by Red Phoenix
Lilly let out a condescending laugh. “Well, I’ve had a paternity test done. There is no question who the father is.”
Thane knew Lilly had hit home with her lies when Brie did not respond immediately.
He raged within himself, furious that the bitch had successfully planted a seed of doubt in Brie’s heart.
“I only expect half…”
And there is was. The only reason Lilly had come.
Brie, she’s blackmailing you. Get her out of here. Run away, if you must.
“Half of what?”
“Half of whatever he leaves you in the will.”
“Thane’s not dead!”
Lilly answered with indifference. “He will be as soon as you turn off the ventilator. Serves him right for what he did to my mother—and me.”
“Thane wouldn’t—”
Trust that I would never do such a thing.
A chill like death enveloped Thane when Lilly whispered in his ear, “I’m back, Thane. What you did is unforgivable, and something you will pay dearly for.”
Get the fuck away.
As if Brie could hear his thoughts, she ordered, “You need to leave. Now!”
“I give you two weeks to buy my silence, Brianna—after that, it’s a free-for-all. It’s the exact same offer I made Thane.”
“What are you talking about?”
“He knows about the baby. But, apparently, he didn’t tell you. Interesting… Why do you think that is?”
Thane felt his world fall away.
In wanting to protect Brie from Lilly’s insanity, he’d left her unprepared for this attack, giving Lilly the opportunity to tear them apart.
After she left, Thane felt a distinct change in Brie. She wasn’t with him anymore—not emotionally. He understood that she was now questioning everything she knew about him and their relationship—contemplating the possibility that he was as evil as his mother, and Lilly.
Not only had his half-sister effectively struck Brie down, but she had driven a stake through his own heart.
He heard Brie fall to the floor as he lay there like a statue, unable to help her.
This…this was hell.
Thane drifted in and out of consciousness. Without Brie’s presence, there was nothing for him to hold onto. It would be easy for him to lose connection, drifting further and further away from reality without her.
Brie and the baby were his life.
I need you to come back, he called out, hoping she would hear the heartfelt plea of his spirit.
Time passed in the dark, unrelenting silence.
Then, like a miracle, he felt her touch again.
She took his hand and told him, “Seeing Lilly pregnant with a child she claims is yours has me questioning everything, Sir. Both Master Anderson and Mr. Thompson have advised me to keep my sights on what I know to be true. I am trying, Sir. I’m trying with all of my heart.”
Brie then made a personal plea. “But…I need a sign from you. Something. Anything to let me know you’re here with me now.”
I am here, Brie.
He fought hard, commanding his body to move, begging it to move, and finally cussing at it, but…nothing happened—not even a twitch.
Brie let go of his hand, obviously disappointed.
Don’t leave me, babygirl.
This was a do or die moment. He concentrated all his energy and thoughts into one powerful and simple command.
Open.
His eyelids obeyed, but he still found himself surrounded by darkness. Had he just imagined it? Thane cried out to Brie in desperation:
I.
Am.
Here.
His heartfelt cry was followed by cold silence.
Had he failed?
Suddenly, Brie’s warm voice filled the room. “Sir!”
She was by his side again, clutching his hand and crying.
“Sir, can you see me?”
More silence followed when she realized he could not. To his profound relief, he felt a kiss as warm tears fell on his cheek.
“You opened your eyes for me!”
She then began kissing him all over, murmuring with joy, “You’re here with me.”
I am…
Awakening
Thane thought he had successfully fought and won his greatest battle—but he had no idea what was coming.
Although Brie knew he was there, Thane was still unable to see, speak, or move.
He might as well be dead.
Thane took courage from the fact he had been able to open his eyes. Surely, if that were possible, he would soon be able to move his hand or speak a word to Brie.
This vegetative condition could not be his fate…
He needed to hold Brie again and be there to greet their little girl when she came into the world.
What would be the point of surviving, only to live as a dead man?
Thane returned to his practice of concentrating on each individual muscle group, trying to get them to respond. As motivation, he listened to the constant ticking of the clock Brie had brought with her to the hospital room, believing:
Every second that ticks by is one less second that we are apart.
He was confident that his need to be with her was powerful enough to defeat this imitation of death.
Thane was aware of the presence of others in the room, mainly a woman with a soft voice and gentle touch, but he swore he heard familiar voices coming and going, as well—Anderson, Unc, Nosaka…
Unlike Brie’s voice, however, theirs were not as succinct, sounding more like noise than speech.
All but Nosaka’s.
When he spoke, it was as if the Kinbaku master was able to breach the barrier between them, reaching through the darkness to speak to Thane directly.
Thane was certain it meant he must be healing and would be able to wake from this nightmare, but he was wrong. The nightmare was about to get far, far worse.
It began so innocently while Thane was listening to the easy banter between Brie and Tono as they worked beside his bed. It had become a daily ritual of theirs, and it brought Thane comfort.
He felt a part of their daily routine even though he could only listen in. Hearing simple everyday chatter as Brie spoke of her film and Tono talked about his jute brought a sense of normalcy to this pseudo-death he was lost in.
Thane heard another voice in the room, and then Nosaka told Brie, “Hey, I’m headed to the parking garage for a bit. Seems someone hit my car.”
“That’s terrible, Tono!”
“I’m sure it’s minor. I’ll be back in a bit.”
Brie was called out of the room soon after.
Thane couldn’t explain the reason for it, but he felt fear in the pit of his stomach, alerting him to the fact that something was terribly wrong.
When Brie returned, she seemed distracted and excitable as she explained to him, “Oh my gosh, Sir, I just had the most amazing stroke of luck! Some guy who works for Lilly is only a few blocks from here. He has Lilly’s paternity test and evidence that it was manipulated. If I have solid evidence in my hands, Lilly loses all her power over us!”
He heard her place something on the tray beside him, followed by the sound of ripping paper. “Gotta take this with me or I might end up at the wrong place. Wouldn’t that be tragic?” She broke out in giggles. “Oh, Sir, I can’t believe this. We might finally be free of her!”
Brie gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “I gotta hurry. He said he’s not going wait long.”
None of it sounded right. Thane was convinced she was walking into a trap, and silently begged her not to go—but she ran out the door.
In his head, Thane was running after her and grabbing Brie before she made it another step farther. However, the reality was, he was lying there like an inanimate object.
A few seconds later, she was back, laughing.
He felt a flood of relief wash over him.
“Good grief, I almost forgot my purse. Be back soon!”
Gone…
A cold chill fell over him.
Where the hell was Nosaka? Why wasn’t he here to stop her from leaving?
Thane lay in the bed waiting while his anxiety grew exponentially. Brie was headed for danger, and there was not a damn thing he could do about it.
To his relief, Nosaka finally entered the room. The man seemed frantic as he moved about the hospital room. Thane heard the sound of pounding keys as Nosaka searched her laptop, looking for clues to her whereabouts.
“Where are you, Brie?” Nosaka cried in frustration.
Thane knew she had written something down on the notepad sitting on his tray. Stilling his mind, he shot out one simple phrase like an arrow to Nosaka.
Tray.
He repeated it again and again, trusting the Kinbaku Master would be able to hear him beyond the abyss. But Thane felt a rush of despair when he heard Nosaka heading toward the door.
Thane shot the word out one last time, desperate to save Brie.
Nosaka stopped, and then Thane heard his footsteps returning to the bed.
“What’s this?” he asked aloud, lifting the notepad from the tray.
Without another word, Nosaka hurried out of the room with Thane urging him on.
Thane’s mind was exhausted from the concentrated effort and he slipped into the nothingness, drifting further and further away, consumed by dark visions and hellish screams.
“Sir Davis.”
Thane heard Nosaka and centered his attention on the man’s voice.
“Brie is safe.”
Those words were like rain to his tormented soul.
“The baby is safe.”
If Thane could have cried tears, he would have cried then.
“Thank you for your help, Sir Davis. I would never have found Brie if it weren’t for the strong urge to look on the tray.” Nosaka moved in closer. “I know it was you.”
Thane would have rejoiced, knowing Nosaka had clearly heard him, if the situation had not been so dire.
In the midst of his solitary fight, Thane was given three gifts. The first was a vision of Brie that was so real, he felt as if he could touch her.
She was naked, smiling up at him from the floor, bound up in Nosaka’s jute.
The joy radiating from her face was almost blinding.
In this dream world, he was a ghost, only able to observe—but he had the power of speech.
Looking at her, it seemed so real that Thane was convinced it was a glimpse into the future, and he was overcome with a profound sense of hope.
He spoke that word aloud and was startled when Brie responded, her smile growing wider as she nodded to him. Thane went to reach out to her and, suddenly, she was gone, although the feeling of closeness remained.
Thane lay there, listening to the clock ticking each second until they were together again, and it filled him with euphoria. The time of their reunion was near!
To add to his conviction that he was close to reentry into her world was the second gift.
The loud and passionate voice of Durov. It began with a scuffle between the bullheaded Russian and Nosaka, but ended with his friend pouring his heart out to Thane.
Accustomed to his disconnection from the world, Thane hadn’t realized how much he’d missed the powerful bond between them.
“Moy droog…” Durov took his hand, clasping it firmly in both of his. He became silent for several moments, his voice broken. “We have been through too much, you and me. It cannot end here.”
He placed his hand on Thane’s chest. “You must do whatever it takes to return from the abyss. In turn, I promise to eliminate Lilly as a threat.”
It amazed Thane that Durov knew exactly what he needed to hear.
“We share a similar story,” the Russian continued. “You and I had endured more than most, even at our young age, by the time the two of us met.”
He clasped Thane’s hand again. “You helped me see beyond the hate and despair that filled my world, and I am eternally grateful for your influence.” Durov then leaned in close to Thane’s ear. “But here’s the thing, moy droog. My darkness has returned, and the one man who could save me isn’t here. I need you, brother.”
Thane felt his pain as if it was his own. Rather than being weighed down by it, he added it to his arsenal, using it as motivation.
Durov is here.
Knowing that strengthened him, but Thane was gifted one more surprise—something he hadn’t anticipated.
Brie burst into the hospital room a few days later, her voice bursting with excitement. “I just came back from my latest baby appointment and guess what, Sir? Rytsar recorded our baby’s heartbeat for you! Here, let me play it.”
Soon the sound of a rapid, steady heartbeat filled the room. Hearing that sound shot a bolt of energy through Thane and his heart began to race.
This was it, his bridge back to the living.
“He knows!” Brie cried to Durov. “Sir can hear his baby’s heartbeat.”
“Do you feel it, moy droog?” the Russian asked. “Hope is yours to claim.”
Thane fought hard, commanding his spirit to make that final leap in conjunction with his body. He battled for what felt like an eternity, and just when he was on the verge of breaking through, his body gave out and he felt himself starting to slip away.
No!
Thane had nothing left to give and lay there utterly spent.
“What happened?” Brie whispered sadly. “He was so close. I could feel it.”
I’m still here, babygirl.
Durov answered for him, “Moy droog needs time to rest so he can fight again tomorrow.”
Thane’s heart broke when he heard the disappointment in Brie’s voice.
“It hurts…”
Don’t give up.
Those words were as much for himself as they were for her. To be so close, and then to be pulled back into this pseudo-death, was almost impossible to bear.
Thane was convinced he had lost his only chance, that he would remain a shell of a man, when the name “Lilly” was brought up in a conversation between Durov and Brie.
“Rytsar, you’ve been so mysterious about Lilly,” Brie said. “I believe you’ve found her, but…”
Hearing Lilly’s name, Thane saw a vision of his half-sister—an exact replica of his treacherous mother—however, Lilly had a much more devious heart. All of the rage he’d held for his mother’s many betrayals and Lilly’s attempted blackmail and kidnapping boiled up to the surface.
It became an inferno of massive proportions.
When he heard Durov say, “If you knew what I knew, you would want her dead,” it set off an explosion in Thane’s mind. He concentrated on that fiery ball of hatred. Taking a lesson from Nosaka, he harnessed the immense power behind it.
Breathe!
Thane was blinded by a harsh light. Panic set in as he attempted to take a breath and suddenly found his lungs and throat on fire. His body became consumed by the life and death struggle for that much needed breath.
Brie’s terrified screams filled his ears. “Fight this, Sir. Don’t leave me!”
Thane refused to lose this time.
“Get her out of here,” someone barked.
Brie held onto him tightly, dragging him with her as someone tried to pull them apart. Thane struggled, hearing Brie’s cries as she was dragged away from him, but his body became wracked with pain as it fought to expel the object choking him.
A number of hands suddenly held him down, and he fought them off.
A woman’s voice, which seemed remotely familiar, commanded him in a warm but firm tone, “Relax, Mr. Davis. We are trying to help.”
Despite the overwhelming urge to keep fighting, he let reason prevail and stopped himself. In a matter of seconds, the skilled hands of the woman cleared his throat and he was able to take in a full breath.
The people around him began smiling and laughing.
The woman explained to him, “Mr. Davis, my name is Dr. Hessen. Blink your eyes twice if you can hear me.”
Thane looked around wildly, bewildered by the painful brightness of the light and the numerous strangers around him.
“Mr. Davis, can you hear me?” she repeated.
Thane focused his eyes on her and blinked two times.
“Good. I just took your breathing tube out, which is why your throat is sore.”
He looked at her, wondering why she seemed so familiar when he was certain he had never met the woman.
“Mr. Davis,” she continued, “you have been in a coma for the past four and a half months. Do you remember what happened?”
Thane blinked once, but his heart rate sped up as brief images of fire, a violin, and Brie came to mind.
“Don’t be concerned. It’s perfectly normal to have some temporary memory loss, following a head injury.”
He looked to her for help, wanting to know exactly what had happened and how bad his condition was. The fact Brie was not in the room seemed an ominous sign.
Thane was afraid the physician would say he was completely paralyzed and that there was no hope for recovery. Instead, she said, “The other injuries you sustained in the accident have since healed.”
Thane let out a long, labored sigh, closing his eyes as he took in that welcomed news.
“Would you like to see your wife?”
Although his body seemed to take far too long to respond, he blinked twice in answer.
“Wonderful. I’ll bring her in.”
Thane stared at the ceiling, uncertain if this was yet another dream sent from Hell to torment him, or if it truly was a miracle.
When he felt Brie’s touch, he knew he was no longer in a dream. She lifted his hand and began covering it in light kisses.
Brie…
With immense effort, he managed to turn his head. When their eyes finally met, he felt a surge of relief and deep love for her.
Brie smiled at him, but with each passing moment, her expression of joy slowly became one of concern.
“Sir?”
Fighting the months of atrophy, he refocused his efforts, commanding his vocal cords to utter one word.
“Babygirl…”
Brie broke out in that beautiful smile he cherished. “Oh, Sir, I’ve missed you so much. So very much!”