The casino has twenty-six floors, and it took us fifteen minutes to walk the first floor. We took the elevators upstairs, and the rooms were far grander than Three Strikes. An entire floor was dedicated to kids, with a daycare and three different game rooms. As we toured, I noticed Korliss lagged behind everyone else a little. I let Jyme walk ahead of me some and stared at Korliss.
“He has a court date in three months, and we all think we need to hold off until we know the outcome. I would pay good money for him to suffer in prison,” Korliss whispered. “This place won’t be ready for another month or so, but we really have to study the grounds hard and long. There’s an underground mini subway for emergencies only. Old man Paul paid good money for it, too. We plan to take full advantage of it.”
“Korliss, I’m pregnant,” I whispered.
He smiled. “Congrats, Cricket.”
We toured the rest of the casino and everyone was pleased with what they saw. On the ride back, I told Jyme I needed to tell Troy. Jyme was pleased and couldn’t wait for Troy to hear the news.
A selected few knew about my pregnancy. I was able to hide my pregnancy for four months and four months only. I woke up one morning, and my stomach was huge. Jyme and I both agreed that it grew over night. I had to tell Troy. I was showing way too much to try and keep this from him. I went to Troy’ suite the night I decided to tell him. I wanted him to be alone and I wanted this to be private between him and me. Jyme insisted on accompanying me, but I refused. I knew Troy wouldn’t hurt me and I wanted to break it to him.
Troy stood in front of me and placed both hands on my belly. “I wish you were having my baby, Cricket.”
“Troy, you have Michael, and he’s amazing.”
“Cricket, I love you; not Chyna. You know that.”
“I have to go back to my suite now, Troy. I just wanted to let you know and also tell you that I will need three months off again.”
“Take whatever you need, Cricket. Will you do me a favor before you go?”
“Troy, no; I’m not doing that anymore.”
“No, not that. Will you kiss me like you kiss him?”
I leaned in and kissed him. Troy rubbed my stomach, and I started feeling weird, so I pulled away. I didn’t want Troy touching Jyme’s baby, and I felt dirty letting him touch me. I went back to the suite and got straight in the shower. Jyme followed me, and we made love like we were trying to make another baby. My stomach was poking out, and Jyme loved every pound I gained. I constantly rubbed cocoa butter on my belly. My stretch marks looked like a tide you could surf. I had to leave the heels in the closet; my swelling wouldn’t allow me to wear them. On my fifth month doctor’s visit, we had the big ultra sound. Dr. Lundee did the procedure herself, and I liked that about her. She was always so hands on with everything.
“There we go. Let’s see if we can see the sex,” she said.
Jyme watched the screen like a little kid watching cartoons. He was so animated and innocent to all of this.
“Okay, here we go. There’s our VIP guest,” she teased. “Wait a second. I think … wait. There’s one..umm…no…there’s two.”
“What?” Jyme asked her a little too loudly.
“Yep, there they both are. You have two babies in there, Cricket.”
I closed my eyes. Jyme kissed my forehead and he was holding my hand.
“Want to take a guess on their sex?”
“Boys. They’re both boys.” I said.
“Cricket, you are correct.”
Jyme squeezed my hand, and when I looked up at him, he had tears falling from his eyes.
“Awh, baby,” I sighed.
“No…babies!” he teased and I laughed.
“I love you so much, Cricket.”
“I know you do, and I love you.”
“Cricket, I promise I will take care of all of us.”
“Jyme, I know you will.”
I could tell Jyme felt like he had something to prove to me; and nothing I could say or do would change that right now. He was a man on a mission, and he was determined to succeed.
The next four months flew by. I had made all of the necessary arrangements with Nan, and we arrived at her place two weeks before my due date. We spent as much time as we possibly could with Babe. She had gotten so big and she had picked up a lot of words. It took her a day to call me mommy, and three days for her to call Jyme daddy.
A week after we arrived at Nan’s, Jyme and I went for our daily walk. We were strolling the grounds when I felt a sharp pain in the pit of my stomach. I gripped Jyme’s forearm and dug into him. He held on to me while I screamed through the first contraction. Three orderlies ran over to us, and a nurse ran back into the building with a walkie talkie to her mouth. About two minutes later, another contraction, even worse than the first, hit me. I heard something pop, and then water gushed out of me. The nurse with the walkie talkie ran toward us with a wheelchair. Another two minutes and another contraction hit. I screamed at the top of my lungs from the pain. Jyme stayed right beside me; never letting go of my hand.
I had two more contractions, and then we were in the maternity wing. Aunt Nan was there with two doctors, and they were dressed for the occasion. The nurse handed Jyme his scrubs, and he left through the side door. He was back in less than a minute, fully dressed. The contractions were about a minute a part now. The first doctor took a look and told me one of the babies was fully crowned. The contractions were becoming unbearable, and I let everybody in that birthing room know it. Jyme kept his cool, even though he’d never been through this before. He was a strongest man I’d ever met; and he was all mine.
The doctor told me I could start pushing. I gave one long push and the first baby came out with hardly any trouble. I should have known that wouldn’t last. I felt a sharp pain, and then the monitors started going crazy. Before I could even ask what was wrong, the pain took over. It felt like my stomach was about to explode, and I couldn’t stay still. I writhed on the bed and kicked and cursed from all the pain. The doctor had to go in with both hands, and I could feel him tug at the other baby. I screamed and wailed. It felt like he was ripping me a part from the inside. I tried not to look at the mirrors in the ceiling, but there was so much blood. I knew something was wrong because the doctor still didn’t have the baby out. The two doctor’s switched places, and then one of the nurses told me the first baby was fine. I looked up at Jyme.
“If something happens…” I tried to say, but he interrupted me.
“Shut up, Cricket.”
I let a few tears fall then, and he kissed me on my lips. The pain started up again with a little more presence than the first set of contractions. The doctor told me to start pushing again. I did as I was told, but it felt like this baby was coming out of my ass. The pain felt differently than Babe and the first baby.
“Something’s wrong,” I screamed.
“We know; but, Cricket, we need to get him out as soon as possible,” the doctor said. He told me to start pushing again, and I obeyed and screamed.
“Okay, Cricket…one more big push, and we should have him out. I need a big push this time.”
I pushed a long, big push, and he was finally out. They rushed him over to one of the little tables across the room from us. One of the nurses brought the first baby over to us, and I let Jyme hold him first. I couldn’t keep my eyes off the other baby. I watched them as they worked on him, and then finally I heard a faint cry. I cried along with him. I hadn’t prepared myself for anything but perfect deliveries and healthy babies.
“I want to see him, Nan, please. I need to hold him.”
“Cricket, let them clean him off first.”
“No, now Nan; right now!”
She cut her eyes at me and then picked him up and brought him over. He was so tiny and pale. He looked so sick and weak. His eyes were wide opened and he looked straight at me.
“Now what took you so long to come out?” I asked him. He gave me a big yawn, and then Nan took him from me.
“We have to clean him off now, Cricket.”
I let her take him, and Jyme handed me the other baby. This baby looked almost twice the size of the second one. It was obvious this baby ate a whole lot more than the other.
“So, you’re the bully; huh?” I asked him. He shut his eyes and went to sleep.
“Have you thought of their names yet?” Aunt Nan asked.
“This bully over here is Christopher, and my little shy boy is Makael.”
Nan smiled. She wrote their names down on a form, and both doctors signed.
“Well, we now have three Samson kids at Nan Tucket’s compound,” she teased.
Jyme looked at her and then at me.
“Cricket,” Jyme was about to get emotional, and Nan didn’t have time for tears, so I knew she was about to haul ass out of there. Nan came over and got Christopher from us.
“Aunt Nan, can I see Makael again before you go with them?”
She looked over at the nurse who had Makael’s baby cart. The nurse wheeled him over and handed him to me. I looked at his closed eyes and his balled up fist. I looked up at Jyme and handed Makael over to him. Jyme held him so close and then took his little hands.
“I see who your favorite twin is, Cricket,” Nan teased.
“I don’t have a favorite, Aunt Nan.”
“Oh, yes, you do; and there is nothing wrong with that. We all have favorites, Cricket; and it’s not a crime.”
We spent the next two and a half months with the kids nonstop. Babe adored her little baby brothers. She pattered and rubbed them every time she saw them. Michael was a big boy now; he knew how to hold the babies. He was so gentle with them, and he and Babe were the best of friends. He still kept his distance from Jyme, and I noticed whenever they were in a room together that he would stare him down. Chyna was doing great; she had started talking to a physiatrist once a week. Cinnamon was dating one of the orderlies at the compound. She seemed happy and complete and that made me happy.
I breast fed the boys; but the doctors were concerned about Makael’s slow weight gain. I finally started over-feeding him, and his weight started looking better. Our last two weeks there, the doctors moved Christopher over to formula. He picked it up well and continued to gain his normal amount of weight. But they had me pretty much pumping or actually feeding Makael at every single feeding. They froze as much breast milk as I could give them.
Nan sat me down my last day there.
“Cricket, you know I don’t normally interfere with my client’s decisions. Nevertheless, honey, you have a beautiful family, and you guys need to be together. I can see the love in your eyes and it breaks my heart to think what’s to come.”
“Nan, I have a plan in progress, and I swear the money will still come and…”
Nan interrupted me. “Shut up, Cricket. I would keep everyone of you safe if you didn’t have a dime. I love you guys, and that little Babe has stolen every body’s heart in here. I think anyone in here would put his or her life on the line for that little angel. She reminds me of you so much, Cricket, and she needs you in her life.”
“I’m working on it, Nan. I swear to you I am. But you know if something were to ever happen to me, Jyme first and then his mother.”
“I have it all written down, Cricket; and I will keep them all myself if anything were to ever happen to you all.”
I took a deep breath and cried my eyes out. I hadn’t cried this hard since Jyme and I broke up.
Aunt Nan came from around her desk and held me. “I don’t know how you do it, but you and your sister have some powerful strength.”
Saying goodbye to my children was the hardest thing I had ever done. Jyme held on to me tightly when we walked out the building. My legs felt like jello; and I bawled my eyes out when we climbed into the car. The driver kept asking if there was anything he could do. Jyme told him that he had me and that I would be fine. Jyme and I stared wordlessly at each other on the plane ride back to California.
“Best?” he asked.
“Having your babies,” I told him teary eyed.
“And you?”
“You, having my babies.”
We kissed softly.
When we landed at LAX, Jyme told me we had to fix this. I just nodded.
Korliss and his crew had to postpone their attack plan twice now. Troy went to court, but someone had stolen some of the evidence. Now, there was another investigation going on against Troy. Trey too; was a person of interest. No one wanted to go down for murder. If Troy was locked up, we all knew that he would be taken care of in there. So we waited and waited for the next trial. Troy didn’t act as if he had a care in the world; and Trey…well Trey was lost and confused as usual. They kept him on horse tranquilizers so he could function. Whenever Trey made eye contact, he would look straight through you. He was a walking zombie, and I heard he’d gone limp. I thought that was a good thing myself.
We were finally fully staffed, and I had hand-picked each and every one of them. Aston was always touching some part of me every time she saw me now. She cornered me in one of the employee’s bathroom once.
“Cricket, I want to eat you until you scream.”
“Back the fuck up, Aston.”
“Cricket, please. Ever since you said you were pregnant, you’ve had this glow about you. And now since you’ve given birth, your ass is plumper, and I want you to ride my face,” she said while squeezing my ass.
“Aston, you need to back the fuck up, now!”
“Don’t tell me you’re not interested. I see you looking at me.”
“I don’t do that shit anymore, Aston; and I’m with Jyme.”
“But I know how to make you squirt with my tongue.”
“So does he; bitch. Now back the fuck up. That was your last warning, Aston,” I balled both of my hands into fists.
“If you ever want to cum, come over with me. I know how to keep my mouth shut, and no one would ever know.”
Aston took her claws off me and left the bathroom. I had to stay far away from Aston before we got physical and not in the way she wanted.
The new casino was much grander than the old one. Our new suite had four bedrooms. Troy said they were all set up for the guests, the kids, and their nanny. As if I would ever let my children anyway near Troy. He would find some way to use them against me.
Korliss came up to me one night on the floor and said I had a guest waiting in my suite. I stared and he accompanied me. Jyme was working down at one of the clubs, filling in as a bouncer. I was working the floor and overseeing all of the guys. Troy and I switched it up every now and then. Tonight, he watched the girls. I walked through the suite doors and ran over to her as soon as I saw her face.
“What’s wrong?”
Chyna stood tall in a black cocktail dress and killer platforms. She looked like her old self, just like a million bucks.
“Nothing’s wrong, Cric-Kat. I had a seminar I wanted to go to here in Cali, and I decided to surprise you, so…SURPRISE!”
“Chyna, it’s not safe for you here. I mean with Troy and…”
She held her clutch up and pulled out a gun. “This is all I need for Troy, and I’ve been taking these self-defense classes and Tae Kwon Do. It’s all good…Cric-Kat; all good.”
“Chyna, I don’t know about this. Did Nan say it was okay?”
“She was the one who encouraged me come to the seminar and to see you here. I missed you, Crick. I’m sorry. I know I should have called, but I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“It’s okay, Chyna. I missed you, too. I know Nan wouldn’t have sent you if she didn’t think you could handle this. I’m glad you’re here, sis. You look so fuckin’ amazing,” I smiled.
Korliss said we needed to get back to the floor before Troy and Trey started questioning our absence.
“Can you stay the night?” I asked her.
“But of course. I have a bag and everything. I just left a dinner party. I’ll see you when you get back.”
&n
bsp; Korliss and I left the suite, and I was grinning from ear to ear.
“Wow, Cricket, you and your sister have some good fuckin’ genes in your family. She looks like a completely different person from the first time I saw her. She looks so damn good. Troy is a fool for fuckin’ that up.”
“She was a different person then, and to tell you the truth, I’m still stumped about something. He dealt with her and her drug habits. Why? I guess he does love her somewhere in that stone heart of his.”
“Cricket, he loves you, and she’s part of you. That’s the only reason why he kept her around. She was his bait for you to bite.”
I stared at him and then I felt sick to my stomach. “That’s disgusting.”
“Well, we are talking about Troy…the most un-human person I know.”
Korliss and I got back to the floor and fell back into our routine. It was 1:00 a.m., and I had one more hour of work left. The time was dragging by. I was anxious to get back to the room and catch up with Chyna.
Two gunshots went off, a jolting rubble d…vibrated beneath us, and someone yanked me underneath a black jack table. There was complete mayhem in the casino. I heard another gunshot and more screaming. I didn’t recognize the arms wrapped around my torso. I looked over at the man next to me and my eyes widened.
“Walt.”
He smiled and pulled me closer when the table shifted. I held on to him tightly and then realized we had to move.
“I have to check on my sister and Jyme. He’s in one of the clubs.”
“I have two men watching over him, Cricket. I would never let anything happen to either one of you.”
We slid from under the table and ran for the elevators. We stood in a dark corner while we waited. One of the six elevators pinged, and people ran off. As soon as the door was clear, we ran on.
We went up to the suite, and I unlocked the door. The suite was eerily empty, and then I heard noises coming from one of the guest bedrooms. These weren’t just any kind of noises; they were sex noises. Someone was fucking the shit out of someone.
Wounded Love (G Street Chronicles Presents From Love to Loathe Series) Page 22