by Brooks,Anna
A single gunshot rings out, temporarily deafening me. I jump as tears pour out of my closed eyes.
“Fuck, man. You okay?” I don’t recognize that voice.
“Took you fuckin’ long enough, asshole.” Ty.
I whip my head up and see Rico untying Ty. Neil’s lifeless body is on the floor a few feet from Ty. Another man I don’t recognize with a badge around his neck is tucking a gun away in a shoulder holster. He walks over to me, and I flinch when he begins untying the ropes binding me.
“Ty?”
His hands are freed, and he reaches for one of his tied legs while Rico does the other.
“What the hell is going on?” I yell. I thought I was confused before, but now I’m wondering if I’m seeing things.
Ty’s finally freed, and he rushes to me, untying the ropes at warp speed until I’m unbound. He lifts me up and presses my face into his neck. “Fuck, baby. Fuck. Are you okay?”
“What happened? What is happening?”
“Let’s get outta here,” the man with the badge says.
Ty nods at him and carries me outside, burying his face in my hair.
“I’m undercover, remember,” he whispers against my head.
Multiple police cars are waiting with their lights flashing, and as soon as we’re all out of the building, they begin wrapping the perimeter with police tape. The high noon sun blazes down on me, and when Ty sets me in the backseat of an SUV with dark tinted windows, he doesn’t waste a second, pulling me into his arms.
Rico gets into the front seat, and I tighten my grip on Ty.
“Jessa, this is Jay, my boss.” He nods at the driver. “And Rico, here, is Jay’s boss.”
“What?”
“I should talk to your brother about playing a part in his next movie, huh?” he jokes.
“Not fucking funny.”
“Sorry, baby. Sorry. It’s too soon.” Ty begins to explain that Rico is the mastermind behind putting Marco in the dirt. Apparently, Rico’s been undercover longer than Ty has, and in order to help take down the drug and prostitution ring, he did the unthinkable and went against his family of lifelong gangsters.
Jay had been keeping tabs on the house and everything, of course, and when Neil’s behavior started to become suspicious, Jay did some digging and found out through Rico that Neil had contacted him about the hit. He also found out that Neil had been dirty for years. Used his dog to steal drugs, and Ty mentioned all sorts of other police jargon that I didn’t understand.
Jay trailed Neil and figured out what he was doing but had to let him follow through with the kidnapping since it was the only way to catch him.
“So what does this all mean then?” I ask. “I don’t understand why, if Rico is one of the good guys, why he held me back when … when Marco—”
“Darlin’, I didn’t have a choice,” Rico speaks up. “If I gave up my cover, we’d both be dead. I was outnumbered, and we had so much at play. I know that was awful for you; it was horrible for me to be a part of it, but I knew what would happen if I didn’t. I tried to be as gentle as I could.”
“Why did it take you three days then? If you were all working together, why did it take three days to find me?”
“I knew the whole time,” Jay chimes in. “But if we came in guns a blazin’ after an hour, Marco would know something was up.”
“Fuckin’ bastards.” Ty huffs out a breath. “I had no clue either, baby. You motherfuckers haven’t heard the last from me about it, either.”
“If we told you, you’d have rushed in—”
“Fuck yeah, I woulda. She’s pregnant, Jay. Do you know what he’s fuckin’ capable of? What he coulda done to her? Jesus.”
The last thing we need right now is a fight, so I try to defuse the situation. “It’s okay,” I tell Ty. “They were doing what was best.”
“It wasn’t what was best for you.”
“You’re what’s best for me, and I have you now, right?”
He kisses the top of my head. “Yeah, baby.”
“So see, it all worked out.”
“Didn’t expect you to be the strong one here,” Rico jokes.
“Women are superior to men.” I laugh. “Weren’t you there that day, though?” I ask him. “Weren’t you shot?”
“No, I made myself scarce with an errand when I knew they’d be coming.”
“So let me get this straight.” I sit up, but Ty immediately wraps an arm around my shoulder and pulls me close. “Rico is a good guy. Works undercover.”
Everyone nods, but Rico chimes in, “This was my last job, though. I need a fuckin’ vacation.” The guys chuckle like what happened in there wasn’t highly, highly messed up. Like epic proportions messed up.
“Ty is a good guy. Works undercover.” Again, nods all around. “Jay is a good guy, not undercover.” They nod again. “Neil. Thought he was a good guy, but turns out he wasn’t.”
“Yup.” Everyone grunts, disappointment heavy in the air. Hell, I’m disappointed and heartbroken. He was somebody I had in my home, somebody I trusted.
“I don’t understand how he could … I thought he cared about me.”
“Money is a nasty thing, Jessa. It changes people. Makes them greedy, always wanting more. Changes people into someone evil.”
“How could I have been so blind, though?”
Jay clears his throat. “He wasn’t always a bad man.” His jealousy of the fact that Neil was the one who comforted me at one point is still a hard topic for us. He hates that I leaned on Neil, and that he wasn’t there. Hell, I hated it too, but everything happens for a reason, I guess.
“It still hurts,” I whisper.
“I know, babe.” Ty rubs his hand up and down my arm.
Still needing to get to the bottom of everything that happened, I continue my questioning. “What about the five million dollars for killing you?”
Rico’s the one to speak now. “It’s over. Despite what you guys thought … Sorry, Ty,”—he pauses—“I meant to tell you this earlier, but I just found out. Marco didn’t spread it as far as we thought.”
Ty laughs. “How can a man so fucking stupid be so smart?”
“What?” I ask, confused.
“He knew people would try to kill him to get the five mil, so he kept it hush-hush,” Ty states, somehow figuring it out before I can even process what’s happening.
“What about the guy at the hospital?”
“I knew Ty’d take him out, so I sent him,” Rico says. “He ran a dog fighting ring, so I figure you’d appreciate that.” He looks at me and winks.
“Oh my God, I’m in the middle of a freaking movie. Or is this a reality show?”
The guys laugh, and Ty kisses my cheek. “You’re adorable.”
“One last thing. Because nobody else knows that Rico, who is now in charge of this criminal ring, is undercover, everything for us is over, right?” I ask, hopeful the nightmare is done, and I can start living my dream.
“Yep, for us it is.” Ty kisses the top of my head. “It’s all over, baby. I’m done with this undercover shit. I’m ready to live a normal life.”
“Thank God.” I rest my cheek on his shoulder and breathe a sigh of relief that I’ve been holding since I was sixteen years old.
After being checked out at the hospital, I’m discharged and go visit with my family right away. Ty briefed me on what I could and couldn’t say, but since I was okay, they didn’t ask too many questions. I introduced Ty as my boyfriend, and he snorted at that.
“I’m not a boy. I’m your man.”
“Sorry, guys,” I said, loud enough to get everyone’s attention. “Ty’s not my boyfriend, he’s my manfriend.”
As they all laughed, he pulled me to him and chuckled into my ear. “You make me laugh, Jessa.”
“You make me happy, Ty. So happy.”
His arm tightens, and when I pull back and look into his eyes, they sparkle. “Same, baby. Same.”
We head to the kitchen, and my m
om sets out some cheese and crackers. I sip on a bottle of water, and Ty drinks a beer.
My dad clears his throat. “Wanna watch the game?”
Shit, if Dad wants to talk to him alone, that’s not good. Ty doesn’t need to feel like shit for something he couldn’t control.
My eyes widen as Ty nods. He leans over and kisses me gently. “It’ll be all good, baby.” Then he follows Dad to the living room.
“He’ll be fine, Jessa. Stop worrying.”
“But I don’t want Dad to give him some stupid interrogation speech.”
“Honey, breathe.” She stands in front of me and smiles down at me. “Dad knows how much you love him. He’s not going to scare him away, okay? If anything, he’s going to try and make him feel welcome.”
“He’d better.” I absently rub my belly. “’Cause Ty’s going to be around for a really, really long time.”
She smiles, and I hop off the stool then make my way to the living room. Ty holds his arms out for me, and I sit on his lap then bury my face in his neck. Dad clears his throat and then I hear him walk away.
“What’s the matter, baby?”
“Promise you won’t ever leave me again.”
“Hell, no. I’ll be with you for as long as you’ll have me. I fuckin’ love you so much, Jessa. Nothing and nobody will ever take me away from you ever again. I promise you that. Fuckin’ promise, baby.”
Chapter 23
Jessa
“We really don’t have to go tonight if you’re not feeling up to it,” Ty says again, as I grab my purse.
“I’m fine, honey. It’s your birthday.”
“But you’re due in three weeks. You haven’t been sleeping well. I don’t care—”
I shush him with a quick peck. “I care. It’s your birthday.”
He locks his jaw and nods, then opens the front door. He’s irritated with me for making him go out for dinner on his birthday. It’s an important day. I want to celebrate the day this incredible man was put on earth just for me.
He’s going to be even more irritated when he finds out I’ve been having contractions all day. But this is the first birthday I’ve gotten to celebrate with him, and I’m determined to make him feel special.
He wraps an arm around my waist and helps me down the front steps, then lifts me into my SUV. After he buckles me, he kisses my belly and then me. His lips linger on mine and I grab onto his arm. When he slants his head and deepens the kiss, I squeeze his arm harder. Because a contraction is coming. He growls against me, his tongue diving deeper, and I whimper at the pain in my belly.
Immediately he pulls back. “Did I hurt you?”
I shake my head and try to breathe, but instead let out a moan.
“What’s wrong?”
My fingers throb from how hard I’m digging into his arm, and when the contraction begins to fade, I finally let him go. Damn it, I really wanted to do this for him tonight. He’s been so selfless since everything went down a few months ago… Hell, he’s been selfless the entire time I’ve known him.
“Contraction,” I squeak out.
“What?” His eyes widen and he slams my door, then runs around to the driver’s side. “Are you okay?” He starts the car and peels away.
A sudden rush of moisture leaks out from between my legs, and I press my lips together before telling him, “Yeah, I think so.”
“What do you mean, you think so? Does something not feel right?”
Another contraction hits me… Shit, they’re like thirty seconds apart. “I’ve never had a baby before. I don’t know how it’s supposed to feel, but it fucking hurts!” I scream at him.
“Sorry, baby.” He reaches over and grabs my hand. “If I could take it away, I would.”
I bite my bottom lip as another contraction seems to roll right on top of the last one. “Fuck!”
“Jesus, they’re really close.”
“I’ve been having them all fucking day, but I wanted to do something nice for you since it’s your—”
“Jesus, fuck, Jessa. I told you I didn’t give a shit about my birthday!” He yells.
He never yells at me, and from the combination of the pain and my feelings being hurt, I cry… sob, actually. When another contraction rips through my stomach, I scream, and his fingers flex on mine.
“Shit, baby. I’m sorry. I hate seeing you in pain.”
I can’t even talk, I’m in so much pain, but thankfully we arrive at the hospital. Everything is a blur as soon as Ty rushes me into the hospital. Sweat drips down my forehead and the pressure between my legs is unexplainable. “I need to push,” I whisper to him as the nurse helps transfer me from a wheelchair to a bed.
“Okay, baby. Just hold on a second.”
“I can’t.”
“You can, Jessa. You’re strong, baby. You can hang in there.”
My head shakes and I try to squeeze everything down there together so this baby doesn’t come out, but when I feel something sliding out, I scream. “I can’t!”
A nurse yells something out about crowning, and I press my chin to my chest and push. And push. I had no idea something could hurt this bad. I just want it to be over.
Ty chants encouragements and praise, but suddenly nothing hurts anymore and the only thing I hear is the cry of a baby. My baby… our baby.
“Holy shit,” Ty whispers. “Baby, you did it.”
He wipes some hair off my sweaty head, and I look to see the nurse cleaning off a little… “Is it a boy or a girl?”
“It’s a girl.” She smiles, and sets our daughter on my chest. Her head is practically bald, but she’s got some peach fuzz that I hope will stay dark. Her eyes are pinched shut, so I can’t see the color, and her nose is the cutest little thing I’ve ever seen. I never knew a baby could be this small, this wrinkly. But she’s perfect.
“She’s beautiful, just like her momma.” Ty kisses her forehead, then mine, and I breathe a huge sigh of relief and finally look up at him.
“Did this just happen?”
He laughs and kisses me again. “Yeah, baby. It did.”
“Holy shit.”
Ty
Jessa sleeps, and I hold our daughter as tight as I can without squishing her. She’s so small. I run my finger along her soft cheek and smile at the slight upturn of her lips.
“I’m gonna be a good daddy, little girl. I promise you that. I’ll keep you safe. You and your momma. You two are the only things I care about.”
I never thought in a million years this would be me. That I’d be a dad. Or have a woman as good as Jessa love me and give me this chance.
“Hey.” Jessa’s bright eyes are on me and I smile at her.
“Hey, baby.”
Jessa reaches over and touches the baby’s little foot. “She’s so cute.”
“She’s beautiful.”
“I was afraid my mom wouldn’t leave,” she laughs. “Thank god visiting hours ended or we’d never get rid of her.”
“She was just excited. Your dad was, too.”
“Yeah. And Landon’ll be a good uncle. Even if he was too freaked out to hold her now, I know he’ll come around.”
I nod in agreement. “I don’t blame him. She’s so small, I’m afraid I’ll break her.”
With a small grunt of pain, Jessa sits up and scoots over. “Come here.”
Carefully, I hand her Sadie and sit down, wrapping my arms around both of them. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Giving me the best and only birthday present I’ve ever gotten.”
Jessa gasps. “You’ve never gotten a birthday present before?”
“Nah. Mom never had money for one… If she remembered, that was always what she said.”
“Oh my God, Ty. That’s awful.”
“It’s fine. I really don’t care, baby. Sadie makes up for all of it. You guys make up for every single thing I didn’t have growing up. For all the birthdays forgotten and the gifts I didn’t receive. This makes up for it all.�
� I kiss the top of Jessa’s head and then my daughter’s.
“I did get you a different present. Not sure it’ll top her, though.” Jessa raises a brow, and even though she doesn’t have a stitch of make up on, she’s never been more beautiful.
“You did?”
“Yes. It’s in my purse, can you get it?”
“I will later. I don’t wanna let you go yet.”
“Ty.” She laughs.
“Serious, baby. Let me hold my girls for a little bit.”
She sighs. “Fine.”
We sit like this for about a half an hour before Sadie fusses. Jessa changes her diaper and has to have a nurse come in to help her get Sadie to latch on so she can nurse, but when she finally gets it, Jessa demands I open my present.
I reach into her purse and pull out a small box with a blue bow on it. “What is this?”
“Open it.”
After untying the bow, I open the box and see a ring. A black band. “Thanks, babe.”
“Do you even know what it is?”
“A ring. I like it.”
“Ty,” she huffs.
“What?” I look up at her. She has tears in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“It wasn’t supposed to go like this.”
“What are you talkin’ about?” I close the box and toss it on the bed by her feet.
“It’s an engagement ring!”
“Come again?” I ask.
“I was going to propose to you at dinner.”
My heart clogs my throat, and I get a little dizzy before I sit next to her. I get distracted for a second by the beauty of watching her feed Sadie, but then focus. “Baby, I was gonna propose to you tonight.” I dig a ring out of my pocket and hold it up to her.
She gasps, and the tears she was holding back fall onto her cheeks. “You were?”
“Yeah. I thought that you agreeing to be my wife would be the best birthday present ever, but then you had to go and one up me by having our baby early and trying to propose to me.” I chuckle and she laughs too. “Love that sound, Jessa.”
“I love you.”
“So will you?”
She nods and I slide the princess cut ring on her finger. “Of course I will. I want it so bad, and I didn’t want to wait any longer; that’s why I bought you that one.”