by Abby Blake
“Okay,” she said through her tears.
* * * *
Bryce tried not to listen, but considering the small size of the cabin and his position of the lounge, it was kind of hard to avoid. His cock had stirred at her first quiet moans, and his brain had gone into overdrive at the sound of her climax, but it was the words of love that stole his heart.
Mikayla loved her men equally. He’d seen her get excited at the sound of an incoming message not really caring which husband it came from, just happy to see them all. Bryce shifted restlessly on the sofa. His leg felt just a little better today. With the plate and screws the doctors had inserted, he was fairly certain that he hadn’t done more damage the day he’d literally dodged a bullet, but the last few days of pain had made him worry otherwise. His physiotherapist would’ve been livid to hear that he’d practically run on the damn thing when he’d barely been cleared to move at all.
He closed his eyes, hoping to feign sleep if Mikayla and Lachlan came back into the room, but a soft sound from the communicator signaled an incoming message. He glanced at the bedroom door but decided to check it himself rather than disturb the room’s occupants.
He levered out of the chair and hobbled to the console. A few button presses and an image of Matt appeared on the screen. He looked frantic, and Bryce scrambled to turn the sound down. The last thing he wanted to do would be to upset Mikayla less than an hour before her husband left.
“Lachlan,” Matt began, sounding even more frantic than he looked. “Don’t leave Mikayla with Bryce. I should’ve told you this…before, I mean a long time ago when it all happened, but I didn’t and I should’ve, but I wanted to tell you face to face.” Matt took a deep breath on the recording as if he’d just realized he was rambling. “He’s dangerous. I saw him kill a woman ten years ago. Please, just wait for me to get there. I’ll explain everything, just don’t leave Mikayla with Bryce.”
On the recording Matt ran a hand down his face, clearly beside himself with worry, and then leaned forward and the message ended. Bryce glanced over at the closed door of the bedroom. It would seem that neither occupant had heard the quiet summons or its warning. Lachlan needed to rescue Brock. A couple of days’ delay could literally be the difference between life and death. Making a decision, knowing his brothers would never forgive him despite his best intentions, he deleted Matt’s message.
Shakily he limped back to the lounge and lay down. Adrenaline buzzed his veins, and his heart pounded wildly as memories of that night so many years ago rolled through his mind once more.
Chapter Five
How did a woman with seven husbands end up alone with only a mysterious brother-in-law to keep her company? Mikayla rubbed at the ache building behind her forehead and tried to think rationally. For the past several hours she’d bounced from sorrow to fear and anger and everything in between.
Despite the fact that they were all thrilled to be having a baby, the timing of her unexpected pregnancy sucked. If she hadn’t fallen pregnant she would’ve been able to go back to the mining planet with them, and Brock wouldn’t have had to do the job of two men by himself and gotten injured, or possibly die, in the process. If the contraceptive-vaccination that slimy little pimp had given her had worked as it should’ve, she wouldn’t have fallen pregnant in the first place.
A protective hand hovered over her belly as her train of thought coalesced in her mind. Shocked at her selfish feelings she sent a prayer of apology to her baby and every deity she could think of. Her pregnancy was a blessing. They all wanted this baby. She wanted this baby and many, many more.
“Are you okay?” Bryce’s voice was so similar to Matt’s that she had difficulty answering that question without bursting into tears.
“I’m fine,” she said quickly. “Just hormones.”
Bryce didn’t look convinced, but he nodded and continued his awkward hop-limp back to the sofa from the bathroom. She hurried to move the blanket that had half fallen on the floor, and he smiled his thanks as he slowly settled into the cushions.
“Where have you been?” She blurted out the question in an attempt to distract herself from her own concerning thoughts, but when she saw the fear on his face, she almost wished she hadn’t asked. But just like Lachlan, Bryce managed to hide the emotion behind a cocky smile.
“The bathroom,” he said very seriously.
“No, I mean, where…why, I…” She trailed off, unsure how to phrase what was essentially a direct question. It was clear by his answer that he would rather avoid explaining, but that was just too damn bad. At the very least she wanted to know why none of his brothers had ever mentioned him. “Where have you been for the last ten years?” She folded her arms and waited. The cocky smile was still in place, but he seemed to be running several answers through his head.
Damn it! She was a hormonal, pregnant woman missing her husbands, and she was going to get a straight answer from this man. He must’ve seen her building fury because he answered with a half truth.
“I’ve been around. I’m not in the same type of work as my brothers, so, you know, we don’t see that much of each other.”
“And your type of work,” she said, using her fingers as quote marks for the word work, “would be what, exactly?” When it didn’t look like he was going to answer, she threw another question his way. “Matt said you’ve done some time in prison. Why?”
He looked really annoyed at her questions, and a part of her was screaming at her to back off, but a larger part wanted to know details. She instinctively felt she could trust him, but she’d been wrong once before and self-doubt started to creep into her mind. God, what if he was as dangerous as Matt said on that first day?
She shook her head as Bryce went to say something. Judging by the wicked grin, it was probably pure bullshit anyway. “Don’t worry about it. I’m going to go lie down.”
* * * *
Bryce watched as Mikayla walked into her bedroom and quietly shut the door. He’d been on the verge of telling her everything, of spilling every dirty, ugly secret to a woman he barely knew but was starting to really care about.
That was wrong on so many levels he couldn’t even begin to understand the impulse. She belonged to his brothers and certainly didn’t need to be burdened with the confessions of the family black sheep.
For hours Bryce lay on the couch and thought over every possible scenario. Even though he had absolutely no intention of telling her anything, in his heart she was the one he wanted to tell.
Hours later he woke with a start. There’d been a noise. Something he couldn’t remember, or identify, but a noise that should not have been there. Very slowly he reached under the pillow and retrieved the handgun Lachlan had left with him. Bryce flicked the safety off and then lay perfectly still hoping to identify the source of the noise that had woken him.
The low moan came again, and Bryce’s heart beat double time when he realized it was coming from Mikayla’s room. He got off the lounge but hesitated at the bedroom. The woman was pregnant and missing her husbands, she had a right to grieve if she wanted.
But then a gasping moan of pain reached his ears, and he couldn’t stay away any longer. If she didn’t need him, she could just kick his ass out. He limped to the bed as quickly as he could, almost falling to the floor when he saw her face.
Mikayla was pale, her skin almost translucent in the poor light. Covered in sweat she panted through her teeth and seemed to be trying to lie very still.
“Mikayla?” he asked as he reset the safety and tucked the gun into the back of his jeans.
“Hurts,” she managed to pant out. “When I move it hurts.”
Fear drenched him as he tried to quickly assess the situation. He didn’t know much about pregnancy but he knew abdominal pain and bleeding were very bad signs.
“Mikayla,” he said trying to sound calm, “I’m just going to lift the blankets and check if you’re bleeding.” Her eyes flew open, panic swirling in their depths, but she nodded once and
groaned again from the small movement. Working as fast as he dared, Bryce untucked the blankets from the end of the mattress and lifted them away from Mikayla. She wore a modest but pretty white nightdress that thankfully didn’t seem to show any signs of bleeding.
“Okay,” he said reassuringly, “there doesn’t seem to be any blood, but I’m going to call an ambulance just in case.” She nodded her agreement, so he quickly placed the blankets back over her and stumbled to the communication console. He contacted the medical emergency number, and a confident looking woman wearing a nurse’s uniform filled the screen.
“How can I help you, sir?”
“My wife,” Bryce said, figuring it was the easiest explanation, “is having severe abdominal pain. She’s seven, nearly eight weeks pregnant.”
“Is she bleeding from her vagina?”
Bryce shook his head. “Not that I can see, but it seems to hurt more when she moves.”
The nurse nodded as she checked something on a board to her left. “Sir, I need to send an ambulance for your wife, but your details aren’t coming up on our system.” Damn, Bryce had disabled the call ID and location function the day they got here. Lachlan hadn’t been pleased, but he’d understood Bryce’s thinking. Unfortunately, his paranoid precautions were about to cost Mikayla precious time.
“We’re in a hunting cabin about two thirds of the way up Clyde Mountain.” He gave her the address, and the nurse looked thoughtful for a moment. She pressed a few buttons on the console in front of her and then smiled with what seemed to be relief.
“Sir, we have a hovercraft heading your way. They should be there within twenty minutes. I need to get your wife’s details into the system.”
He didn’t want to delay getting treatment for Mikayla, so he rattled off as much information as he knew and then made up the things he didn’t. By the time he got back to Mikayla she seemed to be in more pain. She grabbed his hand in a tight grip, her eyes pleading with him to stay with her. They were the longest twenty minutes of his life.
* * * *
Agony tore through her abdomen every time she moved, so Mikayla held herself as still as possible, trying not to panic. It seemed to take forever for the ambulance officers to arrive, but they’d quickly assessed her, loaded her on the vehicle and sped to the nearest hospital. Even in her pain-dazed state she’d overheard words like ectopic pregnancy and emergency surgery.
“Don’t let them take my baby!” The words were barely there, but Bryce squeezed her hand in silent answer. The ambulance officers had given her something for the pain, but the tearing feeling in her gut seemed to be worse not better. She ground her teeth to stop from crying out. Somebody wiped a cool cloth over her face, and she shook her head angrily. It wasn’t fucking helping. “Get away from me!” Terror gripped her as she tried to remember why she was in so much pain.
“Matt,” she said as she realized he held her hand, “what’s happening?”
* * * *
Bryce swallowed hard. Mikayla was in so much pain she didn’t even know who he was anymore. He needed to help her, and if she needed her husband by her side, then that’s who he’d be.
“I’m here, honey,” he lied smoothly. After all, lying was the one thing he was really good at. “It’s going to be okay.” He stepped to the side as the ambulance officers moved to unload her stretcher at the hospital entrance. He squeezed her hand to let her know he was still there even though she couldn’t see him, and she held onto him like he was her only lifeline. As scared for her as he was, he felt the same way. Somehow, she was his anchor in a world suddenly too terrifying to face alone. The ambulance officers conferred with a woman for a few moments and then left quickly.
Another woman came into the small area around the bed and pushed some sort of medication into the drip in Mikayla’s arm. Almost immediately Bryce felt her grip loosen on his hand. Even though she seemed to no longer be in pain, he refused to let go.
The first woman pushed a chair closer to Mikayla’s stretcher, and even though Bryce didn’t want to admit the weakness, he perched gratefully on the edge. The pain in his leg eased considerably even though it was the first time he’d noticed it.
“Mr. Davidson?” the young female doctor asked.
Bryce nodded in answer.
“When did the pain start?” He glanced around for a clock but realized he didn’t really have any concept of time. She must’ve understood his problem because she rephrased the question. “How long was she in pain before you called the ambulance?”
He glanced down at the face of the woman who had quickly become the center of his world. Mikayla looked awful. Her skin was sallow and drawn, her hair seemed to have lost both its curl and luster, and her eyes were dull with medication and pain. He swallowed, trying to remember the question the doctor had just asked. Unable to tear his gaze away from Mikayla he said, “Only a few minutes, I–I think. She was in bed, but I heard her groan. It was only a few…a few minutes.”
He’d been in terrifying situations before, some life or death, but none had left him feeling this helpless. Again the doctor seemed to read his fear, because she pulled a seat closer and spoke to him in a low voice.
“We’re preparing an operating theatre for emergency surgery. The ultrasound imaging that they did in the ambulance showed a ruptured fallopian tube—that’s the tube that runs from the ovaries to the womb. Basically the embryo has grown in the wrong place and Mrs. Davidson requires immediate surgery to repair the damage and stop the internal bleeding.”
“What about the baby?” Bryce asked. He suspected he already knew the answer.
The doctor shook her head slowly, and he felt every organ in his body squeeze in pain.
“The important thing to remember is that the egg was in the wrong place and would never have grown into a baby. Even with all our medical advancements, there are just some things we cannot change. We’ll try to repair the fallopian tube if we can, but most times it’s damaged too badly and we need to remove it.” The doctor looked at him with sympathy written all over her face. “As long as the other tube is undamaged, she should be able to get pregnant in the future.”
An older man walked into the area, introduced himself and starting asking questions about Mikayla’s medical history. Bryce was unable to answer most of them, and it quickly became apparent that he would need to contact his brothers. He hesitated over yet another one he couldn’t answer when the name of her obstetrician popped into his head. Bryce had seen the appointment card pinned to the wall in the cabin and thankfully was able to provide the doctor’s first and last name. The surgeon said he’d contact Mikayla’s doctor and assured him that she was in good hands.
Bryce stayed in the seat as they wheeled her into surgery a few moments later.
It was probably a coward’s way out, but he convinced himself not to call his brothers until he knew for certain that Mikayla was all right.
* * * *
Mikayla woke to bright lights and strange voices. Memories of the danger that Matt had said she was in hit her full force and feeling panicked, she tried to sit up.
“Whoa,” a deep, familiar voice said as a warm hand eased her back to the bed. “You’ve just had major surgery. You need to stay still.”
“Matt?” she asked as tears filled her eyes. She couldn’t see his face clearly, but he seemed to hesitate.
“How are you feeling?”
“The baby?” she asked ignoring his question completely. He looked like he wanted to not answer her question, but then he took a deep breath and shook his head.
“I’m sorry, honey.”
She bit her lip, hard. A part of her had already known, but the loss of hope hit her hardest. Before the surgery she’d still had something to cling to, a miracle to wish for, but knowing her baby was gone and there was nothing she could do shattered her completely.
Strong arms wrapped around her upper body in an awkward hug. She clung to his strength, grateful to not be facing this alone. He held her through the
storm of her grief, through the wracking sobs and retching that came with them. He stayed with her, lending his strength as hers failed, holding her steady as her world fell to pieces. And then he held her as she slipped into restless sleep.
* * * *
Bryce felt her exhaustion. Memories, fuzzy and painful, rose up to remind him of all the reasons he shouldn’t be here. Mikayla wasn’t his to hold, but he held her anyway.
“Mr. Davidson, she should sleep for a while now. Why don’t you go grab something to eat in the cafeteria?” The nurse smiled kindly, checked Mikayla’s chart, and left the room just as quickly as she’d come. Until that very moment Bryce hadn’t even realized he’d come to the hospital without any credits. He leaned back in the chair and felt the gun he’d tucked into his waistband. Great. He’d come to the hospital with a gun and no money. If that didn’t scream criminal, he didn’t know what did.
He shook his head, trying to think rationally, when it hit him that without money, he wouldn’t be able to use a public communicator to contact any of his brothers. It didn’t help that all he felt was relief to be able to put off telling them about Mikayla and the baby for a while longer. Lachlan had trusted him to protect Mikayla, and Bryce couldn’t help but feel he’d let him down.
He closed his eyes as he tried to figure out what the hell to do next.
“Bryce?” He had no memory of dozing off, but he woke to the sound of Mikayla’s soft voice.
“I’m here, honey.”
“I lost the baby.” She said it with such anguish that he wanted to rage at the world for the unfairness. Mikayla was an amazing woman, and she deserved far better than what the universe had dished out.