Taylor dropped to her knees beside Evan as he lay on the ground writhing. Hunched over him, she touched his shoulder with one hand and his face with the other. “Evan! What’s wrong? What’s wrong, baby?” Taylor snatched her cell from the clip attached to her hip. Her fingers quivered as she dialed 911. “Oh God, what’s wrong with my baby?!”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Two days later
Zeke draped his arm around Taylor’s shoulder and peered at Evan through the glass window of the intensive care unit at the hospital. Tubes in Evan’s mouth, nose, and veins, grief pricked at Zeke’s chest like sharp needles. Suffering from kidney failure, Evan needed to have a kidney transplant in order to live. His brain working overtime, Zeke swallowed. His eyes grew watery. God, please pull Evan through this. I’m begging You, God. Please help this poor, innocent kid.
Zeke groped inwardly. How could a kid’s kidney be failing, and nobody knows? How could it get to the point where it’d become life-threatening? Were there any signs before two days ago? Any symptoms? Did the people at the group care facility notice anything different about him and just ignore it?
Right now, Evan was on a waiting list to receive a kidney. Yesterday, Zeke had informed Evan’s doctor he’d like to donate his kidney to Evan. Doctors explained to Zeke and Taylor that Zeke first had to be tested to see if he was compatible. Because Zeke and Evan weren’t blood-related, the chances of him being compatible were slim. Taylor had offered to donate her kidney to Evan as well, but Zeke had told her under no circumstances would she do such a thing. If he’d lost her due to surgical complications, he’d die. Literally.
After Zeke had told Taylor that under no circumstances would he let her donate her kidney to Evan, she’d gotten angry and tight-lipped. If she loved Evan just as much as he did, Zeke understood why she’d gotten so upset over his hard stand on the whole organ donation thing.
Taylor folded her arms beneath her breasts. “Look at him, Zeke. He’s so precious. His skin is so pale. He looks so tired.”
“After all he’s been through, he has to be tired, Taylor. There’s only so much a kid like him can take. Child abuse. Sent to the shelter to live just because you were born.”
Stress pulled the lines on Taylor’s face tight. “Considering Evan’s mother said she wanted to keep him, I’m in disbelief she hasn’t paid him a visit yet.”
“Evan’s mother turned down the money I offered her to let us adopt him, but something in my gut tells me she’s going to change her mind. His mother, Muriel, is broke. My friends in Beaufort tell me Muriel has never liked the kid. Trust me, she’s just waiting to see if I up my offer—”
“My baby!” A loud scream coming from the receptionist desk made Zeke’s eyes divert from Taylor to the lady standing at the circulation desk. Severely upset, the crying woman nodded as she spoke with the nurse. Sitting behind the circulation desk, the nurse handed the lady a tissue, then pointed her in their direction.
Grey hair and flowery dress, the wide-hipped woman with thick legs walked in their direction. Obese, she more like wobbled toward Zeke and Taylor. When she reached the doorway to Evan’s room, she gave Zeke and Taylor a sad look, then she looked at Evan from the doorway. Head tilting, the woman’s bottom lip poked out. She put her hand over her ample bosom. “Oh, just look at my baby boy.”
Astounded, Zeke thought he’d heard the lady wrong. “Are you Evan’s mother?” Zeke asked the old Caucasian woman. All that screaming she’d just done, yet the woman hadn’t a single tear in either of her eyes. What a performance.
“Yes, I am.” Dear Lord, she looks old enough to be Evan’s grandmother. She must’ve had him in her late fifties. “Seeing him like this just breaks my heart.” The woman slowly walked inside Evan’s room to go stand beside his bed. Fake crying, her shoulders shook as she looked down at Evan.
“She doesn’t look anything like I expected.” Taylor seemingly read his mind.
Zeke remained outside the room, observing Muriel from the glass window. “I was thinking the same thing.” Where are the tears, lady?
“Evan doesn’t even look anything like her,” Taylor acknowledged.
Evan must look like his father. “I know. But according to the documentation, Muriel Elliott is Evan’s birth mother.”
Taylor’s vexation was evident. “He must look like his father. I think Evan looks more like me than he does her.”
“I agree. Let’s go introduce ourselves to her,” Zeke said, leading Taylor inside the cool temperature room. Zeke’s attorney had told him Evan’s mother, Muriel, had given birth to Evan right at this very same hospital. With Don fighting for his life two doors down and Evan fighting for his life on the same hallway, Zeke fought hard to remain strong.
Brokenhearted, Zeke wanted to shake the hell out of Muriel as she stood over Evan’s hospital bed, pretending to love him. From what he’d heard, Muriel didn’t have an ounce of love for Evan in her heart.
Evan looked so at peace, even with all those tubes running every which way in his body.
Tired of listening to Muriel’s fake crying, Zeke cleared his throat. “Muriel.”
Muriel met Zeke’s gaze. “I’m Zeke Balfour. The man who—”
“Wants to adopt Evan.” Dry eyes, Muriel sniffed.
“Yes. I want to adopt Evan. This is my wife, Ta—”
“Taylor. Your attorney has told me all about you two. Nice meeting both of you in person. And thanks for your kind offer to adopt Evan. But he’s not for sale. Even if he were, he’d be worth way more money than you offered.” She placed a hand to her right, hefty bosom, then transferred her gaze back at Evan. “Worth a whole lot more.”
She wants more money. Zeke chuckled nastily inside his head. Muriel’s hand lingered up and down Evan’s arm. She put her lips to Evan’s ear and whispered. “Evan, its Mama. I’m here now.”
Disgusted with Muriel’s fake performance, Zeke fixated his eyes on the vitals machine beside Evan’s bed. His heart jostled wildly. The green numbers on the vital machine started dropping quickly. The green line going up and down on the machine flattened. Beeeep. A loud bleep came from the machine.
“What’s going on, Zeke?” Taylor’s voice cracked.
Zeke’s heart collapsed. “He’s coding. Hang in there, Evan.”
“Code blue East 516. Code blue East 516.” The emergency warning came over the intercom system. Seconds later, an emergency team of doctors and nurses scampered inside the room. The doctor said, “We need you to leave so we can work on him.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Muriel stated, standing still.
“Oh, yes you are.” Furious, Zeke jerked Muriel off her feet and carried her heavy behind out of the room. Oh God, she’s heavy.
“Put me down, you crazy fool!” Grumbling, Muriel kicked up a storm.
Zeke’s back hurt from carrying the overweight woman. I’m about to drop her. Once they got outside the room, Zeke gladly lowered Muriel to the ground, then pointed his finger in her face. “This is all your fault!”
Muriel touched her chest. “My fault? How is this my fault? He was with Taylor when this happened, not with me.”
Zeke looked over his shoulder at Taylor. Bawling, she stood at the glass window, watching the doctors and nurses try to bring Evan back. Other than Katherine, he’d never desired to slap the hell out of a woman.
“Evan didn’t start coding until he heard your voice, Muriel. Doesn’t that tell you anything?” Muriel parted her lips to speak, but Zeke held up his hand, stopping her. “The boy doesn’t feel love from you. He doesn’t want to go home with you. Do us all a favor, and give Evan up for adoption. Taylor and I love him, and we want to raise him.”
Muriel’s weight shifted. “If you want Evan, you can have him. But it’s going to cost you more than a million dollars.”
Thought so. “How much more do you want for Evan, Muriel?”
Not in the least bit concerned about Evan possibly dying inside the intensive care room, Muriel’s eyes traveled to the ceiling, then
back down to Zeke’s face. As if she were thinking, she curled a finger over her top lip. Her left brow arched. “How about five?”
“Five what?”
“I’ll let you adopt my Evan for five million dollars.”
“You’re pathetic, lady. I’ll call up my attorney, have him draw up the paperwork, and I’ll be more than happy to pay you five million dollars to adopt Evan. As of today, I want you to stay out of Evan’s life—forever. If you even think about showing your face to him after I pay you and he legally becomes my son, I’ll have you arrested for stalking.”
A smirk was on Muriel’s chubby white face. “I promise to stay away. Please make sure you tell your attorney to put this in the contract—I get the money even if Evan dies. Goodbye. He’s all yours.” Not even bothering to wait to see if Evan would pull through, Muriel began walking away.
Watching Muriel walk past the circulation desk, Zeke felt like taking off his shoe and throwing it at her round grey head. Good riddance, Muriel. Katherine and Muriel would make great friends. The two of them acted much alike. The only difference was, one was skinny and the other was hefty.
Struggling to pull himself together, Zeke walked over to stand beside Taylor. “Evan’s going to pull through this, Taylor.”
With an entire medical team trying to bring him back, the doctor gripped the handles of the defibrillator, placed the metals on his chest, and shocked him. Evan’s tiny little chest rose violently, then slammed back onto the bed.
The green light on the vitals machine spiked upward.
Taylor ran inside the room. “Is he going to be okay?”
The doctor nodded. “He’s stable for now. He’s a very strong little boy.”
“Yes. He is. He’s like me, his father.” When Zeke called himself Evan’s father, mixed emotions stirred within him. Glad that Muriel had agreed to let him and Taylor adopt Evan, he was also sad because the little guy was lying in a hospital bed, fighting for his life.
After the physicians and nurses left the room, Zeke stood on the left side of Evan’s bed while Taylor stood on the right. Zeke put his mouth close to Evan’s ear and whispered, “Evan. It’s Zeke. Your father, Zeke. Muriel has agreed to let Taylor and I adopt you.” Taylor’s watery eyes widened, her lips curved into a smile.
Zeke continued. “If you want to come live with me, Taylor, and Jaheem, you have to try and get better. You have to fight for your life. You can do it.” Aching inwardly, Zeke cupped Evan’s hand and squeezed it.
Evan’s free left hand lying on the bed jerked.
Taylor gasped. “His hand moved.” Bloodshot eyes, Taylor pointed at Evan’s hand. “Evan. If you can hear me, wiggle your fingers.”
Evan’s fingers wiggled. Taylor let loose a wet chuckle. “Thank God. You’re going to be all right, Evan. I love you so much. Mommy loves you so, so, so much.”
Zeke and Taylor lifted Evan’s hands to their lips and kissed his hands.
Long moments later, Zeke rounded the foot of the hospital bed, walked up to Taylor, and whispered, “I’m going to go spend a little time with Don. Afterwards, I’m going to stop by the attorney’s office to make sure he takes the paperwork to Muriel today. I want her out of Evan’s life as soon as possible.”
“Okay. I’ll see you later at home.” Taylor smooched her lips together, and Zeke kissed them.
Shoulders knotted, Zeke stalked down the hallways and rounded into Don’s room. Still on life support, Don’s chubby face had turned darker since he’d seen him on yesterday. All alone inside the cold room, stress punched Zeke’s gut.
“Don, man. I’m here again. I wish you’d tell me who did this to you.” Too sad to describe, Zeke’s eyes roamed over Don’s face.
Don had said on the phone right before he’d been shot that he had a photo of the members in the Southern Mafia gang. Well, when the police arrived at Don’s office, the photo was nowhere to be found. Since then, he and Taylor had taken a DNA test to see if Broderick’s son was theirs, and it turned out the little boy wasn’t any relation to them.
Whoever did this didn’t want me to find out who has Zavier. Don is here because of me. Because I hired him to take on my case to find my son. Damn. “I’ll be back tomorrow, man.”
Weighted down with problems, Zeke stalked out of the room. Something inside his mind told him he needed to hire a security guard to protect Taylor when he was not around. He needed to install cameras inside the house for her protection as well. As soon as he got a chance, he’d do exactly that.
Chapter Thirty
“How does that feel?” Zeke asked, driving his stem into Taylor’s drenched opening as she lay on her stomach the following afternoon.
“Wonderful,” Taylor purred. Circling her hips, Taylor slid her hand between the mattress and her hairy sex. She slipped her fingers to her tingling clitoris and began rubbing circles on the engorged substance.
Flat hands pressed against the mattress, Zeke’s slow, deliberate strokes soothed her insides. Made her hot sex pulse. Clench with need. Desire to explode on Zeke’s rod.
Pinching her blood-filled clit, squeezing Zeke’s rod with her channel, Taylor turned her head sideways on the mattress and captured the beautiful sunrays shining down on the shimmering ocean. A spring breeze blew from the balcony through the opened sliding glass door to the inside of the bedroom, ruffling the white sheers on either side of the sliding glass door.
Feeling the gentle breeze caress her arm and face, Zeke’s hoarse groans filled Taylor’s ears. He dropped his firm lips to her shoulders, placed a series of kisses all over her. Pushing her hair from her nape, he twirled his thick tongue in her ear. Hot breath whipping into her ear, chills skittered up her spine.
“Yes, my wife. Fuck me. I need this.” Zeke spread Taylor’s butt cheeks, traced a finger around her rear, then slipped it inside.
Finger twirling inside her back door, Taylor moaned. She never knew the sensual act could feel so good. Desire flooded her veins.
“Oh, Zeke. It’s been, too long since we’ve made love.”
“It’s only been two days.” In one quick, fluid movement, Zeke slid his arms between her torso and the mattress, scooped her up in his arms. Still driving deep into her womb while behind her, starting at her right shoulder, his fingers trailed down her arm.
Taylor’s knees pressed into the mattress. Circling her hips, she grabbed her sensitive breasts and squeezed. With one knee pressed into the mattress, Zeke bent his other leg at the knee. He hooked an arm beneath the underside of her kneecap, brought her leg upward, and placed it over the bent part of her leg. Gosh, you definitely have to be flexible for this position, Taylor thought, feeling the hard knob of Zeke’s shaft thrust deep inside her.
To keep her balance, Taylor curled her fingers around the bedrail and mashed backwards. And what happened next was simply remarkable. Pushed her over the edge. “Hold on tight,” Zeke demanded. He lifted her other leg upward to his waist. Now both of her legs were wrapped around his waist as he slowly thrust in and out of her from behind.
Sex noises resounded through the air. Breathless, she looked back over her shoulder at Zeke. Linking her gaze with his, Zeke’s face twisted. Grunting, he stroked her something delicious.
“Keep going slow. Oh. Uh. Ooo,” Taylor oohed and ahhed.
Zeke’s tool twirled in slow, delicious circles inside Taylor. Air got into her canal, and as he twirled her entrance, it made loud popping sounds. Pop. Pop. “I’m making that pussy pop, my wife.”
“Yes, Zeke. Hit it slow, baby. Right there.”
“Like this?” Clenching her hips, he gently stroked her.
“Yes. Yes. I’m cumming.” Her sex burst into an intense orgasm.
Zeke pushed hard. His body tensed. Cum erupted from his tool, soaking her. “Unh. I’m cumming, too.”
Ring. The house phone rang. Zeke lowered Taylor’s legs to the mattress, slipped out of her entrance. Hot cum spilled from her opening onto the linen. She reached over to the nightstand, lifted the phone t
o her ear. “Hello?”
“Hello, Taylor. This is Dr. Howard. The kidney compatibility results are in. I need for you to drop whatever you’re doing and come to the hospital right away.” A sense of urgency was in the doctor’s voice, frightening Taylor.
“Okay, we’re on our way.” Taylor hung up the phone and looked at Zeke, who was now lying on his back, motioning his still, hard shaft up and down in his hand. “That was Dr. Howard. She wants us to come to the hospital right away.”
Zeke’s hand froze on his hard erection. “Is Evan okay?”
“I didn’t ask. She sounded funny. Let’s hurry, Zeke.”
Zeke and Taylor hopped in the shower together. He stood under one shower head while she stood under the other. Hurrying to bathe, they didn’t utter a single word. Praying for the best, they hopped out of the shower, threw on their clothes. Zeke drove like a bat out of hell to the hospital.
DR. HOWARD’S GAZE lifted from the manila file clenched between her hands when she heard Zeke and Taylor enter her office. She stood, walked over to the door, and shut it. “Please, have a seat.” Dr. Howard sat back down in the black leather chair behind her desk while Zeke and Taylor plopped down in the chairs in front of her desk. “Thank you for coming so quickly.”
“No problem,” Zeke said.
Worried sick over what Dr. Howard had to tell them, Taylor’s stomach churned. Oh God, what if neither of them was a match for the kidney transplant? Then what? As severe as Evan’s case was, he could die while waiting on a kidney. God, please let Dr. Howard have some good news to share with us.
Dr. Howard’s expression was hard to read. “Where do I start? Well, as you already know, both of you were tested to see if you’d be compatible to give Evan a kidney. To my surprise, both of you are a perfect match.”
Zeke burst into laughter. “This is great news.”
Taylor’s mouth dropped wide open. “Oh my God. Are you serious? How can this be?”
“That’s exactly what I wanted to know. For both of you to be compatible is nothing short of a miracle, unless there’s more to the story. And there is.”
MARRYING MR. RIGHT (The Brides of Hilton Head Island Book 3) Page 22