by Cassy Roop
Marisa, a master. That is the only word I can use for you. Thank you for my beautiful covers as well as playing student/teacher with me as you teach me your craft and help me chase my dream of being an artist. Your kindness and thoughtfulness is so very much appreciated. Amazing doesn’t even begin to describe you.
Judi and Kiki, my kickass PR reps from Concierge Literary Promotions, Thank you for taking a chance on this unknown girl and helping me on my path to becoming an author. Your support, love and guidance during this long journey warms my heart more than you could ever imagine. I love you ladies heart and soul!
Cassy is a work at home mom where she spends her days surrounded by children running her in-home daycare. She loves to cook, read and spend her nights and weekends being a Les Mills group fitness instructor. She has been a lover of all things romance from a very early age. She hopes and dreams that everyone can receive their happy ever after. A good ol country girl at heart, she was born and raised in Arkansas and now resides in Charlottesville, Virginia with her husband and three young children.
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Continue reading for a sneak peek!
There isn’t anything on God’s green Earth that would ever prepare you for that moment when your heart leaps from your chest. To feel like you have been kicked so hard in the gut that your body is void of all air and oxygen. Nothing prepares you for your world to stop as the meaning of your life falls to the floor like a wilted flower petal floating through the air to meet it’s fate upon the ground. I couldn’t fucking move. I couldn’t breathe. In that very moment, my reason to exist vanished right before my eyes like a sick fucking magic trick.
My ears rang from the loud crack of thunder that still reverberated throughout the courtroom. People all around me were in a frenzy, like a herd of fucking sheep when a wolf was in their midst. I didn’t care that the judge had just dismissed all of the charges against my best friend and me, I didn’t even care that the only woman who I had ever trusted as a friend; a woman who I helped escape her demons and give her a better life, had betrayed me worse than I thought Ashley had.
There was no clear path for me to get to her, but I lifted my heavy-as-lead feet anyway and leaped over the table. Running on nothing but pure adrenaline, I moved as fast as humanly possible until I approached where Ashley was lying on the floor. Two police officers were near her and I shoved my way through them to get closer. I have never felt panic like this before. I have never felt pure unadulterated terror like I did when I saw Victoria aim her gun at Ashley and pull the trigger.
Her eyes were closed as I dropped to my knees next to her lifeless body. My hands trembled as I lifted her head and placed it in my lap, stroking her gorgeous blonde hair.
“Ashley, Ashley, baby, wake up,” I begged as my fingertips grazed the smooth porcelain skin of her cheek. Her mouth hung slightly open, but it was enough to feel the warmth of her breath as I leaned closer placing my ear near her soft, rosy lips. My heart damn near skipped a beat when I saw her chest rising and falling.
She is breathing, thank God.
All around me, it was chaos. Police had flooded in, and the noise level would have been deafening to anyone’s ears, but all I could hear was silence as I concentrated on my entire world that was laying in my arms unconscious. The only comfort I received was from the small pulse of her heart beat that tapped against my finger as I touched her wrist.
“Ashley, baby, please...please wake up,” I continued to beg, but was only met with silence.
“Oh my God! Ashley!” Kelly frantically cried as she and Knox ran over to where we were. The terror and fear that Kelly’s face held mimicked my own, and I knew exactly what she was feeling at that moment.
“Nic, is she ok?” Knox asked just as concerned.
“I don’t know. I can’t get her to wake up,” I replied before I leaned in and pressed my lips to her forehead and relishing in the warmth that I felt there.
“Well, where was she hit? Why isn’t there any blood?” Kelly said rapid firing her questions with nervous fervor.
Blood. There wasn’t any blood. I used my hands to feel all around her body, trying to move her as little as possible. Moving aside her clothing, I frantically tried to find where it was she was wounded.
“Knox, Nic, is Ashley ok?” Toby asked as he ran over and joined us. “She hit her head pretty hard when she fainted.”
“What?” Kelly, Knox, and I said in unison. Toby looked at the three of us like we had just streaked through the courtroom naked.
“What the fuck are you talking about, Toby? She was fucking shot!” I said a little accusingly.
“No, she wasn’t, Nic. Kleinfield was. He jumped in front of Victoria just in time. You didn’t see it?”
“What the fuck? She wasn’t shot?” I asked to no one in particular. It was then that I looked around and finally paid enough attention to what was going on around me. First responders were everywhere as they frantically worked to lift Rownan up on a stretcher. The ghostly grey hue of his skin was haunting. I could tell by the nervous looks on the EMT’s faces as well as by looking at Rownan’s that he wasn’t in good condition. As much as I have despised him for thinking that he got to be with Ashley when I didn’t, I have also never been more thankful for him. He saved the one person in this world who owned me so completely, the beautiful woman who was carrying a part of me inside of her. EMT’s ran over to us to get to Ashley.
“Sir, you are going to have to let her go so that we can examine her,” one of the paramedics stated.
“You can examine her, but I’m not fucking moving,” I bit back. There wasn’t anything that anyone could do to peel me away from Ashley’s motionless form, and I wasn’t allowed to let some pansy ass kid tell me otherwise.
“How old is she?” the other EMT said as he knelt down next to Ashley placing a stethoscope to her chest.
“Twenty-six,” Kelly answered from beside me as she nervously shifted from one foot to the other.
“Does she have any medical conditions that you know of?”
“She’s pregnant.”
“Are you the father?”
“Of course I’m the father!” I yelled a bit too angrily.
“Nic, come on, man. The kid is just trying to do his job. If you want what is best for her, let them do what they have to do,” Knox said as he laid a hand on my shoulder. I knew he was right, but the thought of leaving her, not touching her, sent more fear and anguish into my already frantically beating chest. I was afraid that if I let her go, she would leave me—leave this earth, and that was not something that I could live with.
The paramedics worked to assess Ashley until another ambulance arrived, with another stretcher, to take her to the hospital. When she was finally placed on the stretcher, one of the police officers that was standing nearby placed a set of handcuffs on one of her wrists and attached the other one to the metal bar on the side of the stretcher.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I asked as I shoved his hands away from her. My pulse increased and my face heated with anger.
“Ms. Woodson is under arrest. The fact that she is going to the hospital doesn’t change that, Mr. Michaels,” the officer asserted.
“Nic, if you don’t want to get arrested again, let them do their job. Ashley will get the care she needs, but they have to follow procedure and you need to let them,” Toby said as he tugged my shoulder back to keep me from pounding the face of the officer.
Reluctantly, I stepped back knowing that me going back to jail for assaulting a police officer would not help Ashley any.
“I’m going with her to the hospital then,” I stated as we followed t
he EMTs and police officers out to the awaiting ambulance. I stepped my foot onto the bumper of the rescue vehicle, attempting to climb inside to ride with Ashley to the hospital and was stopped by one of the EMTs.
“Sir, are you her husband or family?”
Shit.
“No, but…”
“Then I am afraid that you are not allowed to ride with her.”
“Fuck that, I’m not leaving her.” I stated with sternness in my voice.
“Sir, I’m sorry, but it is policy,” the kid said a little nervously as I could feel the veins in my forehead protrude from my anger.
“What the fuck is with everyone and their goddamned policies and procedures? She is pregnant with my child!” I roared not able to get control of my anger. The thought of being separated from her, even if only briefly, was causing severe panic to my system.
Knox and Toby approached me and pulled me down from the ambulance, keeping me from barreling past the EMT and forcing my way in.
“We will follow her to the hospital. Come on, man,” Toby offered. Grudgingly stepping down, I took one last look at Ashley lying on the stretcher as the doors to the ambulance closed, and it sped off towards the hospital.
So much has changed in my life in the last few months. I fell in love with a woman when I always promised myself that I wouldn’t let myself feel. I have fallen deeper and harder for Ashely than I think any man has for a woman, ever. Even when I thought she had betrayed me, my every heartbeat still existed for her. I never stopped loving her or wanting her. When I looked at her, I could see a future. Now, as I watched the ambulance take the love of my life to the hospital, a cold chill ran down my spine. I was fearful for her and my unborn child. I was fearful for what my future—our future could bring.
My head hurt. The constant buzz circulating through my brain felt like a hundred jackhammers going at once. The constant, steady beep that surrounded me was like a stabbing pain every second.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
I kept my eyes closed; fearing that if I opened them my head would hurt worse. The searing pain was hard enough to deal with as it was.
Where am I? What is going on?
Memories began to flood in as I was taken back to the scene in the courtroom. Relief overcame me as I remembered the judge announcing that Dominic and Knox were free of all charges, but it was soon replaced with dismay as reality sank in. The jolt to my synapse of Rownan announcing that he was an FBI agent and was investigating Victoria and her brother, Officer Russell, distracted me only momentarily from the incident that played before my eyes in panoramic view. Victoria running over and grabbing Russell’s gun. Her aiming the gun at me and the fear I felt as I stared down the barrel. It all happened so fast that I was having a hard time remembering what happened.
I do remember hearing the piecing thunderclap of the gun as Victoria pulled the trigger and the last images of Dominic’s face as he ran toward me before everything went black.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
They were coming faster now as I struggled to replay the scenario over and over in my mind. The sound of each pulse sent a drumming throb into my skull. I could hear faint voices as I slowly tried to wake my body from its unconscious state. Fear paralyzed me as my thoughts drifted to the baby.
Oh God. Is the baby ok?
It took every single ounce of strength I could conjure to try and wake up. My chest constricted and I found it hard to breathe as the panic of not knowing what happened to me and the baby set in.
Suddenly, I bolted up right gasping to bring oxygen into my lungs. The light pierced my eyes and I slammed them shut as I covered them with my hands.
“Ashley, oh God, Ashley!” Kelly’s concerned voice sounded from in the room as I felt her rush to my side. My mouth was dry and felt like sandpaper as I tried to open it to speak.
“The baby, where...where am I?” I managed to crack out through the desert in my throat. A warm, strong hand enveloped mine, and I turned toward the source, peeking through the slits in my eyes to find Dominic next to me. Through the blurry vision of my eyes and the pounding of my skull, I could still make out the troubled look on his face.
“Ashley,” he whispered my name on the tip of his tongue like a prayer as he brought my hand up to his mouth. The warmth of his lips as they brushed ever so lightly across my knuckles allowed my body to relax slightly as I took in the surroundings of the hospital room. I tried to move the hand that was not being held by Dominic, but was surprised when I was met with resistance from the metal handcuffs that confined me to the bedrail.
“What the…”
“Oh, good. You are awake Ms. Woodson,” a deep voice echoed into the room. I glanced up to take in the sight of the slightly older doctor as we wrote on a clipboard with concentration.
“Do you mind if I examine you?” he asked in a gentle voice. I nodded my head and stopped suddenly as pain flashed behind my eyes.
“You must have one nasty headache, Ms. Woodson. I’ll try to get you some relief for the pain, but we are limited to what we can give you with your pregnancy. Lie on back for me.” I did as the doctor requested as relief and comfort encompassed me in succession.
Pregnancy. He said pregnancy. Thank God.
I allowed my body to melt into the hospital bed as the doctor pulled a penlight from his pocket and turned it on.
“This may hurt a bit, but I need to check the dilation of your eyes as it reacts to the light.”
He lifted one eyelid and held it open as he shined the light into my eye. The pain was uncomfortable as he repeated the task with my other eye.
After clicking off the light, he wrote on the clipboard he had sat on my tray table before turning to me.
“Your dilation is good. You have a concussion, which is why your head probably feels like a steamroller tried to flatten it. We will need to keep you under observation for about twenty-four hours before we are required to release you to the authorities. I’ll send a nurse in with some medication as well as something for you to drink,” he said before squirting some sanitizer on his hands from the dispenser by the door before exiting.
“Ashley, I am so glad you are awake. You had us really worried,” Kelly said pulling a chair up beside my bed and sitting down. Her hand stroked across my forearm, a comforting gesture she had always done whenever I was stressed or worried. I placed my hand on top of hers and gave it a squeeze. Words couldn’t describe how relieved I was that she was ok. Our relationship had been strained for the last few months as I fought against Asher, Drake, Russell, and Victoria to keep them all safe, but she has always been and will always be by best friend.
I stared at the bandage on her neck and she took notice. Kelly lifted a shaky hand to her throat.
“It’s ok, Ash. I’m fine. That doesn’t mean I’m still not angry with you for all of the stress you put yourself under. You should have told us. We could have helped you,” she scolded me.
“She’s right, Ashley. You should have told us. Dammit, this whole damn time I thought you had betrayed me—took my heart and ripped it to shreds. Fuck. I am so mad at you. How could you put yourself through that?” Dominic chastised as he stood up from his chair and paced back and forth beside my bed. I watched as the tension in his shoulders increased and his hands flexed trying to keep control of his anger. I turned to Knox and Kelly.
“Would you guys mind giving me a few moments with Nic?” I asked. They both nodded mentioning something about going down to the cafeteria to get some coffee. The nurse came in as Knox and Kelly were walking out. She placed a large cup of water on my tray table and lifted the cord on my IV before sticking a needle in, giving me a dose of medication.
“There you go, sweetie. That should help with your headache,” she said after removing the syringe and throwing it in the biohazard bin. “I’ll be back to check on you later.”
“Thank you.”
She walked out of the room and I reached
for the cup of water and took several large gulps. The coolness of the water felt wonderful as it coated the back of my throat.
The silence between Dominic and I was deafening. The only audible sound other than the beeping of the machines I was hooked to was my throat as I swallowed the cool, crisp water. Dominic stood facing the window with his hands placed on the sill. I watched as his muscles constricted against the white dress shirt he still wore from the courthouse as he breathed in and out. His hair had grown longer, soft wisps dangled just over his eyes. His strong tanned forearms were exposed from his rolled up sleeves, and my gazed focused on his tattoo that peaked out from just underneath.
“I was so fucking scared,” he said breaking my focus. He turned from the window to face me and I took in the anguish that marred his gorgeous face. His chocolate brown eyes were ablaze as he slowly walked back over to me and sat down in the chair he had vacated earlier.
“I have never felt a greater fear, a greater terror, a greater soul wrenching panic than I did the moment that Victoria aimed that gun at you and pulled the trigger. I ran to you as fast as I could. All I could think was the worst. I don’t think I could go through the rest of my life knowing that I had lost you and our baby,” he said as he rested his palm on my lower abdomen. My heart fluttered in my chest at the intimacy of his actions.
“But dammit, Ashley, you should have told me. I could have prevented all of this. I could have saved us all the heartache and pain. You should...you should have told me.”
“I was trying to protect you, Nic. You, Kelly, and Knox. They threatened all three of you. What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t go to the police, obviously. They were corrupt.”
“You still could have come to me. I would have taken care of it.”
“Well, I’m sorry, but your life and the lives of my friends weren’t worth the risk. I couldn’t bear to lose any of you.”