Nothing Ordinary, M J Marlow [ebook and pdf reader .TXT] 📗

you mustn’t be late for.” Annie ate lunch and listened to the two men talking about their work. She had decided that she would play spy while she was their prisoner. Somehow she would find a way to get any information she overheard to Taylor and Clark. If she was going to be a prisoner, she might as well make it mean something. Lunch ended and Guthrie drove her to an obstetrician’s office. They were ushered into an examination room immediately and the woman doctor came in a moment later. “Hello, Anneke,” the woman smiled at her kindly. “It’s so good to meet you.” Annie looked at her in confusion. “I’m Walter’s sister, Gillian.” She looked at Guthrie. “Wait in my office, Walter. I’ll tell you my findings when the exam is over.” Annie relaxed when he left without argument. She undressed and put on the hospital gown and went through the exam while Gillian kept up a running monologue. She winced as the doctor pressed against her bruised body. “I’ll try to be a little more gentle with you.” She continued the exam and then had her dress. “You wait in here, dear. Walter will come get you once I’m through speaking to him.” Guthrie turned as his sister entered the office and the smile on her face told him what he wanted to know. Gillian poured them both a cup of coffee and she settled down behind her desk. “She and her child are both doing quite well, Walter,” Gillian laughed. She raised her cup to him. “There is no reason why she should not be able to give you healthy children.” She looked sad. “Poor little thing. To lose her husband at such a young age.” “They were only married four months when he died,” Guthrie nodded. “Once she has this child, I want to get started on a child of my own as soon as possible.” He finished his coffee and kissed her on the forehead. “I am going to start my courtship in earnest now.” Annie looked up as the door to the examination room opened and a nurse came in to take a blood sample. Guthrie came in as the nurse was leaving and Annie tensed up. He held out his hand and she went with him. They walked down the street to a jewelry store and he took her to one of the display cases, his arms going around her waist, his cheek leaning against hers. “Choose whatever you like, darling,” he said softly. “I wish to apologize for being so inconsiderate this morning. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He felt her stiffen. He turned her to him and kissed her on the lips. “I want you so badly, my sweet.” “I don’t want you,” Annie snapped at him. “I am married to the only man I want!” “That will change,” Guthrie hissed in her ear. He saw the alarm in her eyes and knew she understood his threat. “Choose something now and let’s go.” Annie chose something because she knew he would not stop badgering her until she did. He put the simple birthstone necklace on her and kissed her again. They left the jewelry store and headed to his car. Clark was standing there, waiting for them. “Nick!” Annie cried out in joy. Guthrie hung onto her arm and she looked up at his angry face. He was going to hurt her if she said or did anything he did not want her to. She tried to pull free. “I want to talk to my friend, Walter. Please let me go.” Guthrie knew he couldn’t make a scene out here on the street. He let her go and she moved off with Clark. He could see she was under duress and he wanted to take her away then and there, but those were not his orders. He slipped a cell phone into her pocket and she nodded. “I wish I could just grab you and run, Annie,” he said softly so only she could here. “But your uncle took all the legal steps to declare you his ward and our hands are tied. Until we get those files decoded, we can’t help you.” “So I’m stuck,” Annie sighed in frustration. She looked over at Guthrie. “He’s making threats against my husband, Nick .He seems to think I’m going to marry him.” “We’ll warn him to be on alert,” Nick assured her. “We need you to find more evidence against them, Annie.” “That will be hard from inside a locked room, Nick,” Annie replied. “They aren’t taking any chances with me.” “Then we’ll have to move quickly,” Clark nodded. He wanted to say so much more but Guthrie joined them and held his hand out to Annie. “I’ll talk to you soon, Annie. If you need me, you know how to contact me.” “It was good to see you again, Nick,” Annie nodded and found herself being pulled away. “Say hello to Molly and Charles for me?” “That is the last time you talk to him, Anneke,” Guthrie snapped as he shoved her into the car. They drove back to Bayer’s house and he took her to the bedroom. He gave her a sedative and left her to sleep, stroking her hair as she drifted off. “She is a remarkably stubborn female, but I think we are getting through to her,” Guthrie said to Bayer as he went to the Clinic later and entered the lab. “She is the type of person who will bend when others she cares for are threatened.” “I’d keep an eye on her, Walter,” Bayer replied. “Anneke is not a stupid girl. If she gets the chance she will run and she will take anything she’s overheard with her.” “Then we shall just have to make certain she doesn’t hear anything useful,” Guthrie replied. “We’ll be able to use the child to keep her chained.” “Let me be the first to congratulate you on your impending wedding, Walter,” Bayer laughed. “Everything seems to be in order then.” “That’s what happens when you don’t leave anything to chance,” Guthrie told him. He looked at the clock. “Anneke should be waking soon. I should see to her.” “Lucky man,” Bayer laughed. “Enjoy your pretty prize.” Guthrie went to the house and entered the bedroom to see that Annie’s eyes were just opening. He removed his clothing and she watched him warily as he approached the bed. She tried to run and he caught her and pulled her back, enjoying her struggles as he forced himself on her. “You bastard!” Annie sobbed as he let her go. “How could you?” “I am merely staking my claim to you, darling,” Guthrie replied, not in the least concerned with how she was feeling. “You raped me!” Annie spat at him. He shrugged and she slapped him across the face and ran. She pulled on her robe and went downstairs to try to open the doors but they would not budge. “The doors are programmed only to open for specific people, Mrs.,” Ilsa told her as she saw the stricken girl. “You are not allowed outside so they will not open for you.” Annie sank down on the bench near the door and looked like a truck had hit her. “You won’t be allowed outside without one of the Doctors or Miss Eliza until you have proven your loyalty.” “He’s thought of everything, hasn’t he?” “The Doctor never leaves nothing to chance,” Ilsa nodded. She set a glass of milk in front of Annie. “You are to drink this, Mrs. Owens,” Ilsa told her. “The Doctor wants you healthy so your baby will be healthy.” Annie crossed her arms and would not touch it. “If you do not drink it from the glass, I have orders to put it in a bottle and feed you like an infant.” “You would not dare!” Annie exclaimed. She met the woman’s cold expression and realized she would. So she picked up the glass and drank the milk as she’d been ordered to. “You put something extra in there,” she said as her taste buds told her the taste was off. “A few drops of vanilla extract,” Ilsa nodded. “I always hated the taste of milk so it’s a habit from my youth I have never been able to break.” She heard Guthrie coming. “Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes.” She went back into the kitchen just as Guthrie came into the dining room. He smiled as he saw Annie drinking the milk. “That’s my good girl,” he said as she finished. He pulled her to her feet and kissed her warmly. She could feel his arousal and she shook her head and tried to push him away. “Don’t fight me, Annie.” “Take your hands off of me, Walter,” Annie hissed and him. He let her go. “If you touch me again, I will kill you!” “You’ll change your mind,” Guthrie laughed. He looked over at Ilsa. “Bring her something nice to wear to dinner. We’ll be alone tonight.” “Yes, Doctor,” Ilsa nodded and moved away. Guthrie took her upstairs and locked her in her room. Ilsa arrived a few minutes later with a very lovely gown and she dressed in silence, struggling to control her reaction to what had happened. Guthrie came to the door and held out his arm, but she refused to touch him. He shrugged and stepped aside so she could precede him. They went into the dining room and ate the meal Ilsa had prepared for them. “Oscar and Eliza are out tonight,” Guthrie informed her. “We have the house to ourselves.” She sat there stiffly. “I’m not going to touch you again, Annie. I just wanted you to understand that you belong to me now.” “I will never belong to you, Walter Guthrie,” Annie spat at him. “No matter how you treat me.” She finished her dinner and rose to her feet. “I am going to my room. You will stay away from me!” 10 Two weeks passed and Annie woke up one morning and felt ill the moment she started moving. Eliza took her to the hospital and Doc Ryan took a blood sample and told them she probably had a touch of the flu. Eliza took Annie back to the house and they went to a room laid out as a nursery. From the pride in her cousin’s eyes, Annie knew Eliza had decorated it. They spent the next couple hours enjoying each other’s company. But it ended when Guthrie joined them. Eliza shot the man a cold look as she left the room. “I am really distressed that you are not feeling well, dear,” he said as he cupped her cheek in his hand. “We shall have to take extra special care of you.” He kissed her then and left her alone. Annie didn’t know whether to be happy or not. He was finally leaving her alone, something she had hoped for since this nightmare had begun. She went to the door to go to her room and it would not open for her. He’d locked her in this room? She tried again and knew the truth. She was as much a prisoner as ever. “Walter!” she begged as she beat on the door. “Let me out of here!” But Guthrie did not come back. She sank down on the bench next to the door and struggled to understand why he would do this to her. She looked around the nursery and the beautifully decorated and completely furnished and equipped room did not make her happy. Any child she had for this man would be as much his property as she was. She had to find a way out of this room and out of this house before she had her baby. Ilsa brought up her lunch and Annie tried to get past her. The woman was much stronger than she was and she forced Annie