“What?” I ask, my mouth dry, my tongue thick. “Where is she?”
Noah smiles at me. “She’s outside in the room with your mother, Cooper, her father, and some chick who looks like she drank way too much fucking coffee.”
There’s a knock on the door again. The one who came in before asking if I was read my rights comes back in. “Hey there, sorry to interrupt. I’m Mick Moro. There has been a development in the case,” he says, sitting next to Noah.
“What development?” Noah asks, sitting up now.
“We have a video putting you not at the scene of the crime. In fact, the video shows that you snore like a fucking hog.” He smiles at us. “You owe your woman more than you know. She just saved your ass. Although I will say there’s no way this was going to stick. She couldn’t identify you in a line-up. Plus, her description of you didn’t even add up.” He shakes his head. “I’m sorry that you got dragged into this,” he says, rapping his fingers on the table. “Hang tight, we should be able to let you out of here soon.”
He closes the door.
“Well, my work here is done. I’ll be billing Cooper more than I’m worth.” Noah slaps the table, walking out.
I sit here, looking at my hands that are still shaking with fear and anger. My head is down as I think of the mess this is going to make for me, but most of all for Karrie. A tear escapes as the door opens again. This time when I look up it’s into the eyes of the woman who saved me without even knowing it.
“Baby,” I say, getting up while she runs to me and buries her face into my chest. Her body shakes with the sobs that are coming out of her while her hands claw into my back as she bunches the shirt in her fingers. “It’s okay.”
“I’m so sorry it took so long,” she says in between sobs. “I forgot about the video.”
I bring her so close to me I want it to be like she is in my skin. “Baby, I didn’t want you to drag yourself into this mess.”
“Drag me into this mess?” she says, letting me go, leaning back. “What the fuck did you think I would do, Matthew?”
“Obviously nothing is what I thought you would do.” I shake my head. “You think I wanted your name to be linked to this garbage? Never.”
“You know, I don’t know how it is that I can go from loving you to hating you in a split second.”
“You love me?” I ask her. I’ve told her a bunch of times. Okay, yes, she’s been asleep, but...
“She loves you so much she went toe-to-toe with me and told me that if I didn’t choose you to basically fuck off.”
I look at the door where Doug stands with Noah.
“Did she now?”
She rolls her eyes at me.
“He’s exaggerating a bit,” she says while she relaxes in my arms.
“I love you,” I tell her quietly. “I love you so much that my heart hurts when you're not there. I love you so much that every breath I take is for you.” I kiss her lips. “Thank you for saving me and loving me enough to want to stand by and hold my hand. And especially thank you for taping me while I snored.” I grab her while Jackson comes in.
“Okay, you are free to go.” He nods at me. “We fixed it up that you can leave out the back since the front has now become a media nightmare. They are saying that the mayor has to come down and make a statement.” He shakes his head. “This is one time I’ll be glad to rub it in Martinez’s and Mabie’s faces.”
I thank him and walk toward the door where we make a quick getaway, the press oblivious to anything that’s going on. We go straight to the airfield where a private plane is waiting.
“Your parents will be coming with us,” Doug says from the front seat.
I nod to him, looking out the window while Karrie sleeps on my shoulder. When we get to the tarmac I wake her up so she can get out of the car. When I hold out my hand to her, she takes it, coming down from the SUV.
“I don’t feel so well,” she says while her father closes his door. “I think—” It’s the last thing she says before her legs give out on her and she collapses in my arms.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Karrie
“I don’t give a shit who you call. I want her to be checked by someone as soon as we get home.” I open my eyes slowly, taking in Matthew’s face almost turning red. I’m lying down on the plane.
“Matthew, you need to calm down.” Parker is beside him, trying to calm him down. Cooper stands behind Parker on his phone.
“What is going on?” I say, my throat dry. Matthew rushes to the couch that I’m lying on, getting on his knees in front of me. My father, who is sitting in a chair beside it, comes to me also.
“You fainted,” Matthew says while the team doctor pushes him out of his way. Matthew just glares at him while he takes my arm to check my pulse.
“She is probably just tired and hungry. Today was a big emotional day. She just needs rest and a good meal.” Parker tries to say from behind Matthew now that he is hovering.
“I want an ambulance waiting for us in New York when we land.” He looks at my father, who only nods and feeds into his craziness.
I try to sit up, but my head spins, so I lie back down. “That’s crazy. Your mother is right. I’m exhausted and hungry. How long till we leave?”
“We are ten minutes from taking off. We should be home in about forty-five minutes,” my father says from his chair, his face also pale. I reach my hand for him and he takes it, so I squeeze his, offering him a little bit of I’m okay. “Patrick, the team doctor, is going to travel with us.”
The flight attendant comes to tell us we are cleared for takeoff so to buckle in. I try to sit up in order to buckle up, but Matthew’s voice stops me. “Don’t you dare move a muscle.” He comes to the couch, picking up my feet and buckling himself in, holding on to my feet. “You aren’t going anywhere,” he says, looking at my father, who gives him another nod.
Parker and Cooper sit on the two chairs by the table with Patrick.
“I’m okay, Matthew,” I say quietly. He doesn’t say anything to me, only looks at me with his eyes almost glossy.
“Just don’t, okay,” he says to me then averts his gaze.
I just nod at him.
Within fifteen minutes, the flight attendant comes out and has some soup for me. I sit up and eat it, my stomach feeling so much better.
“I feel so much better,” I say loudly, hoping someone will be
listening.
Parker looks up from her phone and smiles at me.
The wheels touch down and we are coming to a stop. I turn to put my feet on the floor to get up only to be stopped by my father, who puts his hand on my shoulder.
“Honey.” He smiles at me, putting my face in the palm of his hand.
“Do me a favor. Just let him take care of you.”
I turn to Matthew, who is bending over to carry me out of the airplane.
“You know this is ridiculous and I’m perfectly okay. Patrick, tell them my vitals are normal,” I say over Matthew’s shoulder.
Walking down the steps of the airplane, I take in the two blacked out SUVs with an ambulance waiting for us. “Are you for real? This is so pushing the limit, Matthew, even for you.” I don’t say anything else because I hear squealing and see Vivienne running from one of the SUVs.
“Oh, Mon Dieu,” she says, coming to me, her face shielded with worry. “I was so worried when Matthew texted me.”
I glare at Matthew and then back at Vivienne. “I’m fine. I fainted.”
He walks us to the ambulance where he places me on the gurney they have waiting.
“In all my life I’ve never wanted to kill you more than I do right in this minute, Matthew Grant. Parker!” I yell, turning my head to her. “Please tell him.”
But she walks up to me, grabbing my hand. “Honey, just do as he says and then we can scold him after.”
Matthew is smiling next to Cooper, who has his arms crossed over his chest.
“I have never,” I say under my breat
h. “I can’t even tell you.” I look at my father. “And you.” I point to him. “I quit.” Then I look back at Matthew. “You move out of the house.” I don’t have time to say anything else. Instead, I’m loaded in the ambulance with Matthew getting in with me. I see Vivienne standing next to my father, who has a hand around her shoulders, and Parker is being hugged by Cooper, all of them waving at me. “After this I’m not talking to you, FYI.” I almost pout.
The technician is now taking my blood pressure. “It’s a touch high, but that’s to be expectant after a trauma.”
“A trauma? I fainted. There was no trauma.” I can’t say anything else because he slaps the back of the box, giving the driver the signal to start driving. The sirens go on and I glare at Matthew. “Ridiculous.”
We get to the hospital with a nurse opening the back of the cab while Matthew steps out and she waits for the EMT to pull out the gurney. “Female fainted, sick for the last couple of weeks, might be dehydrated. Blood pressure was a tad high.”
“If you check me now I might be skyrocketing,” I mumble to the nurse, who just smiles at me. They place me in a room right away, where she takes my blood pressure and smiles.
“Just a tad high. You can wait outside while I take her blood,” she tells Matthew.
Matthew stands in the corner, his legs open, his arms crossing over his chest. “I don’t leave her side.”
She smiles at me while I roll my eyes. “Can I call security on him?” I ask her while she flashes a light in my eyes. “I fainted, because I was hungry.”
“The doctor will be right in. I’m going to need a sample of urine.” She puts the cup in my hand. “Let me get a wheelchair.”
“Oh, for God’s sake. I can walk.” I throw my legs over the bed, blocked by Matthew. “Ugh, fine, he can carry me. But I swear to God, Matthew, if you don’t leave me alone in that bathroom while I pee I will cut you in your sleep.”
I go to the bathroom where he places me on the floor and steps out. I finish peeing and stand up, my legs a little shaky, so I hold on to the wall, but I don’t say anything. The door opens as soon as I flush.
“You done?” he asks, picking me up and grabbing the container in my hand.
“Matthew, I didn’t even wash it off. I peed on that.”
His grunt is infuriating.
The next person through the doors is the doctor, who is tall, with blue eyes and black hair. He is in scrubs and come a couple of months ago he would be my type of person. “Hi there. I’m Dr. Founder.” He smiles while he looks over the chart. “So you’ve had fainting spells?” he asks, coming to me.
“No. I fainted. Once. I’ve been feeling a little under the weather. I think I caught a bug and it’s just taken a couple of days to get over it. Plus, I had a busy day today and I didn’t eat. Now that I have eaten, I feel fine.”
“How long did you faint for?” he asks while he flashes a light in my eye also.
“A couple minutes,” Matthew says to him.
“Did you hit your head?” he asks.
“No, I caught her while she was going down,” he says while the doctor writes into the pad.
“Everything looks okay. I’m going to wait for the blood and urine results. I’ll let you know as soon as I get them,” he says, walking out.
I put my head back, closing my eyes. “I could be home right now on the couch.” I open one eye while there’s a knock at the door. Parker and Vivienne walk in.
“Hey,” Parker says, going to Matthew’s side to squeeze his arm then coming to the bed. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?” she asks with such worry.
“I’m fine.” I try to reassure her.
Vivienne sits on the bed next to me. “You really know how to steal someone’s thunder.” She smacks my arm, laughing. “You couldn’t let some attention go to Matthew and his felony!” She turns to wink at Matthew. “Je savais que c'était une connerie.” I knew it was bullshit, she says to us.
The door opens now and Cooper walks in with I think every snack that the vending machine sells in his arms. Walking to the bed, he puts it all where my feet are. “That’s from the vending machines in the waiting room. Your father went to the vending machines in the cafeteria.”
“How?” I ask Parker. “How do you survive?”
She just shrugs. “You get used to it a bit, then you just reel them in a bit.” She hugs Cooper around his waist. “If it gives him peace of mind, I just do it.”
My father walks in with the same state as Cooper did. “Here, I could only get these. The machine ran out of change, so I have my assistant coming down with more snacks.”
I groan out loud while Vivienne laughs and starts going through the food. “C’est come L’Halloween.” It’s like Halloween, she says.
I lean forward, grabbing a pack of chips and a Gatorade. “There, happy?” I ask the room when another knock on the door makes us stop. The doctor walks in with the nurse following him.
“We have the results,” he says, looking at his feet and then back up.
Parker inhales deeply while tears come out of her eyes. Matthew pushes his way past everyone to get to me.
“If you will excuse us while we have a private conversation with Karrie. You can wait outside and she will call you in as soon as she is ready,” he says as I look around the room.
Parker has tears pouring over her lids, as well as my father, who looks paler than Casper the Ghost. Vivienne is wiping away a tear from the corner of her eye.
“It’s okay. They already think I’m dying. You have my permission to continue and give me the news.” As I say that my stomach starts to turn. I don’t know why I’m expecting him to tell me I’m going to die in six months. My palms get sweaty as Matthew grabs one and kisses it.
“I love you,” he says to me.
“Well,” Dr. Founder starts, “we have your results and you’re pregnant.” The second the words come out of his mouth, my ears start to ring. My neck starts to get hot again.
Parker is smiling and has her hands together. Vivienne gets up off the bed to high-five Matthew. Cooper is standing there, holding on to his wife with the biggest smile I’ve seen him make. My father walks over to Matthew, slapping him on the shoulder, then leaning over the bed, he kisses me.
“Your mother would be so proud of you,” he says, making tears start to fall. My hand goes automatically to my stomach.
“There has to be a mistake,” I say out loud. “I’m on the pill. Tell them, Matthew.”
The nurse chimes in, “The pill is not accident proof.”
I shake my head in shock. Matthew comes to sit by my side on the bed. He takes my face in his hands. “I love you so, so much.” He kisses me. My hands go on his. “We are going to have a baby,” he says, letting go of my face, his hand going straight to my stomach. Leaning down, he talks to my stomach. “I love you so, so much.” Then he addresses the doctor. “So does she stay in here for nine months or do we get moved?”
Cooper laughs out loud while my father puts his hand on his mouth. “No, we will be doing an ultrasound in a bit and then she is free to go home.”
Matthew gets up, his stance bigger than before. “But she fainted. She can’t be home. She needs care.”
“Matthew, love.” Parker walks to his side. “It’s normal. Now I’m going to go to the house and take care of everything and make sure you have food in the fridge. What is your favorite food?” she asks me and turns to Cooper. “We should get decaf coffee while we are out.” She leans down and kisses my cheek. “I couldn’t pick someone better for him.” She walks to Matthew and grabs his face and drags him down, “I’m so proud of you.” She kisses his cheek while Cooper goes to him and grabs him around his neck, bringing him in for a hug.
“You're going to be such a great dad,” he says, and it’s then that I see Matthew blink away tears.
“Je serai la marraine.” I’m going to be a godmother, Vivienne says while she kisses me on the cheek. “Now that I know you're not dying. We shop, oui?�
�� She hugs me. “Je t’aime fort.” I love you so much, she says while walking out and hugging Matthew.
My father is the next one to leave. “I will make all the arrangements for the next couple of weeks,” he says to me, and I’m too shocked to ask him what arrangements. He hugs Matthew and then walks out of the room, leaving Matthew and I alone finally.
“What just happened?” I ask him, wondering if he’s in shock as much as I am.
He walks to me, sliding into bed with me, turning me to face him. “You’ve just made me the happiest man in the world. Well, for now. You still have to become my wife, but...” He kisses my lips. “We are going to be parents. We made a baby.” He smiles at me, his smile radiating. “I promise you that I will never let you or him down,” he says to me.
“Him or her,” I correct him, but knowing my luck and his sperm, all I’m going to have are penises running around the house.
“I promise you that I will always put your needs and their needs before mine.”
“Theirs? One Matthew at a time, please.” I cuddle closer to him.
“I love you,” he says. “I never thought I would find my piece till you.”
My hand goes to his face.
“You, Karrie, you’re my missing piece, the piece I need to live, the piece I need to breathe, the piece I need to go on.”
“I love you, too.” I lean forward to kiss him, his hands pushing me close to him. “We are going to have a baby,” I finally say out loud.
“Knock, knock, knock,” someone says, walking in backward, bringing in a big white machine.
“Karrie Cooney?” she asks and I nod.
Matthew gets off the bed to stand next to me while the technician sits on the stool she has brought from the corner of the room.
“So I hear we are going to see a baby today?” She smiles, sitting down and turning on some buttons. “When was the last day of your menstrual cycle?” she asks, and I start counting in my head.
“Oh my God, it’s been six weeks. How did I not know?” I smack my head. “It must have been all the traveling. I didn’t even notice.”
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