Thank fuck!
“You’re going to be fine,” Sasha went on. Another face came into focus beside her. My mother’s features were puffy. She’d been crying. I felt fingers curling through my own and realized Sasha had taken my hand. I tried to squeeze it and was rewarded with a smile.
She was crying too now.
“I love you,” I managed to croak out the words. There was so much more I wanted to say, but somehow my mouth didn’t want to cooperate.
“Always and forever,” she said brokenly, and it tore at my heat. I wanted to stare at her for an eternity, but my eyes had plans of their own. I fought to keep my eyelids open, but it was a losing battle. Darkness descended again, and sleep took me.
∞∞∞
“He’s doing extremely well,” Dr. Lindeque said warmly. The man had been in and out several times during the course of the day, just as he had during the days Prince had been in the hospital. I’d come to anticipate his visits. At first with trepidation, then with growing confidence.
After the surgery to remove the bullet from his chest, the doctors had been cautious about what they told us. Although it had missed his heart, the slug had left a trail of destruction in its wake, tearing dangerously close to arteries. “Wait and see” had been a phrase that came up daily. But then he’d woken up, and things had suddenly taken a turn for the better.
Now the attending surgeons were saying things like “miracle” and “very lucky man.” I’d known it had been bad, but I’d refused to let myself believe anything other than that he’d get better. He would come back to me. To us.
A week had passed, and I’d barely left the hospital. The first days in ICU had been the worst, but now he’d been moved to a private room. They’d set up a cot for me in the corner. Nothing could keep me away from him. The doctors had given up trying to persuade me to go home.
“We’ll call you if there’s any change,” Dr. Lindeque had said. I’d ignored him – thank God I had, because I wouldn’t have forgiven myself if I hadn’t been here that first moment his eyes had opened.
They were opening again now. My heart leaped as I found myself transfixed by a steady green gaze.
“Hey you,” he said softly. I swallowed hard and gave a watery smile. He raised an unsteady hand, and I took it between both of mine.
“Hey,” I replied gently. “It’s good to have you back.” I spoke as if he was merely returning from a brief trip instead of nearly leaving us for good.
“No place else I’d rather be.” His voice was husky with disuse, but I’d never heard a sweeter sound. I pressed closer against the edge of the bed. I wanted nothing more than to fling myself into his arms, but right now, with his chest still swathed in bandages, I was afraid to hurt him.
“How are you feeling?” I asked. The words seemed trite. There were other things I wanted to say. Like “I love you” and “I wouldn’t survive a day without you” and “please never leave me again.”
“Couldn’t be better,” he said lightly. The tiny laugh that bubbled up my throat had a hysterical edge to it. He’d thrown himself in front of a bullet for me. He could have died. Not to mention the risks he’d taken in getting to me in the first place. The day we’d brought him in here, Andy had told me what had gone down. How he’d flung himself into the jaws of death to save me.
There’d been a rescue mission planned, but he’d thrown caution to the winds and raced ahead without them. Andy had said he’d behaved like a man possessed. They’d tried to stop him. To make him see reason. There’d been a strategy to come in during the early morning when it would have been safer, but he’d ignored it and come in alone.
Part of me was horrified when I thought about how much danger he’d put himself in. Another part of me believed it was divine intervention, and I thanked God for it. If he hadn’t arrived when he had, Raoul would have… I couldn’t think about what Raoul would have done. It was clear what his intentions were. And what he’d said still stuck in my mind. I wouldn’t have been there the next day.
As I stared down at my waking Prince now, we shared a silent moment of understanding. His hand lifted higher, and he brushed his knuckles against my cheek. I caught his hand and held it against my face, squeezing my eyes tightly shut.
“You never left,” he said quietly. I opened my eyes and looked into his.
“Of course not,” I said back. “I promised. Right by your side…”
“Always and forever,” he added. I felt my throat tighten as I remembered how terrified I’d been as I’d watched them hoist him up and carry him from me. If it hadn’t been for Andy, they might have dealt with me throwing a screaming fit as they tried to separate us. But a quiet word had paved the way. I’d held my man’s hand while they staunched the bleeding, loaded him into the back of the car, and hit the road at speed. It was only later that I’d even asked what had happened to the rest of Razortip’s men.
The question had prompted a quietly satisfied reply of, “Eliminated.”
I couldn’t bring myself to feel sorry for them. Even Gloria. Perhaps her most of all – the woman had been a traitor to her gender. Even after we’d found out about the baby, she’d remained cruelly callous. I didn’t know why. I’d never done anything to the woman. To any of them. Perhaps she’d been sweet on Raoul and was jealous. Whocared now. They were criminals. The world was better off without them.
Prince was still staring at me silently. His eyes dipped and then met mine again. I took a breath and nodded. The smile that lit his face was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
“We’re having a baby,” he whispered, as if in awe.
I nodded again. “Is…is that okay?” I whispered back.
“Oh, my God! So much better than okay,” he answered. The little sound I made was part laugh, part sob. I’d been so afraid – for my child, for what he would say when we spoke about it. It had been foolish. Of course, he would be delighted. Prince Walker was going to be the most amazing father. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind.
A soft sound behind us broke into the moment, and I glanced back at where Dr. Lindeque was waiting patiently.
