a time or two, it’s Roan.”

Not bothering to answer, Amelie tried to imagine what the future would hold for her and where she could go if she couldn’t stay at this Gerelin colony. The place was perfect, a blend of advanced technology with community value based living. Her time here had already endeared her to the environment and was without a doubt where she wanted to raise her child.

Now that was no longer an option. Her visitor’s pass would expire soon and she’d need to leave. Amelie hadn’t thought beyond the idea of living close to her friend and having Scarlett’s support with birthing the baby.

Scarlett nibbled her bottom lip and set the injector on the table behind her to shove her hands in the pockets of her white lab coat. “I’m sorry. What will you do now?”

“I’ll figure out something,” Amelie muttered, spotting her shoes under a table. She reached for her folded clothes on a chair at the same time Scarlett reached for them.

Their heads collided, sending stars to dance across her vision. Scarlett yelped as she stumbled and put her hand up to keep Amelie from overbalancing. At the same time, Amelie reached for the bench to catch herself. Her palm slid along the top of the table. Something pierced the side of her hand.

“Ouch!” Amelie cried out.

“Don’t move, I think I dropped something,” Scarlett said.

“Are you okay?” Amelie asked when they both righted themselves. There was a red bruise already forming on Scarlett’s forehead.

“Yes. I think so.” Scarlett touched her temple and winced. She glanced around and gasped. “Oh, shit.”

Amelie followed Scarlett’s gaze. They both froze in horror. Jutting from her hand was the injector. She blinked a few times as if to clear her vision, not believing what she saw. A sense of doom swelled.

Scarlett rushed to withdraw the injector. It was empty, the mechanism to express the contents had been triggered on contact. “What did I do? What did I do?”

True fear engulfed Amelie. There was a foreign substance in her blood stream. “My baby. What’s going to happen to my baby, Scarlett?”

“Let me think.” Her friend took a deep breath and started to pace. “The hormone isn’t dangerous. I know that. I researched everything about this before bringing the idea to you.”

That reassured Amelie. Slightly. Of course it wouldn’t be harmful or Scarlett wouldn’t have devised this plan to begin with. She just needed to know what this meant and how much this would affect her health. “What else?”

Tossing the injector in a biobin, Scarlett funneled a hand through her blonde locks and propped the other on her hip as she studied Amelie. Resolution stared from the blue orbs. “Maybe this is providence.”

Tiny tremors rolled over Amelie. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying we should move forward. What’s done is done and there’s no going back.”

The idea didn’t sit well with Amelie but at this point