by Ivy Fox
“I’ll never forget the day I met Daniel, and if he was still alive, I doubt neither would he. At first, he sent me away. But I wouldn’t budge. He refused to see me, saying a boy my age should be concentrating on school and sports, not clubs and bikes. I still said I needed to speak with him personally and would not take no for an answer, but he continued to dodge me at every turn. But I came back. Every day for two whole weeks, I came back and stood facing the club’s door, praying this would be the day he would let me in.
“One day it rained for hours, and I had forgotten to bring anything with me to cover up. But I still went, stayed under a tree, so Daniel could see I wouldn’t be dissuaded by anything, so I stood there the rest of the afternoon until it grew dark, when I had to go back home before the asshole returned from the bar he had been holed up at.
“Next day, those doors did open for me, and Danny sat me in church for the first time, telling me I had five minutes of his time and nothing more. So I made use of those precious minutes, and I told him everything, down to the very last detail. And in the end, he asked me what I needed from him since, in the spew of my horrid tale, I failed to tell him why I was there in the first place. Without hesitation or pause, I told him the truth of exactly why I sought him out, and his avenging angels. I wanted to learn how I could bring a gruesome death to a hideous man. He didn’t bat an eye and just nodded. He was quiet for so long that I took his silence as a subtle way of letting me down. I got up from my seat to go back home, but he nixed that idea, telling me to sit my ass back down.
“‘Boy, if you are going to train to be an Archangel, I can’t have you living with a devil, now can I?’ he said, and that’s the day I met Cam and his folks. Never left since.”
She squeezes my hand, as the only way to show me she’s still with me. Her tears flow silently on my chest, and I know how much she hates to cry, so I don’t wipe them away. Just let them fall on me, cleansing my soul as much as my body.
“Your father? What happened to him?” she asks on a whispered breath.
“Gone. Danny said he had words with him. Said he had no rights to me now, and if he knew what was good for him, that he should skip town before I got into my own and gave him more than he bargained for. Bailed out the very next day and I haven’t heard a thing since.”
I feel her relax next to me and I realize just how tense she must have been until I told her my father’s fate. I leave my story at that, not mentioning the fact that I never believed Danny’s tale of my father skipping town. Yes, he was smart enough to know danger when he saw it—driving miles away to a different hospital every time he kicked the shit out of me was proof of that. But he was also an arrogant, possessive fuck, so Danny coming into his home, saying his kid was no longer his concern, wouldn’t have gone down all that well with dear old dad. No, Danny was ruthless in his idea of justice, and I saw how he had reacted to my life’s woes. I saw those black eyes fire to life in rage each time I mentioned a broken bone in my young body, and I saw it ignite further still when I talked about my mother.
No.
My father would not be making an appearance in my life again, not because he was far away in another town or state, but because Danny had put him ten feet under with either a bullet to the skull or a knife to the heart. It doesn’t matter anymore. His death could never replace the life he took from me.
“I love it when you talk from your heart, Gabriel, even when your words pierce through mine.”
I lean forward and grab her face in my hands to kiss her plump, full lips. Once I’ve tasted her sweetness, the bitter memories of days long past no longer rule over me. She falls to my side, and there is a trace of a grin there.
“So, you grew up with Cam, then?”
“Yeah. He was a chubby little eight-year-old kid then, but he had so much electric energy, even then. Followed me around like he was my very own shadow, wouldn’t let me out of his sight for anything in this world. Unfortunately, a few months after, Michael’s dad passed away, and with Uri taking the lead for the club and Aurora in medical school, well, Michael found his home here as well. Have to tell you that being around Cam at that time, when we both felt so lost, was good for us. Kid made us laugh when all we really wanted to do was crawl into a ball and cry all day. He was our saving grace.”
“Like you three are mine.”
“You never needed saving, little bird, just mending.”
Chapter 29
Cam
I walk behind her and wrap my arms over the huge belly bump that keeps her from reaching the cupboard.
“Can you please grab a glass for me?” she asks, exasperated. The baby is almost two weeks overdue, and Hope has had about enough of it. Poor kid isn’t even born, and she’s already promising a good time-out for his disobedience over not coming out of her when she wants him to.
“Sure, love,” I say, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before handing over her glass.
“I swear, this boy keeps me from doing anything these days, even getting a simple glass of water is a feat in itself,” she grumbles.
“Well, that’s why you have me, darling. I’m your servant at hand. Use me in any way you see fit.” I wink at her.
“Use in any way I see fit, huh?” she taunts me back.
“Any way you want, love.”
“Even if what I want is a foot rub?” she asks, her brows wiggling excitedly at the idea.
“Foot rub, hard fuck, whatever it takes you to relax,” I reply honestly. I was going for the afternoon delight myself, but hey, I’m not the one who can’t fit their feet in their beloved chucks.
“I’ll take the foot rub if you don’t mind,” she squeals, and I just laugh.
“Come here, love,” I tell her and pull her into my embrace, carrying her like a blushing bride, all the way to the living room. I sit her down and carefully set her feet on my lap. I take a good look at her and see rings under her eyes which weren’t there yesterday.
“Darling, you had another nightmare or something? Or did we keep you up past your bedtime last night?” I tease, and she slaps my hand.
“No, you silly man. Just feeling tired today, that’s all.”
“Hmm. You sure that’s all?” I ask again, noting her frail coloring, as well.
“Actually, I felt a little bit off yesterday, too.”
“Maybe we should call Aurora to come and check on you,” I tell her, making a mental note to get Aurora on the phone asap right after I give her this foot rub.
“Yeah, maybe,” she says, chewing her inner cheek.
“Okay, enough of the worry pout. Lie back and let Daddy Cam take care of you,” I smirk.
“Daddy Cam? Are you serious?” she laughs out.
“Don’t like it?”
“Do you expect me to call you by it?” she goads.
“No, I expect my kid to call me by it. But maybe in the bedroom, you calling me Daddy might do it for me. We can try it and see how it feels.” I wiggle my brows at her.
“Anything I do does it for you, Cam. I look like a New Year’s blimp, and you still can’t keep your hands off of me!”
True. Love my woman with all those amazing curves on her.
“Can’t argue with you there.” Why deny how much this woman does it for me? In any shape or form, she will always be beautiful in my eyes. I start to massage her feet, and poor thing, they’re so swollen it’s a wonder she walks at all.
“Okay! That’s it! Until this baby is out, you are not walking another step,” I command.
“You’re gonna carry me, are you, big boy?”
“Me, Michael, Gabriel, yeah I think we can manage between the three of us.”
“You’re insane. I won’t be carried around like I’m some fucking damsel in distress. I can walk fine on my own. Don’t need your hovering or your worrying,” she huffs out.
“I know, but you still got it. Deal with it, woman.” Between the two of us, I have no idea who is the more stubborn one, but I think I can give her a run fo
r her money.
“Whatever. Just continue, please,” she pleads, wiggling her toes, so I get back to it, and she leans back on the couch to fully enjoy it. I take little peeks at her and see beads of sweat coming down her face, which is odd since it’s cold as fuck in here. I know she’s been complaining about how hot she always feels, but I never saw her actually sweat with no exertion to justify it.
“Love, I really do think we should call Aurora. You don’t look so hot.”
“I think that is the nastiest you have ever been with me,” she rebukes under her labored breath.
“I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you, and promise to be nastier in bed,” I chuckle.
“Of course you will,” she sighs.
“But love, I’m serious. You look awfully pale,” I tell her, stopping my rubbing, too concerned to keep up the pampering.
“Just give me a minute, Cam.”
“Hope?”
“Just a minute.”
“Hope?”
And then she’s out.
Eyes closed to the world, limp as can be, and the walls around me cave in, plummeting me to the ground.
“Hope, love, please stop fucking around. This ain’t funny.” But there is no movement whatsoever.
“Hope,” I say again.
Nothing.
I think I’m dying.
“HOPE!” I yell, and four feet run to the living room to see what all the commotion is about. I have her on my lap, shaking her wilted body, but there is no reaction whatsoever.
“Baby? Sweetheart?” I hear Michael beside me, and Gabriel is kneeling in front of us.
“Little bird?”
“Hope, wake up. Wake up now, baby,” Michael says, softly slapping her on both cheeks.
“Gabriel, get me some water,” Michael orders, but Gabriel is crying on the floor with his head in her lap, bawling like a small infant who has lost everything he ever loved, unable to obey any order Michael gives him now. Something I know he’s experienced before. Michael runs to the kitchen and grabs the glass of water Hope had left not ten minutes ago on the table, and comes back, leading her head to it, praying she takes it.
“Hope, baby, you’re just dehydrated, that’s all. Drink this, and everything will be okay.”
“Everything is not okay, Michael. I don’t see her breathing. Gabriel, fuck, is she breathing?” I yell, freaking the hell out. I don’t even see it coming, but Michael takes one hard punch to my jaw, and I wake the fuck up.
“If I ever hear you lose your shit next to her again, I’ll kill you! She’ll hate me for it because she loves your ass, but by God, if you tell me the woman I love ain’t breathing again, I’ll kill you,” Michael growls, losing his own shit.
“She’s breathing. She’s breathing!” Gabriel shouts at us, his ear to her chest and two fingers on her wrist. Michael and I were so focused on each other, we missed it.
“Well then, Gabe, get her up. And you get the truck, so we can see what is wrong with our woman. Okay?” Michael orders.
“Fine!” I yell.
Gabriel still has tears in his eyes, and even though they fall like a waterfall, the brother keeps silent as he carries our precious cargo in his arms and takes her out the front door. Michael throws me the keys of the brand new car we had hidden away in the garage, since we aren’t going to risk taking Hope in the piece of garbage she’s been driving through town, and we make our way to the hospital.
Through my peripheral, I see Michael take his telephone out of his back pocket and start calling numbers, and every time he can’t get through, he lets out a roar. After the third unanswered attempt, he leaves a message instead.
“Aurora, stop fucking whatever boy toy you’re on top of right now and get to the hospital. I need you. Hope’s fainted, and we don’t know what’s wrong with her. She needs you, Aurora so get the fuck over there!”
I’m speeding like crazy, but even if a cop tried to pull me over right now, I’d risk being shot or arrested to get to the hospital as fast as possible. This ten-minute drive feels like a lifetime, and I look in the mirror and see Gabriel doing his best to bring our girl back to us, although her body still looks as lifeless as before.
Once we reach the hospital, I don’t bother to park the brand-new SUV—I even leave the keys in the ignition, opening the door for Gabriel to get out with our girl. There must be a bad joke in there somewhere, that starts off like, three Archangels walk into an emergency room, only right now, I’m finding it hard to find any funny punch line.
“Sir? Sir, can I help you?” a nurse asks, hastening to get to Gabriel’s side and check on Hope.
“Yes. Our girlfriend is past nine months pregnant, and she just fainted out of nowhere. She was fine, and then she wasn’t,” he rushes out to explain to her.
“She said she felt off yesterday, too,” I add, remembering her comment from before.
“Okay, and how long as she been like this?”
“About twenty minutes,” Michael answers.
“Oh dear, that is a long time. Come here, please, and put her here on this gurney.”
“What’s your girl’s name, sweetheart?” the gray-haired nurse asks Gabriel, while opening Hope’s eyes, and I see there is no light in them. No reaction whatsoever.
“Hope,” Gabriel mumbles, seeing the same dull reaction I did.
“Hope what?” she adds, and we go silent.
“It’s Jennifer, actually. Jennifer Russo,” Michael says, and I look at him, outraged he would say that name at a time like this. The nurse looks at us with a confused expression on her face but then goes back to tending to Hope and writes something on her tablet.
“They need a full name, Cam,” Michael says under his breath in my direction.
“You could have given her my last name,” I grunt.
“Yes, just as easily as I could have given her mine. But she has her own,” he spits back at me. Before I can give him my two cents’ worth, a rush of nurses and orderlies zoom in on Hope and take the gurney away from us.
“Where are you taking her?” Gabriel shouts out, trying to reach her, but the gurney has already passed through the automatic double-door that only open from the inside, and all we have is a view from the two small windows showing our girl being wheeled to an unknown destination.
“Someone will come and talk to you as soon as there is news,” the same nurse tells us and walks briskly to wherever they’ve taken Hope.
“No, where are you taking her?” I howl, and Michael holds my arms behind my back and slams me into a wall.
“Chamuel, remember what I said back at the house about losing your shit? Don’t test my patience today, brother. Do not provoke a man who is at his wits’ end,” he hushes villainously in my ear.
I thrash against him and throw him off me, then I run his sorry ass into the wall behind him. See if he likes being manhandled.
“Michael, I love you. I really fucking do, but you ever threaten me again, I will cut your fucking balls off with your own fucking knife and feed them to you. I know how fond you are of a knife, but you’re not the only fucker who knows how to get creative with a blade.”
“Bring it,” he spits at me.
“ENOUGH!” Gabriel roars and places his hands on our chests while silencing the whole hospital with his war cry.
“Will you stop with the alpha bullshit already? We’re hurting, I get it. We have no idea what’s happening to our woman, and we are all losing our minds. I understand that. But do you really want her to wake up and see us at each other’s throats? Do you think that will make whatever she is going through any easier? And do you think our baby boy will respect a father that will turn on his brother when he needs him most? No! So man the fuck up. Enough with the cutting and killing bullshit. Our family is our bond. We are all in this together. Whatever happens, she needs to know we are here for her and for each other. Now, is that fucking understood?” Gabriel roars again ferociously.
Michael and I both look at the ground, feeling all
sorts of confused and angry, and now with Gabriel’s little rant, shame, too. We needed to rage against something, so we went to the nearest target and warm body that could take our abuse, although it shouldn’t ever be each other we focus our frustrations on, as Gabriel so eloquently pointed out.
“You good, Cam?” Michael asks me, looking just as defeated as I feel.
“No, I’m dying inside,” I tell him truthfully.
“Yeah me, too,” he sighs, placing his hand on my shoulder comfortingly.
“And you, when did the whole silent brooding thing go out the window?” I taunt Gabriel, but there is little heat behind my teasing.
“Little bird once told me I should speak from my heart. Love guiding me would always be worth the words spoken,” he replies, pocketing both hands and lowering his watery eyes to the floor.
“God, how I love that woman,” I hush out, feeling my insides being ripped apart.
“She’ll pull through this, Cam. Okay? Whatever this is. She’s strong—there is no other woman I know that could pull out of any ordeal like she can. She’s a fighter,” Michael reassures. “Well, except for Aurora. That one is a pit bull of a woman! Where the fuck is my aunt when I need her, anyway?”
“I’m here asshole, I’m here!” Aurora yells behind Michael, running at us at light speed.
“Where is she? Where’s Hope?”
“We were hoping you would be able to tell us. They took her in a few minutes ago, but didn’t tell us anything at all,” Michael says, giving his aunt a hug of gratitude.
“Okay. Okay. Give me ten, and I’ll figure out what’s happening. I’ll come back here and give you a shout.”
“Thank you,” he says.
“You’re welcome,” she replies, patting him on the back and giving both Gabe and me a light squeeze on our shoulders before heading toward the same doors we saw our girl go through.
“Oh, and Michael, remind me when this is all over, and my best friend is all good and well, to kick your motherfucking ass for leaving that voice message on my phone,” she says, flipping him the bird behind her back.