Finders Keepers Edie Baylis (phonics readers .TXT) 📖

Oh well... if she thought that this meant she would be grateful, then Gwen would get a very rude awakening. This was the perfect opportunity. Gwen was backing up her pregnancy and so she now had nothing to hold her over a barrel. Absolutely nothing at all.

‘Saul?’ Gwen moved forward, placing her hand on his arm. ‘Did you hear me? I said, Lena is pregnant.’ She glanced at Lena, sure she saw a flash of triumph in her eyes. ‘I-I was mistaken. She is having Jonah’s baby.’

Beads of sweat ran down Saul’s rugged face, the veins in his temples bulging. He glared at Gwen, his eyes raging with unbridled fury. ‘Keep out of this,’ he hissed. ‘She’s an usurper bitch. She shouldn’t even be here. She should never have been here. She’s trying to break the firm up and she won’t be marrying my brother.’

‘I will marry him, whether you like it or not,’ Lena cried, quickly adopting a scared doe-eyed look as Saul swung his hate-ridden glare back on her. Gwen may have seen her turn it on, but that hardly mattered. Gwen would be finished any second now.

She’d ride the pleasure derived from this fascinating stand-off watching Gwen beg Saul not to lay a finger on her a bit longer. Christ, it must be Gwen’s worst nightmare and all to save the blue-eyed boy she thinks so highly of. The blue-eyed boy that would want nothing more to do with the old cow once she’d finished.

The hypocritical sly old hag had it coming. Lena smiled inwardly, the urge to laugh out loud with unbridled glee was almost unstoppable, but luckily she held a look of gratefulness when Saul lowered his fist, his cold stare still firmly embedded onto her. A stare she could deal with.

Turning on the waterworks, Lena slumped back against the wall, making sure her shoulders heaved in unison with her sobs, her broken nailed hands covering her face to hide her bone-dry eyes. Feeling Gwen’s arms fall protectively around her, she resisted the urge to throw the older woman across the other side of the room as if she were poison ivy.

‘Christ,’ Gwen gasped, staring at Saul, his chest heaving as he fought to remain in control of his breathing. ‘What are you thinking? She’s pregnant, for God’s sake.’

Saul took a deep breath. He was going through with his plan come what may. If what Gwen said was true, then it was more important now that ever. ‘Sorry Gwen, you shouldn’t have to witness this...’

‘You won’t be sorry once you know what she’s done,’ Lena cried.

Gwen froze. Lena wasn’t stupid enough to say anything now, was she? She wouldn’t rile the situation up any further?

‘You think this is all about me?’ Lena rubbed the kitchen roll bump. ‘Like Gwen said, I’m having Jonah’s baby but she’s the one who hasn’t been honest. She’s n...’

‘Shut it!’ Saul roared. Grabbing Gwen’s jacket, he pulled her none too gently out of the way, causing her to stumble onto the wooden hallway floor.

Gwen could do nothing as Saul moved like a panther, smashing Lena full bore in the stomach with his fist. For a split second she was rendered motionless with horror, as letting out a blood-curdling scream, Lena crumpled to the floor, her face twisted in agony. She watched, transfixed as Saul kicked at Lena so violently, her whole body shunted several feet along the polished floor.

‘Saul! NO!’ Gwen screamed. Scrambling to her bruised knees, her feet slipping on the shiny surface, she rushed to stand up.

‘There will be no fucking baby!’ Saul barked, driving another horrific kick to Lena’s stomach.

Bile rising, Gwen rushed forward, blind that Saul’s fury could easily be turned on to her in the blink of an eye. He couldn’t do this. Oh, Jesus – that baby! ‘SAUL! STOP!’

Grabbing his arm, she pulled and pulled, Saul still kicking out wildly. Animal-like howling came from Lena’s mouth, her eyes wide and panicked like a barbie doll in a horror film.

‘SAUL!’ Gwen screamed so loudly her throat felt like it was being slashed with razors. Oh, dear Jesus. Jonah would kill Saul for this; kill him stone dead. This was her fault. She shouldn’t have told Saul of her suspicions. He was crazy; unhinged. ‘SAUL!’ She pulled as hard as she could, kicking at the back of his legs, anything to break his frenzy. ‘You’ll kill her! Stop it!’

All of a sudden, Saul stopped and stood panting heavily. His eyes glazed, he hawked up a ball of phlegm, spitting it in Lena’s face.

Gwen dropped back to her knees at the side of Lena and feeling for a pulse, she was relieved to find one. ‘Lena?’ She patted her face. ‘Lena, sweetheart – can you hear me?’

Whatever her issue with the girl; whatever she’d been about to say that would drop her right in it and ruin her life, she didn’t warrant this. No one deserved this. Saul must have killed that baby – nothing could withstand a kicking like that. She looked up at Saul, tears streaming down her face. ‘How could you?’

Saul nodded at the pool of blood steadily forming underneath Lena and smiled thinly. ‘Job done, I’d say?’

Following Saul’s emotionless gaze, Gwen gasped, her heart thudding painfully. ‘Call an ambulance. Now!’

Saul shrugged. ‘Why the fuck would I do that?’ Internally, he was dancing with joy. Baby no more. ‘Now there's no need for my brother to marry the whore.’

Gwen stared at Saul in disbelief. ‘I cannot believe you’ve done this. What sort of animal are you?’ This would destroy Jonah. He wanted this baby and was proud to be becoming a father and to know that Saul had deliberately kicked it out of Lena... well, she dreaded to think what the result would be. ‘Call the ambulance...’ she repeated, gently stroking Lena’s face. ‘Come on, sweetheart. Can you hear me?’

Coming to, Lena immediately howled in pain, her face screwed up, she began retching.

‘It’s ok,’ Gwen muttered. ‘Help