The Baby Pact_A BDSM Romance

by Riley Rollins

  I ran for the main house, stumbling on the flagstone steps, scrambling back onto my feet with bleeding knees and torn nails. Mattie was out on the beach… I could hear her calling… And I was inside the house, screaming for Will.

  “She’s gone!” I heard my own voice as if I was somehow outside of myself. “Will, oh God...Will… Violet’s missing….”

  He appeared in an instant, hair dripping from the shower, a towel barely slung around his waist. He ripped it off and swept the water out of his eyes, his hair back, oblivious to his own nakedness. “I need you to take a breath, Angel,” he demanded, “and tell me…”

  “She wasn’t in her bed,” I panted, hot tears streaming down my cheeks. “Mattie thought she was with you… but she’s gone… Miri, too.” I gasped, my chest tearing in two with my sobs. “I think, oh Christ, Will… I think she took Miri outside by herself,” I said, clutching at his arms. He held me tight, kept me on my feet, but only for a second.

  “Two minutes and I’ll have the chopper in the air,” he said, reaching for his phone. “Go… Find Mattie. We need to spread out now and cover the beach.” He was talking fast, urgency in his voice, but there was none of the panic that was washing over me in heavy, drowning waves. “The chopper will cover the island, the land mass…,” he said, holding me by the arm, bending down to look straight into my eyes. “But we need to follow the beaches, Angel… Do you understand me?”

  “That’s where the danger is…,” I said, nodding as a kind of numbness set in. I scrambled for the door as he pounded a number into his phone. Then I turned back at the last minute, desperate at the sudden thought of what we might find…

  “Go, Angel, I’m right behind you.” He gave me a steely look. “Remember, Angel.

  Love… not fear.”

  And I took off at a dead run. My feet were bare, torn by the rocks, and my loose robe blew behind me. I could see Mattie from the path, it was higher than the beach. By the time I reached her, I almost fell into her arms.

  “Will’s coming,” I said, struggling to collect myself, just to breathe… “He’s got the helicopter on its way and he’s coming.” I saw her raise her head and look over my shoulder, and heard his footsteps hitting hard and fast behind me.

  “Take the south end,” he shot the order out to Mattie. “Whistle, scream… anything, if you find her.” He turned to me. “We’ll go east and come around from the north. Keep to the higher ground where you can see farther out, and check the tree line… We’ve got the beach…”

  He paused only long enough to drag me to him and press his lips to my clammy forehead. I held on, savoring his strength for a second longer and pushed him back. “Just go… please,” I begged, locking his eyes to mine for one last, sweet second. “I’m fine, I love you… and we can cover more ground if we separate…” And I let go, pushing him away, and feeling like I’d just let go of the last real thing in my whole dissolving world.

  “Violet!” I called, turning to the tall grass and the looming trees…

  “Violet…!”

  Three shrill, staccato bursts split the air above me and sent birds into the sky. Their wings beat the treetops as they lifted off, my head jerked up and turned, seeking direction. And I ran, shifting and turning to follow as he called out. I slipped in the loose sand of a shadow dune and rolled, hitting a line of rocks that stopped my fall. But adrenaline had me back on my feet… sharp, stabbing pain in my ankle barely slowing me down…

  “It’s Miri,” Will said, catching me in one strong arm. He held the puppy in the other. She was wet and whining softly. Her leash trailed from her collar.

  “But where’s Violet?” I gasped. “She must have taken the dog out to pee… She saw us do it so many times… and she copies behaviors…” I tried to put weight on my ankle and felt it buckle underneath me.

  “You’re hurt…” In a second, he’d put Miri down and had both arms around me. He eased me down onto the sand.

  “I just twisted my ankle,” I said, as he ran his hand gently down my calf. But I arched in pain and cried out…

  “Broken is more like it.” He searched the rest of my body with care, using precious time. Mattie came up beside us, panting hard and out of breath.

  “Did you find her?” I gasped. “Did you see anything at all?”

  “...this…,” she said, holding up Violet’s little plastic pail. It was dripping and coated with sand. “About a quarter mile south of the cottage.” I felt my heart seize in my chest and stared at Will’s face. It was ashen, but his eyes were brilliant with determination. He rose to his feet…

  “I’m fucking coming with you,” I cried out. “She’s my baby and I have to find her…”

  He caught me as I tried to stand. “Mattie, you stay here with her. Keep her off that leg.” His tone silenced us both. He put the shivering puppy in my arms and kissed me, fast and hard, crushing my mouth and leaving a stinging bruise behind. “I’ll bring her back to you…,” he said. “I swear it.” He looked at me, forcing his strength and his courage into me with the sheer power of his will. And in that single second, everything between us seemed to crystallize… tears still ran down my cheeks, but I nodded…

  “I know you will…,” I whispered. “I trust you…”

  36

  Will

  And I ran, legs pumping like pistons, cold morning air raking my lungs. I scanned the sand, the grass, the trees as I ran… stopping only to check for any small traces she might have left behind. But mostly, I looked to the water. The steady, lapping waves that crested white and then thinned and spread themselves far and wide. The water left delicate shells behind, yellows and pinks that shined like tempting jewels to a child’s eyes. Each one seemed to mock me.

  I stopped, looking up as I heard the chopper pass overhead. It was low, the sound of the blades deafening. I gestured with huge, swinging movements toward the interior of the island, and it rose higher and lifted a whirlwind of sand along with it… burning my skin and stinging my eyes… and I pushed on. My heart stopped beating every time a wave washed up… and only started again with a painful thump when the water receded without leaving a tiny body behind. I’d sworn to Angel I would find her baby, but none of us knew just how long she’d been missing. She must have walked right by Mattie as she slept on the sofa. And all while Angel and I had been in bed…

  I swallowed it all down. There wasn’t room for fear or blame. And there sure as hell wasn’t time. I closed my gritty eyes and clenched my teeth, thinking only of the softness of her dark hair… the color of her innocent eyes. I felt Angel’s love and trust in my heart… and the eternal love of a mother for her child…

  And suddenly, I knew.

  The cove.

  It was where we’d taken Violet for a picnic and to search for the seashells she loved so much.

  I ran, the sucking depths of the sand no match for my will. I headed up the sandbank by the cottage, taking a shortcut through the grass and trees. I stopped short, some twenty feet above the little cove, scanning the water… the sand… the clumps of…

  Time stood still. But only long enough for the tiny, curled shape to register. I scrambled, half climbing, half falling over the rock edge, taking a shower of debris along with me. Thank God, she wasn’t in the belly of the cove, for I landed hard at the bottom. My next breath came with painful effort. “Violet… Christ… Violet…”

  In two long strides, I was beside her. “Baby girl, open your eyes, sweetheart…” I put my ear to her little chest. Her clothes and hair were wet, cold… her lips were blue. “God… oh God, no…,” I prayed. I put the palm of my hand to the center of her chest and started rapid, shallow compressions. “Wake up, baby…,” I breathed. “You need to wake up now so I can take you back to your mama…”

  I gathered her ankles in one hand and pushed them up to her chest, pumping them, shaking them, doing everything I could to stimulate her circulation. I paused only long enough to feel for her breathing. It was there, barely discernible, but it was t
here…

  I held her in my arms, shaking her gently, chafing her limbs to warm her. “Look at me, Violet… please, baby… just open your eyes and look at me…”

  But her eyes stayed closed and her head lolled against my shoulder. I heard the chopper overhead and swung an arm in the direction of my Angel. The beach where she and Mattie waited was the only place large enough for it to put down safely. Violet’s mouth opened and she retched. The smell of saltwater jolted me into action. With the helicopter in pursuit, I ran, Violet clutched to my chest.

  There was only one thing that mattered to me now. And that was keeping my promise.

  Violet needed her mother…

  And I had promised to give Angelina back her child.

  “Will, oh my God…

  Violet…!”

  Angel didn’t wait for me to reach her. She was on her feet and white-faced with pain, limping hard and pushing Mattie away. She collapsed on the sand, hair flying wildly around her head as the chopper positioned itself to land. I put her baby in her arms and wrapped myself around them both, covering them with my body, turning my back to the blowing sand to protect them.

  “Violet… oh God, baby… Open up your eyes, baby. It’s mommy, sweetheart...open up your eyes…” Angelina turned her face up to mine, a thousand questions in her eyes, her lips parted. Tears were streaming down her face and her mouth worked silently. She couldn’t find the words…

  “She was in the cove,” I said. “She’s breathing, but I think there was water in her stomach.” I held her face between my hands, unsure how much she was able to understand.

  “The boat’s here…,” Mattie said, in a panicky voice.

  “Chopper’s faster,” I said steadily. The noise from the blades forced us to shout. “I need to get her to the hospital, Angel,” I said, my face only inches from hers. “Every minute counts now. And the helicopter only has room for one of us.” My heart felt like it was tearing in two, asking her to make the decision. But she was Violet’s mother. It was her right…

  “Take her,” she said, without hesitation. “Hold her and tell her I love her,” she said, holding the little girl’s hand and kissing it. “Mattie and I will take the boat and we’ll meet you there.” She dug her nails into my arm and her eyes were unnaturally large and dark in her pale face. “Don’t let her be alone, Will,” she sobbed. “Don’t ever leave her…

  Whatever happens, just make sure she’s not all alone…”

  37

  Angelina

  I don’t know which was worse. Waiting for Will to find her. Or seeing her fragile little body in his arms.

  For a minute, I thought I’d lost her forever. Only the fierce determination in his eyes told me different. The throbbing pain in my ankle was nothing compared to the anguish I felt, watching him walk away with her. But there was no one I trusted more. He would take care of her like she was his own. Injured, I could only have slowed them down…

  “He’ll make sure she gets the best, you know,” Mattie said. “I can’t fucking believe I let her walk right by me…”

  “It’s not your fault, Mattie,” I said, gripping her hand, meaning it. I thought back to Will and me in the night and struggled to push my own guilt away. “You know as well as I do, she never wakes up in the night… There was no reason to think…”

  I watched Will climb into the helicopter, the blades as they started to pick up speed. I had to shield my eyes, but I wouldn’t close them. I had to watch as they lifted off. For a few seconds more, I thought I could see Will’s face.

  “We need to get to the boat,” Mattie said. “Can you walk at all? It looks pretty swollen…” She felt my ankle gently with her fingers and my breath made a sharp, hissing sound.

  She shot me a glance and bit into her lip, thinking. Then, in a gutsy move, she took off her shirt and began to bind my ankle. I dug my hands into the sand, making fists as she wrapped it tight, wincing as she pulled the knot as gently as she could.

  “Come on,” she encouraged, holding her hands out for mine. I caught them and held on as my head started to spin. “Let’s see if we can get you standing… just lean on me… try not to put any weight on that side…”

  I swung my head back as she pulled and caught one last look at the chopper. It was only a tiny dot in the sky now. A dot… that was holding everyone…

  I…

  loved…

  And I felt a strange tingling sensation in my hands and feet… a sort of numbness that was stealing through my veins. It felt as if I couldn’t keep my head from rolling on my neck… and Mattie’s hands were on me and I thought I could see Will smiling…

  Like a vision in a mist… he seemed to be holding my heart and flying away… so far away…

  “I want to go…,” I heard my own voice, like it came from a long way off… “Take me, too…” I felt sand underneath me and the sun on my face… And then there was nothing…

  A sweet and gentle darkness covered me like a warm blanket.

  “Miss Hollister…?”

  I rolled my head toward the sound and felt the bed spin underneath me. A wave of nausea washed over me, and I felt hands on my body. There was the gentle puffing sound of a blood pressure cuff and pressure on my arm… “Welcome back,” the voice said.

  I opened my eyes and tried to focus. Stethoscope… white jacket…

  “You’re in the ER,” a woman said. Salt and pepper hair… friendly eyes… “I’m Dr. Kendricks. Your friend, Miss Wilder, brought you in.” She smiled kindly. “You’ve got a few dozen cuts and bruises, and an ankle that needs x-rays and likely a cast.” I watched her nod at the nurse next to her. “How do you feel?”

  “My daughter,” I croaked. “Violet Hollister…”

  “We’re working on finding which hospital they went to,” she answered gently. “Your friend told me the details… All we know right now is that she wasn’t admitted here,” She pushed a button that lifted the head of the bed and offered me a spoonful of ice chips. I could feel the melting cold liquid sliding down my parched throat and glanced at the IV tube in my arm. The doctor smiled reassuringly.

  “You’re going to be fine,” she said, patting my hand. “It’s just routine. A few tests and some fluids to get you hydrated, that’s all. We need to get your blood sugar up a bit.” She smiled and her face wrinkled softly. “I know you’re worried,” she said, kindly. “And I can’t tell you not to be. I’m a mother, too, it comes with the job. But you’ll be able to take better care of Violet if you relax and let us take care of you.” She picked up her clipboard and made a note.

  “As soon as all the tests are back, someone will take you to radiology. And we’ll get you out of the ER and into a room of your own.” She leaned down and gave me a little wink. “Not exactly protocol… but I think you could use a little privacy right now.” I squeezed her hand in gratitude.

  “Mattie?” I asked weakly.

  “She’s just outside the door,” the doctor said. “I’ll send her in. She can stay with you as long as you want.” She gave me an understanding smile. “If anyone gives you any trouble about it, you send them to me.”

  38

  Will

  Even flying into the city seemed to take forever. And I felt more powerless than I’d ever felt in my life. All I could do was hold Angel’s child in my arms and pray.

  But when we touched down on the hospital rooftop, I was left with only the prayers. I’d had the pilot radio in and half a dozen people were waiting. Violet was whisked out of my arms within seconds, and I could only watch as they strapped her onto a gurney, far too large for her slight body. They were moving fast and the elevator door started to close as they surrounded her.

  “Wait!” I gripped the door, holding it open only long enough to slip inside. “She’s mine,” I said forcefully. “And I’m not leaving her.”

  When the doors opened to the emergency room, the team flew into action. I stood my ground, but out of the way. In seconds, Violet was hooked up to tubes and machines.
One young doctor came over to me.

  “Her name’s Violet,” I said. “Violet Hollister. She hasn’t regained consciousness… we don’t know how long she might have been in the water… And she’s autistic…”

  “Her vitals are strong,” he said confidently. He ran a hand over the shadow of bristles covering his jaw. “Are you the father?”

  “I’m responsible for her,” I said without hesitation. “Whatever she needs, whatever it takes… You do it,” I said. “I made a promise to her mother…”

  He put a reassuring hand on my shoulder and looked me at me squarely. “I’ve got a daughter at home, too,” he said. “Violet will get the best care there is. We’ll do some tests, see how she responds. I can have someone bring you a cup of coffee if you’d like, but I think it’s probably best if you stay close.” I felt my heart seize… “Because she knows your voice,” he said soothingly, and she may be more likely to respond to you. I’ll bring you some paperwork to fill out… and there’s a phone here you can use…” He looked at me. “Is there anyone you need to call?”

  “Her mother, Angelina,” I said, feeling my first true hint of panic. “But there’s no way to reach her…

  and she doesn’t know where to find us...”

  I called almost every fucking hospital in the city, and no one had seen her. A beautiful young mother looking for her daughter. The thought of her out there, frightened and having to search the city for her own child was almost unbearable. I sat next to Violet, one hand holding hers, the other still holding the phone. A nurse brought in a cup of thin-looking coffee and sat it down with a shy smile.

  “Taylor-Pick Memorial, how can I direct your call?” The woman’s voice sounded tired.

  “I’m looking for a young woman, possibly with a broken ankle. Angelina Hollister, blonde with blue eyes who’s looking for her daughter, Violet.” The words were coming rapid-fire. “There was an accident and we were split up. She might have come in sometime in the last hour, or maybe called in…”