The Designated Mate novel Chapter 81

My hand wandered down to my stomach before I pressed my palm against it. Despite my initial disbelief, I knew he had to be right. It explained so much; my constant hunger and exhaustion as well as the recently increased appetite I had for Knox's presence and touch. Tears clouded my eyes before I closed them, an image of Knox holding a little boy or girl in his arms instantly clouding my mind and causing a warmth to spread over my entire body. I was pulled from my reverie when my stomach growled loudly.

"Eat, your body needs all the nutrition it can get," he insisted. I nodded but felt horribly guilty as he sat there watching me scarf down every last morsel. Angel shared her meal with him, her eyes never leaving my stomach. Now I know why she looked so concerned when I woke - Jim probably told her of his discovery.

I couldn't believe I'd missed my period and didn't realize it. In my own defense, though, things have been absolutely crazy ever since Knox and I mated. I was sure that was when this all happened because I know we didn't use protection that day. We haven't really used protection ever, quite frankly, so I should've expected this. I knew I wasn't too far along, maybe only a couple of weeks or so, but that made the situation so much scarier. I knew that pregnancies were extremely fragile during the first trimester and that I would have to do everything I could while here to protect myself and our baby.

"We have to get out of here," Jim mumbled, speaking my thoughts exactly.

"But how?" Angela asked. "We've been stuck here for weeks, Jim. We've done and tried everything we could think of to open these stupid bars. They're too high tech," she stressed.

I started looking around my own cell, taking note of every detail. In the middle of my inspection, another set of footsteps barreled down the hall, sounding like they were on a mission. The second Travis's face came into view an idea popped into my head.

"Brute force. Disabling the system from its controls isn't the only way to mess with the technology; brute force sometimes works too," he explained mischievously. "We were afraid to try this at first because if it doesn't work it would immediately alert that asshat in there," he said while motioning his head towards the room Travis was in, "but at this point, anything is worth a try. Stand back, sweetheart," Jim ordered before positioning himself in front of the wall that the control panel to his cell was installed.

"If I can kick in the wall hard enough, I could crush the controls from behind, cutting off the electricity to our door," he murmured quickly, backing up a few steps before lifting his leg and charging it into the wall at about the exact height the screen was located. The sound his foot made when meeting the metal wall echoed throughout the barren hallways, but he didn't stop for even a split second. After the fourth kick, I saw the screen go completely blank as a telltale unlatching sound greeted our ears. I shot up to my feet, staring in disbelief as he used all his might to pry the door open. He looked back and forth between me and the now-disfigured bars like he couldn't believe he'd actually done it.