The Boss's Love

by Casey Clipper

  Children weren't close to one of his major concerns at that moment. He needed his wife to wake up first.

  Courtney’s parents questioned Darren about what happened. He remained vague, telling Mr. and Mrs. Millen that they fought and he hadn’t been able to calm her down. Darren could tell her retired military father wasn’t sold on the story but her mother shook her head in exasperation. “Courtney has always had a temper. Once she goes off about something it's always difficult to calm her down.”

  “She is stubborn,” Mr. Millen roughly agreed.

  Darren held his wife's hand, gently brushing her knuckles with his thumb. “She is," Darren agreed. "One of the countless reasons I love her so.”

  He lifted her hand to kiss the back of it.

  “Open your eyes, Courtney,” he whispered and kissed her cheek.

  ***

  Placed in the step-down unit in the hospital, Courtney's health continued to speedily improve. Her room remained under constant guard by Darren's men, who created a menacing presence. The hospital found they were extra diligent when it came to Mrs. Murphy's care.

  Darren rarely left the hospital. The few times he stepped out the door were to rush home to shower and change his clothes. Apparently when he left, a male doctor and nurse, who weren't part of his wife's staff, always used those times to visit. His men informed him of the occurrence after the first time he dared to leave. Of course he became livid but as long as Courtney remained in the hospital under his watchful eye, he let it go until necessary. He ordered his men to find out about the two unknown men but had no luck. It turned out the hospital staff grew unusually silent when questioned.

  Meanwhile, Jack made it his personal mission to track down the female agent and John Marshall. Darren’s men put in long hours to find out as much as they could about the woman and the man who had escorted Courtney into the bar. According to Darren's eerily accurate suspicions, they went with the thought John was working with the woman. And he used Courtney and her unborn child to try to get to Darren.

  Seated next to Courtney, her hand held firmly in his, Darren listened to the quiet sounds of the heart monitor while lost in his own misery. How much longer would he have to endure her unconsciousness? He felt himself driven to the brink of madness. How long could he keep his sanity?

  His dark, wandering thoughts were interrupted by a tiny moan.

  Jumping up from his chair, he perched on the edge of the bed. He lifted her hand and kissed her palm.

  “Courtney, honey, wake up please," he pleaded.

  She moaned again.

  “Darren,” she mumbled, her voice hoarse.

  “I’m here, baby.” He brushed the hair off her washed-out face.

  “No,” she said, her head fell to the right. “No, please no.”

  Was she having a nightmare? Darren squeezed her hand in support.

  “He wouldn’t,” she gasped.

  Darren stiffened, realization hitting him. She was reliving what she'd seen at the bar. He needed to wake her from her nightmare.

  “Courtney, honey, wake up. You’re having a nightmare,” Darren said, his voice forceful, demanding.

  Her eyes squeezed, tears fell down the sides of her pale face. Her head rolled to the left. Her eyes flickered, trying to open.

  “Come on, baby, come back to me,” Darren’s voice hitched. So close.

  Slowly blinking her eyes open, the look of fright evident in those dull, lifeless big blue windows. She stared at him for the longest time but didn't speak a word.

  “It’s okay, honey. You’re in the hospital and you’re fine,” Darren assured her. He kissed her cheek. “I’ll get the doctor.”

  He rushed to the nurses' station. “My wife’s awake,” he barked.

  One of the nurses picked up a phone and paged the doctor.

  When he rushed back into the room, he found Courtney running a hand over her now flat stomach. She looked up at Darren, whose face fell grim.

  “It’s okay, honey, we can have more babies. They were able to make sure you didn’t have a hysterectomy. We just have to give it time,” he reassured her. He stepped to the side of the bed.

  The doctor entered the room with a nurse and student.

  “Mrs. Murphy, welcome back. How are you feeling?” the doctor asked.

  Her blank stare didn't leave Darren. She didn't acknowledge the doctor's inquiry while those lost eyes stayed locked onto his.

  The doctor tried again, “Mrs. Murphy, how are you? We need you to let us know how you’re feeling.”

  “Get out,” Courtney rasped.

  Everyone in the room halted. They looked to Courtney then focused on the object she was staring.

  Darren took a step forward and pleaded, “Court—"

  “Get. Out,” she ground her teeth.

  “Mr. Murphy, maybe give us a minute with your wife so we can find out how she is feeling,” the doctor said sympathetically.

  The nurse stepped in the line of fire. Darren glanced at the staff. His heart shattered into a million pieces. He lost his wife. His second worst nightmare had come true. Somehow he avoided the first with her survival but hadn't been fortunate enough to evade the second.

  Wordlessly, he left the room. He went to the waiting area and slumped down in a chair. His head fell into his hands. There was no meaning to his life now. If he lost his Courtney, he lost everything.

  As if on cue, Derrick strolled in, caught sight of his brother, and rushed over. He took a knee in front of him.

  “Darren, what’s the matter? Is it Courtney?” Derrick demanded.

  “She woke up, but told me to get out. The staff asked me to leave,” Darren’s voice cracked.

  Derrick looked towards the entrance that led to the rooms. “They can’t keep you from seeing Courtney.”

  “No, but she can. They were just trying to keep her calm. They don't want her upset,” Darren said. He looked up from his hands, eyes filled again with unmanly tears. Fuck. “What do I do, Derrick? I can’t lose her. I almost did. I lost our baby. I can’t lose Courtney. I just can’t,” he rambled. His head fell back into his hands.

  Derrick took the seat next to his brother, wrapped a supportive arm around his shoulder and squeezed tight. “We’ll figure it out. Courtney's too in love with you to leave. We have to make her see what happened, but not until her health allows it. We don’t want to hurt her.”

  Appreciating the fact his brother used the term "we," if anyone might be able to help him get his wife back it would be Derrick. Courtney loved Derrick. Their close bond worked in his favor.

  Darren nodded. “Okay.”

  The doctor appeared in the waiting area and motioned to the corner of the empty room to speak privately.

  “Physically she is doing well, Mr. Murphy. Mentally, well, we’re concerned. She's very distraught. We had to slightly sedate her. We’ll wean her off the sedation as she calms.” The doctor eyed the two brothers. “Mr. Murphy, I hate to suggest this but I’m going to because I am concerned about your wife's health. I think it would be best if you did not visit her for the time being. At least until we know she stays calm. If you want to stay here in the hospital, that’s fine, but I might suggest giving her some time.”

  Darren jolted up to confront the doctor, but Derrick grabbed his arm and gave a small shake of his head.

  “Thank you, doctor. We appreciate your help,” Derrick said firmly. He stood and pulled Darren away from the doctors, who hastily left the area.

  Jack and Carl slid into the waiting room.

  “Darren, I’ll go in and talk to her. Obviously the sight of you right now is distressful. If you love Courtney, you must listen to the doctors. I know it's going to kill you, but give it time. You have time. For Court, you have all the time in the world. Be patient and she will come to you, I promise. Just don’t make this hard on her. If you love her, help her.” Derrick sounded almost pleading.

  Darren sank into the nearest chair, deflated. “I’m going to lose her.”

>   Derrick knelt down in front of him again. “No, you’re not. You will never lose Courtney. The two of you have a bond like no one else I know. You will get past this and when you do, you'll both be closer and stronger than ever.”

  Darren nodded, numb from head to toe. He couldn’t take in anymore or think about anything else. He felt his life spiraling downward. How did he stop the undesired trip?

  Derrick

  “I’m going to go in to see her now,” Derrick said. He stood and placed a supportive hand on his brother’s shoulder.

  The state Darren was in made his brother vulnerable. Now he understood why the FBI focused in on Courtney. She was his Achilles heel. And it could bring him down. Derrick gave the agency credit for figuring out and going after his brother's greatest weakness. They'd severely pay for it, but he gave them credit for the plan.

  Stepping through the drawn curtain to Courtney's room, he found her staring at the heart monitor. Absently she ran a hand over her stomach. Those normally brilliant eyes looked lifeless. She looked terrible. Her skin no longer luminous, instead was dull and sickly. Her sunken facial features looked almost skeletal. He felt his heart clench for his beautiful sister-in-law. She had been convinced her baby was a boy. She'd been right. Was it a woman's intuition? Now, here she was in a hospital bed having lost that son. What had they done to her?

  Derrick inched closer to her left side. Courtney noticed him but remained mute while she watched him approach. He bent over and kissed her forehead.

  “Hi, beautiful. How are you feeling?” he asked. He grasped her left hand and noticed she wasn’t wearing her wedding rings. Had Darren noticed? It would be hard not to.

  Courtney eyes automatically flickered to her flat stomach.

  “I know, sweetheart. You’ll be able to have more babies. I know you don’t want to talk about it, but some day you'll change your mind,” Derrick said.

  “What was it?” she whispered.

  He stiffened. Darren hadn’t told her? Then again, it sounded as if he hadn’t gotten the chance. Derrick hesitated on whether he should be the one to give her the news. But she asked and he never denied or lied to her. Never would.

  "It was a boy.”

  Tears glistened those eyes. She looked away from him.

  “I should have been stronger. My body should have been stronger for my son. How could I have allowed Darren to take my son from me? How could I have allowed him to betray me and then react so horribly knowing my health?” she questioned, but not necessarily him.

  Derrick clutched her hand. “Honey, it will all come out what actually happened that night. I promise. I’m not going to get into it now, but your husband, my brother, would never do anything to hurt you. He's been a wreck, afraid he was going to lose you. He ordered the doctors to save you any way they could, even if that meant taking away the chance of having another child. He could live the rest of his life without having children but there is no way he could live without you.” He reached up and stroked her cheek. “I completely understand why. I see what he sees.” He smiled warmly. “I love you too, Courtney. I want to see you happy. I know, deep down, you know the truth.” He leaned over and kissed her nose. “Get some rest and when you feel better everything will be explained to you.”

  She snorted. “You mean your version of what happened?”

  Derrick smiled, appreciating her bite. “Yes, my version, which happens to be the truest one you'll receive.”

  He saw a small sparkle in her eyes light up just for him and confirmed the place she held for him in her heart.

  "Thank you, Derrick,” she said.

  “No, thank you for staying alive, sweetheart. Darren’s heart wouldn’t be the only one destroyed if you left this world,” he said sincerely.

  He stood and left Courtney to rest. The moment he stepped through the waiting room threshold, Darren was all over him.

  “How is she?”

  “She’s doing good considering what she’s been through. She’s feisty, but that’s your Courtney, isn’t it?” Derrick sighed. "She's blaming you.”

  “As well she should,” Darren agreed.

  “You're both placing the blame on the wrong people. The agency or whoever is in charge of this is to blame. You need to concentrate on Courtney first then put an end to this investigation,” Derrick snapped. He lowered his voice and placed a heavy hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I'll try to find out what I can. I still have people inside.”

  Darren nodded. “I’ll pay whatever it takes.”

  Derrick grinned. “That a boy.”

  ***

  Courtney

  Over the next couple of weeks Courtney spent her time rapidly recuperating in the hospital. Placed in physical and a short stint of cardiac rehab, she started a program to get her back on her feet. Her gynecologist explained the surgery went well but also stated it would take months before she was cleared to resume sexual activity. Not that she cared.

  Courtney still refused to allow Darren to visit but couldn't keep him from staying in the hospital. Her parents questioned her, clearly not happy about her unwillingness to speak to her husband.

  “Darling, you should talk to him. He’s your husband. He's hurting as much as you are,” her mother pleaded.

  “Mom, please stop,” Courtney snapped.

  “Do not speak to your mother that way, Courtney,” her father barked. “I know you're tired and not feeling well but that doesn’t give you any right. Your mother and I are concerned for you. He is your husband. He doesn’t beat you, he takes care of you, and he loves you. What the hell more do you want? Women would give their right arms to have your husband.”

  “Apparently,” she muttered.

  “Speak to him, honey,” Courtney’s mom whined.

  She chuckled. “Mom, did you whine?”

  Her parents laughed, lightening the mood. For the first time in weeks Courtney felt a bit of life return to her soul.

  Chapter 10

  Courtney

  After fourteen days in the hospital Courtney Murphy was discharged with very specific instructions regarding her health along with a laundry list of follow up doctors' appointments.

  She decided not to return home with Darren but also refused to stay with her parents. Talk about stressful. Her hovering mother and cranky, retired Marine father would go behind her back and encourage Darren to visit. Luckily, her cousins, who were employed at the hospital immediately upon returning from their Navy Seals duty, had extra room in the home they shared. They offered her a comfortable stay, more than happy to take her under their care. The bonus was her older cousin, Sean, was a cardiologist and her cousin Ryan a pediatric NICU nurse. While she'd been in the hospital, both cousins visited her often and spent as much as their breaks allowed.

  Sean helped Courtney into his SUV. They had managed to sneak her out a side employee entrance, not wanting to be accosted by her husband or his henchmen. She counted on her two cousins to pull off the escape. If any two members of her family could handle Darren and his staff, it was those two.

  Before they successfully drove her away from the hospital undetected, Sean and Ryan gave specific orders to the nursing staff to wait forty-five minutes before informing Darren his wife had been discharged.

  A short trip later Sean parked the car in his driveway. Ryan dutifully helped Courtney climb out of the vehicle. Both cousins gingerly helped her into the house and onto the sofa. She was unable to keep from laughing at the two men who were like mother hens. How odd was it to be treated so tenderly by two oversized military men? Her memories of them consisted of being picked on, bullied, teased, beat up, and tortured. She'd missed them like crazy.

  "Get some rest, Court. I'll make you some soup,” Sean said. His deep blue eyes shined with love. He cocooned her with a blanket and pushed a pillow behind her head.

  "Sean, can you stop." She chuckled.

  He laughed. "I could, but no. My job is to nurse you back to health right now and that's what is going to happen."<
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  Ryan strolled into the room. His six feet two inch frame held that military lethal posture even in his relaxed state. "Yeah, so get used to it, sis."

  Their pet name for her. Sis. They'd been as close as siblings growing up. Ryan and Sean had adopted that term as they had grown into their teen years.

  Rolling her eyes at him, he smirked, his matching blue eyes of his brother sparkled with mischief. Sean continued to chuckle when he left the room and went to the kitchen to make her homemade chicken noodle soup. Courtney silently mused that one day he'd make some woman mightily happy with his culinary skills. She adored the fact Darren excelled in the kitchen. Wait...she couldn't think about Darren. No pleasant thoughts. Nope. None. Not allowed.

  Ryan nudged his large frame onto the sofa and placed her feet on his lap. His tight black Hanes tee shirt didn't hide his bulging biceps and V-shaped physique. What the hell did they feed men in the Navy?

  "So, tell me, Court, what the hell happened?" he bluntly asked.

  "Ryan!" Sean scolded from the kitchen.

  "Hey, we're getting to the bottom of this sooner or later, so it might as well be sooner," Ryan barked in return. He focused on her. "Well?"

  "I caught Darren with another woman, kissing her," she said ashamed.

  Sean stepped into the room and leaned against the doorway.

  "What the hell do you mean?" Ryan growled, his eyes flaring.

  She sighed. She did not want to discuss her failure as a woman and wife. How embarrassing. But if she was going to spill her guts to anyone, it should be to her cousins. They had an uncanny ability to look at all points of view, take a problem and work through every scenario. She wished she possessed that capability.