I leaned over, brushing my fingers against her hand, cold but warm enough to keep me hoping. “I been talkin’ to him all night, baby. Told him how strong you are. Told him his mama ain’t never folded for anybody. And now he’s here, waitin’ on you to prove me right.”
I picked him up, careful, heart pounding as I held that tiny weight against my chest. His little face scrunched, and he let out a soft whimper.
“See? He already knows your presence, baby. He feelin’ you, even now. He needs you to wake up and hold him.”
Jo slipped in behind me, quiet, her hands clasped tight. She didn’t say anything, just watched, as tears spilling down her cheeks.
I lowered Shiloh closer, tucking him into the crook of Stormi’s arm. “Here he is, Stormi. Flesh of our flesh. You fought to bring him here. Now fight to stay with him. Stay with me.”
For a second, nothing. The monitors beeped steadily, the air was thick.
Then I felt it. The faintest twitch of her fingers curling against his blanket. My heart stopped.
“Stormi?” I bent closer, my forehead nearly touching hers. “That you, baby? You hear me?”
Her lips parted, a shaky breath slipped through. Her eyelids fluttered, heavy, like lifting bricks. And then… brown eyes, weak but alive, blinked up at me.
I damn near broke in half.
“Thank you, God.” My voice cracked wide open. Tears I didn’t even know I had burned down my face. “You back, baby. You came back to us.”
Shiloh whimpered again, and her eyes shifted slowly, locking on him. Her chest hitched, a whisper escaping her throat. “Our baby…”
I pressed a kiss on her forehead, my whole-body trembling. “Yeah, baby. Our baby. Shiloh.”
Jo sobbed behind us, covering her mouth, but I didn’t look back. My whole world was right here in my arms, in this hospital room.
Stormi was awake. Our son made it into this world and S3 was safe. And I swore right then and there, nothing and nobody would ever come between us again.
Chapter
Three
NOAH
Islid off the exit doin’ ninety, music damn near shaking the car. Smoke floated up from the blunt, curling like ghosts in the air. For the first time since Stormi been back, I felt peace… real peace. Stormi wasn’t blowin’ up my phone, tryna tell me what I should be doin’ with my life, who I should be, where I should be. Shit was quiet… too quiet. I glanced over at the passenger seat, then the floor. No calls, no texts. That was strange.
“Damn, where the fuck is my phone?” I muttered, patting my pockets and checkin’ under my thigh. Nothing. I leaned over, digging between the seat and the console. “Man, fuck it. I’ll grab it when I park.”
The bass hit again as YoungBoy’s voice filled the car, and I rapped along without thinking.
“I’m just a lonely child… who want somebody to help him out, take this pain away, pain away.”
It was like the lyrics knew what the hell I was feelin’. As I turned onto my block, my heart dropped. Blue lights flashed in front ofthe house, bouncing off windows and the sidewalk. Yellow tape stretched across the lawn like a bad dream. My stomach twisted up.
“What the fuck,” I barely breathed it out as I threw the car in park and jumped out, feet hittin’ the pavement like I was runnin' from death itself.
“Yo!” I shouted, storming toward the tape. “Yo, what the fuck goin’ on? What happened?!”
I was breathin’ heavy rage with fear fighting for control. My mind was tryin’ to catch up to what my eyes were seein’.
"Let’s take a fuckin’ ride."
I didn’t even see Rich comin’. Just felt his hand snatch me up and the next thing I knew, I was flying into the back of the Escalade. My body hit the seat hard, chest still heaving from the run up to the house. He slid in after me, slammed the door shut, and Southside peeled off like the devil was on his heels.
The cops just stood there with their eyes forward. They didn’t move or blink.
“Man, what the fuck?!” I snapped, trying to catch my breath, sitting up straight.
