Recaptured by the Crime Lord (Crime Lord Series Book 2)
Page 21
“We’re at the vet,” she said through clenched teeth as she forced herself up with the phone in her hand.
“Don’t get out of the SUV,” Gavin ordered.
“Beau needs me.”
Lyla stumbled into the reception area, which was in chaos. There were other dog owners present who were frenzied by the smell of blood. Blade was in a shouting match with the receptionist who was wringing her hands. A door opened and a man in jeans and a shirt appeared. Lyla was about to ask if he was the vet when she felt a gush of warmth. She looked down as water pooled beneath her and another cramp made her whole body shudder.
“This can’t be happening,” she panted.
Blade placed Beau on the counter and pointed at the guard who came in behind her. “You stay here and make sure that dog doesn’t die. I need to get her to the hospital.”
“No, I want to stay—” Lyla babbled and was cut off when Blade scooped her up in his arms and ran back to the SUV.
“What the fuck is going on?” Gavin shouted, jolting her since he was on speakerphone.
“Her water broke. She’s in labor,” Blade said as he placed her in the passenger seat and belted her in. “Sunset is the closest hospital.”
“It’s too early,” Lyla panted when the contraction ebbed so she could speak. “She’s not due for another eight weeks.”
“I’m twenty minutes away,” Gavin said, voice tight.
As Blade put the car in gear, another contraction hit. The contractions were coming closer together and each one was stretching out longer.
“Get Carmen on a three way call. She needs to be there,” Lyla said to Gavin.
Blade drove on the freeway, leaning to the right of the distorted part of the windshield so he could see. Lyla held on for dear life. Beau’s life hung in the balance, her baby was eight weeks early and she killed three men today. She ground her teeth together as Blade took an exit. She saw the hospital in the distance. Her bad day was far from over. Giving birth, the event she had been dreading and anticipating for months was here.
“Gavin?” Carmen’s voice coming from her phone caught her attention.
“Lyla’s in labor. She’s going to be at Sunset Hospital,” Gavin said.
“I’m on my way,” Carmen said and hung up.
“How you doing, baby?” Gavin asked.
“We’re at the stoplight before the hospital,” she panted.
“Good girl.”
“Did you send someone to get Jordy a-and the others? They just turned on us, Gavin. I couldn’t tell who was who and—”
“Lyla, not now. We’ll deal with it after.”
Blade circled the hospital and stopped in front of the emergency room. Another contraction hit and she clutched the door handle and the console and tried to practice the breathing technique, which fucking did nothing to help her focus. She didn’t have her baby bag, which Carmen put oils in to help her through labor.
“Holy fuck. I don’t think I can walk. Gavin, this is happening too fast. The contractions are too close. She feels like she’s right there—” Lyla screamed as another contraction snuck up on her.
When the fog of pain cleared, she saw three men waiting beside the open door with a wheelchair. Blade helped her into the wheelchair and accompanied her as they ran through the emergency room and across the hospital to another wing. Lyla had two more contractions before they reached a delivery room. A doctor she had never seen stuck his fingers up her vagina.
“Your nine centimeters dilated,” the doctor said.
“I-I’m eight weeks early,” Lyla said.
“The baby will be here very soon.”
Questions were being thrown at her, but she couldn’t focus on anything. The contractions were so close together that she didn’t have time to rest in between. They stripped off her bloody clothes and draped her in a hospital gown. They placed her on a bed and put her feet in stirrups.
“My husband—” Lyla began and then fell back on the bed and grasped handfuls of the sheet.
“Lyla, I’m here.”
Gavin ran to her side and she reached for him. “Thank God. Gavin, she’s coming. I need—”
Lyla bore down as the contraction obliterated all thought.
“Don’t push!” a nurse barked.
Gavin brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her brow. “Hold on, Lyla. Just breathe.”
Fear and panic clawed at her throat. This was what she had been waiting for, but now that the moment was here, she wasn’t sure she would survive. There was a confused tangle of voices and people looking under her gown and asking questions. Lyla let Gavin handle that as she focused on her body, which felt as if it was trying to destroy itself.
Lyla trembled like a plucked bow and stared up at Gavin as the contraction ebbed. The lethal predator that lurked just beneath the surface stared at her.
“You could have died today,” he whispered.
“I didn’t.”
“But you almost did.”
She clutched a handful of his shirt. “Beau has to live. I won’t let him die.”
“Blade is talking to the vet.”
“I want to know—” she began and clenched her teeth as another contraction hit. How did women endure two days of labor? She wasn’t sure she could handle another hour. She endured pain like this only a year ago, when Sadist attacked her. Her labor pain was amplified by the fear and horror of what occurred not even an hour ago.
“Beau is still alive. He’s in surgery,” Blade reported.
“I need to know he’s okay,” she panted.
Two nurses shouted in the hallway and a second later Carmen appeared with a Taser. She slammed the door and rushed over.
“I made it! How the hell can you be in labor? You left my house two hours ago. Is that blood in your hair?”
“They fucking turned on me—” Lyla began to say before another contraction took hold.
The doctor came in and measured her.
“You ready to push?”
She was more than ready. Her body was covered in sweat and she was shaking like crazy. Carmen stood on one side, Gavin on the other and Blade stood off to the side. Lyla stared up at the ceiling and tried to get into the headspace that would allow her to focus beyond the pain. Today had been a shit day full of death, fear and desperation. Tears leaked out of the corner of her eyes as she squeezed two of her best friend’s hands.
“Lyla, when the next contraction comes, you have to push,” the doctor said.
Lyla nodded and took deep breaths. Her womb tightened and she leaned forward and bore down. She stared at the doctor positioned between her legs. She listened to him count and fell back on the raised bed when the contraction passed.
“You’re doing great, Lyla,” the doctor praised.
“Holy shit,” Carmen said and rubbed her arm. “You’re almost there, Lyla.”
Gavin’s face was closed off. There was a battle taking place in him. She knew all too well what it was. It had been a shit day for him too. Of course the underworld chose today to rise up and make a mark against them. Nora’s birth would forever be tainted by Gavin’s old life and nemesis.
“Here we go,” the doctor warned.
Lyla felt the contraction coming and met Gavin’s eyes. On a day like today, they needed something like this to remind them that life would go on. Pain eclipsed all else. She bore down and pushed for all she was worth. She felt as if her vagina was ripping in half... and then it was done.
Her ears rang as the doctor placed a small bundle on her chest. Lyla looked down as the baby opened her mouth and let out a piercing cry. The baby began to change color right before her eyes. Nora clawed the empty air and burrowed close for warmth, screaming at the top of her lungs.
The nurses took Nora to clean and weigh her and then gave her back. Nora splayed face down on Lyla’s chest. Despite being eight weeks early, Nora was a healthy six pounds, four ounces. She had a head of black hair and when her eyes opened, they all saw the flash of br
ight blue. Gavin placed his hand on Nora’s back. His daughter could fit in his palm. Something elemental moved through her as she registered that she was now a mother.
When the medical personnel cleared out, leaving Blade, Carmen, Lyla and Gavin there was a strained silence.
“What the fuck happened?” Lyla whispered hoarsely. She felt numb from today’s events and couldn’t stop shaking.
Blade widened his stance and clasped his hands behind his back. “The men were bribed by the new crime lord. The mission was to kill Lyla. Eight switched sides. We lost two men. All the traitors are dead.”
“Identity of the new crime lord?” Gavin asked, his voice as calm as could be, but the air around him sizzled with rage.
Blade shook his head. Carmen opened her mouth and then closed it. Lyla’s throat burned with the need to rage. She held Nora up and then buried her face against Nora’s soft skin and absorbed the feel of her. Nora was so small and defenseless and had been so close to dying today. There was so much hate and evil in the world. She and Gavin were Nora’s only defense against the darkness waiting for her. Tears streamed down her face as she listened to Nora quick breaths. Her tiny hands gripped Lyla’s hair and she nuzzled close. This was her child to protect and she would do so. Lyla rested Nora on her shoulder and looked at Gavin who was watching her.
Tears trickled down her face, but her voice was steady as she said, “You go back into the underworld, you find him and kill that fucker slowly.”
Author’s Note:
Hi All,
I hope you enjoyed Recaptured by the Crime Lord. Please leave a review and recommend the book to a friend, it helps me out a lot!
I really enjoyed writing from Gavin’s point of view in this book and hope to do so in the future. Their relationship is raw and full of love and desperation. I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey as much as I have.
I’ve written a bonus chapter, a glimpse of Lyla and Gavin’s first encounter. Join the newsletter and have it sent to your inbox!
Don’t miss the third installment of Lyla and Gavin’s story, Once A Crime Lord, coming out in early 2017!
Mia
About the Author:
Mia lives in her head and is shadowed by her dogs who don’t judge when she cries and laughs with imaginary characters. Mia comes from a big, conservative family that doesn’t know how to handle her eccentricities, but with encouragement from her fans, has found the courage to put the characters in her head on paper.
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Author Website: miaknight.com
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Email me at: authormiaknight@gmail.com
Cover Art by Kellie Dennis at Book Cover by Design
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