by L A Cotton
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh.” I shook my head. “Geez, guys can be so clueless.”
“Hey, right here.”
“She was prepared to make it work, Dennis. I saw it in her eyes, and you went and screwed it up.” The emotion bubbled up that quick. I had no time to push it back down, and tears trickled down my face.
“Oh, shit, Ana, don’t get upset.”
“I’m sorry.” I sniffled. “It’s the hormones. I’m a wreck.” And Jackson was in danger. I’m almost certain some of my outburst was because of that.
“I’ll go grab us a drink and check in with Jackson. Be right back.” Dennis slipped out of the room, probably relieved to get away from the hormonal pregnant woman. Less than a week ago, my life had been normal. Sure, I would have preferred my life without Braiden in it, but in the last forty-eight hours, everything had started to unravel around me.
The tears came harder. Ugly dirty sobs wracked my body until the room filled with the sounds of my pain. The regret. Blind panic. If anything happened to Jackson … I couldn’t even think about it. He had to be okay. He had to come back to me—to us—because life without Jackson was like life without air. I needed him. We needed him.
I clutched the bed sheets around me and cried until my breath grew ragged and then labored. Until the pain in my chest spread to my stomach and cramps twisted through me until my cries turned frantic.
Until nurses and doctors rushed into the room and everything went black.
~ DENNIS ~
I watched in horror as bodies rushed into Ana’s room. Of course, it was the exact moment Jackson answered his cell.
“How is she?”
“Hmm, hang on, I need to check something.”
My hand slid over the speaker as I inched toward the room. The door was ajar, but as I tried to peer inside, a nurse stepped into my view. “You can’t be here.”
“I was just here visiting. Is she okay?”
“You’ll need to wait in the waiting area.”
“Are you kidding me? I was just here. Ana? Ana?” Panic filled my voice, but the nurse refused to budge.
“This isn’t helping her. She’s going to be fine, but we need space to get things under control. Someone will come and update you soon, okay?” Her voice softened a fraction but did little to ease the storm sweeping through me.
I backed away, trying to get a glimpse of Ana. As I walked away, I realized I was still clutching the phone.
“Dennis? What the fuck is going on? Where’s Ana?”
“Ana is, hmm, she’s fine.” The words rolled out before I could decide what to do.
“Dennis,” he warned.
Shit. Who I was kidding. Ana needed Jackson, and Jackson needed to be here. Not chasing ghosts.
“Something’s wrong.”
“I’m on my way.”
Chapter 9
~ JACKSON ~
I was almost at the motel when Dennis called, but I made it back to the hospital in less than ten minutes. Thankfully, the roads were quiet. I’d known something was wrong the second Dennis hesitated. Maybe even before.
I shouldn’t have left her. It should have been me there with Ana and not Dennis. But he was the next best thing, and I trusted him with my life. He was one of the only people left in the world I trusted. And now, the person I trusted most, the person I loved more than anything, was lying in the hospital scared and alone, and I wasn’t there.
“Fuck,” I roared, slamming my hand against the wheel. The hospital came into view, and I pulled into the first empty parking spot, cut the engine, and took off toward the entrance.
“She’s okay.” Dennis strode over to me. “The nurse just came out to update me. They think Ana had an anxiety attack or something.”
“What the fuck happened?” We hurried into the building and made our way to the elevators.
“We were talking, and she got upset, so I left the room to let her cool off and call you. Next thing I know, people are rushing into her room, and I’m being ushered away.”
I raked my fingers through my hair, letting out a long breath. “But she’s okay? They’re okay?”
“Yes. They’re fine. Shit, Jackson, I wasn’t prepared for that.”
“I’m sorry, I am, but thanks. I’m glad you were here.” I was. Dennis nodded, and we exited onto Ana’s floor.
“You can go straight in,” the nurse called, but I was already gone, opening the door and raking my eyes over every inch of Ana.
“Jackson, thank god.” Her voice trembled, and I rushed to her side, taking her hand in mine and pressing my lips to her forehead.
“Jesus, you scared me.”
“I—I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened. I got upset, and then I kept thinking what if something happened to you, and my breathing went crazy. I passed out.”
“Shit, Ana. You can’t be doing that; you need to try to stay calm. For both of you.”
“You think it’s easy?”
Dropping onto the edge of the bed, I wrapped my arm around her. I didn’t care if it was frowned upon; I needed to hold her. “No, I don’t. I’m sorry. I’m just—shit, Ana, when Dennis said something was wrong, my whole world stopped.”
“I’m sorry. Once I let the thoughts in, I couldn’t stop them.”
I looked down at her and swiped the tears away with my thumb before pressing my forehead to hers. “No apologies,” I whispered. “This is our last test. We just need to survive this, and then it’s just you, me, and Emma. I promise.” My hand slipped to her wrist, brushing the barely visible scar. “The three of us. Always. Now, shh, get some rest.” I kicked my legs up on the bed and shifted beside Ana, tucking her head against me.
~
I didn’t sleep. I couldn’t. I spent the night watching Ana sleep. Every breath, each rise and fall of her chest, I drank it all in. My hand rested on her stomach to feel the occasional kick of our daughter. The nurses had tried to make me leave. More than once. But in the end, they gave up; I wasn’t going anywhere. Not until I knew she was okay.
Ana stirred beside me, and I smiled as her eyes fluttered open. Through a yawn, she said, “What time is it?”
“Early. They came in to do your vitals, but I asked for ten minutes.”
“I can’t believe they let you stay over. I didn’t think that was allowed.”
I brushed a hair out of her face and smiled again. “I can be very persuasive when I need to be; besides, no way was I leaving you.”
She glanced at the chair, and a deep frown crossed her face. “You slept all night in that?”
“It doesn’t matter.” I’d spent half the night awake just watching Ana sleep, but she didn’t need to know that. “How are you feeling?”
“Okay, I think.”
“Ana?” Twisting my body, I pulled her hand into mine.
“I’m fine.” She smiled, but it was forced. “You should go. Go do whatever you need to do. Just come back to me, Jackson. Promise me.”
“I don’t have to leave yet. There’s time.”
Ana shook her head. “No, you should go. The sooner this is over, the sooner we can move on. Just come back. You have to come back to me.” Her voice cracked, and I leaned forward, pressing my forehead to hers.
“Always,” I whispered, fighting back the tears burning my throat. Didn’t she know that nothing would ever keep me from her?
Nothing.
~
Dennis was already outside the room. He looked like shit.
“Where’d you sleep?”
“On a bench in the waiting room. A nurse took pity on me, snuck me into an empty room.”
My eyebrow arched. “Oh, really.”
“Nothing like that, jackass. How is she?” His eyes flickered over my shoulder, and my lips pressed into a tight line. Ana was putting on a brave face, and I hated that she had to.
When I didn’t reply, he added, “I won’t leave her side.”
I reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “Thanks, man. I owe
you.”
He smirked. “I might just collect one of these days.”
I didn’t ask what he meant. There wasn’t time, and besides, I had enough to deal with right now. But Dennis knew I meant it. If he needed me, all he had to do was say the word.
“So what’s the plan?”
“Head back to the motel, I guess. Get a shower, clear my head, and hope that Frankie has something because we’re running out of time.” I felt it, the storm brewing on the horizon. The notes were just the appetizer. A warning. We needed to worry about what came next.
“Check in when you know anything and watch your back. Ana’s holding it together the best she can, but if anything happens to you—”
“I know.” I didn’t want to hear him say the words. The ball of guilt in my stomach was enough.
“Let’s just hope Frankie has a name or else we’re screwed.”
Dennis watched me walk away, but at the last second, I glanced back and nodded. He slipped back into Ana’s room, and I inhaled a deep breath. Because my gut feeling was that things would get worse before they got better.
~ ANA ~
I’d wanted to tell him to stay—to let Dennis go in his place—but the words didn’t come. It would be asking Jackson to be someone he wasn’t, and I couldn’t do that to do him. I wouldn’t. So I’d kissed him again. Brushing my lips over his, I etched the memory into my mind. It wasn’t goodbye, I knew that, but it didn’t lessen the pain of watching him walk out of the room. Away from me. Away from our unborn daughter.
Dennis slipped back into the room, closing the door quietly. “Everything okay?”
I nodded.
“No more passing out on me?”
“Technically, you weren’t even in the room, Dennis.”
“Way to make me feel worse than I already do.” His eyebrows knitted together, and I let out a small laugh.
“It wasn’t your fault. I think it just needed to come out. It’s okay; everything is going to be okay.” It had to be.
“So Emma, huh?”
“You heard?”
“I may have caught a word or two. I like it.”
“Thanks.” My mouth curved into a small. It was perfect. I’d spent weeks poring over names in the numerous baby books I’d gotten. But nothing was working. And then I came across the meaning behind Emma, and I just knew.
“Do you want children?” I clapped my hand over my mouth. “Hormones, sorry,” I mumbled into my palm.
“Nah, it’s fine. I don’t know, never really thought about it. Family business is … well, let’s just say it wasn’t fun growing up in my house.”
I didn’t know much about Dennis’s family, just that the family business was somehow involved in the same ‘organization’ as Marcus Donohue and Frankie O’Connor. Jackson had once said he worried about Dennis falling deeper into things when he moved back to Stonewood. But he was an adult now, and he could make his own choices.
“Can’t you leave? You could move here, work for Jackson.”
Dennis let out a long breath. “If only life were that simple.”
“But what if—”
“Ana, I appreciate the concern, but there’s no getting out of this life for me.”
The finality in his voice shocked me. He sounded so defeated, so broken … I could only wonder what had made him that way.
~ JACKSON ~
Head pressed against the seat, I inhaled deeply, waiting.
“Jackson, that you, son?” Otis’s gruff voice filled me with a sense of relief I hadn’t felt in days.
“Yeah.”
“How’re my girls?”
I smiled. It had taken him a good few months to forgive us for skipping town without notice, but in the end, he understood. But I missed him; damn, I missed him. And V. They were my family, and now, they were thousands of miles away.
“Ana’s in the hospital.”
“What the—Jesus, boy, how many times do I gotta tell you?” I heard a commotion in the background, and then V’s voice came over the line. “Jackson? Jax, honey? What’s wrong with Ana? Do we need to pack our bags?”
“No, no, everything is fine. They’re fine; the doctors are monitoring them closely. It’s going to be fine.” Isn’t it?
“Woman, for the love of god, let me talk to the boy.” V huffed and mumbled bye, and I smiled, picturing Otis batting her away like the grumpy old man he was.
“Something’s wrong. What is it?” he said.
“How’d you know?” I slid further into the seat and sighed.
“Pfft, I’ve known you since you were just a boy.”
“He’s in trouble.”
The line went silent. Otis had eventually accepted our move to Tampa, but when I broke the news to him that Braiden and Cara were here, he didn’t take it well. In fact, he’d threatened to drive up here and take care of things. Not that he could make the drive anymore, not since coming out of remission.
“Otis?”
More silence.
“Okay, this was a mistake. I’m sorry. Tell V I love her. I’ll keep you updated about Ana.” My finger hovered over the end call button, but at the last second, he said, “What do you need?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. Frankie is looking into it.”
“Are you in danger?”
“Maybe. Shit, I don’t know.” I raked my fingers through my hair and let out a long breath. “This was supposed to be over. We came here to get away.”
“It’s him. Donohue. He’s like poison, boy. He’ll poison everything he touches.”
“Otis,” I warned, not wanting to hear this.
“You’re still blinded by your loyalty. You can’t trust him, Jackson. You should have never let him—”
“Stop.” I squeezed my eyes tight. “I need to go. I’ll be in touch soon.”
“Now, now, son, don’t—”
I hung up. It was a shitty thing to do, and V would rip me a new one for distressing Otis when she saw me. They planned to make the journey once the baby was born if Otis was well enough.
After a couple of seconds, I gunned the engine and pulled out of the parking lot, away from the woman who saved my life … and toward the guy who had almost ruined it.
Chapter 10
~ CARA ~
“Maybe we should get dressed. Jackson said he was coming back this morning, right?” I said, brushing my nose against Braiden’s arm while my fingers danced lazily over the grooves of his stomach. “God, I hope Ana and the baby are okay.”
He let out a heavy sigh. “I wish we could pretend for a while longer.”
It seemed like an odd thing to say, but I swallowed down the flash of panic rising in me. Things felt off between us. Like Braiden was slipping through my fingers. I turned to his side, pressing the length of my body against his. “I love you.”
I needed him to know I did. We’d barely caught our breath since Seattle, and now, things were spiraling out of control. I hadn’t known what to expect when we arrived in Tampa, and I hadn’t cared. I was with Braiden, and that was all that mattered. But lately, I’d been pondering life—our lives—and I wanted more for us than shitty apartments and favors from old friends.
“Okay.” Braiden stirred beside me. “I need soda and something to eat. You want?”
I pushed up on my elbow and gazed down at him, my fingers moving up his abs with a mind of their own. “I thought we were on house arrest until Jackson got back?”
“I’ll only be in the reception area. I saw a vending machine right outside. Lock the door behind me, okay?” He leaned up, capturing my lips. But too quickly, he was gone, climbing out of bed and yanking on his jeans.
“Bring me candy,” I called after him, watching him disappear out of the room as he pulled on his t-shirt.
I jumped off the bed and went to lock the door. Then I went into the small bathroom to wash up, trying to ignore the hum of anxiety running through me. Maybe I was foolish; maybe I should have cared more that someone was out there taunting Braiden, thr
eatening him. But we’d survived worse, and until there was cause to panic, I intended to act like everything was okay. Even if, deep down, I knew the worst was yet to come.
Once dressed, I made the bed, got comfortable, and switched on the television. My stomach rumbled, and I regretted not asking Braiden to get me something more substantial than candy, but I doubted my stomach would handle much. I’d hoped the first note was just an empty threat even though, deep down, I knew it was probably more. The second note sealed the deal for Braiden, and I had a feeling that if a third turned up, he would go nuclear. He didn’t like being powerless. I’d witnessed that before—seen the fallout—and it wasn’t pretty.
A knock sounded on the door, and I called, “I’m comfy. Can’t you open it yourself?” It knocked again, and I jumped up, huffing to myself. “Braiden.” My hand reached for the door handle and yanked. “You could have waited like five damn seconds.”
~ BRAIDEN ~
“Good morning to you, son. Can I get you anything?” the old man behind the desk called through the half-opened door. I glanced back at our motel room door. It was the last room on the row, the corner just visible from reception.
Meeting his inquisitive stare, I said, “No, sir, just stocking up.” I didn’t have time for small talk. I needed to get back to Cara.
Inserting a handful of coins into the slot, I picked a can of soda, some chips, and Twizzlers for Cara. She was a sugar fiend. I swore she ate that much of the stuff it seeped out of her pores, making her taste as sweet as sin.
“Hey.” Jackson appeared out of nowhere. He looked exhausted, deep lines etched into the skin around his eyes.
“How is she?”
He grimaced, the worry radiating from him. “Stable. They think it was a panic attack. This shit needs to end and soon.” He scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “Where’s Cara?”
“Back in the room.”
“Excuse me,” a voice said, and we both turned to find the old man shuffling toward us. “I don’t suppose you can help an old man like myself out?”