Kane: An Assassin's Love Story by Kit Tunstall, R.E. Saxton Page A

fairly exploded from him. “Why?”
    Her chin dipped, and she couldn’t meet his eyes, couldn’t bear to see recriminations there, if her actions appalled him. Surely, he would understand, considering his profession, but what if she repulsed him? “He wasn’t the man he wanted the world to think he was. To the outside, he was a sympathetic moderate, who prized family above anything else. In the confines of this house, he was something else entirely. A sadist, for one thing.”
    Kane shook his head. “If he was like that, why did you marry him?”
    Tears rolled down her cheeks, but she didn’t want to let go of Kane to brush them away. “It was stupid. He seemed a bit like my dad, who had died just a few months before I met Edmond. I didn’t love him the way I should have. I know that now. I wanted a father, but I accepted him as my husband. It wasn’t until I was already bound to him that I discovered what kind of man he really was.” She took a deep breath to fortify herself, preparing to spill the most terrible secrets of her life. “Outside of his kinkiness in the bedroom, he was good to me, until the baby.”
    Kane’s hand moved from her cheek to her abdomen. “He didn’t want it?”
    A harsh laugh escaped her. “No, not this baby. He was ecstatic about this one. It was our first child he didn’t want. I got pregnant about a year after our marriage. I was just twenty, but thrilled at the thought of being a mother. Initially, he seemed excited too. He was obsessive about my health, watching everything I ate, making sure I rested. He even insisted I get a CVS, to make sure the baby was healthy. It seemed ridiculous to me, but I agreed.” She closed her eyes, feeling the same guilt assailing her. “If I hadn’t, maybe I’d have my son today.”
    “Did he have a birth defect?”
    Her mouth twisted, and she wanted to scream to release the rage building in her, remaining from never having confronted Edmond. “In a way. He had a penis. Once Edmond realized it was a boy, he started talking about termination, saying I was too young, that we weren’t ready. I refused, so he took matters into his own hands by pushing me down the stairs at eighteen weeks.”
    She leaned her forehead against his chest, feeling the same sense of weakness as always when she remembered that horrible night when she had awakened in the hospital to learn her baby had died. She had still been forced to give birth, being so far along, but had nothing to show for it at the end, besides a dead baby that Edmond hadn’t even let her see or hold. “He died.” She couldn’t put into words all the events of that evening. Even years later, it still hurt too much to think about, let alone try to explain to Kane how it had felt. “I left Edmond as soon as I got out of the hospital.”
    “He let you?” Kane sounded incredulous.
    She shook her head. “He didn’t like it, but I was naïve enough to assume he couldn’t stop me. I went to a friend’s house, and she offered to shelter me as long as I needed. In return for her kindness, she had her home burned down by Edmond’s henchmen, along with her life and the life of her family threatened if she ever helped me again.” A sob escaped Danika, and it took her a moment to regain her composure. She appreciated Kane’s embrace when he took her in his arms, just as she valued his silence. Right then, nothing he could say would help. She needed to rid herself of the words that had remained buried deep inside for so long. “I went back to him. What choice did I have? I couldn’t risk having him hurt anyone else I cared about. But I vowed I wouldn’t get pregnant again.”
    “What happened?” The question was a soft rumble against her ear, and his lips tickled when they formed the words.
    “He forbade me to use birth control, telling me he wanted children, but only daughters. Edmond claimed boys were too risky, that their shenanigans could ruin his political career. I knew he was lying,