by Shanna Bell
She didn’t have to say the words. Mary’s face had always been an open book. He’d known for some time now. Had hoped for it. To receive the greatest treasure in the world; Mary’s heart. It was a special kind of cruelty for Decker to deny him hearing those words from her lips. But it didn’t matter. Not when he could see her love for him.
Decker aimed his gun and cocked the hammer back. Hector knew his time was up.
“Tell Zoe and our baby that they are loved. That I had wanted to be there for them.”
If it wasn’t for Decker’s bullet, the pain in Mary’s eyes would probably have killed him.
His wife mouthed “I love you” to him and then made her move. She threw herself at Decker, nearly giving Hector a heart attack.
Just like everyone else, Decker had dismissed Mary after a first glance, deeming her harmless.
Big fucking mistake.
In the split second that his wife struggled for Decker’s gun, Hector launched himself at him. But not before Decker slapped Mary with the gun, dropping her onto the floor.
Hector roared and knocked Decker down. His gun slid across the ground, disappearing underneath a car.
What followed was a downright brawl. Hector had never had fought so hard in his life before. Not on the streets, not in a war zone, and not in a cage. It was full throttle on when he pummeled Decker into the ground.
He grunted when Decker got a hit to his busted leg, but immediately retaliated with a hold on his arms, breaking both of them. Decker dropped to the floor, on his knees.
Hector did a kick back to his knees, splintering the bone. Decker face-planted, groaning in agony. He wasn’t going anywhere.
The second he’d eliminated the threat, Hector limped toward his wife. She lay on the ground, motionless. Fear lodged in his throat.
“No, no, no. Don’t do this to me.” He dropped next to her and cradled her head in his lap. She was as pale as a ghost. Her temple, where Decker had slammed his gun, was already turning purple.
Decker started laughing. It was a dark, eerie laugh. The guy was half-dead, and could barely move, but he laughed like there was no tomorrow.
“Feel”—he coughed—“my pain.”
“You sack of shit,” Hector snarled, as tears pricked his eyes. “You’re not worthy enough to breathe the same air as she does, let alone touch her. If your brother were alive, he’d be fucking ashamed of you.” He focused back on his wife. “Mary? Baby, please wake up. Open your pretty eyes.”
Suddenly, a door to his right creaked open, sounding like it hadn’t been opened in a long time.
Damon’s head peeked through the opening. “Shit.” He stepped past Decker, barely giving him a glance, and looked down at Mary.
“Where are the damn EMTs?” Hector growled.
“Ambulance is at the front. The entrance of the lot is wrecked, so it takes some time to get through that. They should be here any minute.” His head turned back to Decker, who was still laughing. “You know what’s going to happen when the cops get here. Want me to take him out?”
Hector knew what he was asking. Decker wouldn’t be tried. He was off his rocker, completely loco. He’d most likely end up in some mental ward for the rest of his days. Or until he got out. A man with his skills would eventually get out. After all, in his warped mind, he hadn’t finished his mission.
He wanted to snap Decker’s neck, finish the job. But, for the life of him, he couldn’t let Mary go. She was unconscious, covered in scraps, and blood coated her leg. He feared that the second he stopped touching her, she would slip away, never to wake up.
“Take him away, but don’t kill him.” At Damon’s frown, he snarled, “If Mary doesn’t make it, he doesn’t get to die. I’ll make him die every day for as long as I have to live without her.”
He hadn’t even told Mary how much he loved her yet. And now, thanks to this piece of shit, he might never get the chance. He’d been pretending to drink all night, trying to appear a bit drunk, sluggish even. He was convinced Decker had eyes on him. No way the fucker wasn’t tracking him down somehow. He had the unfortunate luck of running into Heidi that night. Then Mary happened. God, the hurt in her eyes. Her last memory of him would be with another woman.
“You can’t die on me,” he whispered, holding her tight. “You’ve broken into my heart, smashed all my walls. I’m not letting you go. You don’t just get to leave me. I won’t let you.”
***
After spending six hours in the hospital, Hector was ready to climb the walls.
“Why isn’t she waking up?”
Jazzy grabbed his hand. “The doctor said it could take twenty-four to forty-eight hours.”
He didn’t want to think of what else the doctor had said. Of how, after the first forty-eight hours, the chances of Mary waking up would become slimmer with each passing day.
They had been in the hospital all night—Jazzy, Gio, and Tommie—sitting in Mary’s room. He’d sent Tommie home with Zoe a few hours ago. His little girl was a mess. She’d even left Spidey with Mary, so he could protect her.
“Could you give us a minute?” He needed to be alone with her. When they left the room, he scooted closer to Mary and grabbed her hand. He closed his eyes and relived the past few hours.
Damon had knocked Decker out cold and carried him away before the authorities had arrived. His parting words to Hector were that he’d have the knife, hammer, and chainsaw ready. If Mary didn’t wake up soon, Hector was going to take him up on his offer. Over and over again, for every day his wife lay in a hospital bed, fighting for her and their baby’s life.
“Please wake up. I’m lost without you. Our house is empty, just like my heart. Let me come home to you again. Please, come home again.”
There were a million things he wanted to tell her. He wasn’t good with words. He wasn’t a flowery guy who knew what to say to make her believe he loved her. But he vowed to himself, if she made it, he was going to spend the rest of his life showing it to her.
That became his new mantra in the hours that passed. When the sun came up, introducing a new day, he was startled by a voice.
“Hector?”
Mary looked at him through half-mast lids, sounding groggy.
“I’m here, mi vida.” He kissed her hands, biting back the tears.
“You called me your life.”
“I did.”
“About time,” she grumbled.
He chuckled; he couldn’t help himself. She was going to be okay. Everything was going to be okay.
A nurse showed up, then another one. Then a doctor was called in, and Mary got picked and prodded.
Hector stood back, peace settling over him, and called Kristoff. “Finish it, brother.” He didn’t ever want to hear or see Decker again.
His life as he knew it, of darkness and rage, dealing with blood and gore, was over.
EPILOGUE
About six months later
Mary had always imagined giving birth as a beautiful and miraculous happening. She would be home when she had her first contractions. Hector would slowly drive over to the hospital. He would be by her side every second, telling her she was being so strong, that he was proud of her. A few hours later, she would give birth to a perfect little girl. Unlike the screaming woman she had seen in a video, Mary would give birth with dignity.
In reality, it happened while cooking for Kristoff, with Hector out of town. Her water broke in the middle of her kitchen, right on top of the shoes of a Russian crime boss.
She stroked her belly.
And that, peanut, is the story of how I ended up in the hospital with your Uncle Kristoff.
Your uncle looks like he needs a drink. Badly.
“I bet you regret coming over for my panna cotta now.”
It was their little secret. Hector could never know. Despite him tolerating Kristoff in their life, he was adamantly against his brother eating even a morsel of her prized dessert. She had no idea why. He was fine with her serving Kristoff any
thing else.
“Regret doesn’t begin to cover it.”
She glared at him. “I’m the one being tortured by contractions and you dare speak of regrets?”
“I’ve been tortured before. It was no big deal.” Unlike being here with you, his eyes seemed to say.
When he glanced at the door, as if he wanted to make a break for it, she clutched onto his hand.
“Don’t you dare leave me,” she ordered, and then chuckled.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Your face... you look so squeamish.”
“No, I don’t. I look annoyed that I’m stuck in a delivery room while my brother gets to do fun stuff like catching bullets and ward off stalkers, possibly maiming them.”
Obviously providing comfort to a woman in labor wasn’t his forte. “That’s the worst kind of motivational speech.”
“I agree. Let me get you someone else. Like Jazzy, or that blue guy, or anyone else that isn’t me.”
“Jazzy’s out of town and Tommie already has Zoe to take care of. So, it’s just you and me.” She chuckled. “You’re going to be a godfather. Don’t you think that’s funny? A real-life Russian godfather to become my daughter’s godfather.”
“You’re hysterical and don’t know what you’re saying.”
Maybe she was. But who cares? She was exactly where she wanted to be. Okay, maybe not exactly. She could do without the pain wracking from her spine to her lower body.
All was well in her world, though. After the ordeal with Decker, things had gotten back to normal. No, better than back to normal. Hector had explained everything, and she had graciously accepted his apology.
Another contraction followed, a fierce one, as if calling her out on her lie. So, maybe she hadn’t been too gracious about it. There was still the part regarding the boobylicious redhead she’d caught him with, after all. There had been some yelling on her part.
Then, the next morning, he showed up with a puppy. Mary knew exactly what Hector was trying to pull. And it totally worked. All was forgiven. They were in love, they had officially adopted Zoe, and were ready to welcome the next installment to their expanding family. She was blessed.
So, right now, she didn’t mind being called hysterical. Apparently, she was also delusional, because she imagined Hector rushing into the room.
“Mary!”
Nope, all her marbles were intact. It was really him. He was out of breath, looking a bit panicked. He was perfect.
“Bratan. Finally.” Kristoff slowly pried her fingers off his wrist. “She’s all yours.” He gave her a pat on the shoulder and fled the room.
Exactly two hours later—two torturous hours, in which Mary screamed her lungs out—Christina Jocelyn Diaz came into the world.
Just like her mom, for the first few hours of her life, she screamed her lungs out.
Welcome into our world, peanut. You are loved.
***
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Bad Romance reading order:
#1 Bad Romance: The Leader
#2 Bad Romance: The Enforcer
#3 Bad Romance: The Gambler (coming soon)
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