Free The Brothers by Katie French Page A

been an army general in another time. “I’ve set things in motion.” Her lip curls up. “Dr. Houghtson will find himself busy for a few weeks. Until then, we have to hope the last treatment will take. He can’t touch you if you’re pregnant. If you’re not…”
    She doesn’t finish. She doesn’t have to.

CHAPTER SIX
Janine
    The next month blurs by. Days used to drag by with the slowness of time familiar to the prisoner. And yet, when I need time to slow, it flies. My flowering time comes far too fast. When the day arrives for my implantation appointment, I wake in a cold sweat.
    Nanny Bell was good to her word—I didn’t see Dr. Houghtson for the last few weeks. Instead, I filled my days with games of Go Fish with Sabrina. Micha’s baby was fine and since Sabrina has proven fertile, she can’t be wasted. So we played cards or watched Flash Gordon in Spanish or swam laps in the exercise pool and giggled about which nannies have the most cellulite on their backsides. She helped to take my mind off things and I helped her to keep her anger in check.
    It’s what I’ll miss most if this doesn’t work.
    Out my window, the day is clear and bright. Past the high metal gates, the trader and shopkeeper tents look like a cluster of beige and mauve flowers. From this far, life on the outside looks colorful, interesting, but I know its dark secrets. The outside is like a wormy apple—beautiful on the outside but rotten at the core.
    The day of my appointment, Sabrina and I go to breakfast, but I can’t eat. My appointment is at nine and my hands can’t stop shaking as I spoon through a grainy soup looking for big, round blueberries that bob just below the surface. Sabrina watches me with careful eyes.
    “It’s gonna be fine,” she says.
    I nod, but I don’t look up. My insides are filled with ants.
    She leans in closer. “Nanny Bell will take care of it.”
    I lift my eyes as a glob of goop slides off my spoon. “What if she can’t fix it? What if I’m just…broken?”
    Sabrina’s teeth make tiny indents in her lip. She adjusts her red ribbon over her hairless head and stares down at her breakfast.
    At nine, I’m back in my room when Nanny Hannah arrives at my doorway. I stand up from my bed, alarmed. “Where’s Nanny Bell?”
    Hannah frowns. “The doctor wouldn’t let her assist.” She lifts a wry smile. “Think he’s afraid of her. Should be.” She nods and wants me to smile, too, but I can’t. Hannah waves me forward and I walk, though I’m not sure how. My legs aren’t attached to my body.
    In the elevator, I want to ask Hannah if Bell has given her some way to fix me, but I can’t find the words. And, besides, if Hannah isn’t in on it, Bell could get in huge trouble. So I stand with my back to the wall, my legs splayed to keep from fainting, as the elevator hums and Hannah along with it. She’s singing the theme song to Bonanza under her breath. Somehow, I don’t think she’s in on a plan to save me.
    When we reach the medical offices, I follow Hannah down the hall and into the exam room. Nannies, girls, and doctors float in and out. Just a normal day as far as they’re concerned.
    The exam room is cold. I’m told to strip and put on the thin fabric gown for the procedure, but my hands shake so badly Hannah has to help me with the snaps on the front. I’ve done this so many times throughout the years, but now, with the thin gown on, my skin feels raw and exposed. I’m no safer than the girl in the tiny leather skirt with a collar around her neck.
    “Sit on the exam table. Dr. Houghtson will be in shortly.”
    “Houghtson?” I squeak.
    “Don’t worry. I’ll step in when it’s time for him to do the procedure. Make sure there’s no funny business.” She winks and is gone.
    I sit on the exam table nearly naked and try not to claw up the walls. I think of Dr. Houghtson’s hands, his hungry eyes. He’s touched me hundreds of times, but the thought brings no comfort. Even