THE NANNY'S PROMISE

The appointment

Kaelen POV

I sit in the back of the black car and stare out the window.

Naomi sits beside me. She is pressed against the door, as far from me as she can get. Her hands are folded in her lap. Her knuckles are white.

She is scared.

Good.

She should be scared.

She lied to me. She came into my house carrying a secret. Another woman's secret. Another man's child. Or maybe mine.

The car rolls through the streets of Washington. The city is busy. People laugh on sidewalks. Couples hold hands. None of them know where we are going.

"Where are you taking me?" Naomi asks. Her voice is small.

"To a doctor."

Her head snaps toward me. Her honey eyes are wide. "Why?"

"You know why."

She looks away. Her hands start to shake.

The car stops in front of a private clinic. Glass doors. White walls. No sign outside. No name. That is how I like it. Private. Quiet. No questions asked.

I open the door and step out. Naomi does not move.

"Get out," I say.

She looks at me. Her lip trembles. "Please. Please do not make me do this."

"Get out of the car, Naomi."

She gets out.

I walk toward the clinic doors. She follows. Her footsteps are slow. Heavy. Like she is walking to her own execution.

Inside, a woman in a white coat greets us. "Mr. Aaron. This way, please."

We follow her down a hallway. The walls are pale blue. The floors shine. It smells like soap and medicine.

Naomi walks beside me. Her arms are wrapped around her stomach. Protecting it. Protecting the child inside.

The woman opens a door. "The doctor will be with you shortly."

We step into a small room. A table. A chair. A machine I do not recognize.

Naomi stands in the corner. Her back is against the wall. Her eyes are wet.

"Why are you doing this?" she whispers.

"Because I need to know."

"Know what?"

"If the child is mine."

She closes her eyes. A tear falls down her cheek. "And if it is? What will you do to me?"

I do not answer. Because I do not know.

The door opens. A man in a white coat walks in. He is old. Gray hair. Kind eyes. He looks at Naomi and frowns.

"Miss Abbot, I am Dr. Ellis. Please, have a seat."

Naomi does not move.

Dr. Ellis looks at me. "Mr. Aaron, perhaps you could wait outside."

"No."

The doctor's eyes narrow. But he does not argue. He has heard my name before. Everyone has.

He turns to Naomi. "Miss Abbot, I just need a blood sample. It will be quick. The results will tell us the father's identity with certainty."

Naomi looks at me. Her honey eyes are full of hate. And something else. Something softer. Fear. Or hope. I cannot tell.

She walks to the chair and sits down. She rolls up her sleeve. Her arm is thin. Bruises from old needle marks dot her skin.

Dr. Ellis ties a rubber band around her arm. She flinches.

"Cold," she whispers.

"I am sorry," the doctor says. He finds a vein. He inserts the needle.

Naomi does not cry. She does not look away. She stares at the ceiling and breathes slowly.

When it is done, she presses a cotton ball to her arm. The doctor hands her a bandage.

"The results will be ready in three days," he says. "I will call Mr. Henderson directly."

Naomi stands. She walks to the door. She does not look at me.

I follow her out.

---

The car ride back to the mansion is silent.

Naomi stares out the window. Her reflection shows tears on her cheeks. She wipes them away with the back of her hand.

"I was not lying about everything," she says. Her voice is cracked.

"What do you mean?"

"I really do care about Alex. I am not using him. I am not using you. I just needed a job. A chance."

"Everyone needs something, Naomi. The question is what they are willing to do to get it."

She turns to look at me. Her honey eyes are red. "What do you want from me, Mr. Aaron? What will make you believe me?"

I look at her. Really look at her. The curve of her jaw. The scar on her thumb. The way her hand rests on her stomach.

"I want the truth," I say. "All of it. No more secrets."

She nods slowly. "When the results come back, you will have it."

The car pulls into the mansion gates. The iron doors close behind us. Locking her in. Locking us both in.

Naomi gets out and walks toward the house. Her shoulders are straight. Her head is high. She is scared, but she is not broken.

I watch her go.

Henderson appears at my side. "Boss, the Russians made another move. A warehouse in Baltimore. They burned it down last night. Three men are dead."

My jaw tightens. "Find them. I want names. I want locations. I want to know everything."

"And the nanny?"

I look at the door where Naomi disappeared. "We wait. Three days. Then we will know whose child she carries."

"And if it is yours?"

I do not answer. Because the answer scares me.

If that child is mine, she belongs to me. And I do not let go of what is mine.