by Lane Hart
“You’ve never been able to talk about her before have you?” Joselin asked as she hugged me.
“No, and I feel bad for how distant I’ve been with Kate the last several years. She just reminds me so much of her it hurts.”
“I can’t imagine how hard that was for you, that’s why I’ve tried not to talk about her.”
“You’ve really made it easier to get through the days, and help me look forward to the next ones.”
“I’m glad,” she said as she stretched up to kiss me. "So, we're coming up on a year."
I knew what Joselin was referring to. We'd decided to give our relationship a year to see how things went before I made the decision to let her turn me. I wasn't getting any younger, and I knew I wanted to be with her forever. An almost eternal forever was even better.
"I'm ready," I told her with a smile. I felt her gasp when I leaned down to her lips.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Okay, she’s seven centimeters dilated so hopefully it won’t be much longer,” Sam said, when he suddenly appeared behind me and Joselin. He was fidgeting more, and his hair was sticking up from the amount of times he’d run his hands through it.
“You okay, Sam?” I asked. He’d married Kate, and been there for her during the whole pregnancy, even though it wasn’t his baby and he hated the son of a bitch who got her pregnant. I wish I could kill the bastard all over again.
“Yeah, really, I’m okay with everything, just worried to death about her. Actually, I just thought of something else Liz said to us the day she told us she was pregnant. Come on, so I can tell Kate too,” Sam said as he walked back to the bedroom.
“Kate, you still hanging in there baby?” he asked as soon as we walked in the room. He went over and climbed up beside her on the bed.
“Yeah, the contractions are coming quicker, and are a hell of a lot more painful, but it’s not too bad.”
“Good. So, I just remembered something your mom told us, and I’ve always thought about it over the years. She was a really sweet and wise woman. When Joselin told her she was jealous of her pregnancy because the two of us could never have children, Liz said, 'You can still be a father or mother even if you can't conceive.' Well, I never understood that as much as I do now, waiting for our daughter to be born. I know it takes a hell of a lot more than genetics to be a father, and I’m really glad to have this chance with you that I never thought I’d ever get.”
“I love you,” Kate said as she looked up at him and he leaned down to kiss her.
Suddenly one of the machines in the room started beeping like an alarm, and the doctor came running in.
“Okay, don’t panic but the baby’s heart rate just dropped. She’s probably just getting tired of being squished, but Kate, I need you to lay on your left side to try and take some of the pressure off of her,” Dr. Wilson explained. The anxiety level in the room skyrocketed.
Kate rolled to her side and started crying. Sam held her hand and rubbed her arm. “It’s going to be okay. She’s fine now, right doctor?”
Dr. Wilson quietly looked over the monitors for a while before responding. “The baby’s heart rate has already started to rise, so hopefully that’s all we’ll have to do.”
I didn’t like how she had said “hopefully”. Something would have to be done if this didn’t work, but I wasn’t sure what.
Kate looked like she was hyperventilating, and I was pretty sure she was having another contraction. The fact that she was silent instead of shouting profanities made me think it was one of the worst ones.
“How are you doing sweetie?” I asked her. She looked up at me and just shook her head as a tear fell down her cheek.
“Oh Kate, I’m sorry,” I told her.
Sam couldn’t see her face from his place on the bed, so I nodded for him to change sides so she could see him and talk to him. He hopped up and moved in front of her a second later.
“Bad one?” he asked, and she just nodded. “I wish I could do something for you. It’ll be over soon baby,” he told her as she grabbed his hand with both of hers.
Two painfully horrible hours later Kate was finally ten centimeters dilated, and soon it would be time for her to start pushing. I took it to be a good sign that she wasn’t surrounded by blood.
The images that had been my nightmares for nineteen years came flooding back. All the blood pouring out of Elizabeth, knowing there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stop it.
“I need to get some air,” I told them, heading out the bedroom to the back door.
When I heard someone else come out behind me I thought it was Joselin or Sam, but it was actually the doctor.
“I heard what happened with Kate’s mother, and it wasn’t your fault.”
“I didn’t know what the hell I was doing, so yeah it was.”
“There’s a reason they make us go to school and train for so long. Giving birth is not always easy, and life-threatening complications happen regularly. You didn’t have a choice. You couldn’t have shown up with her at the hospital, or they would have both been killed. You did something right though.”
“I didn’t do anything right or she’d still be here.”
“You saved your daughter. She’s alive because you were there.”
I sighed. “We were just lucky Kate was born perfect and healthy.”
We heard Kate’s scream coming from the bedroom about the same time Joselin came to the door and told us to get back in there.
“Okay, it’s time,” Dr. Wilson said after she checked Kate. “The baby’s crowning and this is going to be the most painful part. Just focus on pushing as hard as you can and getting her out, okay?”
Kate nodded but her face was tight with pain. I went and held her free hand, with Sam on the other side. She pushed in agony for a few more excruciating minutes. I hated seeing her in pain, knowing there was nothing I could do about it.
“Okay, here comes her head. It’s out, now just one more big push and you’ve done it,” Dr. Wilson said.
The sound of a baby crying was one of the most wonderful things any of us had ever heard.
“It’s definitely a girl, and she looks like she’s healthy. Lungs are working well as you can hear, and her heart rate and color are perfect,” said the doctor.
“Oh thank God! Can I hold her?” Kate asked as she still panted and cried.
“She’s beautiful,” Joselin told us, as she helped the doctor clean the baby up and then hand her to Kate. Immediately the baby's cries began to ease.
“Oh wow! She’s amazing,” Kate said as she smiled down at her. Looking over her shoulder I saw Elizabeth’s beautiful eyes in another beautiful face. A part of her was still with us, and always would be.
“Sam?” Kate asked. “Are you okay?” she began crying harder when he didn't respond.
Sam sat paralyzed and trying to hold back his tears as he looked at the baby. I didn’t have a clue what he was thinking, or how he felt about her. It couldn’t be easy knowing another man had given her to him.
“She’s yours too. Do you want to hold her?” Kate put the baby in his arms before he could respond. He held her like she was glass, and if he so much as breathed he’d break her.
“Sam?” Kate asked, her tears steadily falling. I knew she felt guilty, and was worried about how Sam would handle actually seeing her.
“I can’t believe how much I already love her,” Sam finally said, unable to take his eyes off of the baby. I think we all heaved a sigh of relief. His fingertips glided gently over her, and her tiny fist wrapped tightly around his finger. "Oh wow, look, she's holding onto me."
“She already loves you too,” Kate told him with a smile.
“Have you decided on a name for her yet?” I asked.
“Not yet. We’ve got a couple favorites but we haven’t picked one,” Kate answered, wiping the tears from her face.
“I thought of another one. How about Madison?” Sam asked as he smiled down at her, rocking her in his arms,
and looking like a natural.
“I love it, and it fits her, doesn’t it? Madison Elizabeth West,” Kate said.
“That’s a great name,” I agreed.
“Where we met, and it all goes back to my mother,” Kate said. “Daddy, do you want to hold
her?”
“Of course.” I couldn’t help my smile as Sam handed her to me.
She blinked her beautiful teal eyes up at me and looked around, so small and perfect. She reminded me so much of Kate.
“She’s really quiet, isn’t she? I bet she’s going to be a great baby, just like her mother was.”
I looked around for Joselin since she’d been so quiet too. She was holding it together, but just barely.
“Joselin, you want to hold your granddaughter again?” I asked, and her face lit up as she came over to take her.
“She is the most precious little thing I’ve ever seen, and I’m so glad she’s healthy,” she said, smiling as she held her, a few tears slipping from her eyes. I was glad she'd have a chance to be a part of Madison’s life, and help raise her with the rest of us.
“I love you so much. Thank you for giving me a daughter,” Sam told Kate as he leaned down to kiss her.
I then looked quickly away as they became wrapped around each other so passionately, it was almost uncomfortable to be in the same room with them. I knew they were both relieved the labor was over and everyone was healthy. We'd all been worried for the past eight months.
"Kate, you seem to be doing well, are you feeling okay?” Dr. Wilson asked, interrupting their kiss.
“I’m great,” she responded with a smile.
“I can see that. Then I’ll be across the hall if you need me. I’ll check on you and the baby again in a few hours. In the meantime, you can get to know her and give Madison her very first bath. Just keep her umbilical cord dry and she’ll be fine.”
“Oh, I can’t wait! Can I have her back now?” Kate beamed as she reached for her.
“Sure, and we’ll let the three of you have some time together. Are you hungry or thirsty? Do you either of you need anything?” Joselin asked.
“Not right now, but thank you,” Kate responded as she smiled at her daughter.
“We’ll be in the living room if you need us,” I told them, then gave Kate and Madison each a kiss.
I sank down onto their living room couch exhausted and beyond relieved, with Joselin curled up beside me. Holding her we both fell right to sleep. A few hours later I woke up to a baby crying, and boy did that take me back nineteen years.
Standing up slowly from the couch so I wouldn’t wake Joselin, I went to check on everyone. I found Sam in the kitchen with Madison. She was a small bundle in the tall man’s arms, wrapped up tightly in a pink blanket. He was giving her a bottle, looking like he’d done it a thousand times before.
“How are they doing?” I asked him.
“They're great, and Kate’s finally getting some rest.”
“You look like you know what you’re doing,” I told him.
“I don’t,” he said with a smile. “I have no idea what I’m doing, but I’ll figure it out.”
“Yeah, you will.”
“Seeing her, well, nothing else matters. I thought it would hurt to look at her, knowing she’s really his. But now ... I don’t care how it all happened. I’m just glad she’s here, and I feel like in a way she’s always been mine,” he said, his eyes never leaving her.
“She's worth it all, and so much more,” I told him.
“Exactly,” Sam agreed as he looked up at me.
“I knew you loved Kate the day you told me you were willing to die for her. That her life was worth yours. That’s what Elizabeth said too, when Kate was born. Even though it almost killed me to lose her, she was right. She’s worth it, and she was just the beginning.”
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Blood Loss
Bound by Blood Book Three
By Lane Hart
Table of Contents for Blood Loss
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
COPYRIGHT
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue were created from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual people or events is coincidental.
The author acknowledges the copyrighted and trademarked status of various products within this work of fiction.
© 2015 Editor's Choice Publishing
All Rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator” at the address below.
Editor’s Choice Publishing
P.O. Box 10024
Greensboro, NC 27404
Edited by D.B. West
Cover by vocaldesign
https://www.fiverr.com/vocaldesign
Photo © canstockphoto.com
WARNING: THIS BOOK IS INTENDED FOR MATURE AUDIENCES 18+ ONLY AND CONTAINS EXPLICIT SEX SCENES AND ADULT LANGUAGE!
For the real Cynthia, a reader who inspired my heroine.
Chapter One
Jason Maddox
My lungs are on fire and my legs are cramping like a motherfucker. I still push myself harder, trying to catch up with the thieving little son of a bitch as he crosses over into another city block.
Would've been nice if the damned invincibility spell had at least made me stronger, or faster than a speeding meth-head. But nope, it just heals fatal wounds and keeps me young, so I'm not a superhero. Far from it. I'm just a warlock in hiding, pretending to be a regular man, who's trying to be a decent beat cop. Fortunately, I have a few weapons in my arsenal that the other officers in the Metropolitan Police Department don't. The tricks up my sleeve haven't been authorized, and would get me executed if discovered. Despite the risks, it just seems like a waste not to use what I was born with in order to help as many people as possible. Besides, my guilty conscience demands I try and atone for the two lives I've taken in some small way.
The breaking and entering suspect rounds another corner in his attempt to evade me. It slows him down, but has the same effect on me. Oh, but he's made the mistake I've been waiting for. We're now alone in a dark narrow alley between two tall brick buildings with no witnesses.
I reach in and feel around the padded zipper pouch under my badge, the one I recently upgraded on my standard issue police shirt. As soon as my fingers wrap around the cool glass vial containing the spell I call "The Stunner," I haul back, and fling it at the thief's head like a baseball. He might be too far away to taze, but no one can dodge my spells. Boom! As soon as the glass shatters on his skull, his entire body goes limp, right before he kisses the cement.
I slow my stride until I'm close enough to bend down over him and rub the back of his head off with the bottom of his t-shirt, removing the last traces of light blue liquid. The shards of glass are scattered around the nasty ground, blending in like they've been there for years. After I'm sure the evidence has been taken care of, I cuff his hands behind his still frozen body.
Quickly approaching foot
steps pull my head up just in time to see my partner, Bryson Lyons, stop at the alley entrance. He comes to a stop, bending over with his hands on the tops of his thighs trying to catch his breath. Hell, we both need to put in more cardio. At least I still have the body of a twenty-one year-old, while Bryson's continues to wear down and chub up. He's approaching his mid-thirties, and his hair has already started greying while his waist continues to expand. Aging sucks. Glad I don't have to deal with that shit.
"Maddox…you actually…got him?" Bryson pants, eyes wide in astonishment.
"Yeah, nice of you to finally join us, Lyons."
"How the hell…does he do it?" I hear him mumble to himself, before using his shoulder radio to ask dispatch to send a chauffeur for our new friend lying at my feet.
I reach into my other chest pouch and use my thumb to pop the cork on the vial of holy water. Bending down, keeping my arm out of Lyon's sight I start pouring. It only takes a few dribbles of the clear liquid on the limp son of a bitch's head, mixing right in with the putrid sweat running from his receding hairline. He comes to, gasping and sputtering as if surfacing from a rip current that tried to drown him.
"Welcome back Sleeping Beauty. You took quite a fall, but don't worry, there's probably nothing left in that head of yours to damage," I tell him as I stand up and straighten to my full six feet.
I slip the vial back into my pocket, and then use my forearm to wipe the sweat from my own forehead. "So, on we go," I say, then proceed to recite the required Miranda warning. "You're under arrest for breaking and entering. You have the right to remain silent, and personally I'd rather not have to listen to any of your bullshit. Anything you say or do, well, you can bet your ass it will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, and if you can't afford a decent one, a shitty one will be appointed. Do you understand these rights as they have been explained to you for what is probably the one hundredth time in your pathetic life?"