She has no idea how ready I am to become a part of their lives. I just pray to God that Atzi forgives me—not that I deserve it.
“How’s their mom?”
“The swelling is gone. The doctor plans on lowering the sedatives today,” I answer, trying not to sound so hopeful. And, of course, I fail. I’m anxious to see her big brown eyes open wide and to hear her voice. “Dr. Russell-Aldridge is in charge of her case.”
“He’s one of the best.”
“We’re lucky to have him,” I say, thankful he came when we called him, and he’s been watching the case closely.
Atzi’s recovery is coming along. Maybe I’ll get lucky, and we’ll be able to go home in just a few weeks. But the reality is, she has a long way to go. The babies might have to stay here for a couple of months. It doesn’t matter where we are, as long as we’re together and they’re recovering.
“Baby time!” Huxley arrives, putting on the scrubs.
“You’d think he’s never seen one of those in his life,” Lysander mocks him. “How are they today?”
“They’re doing well,” Dr. Perez answers, a little too fast.
If I didn’t know better, I would think she has a crush on my brother.
“So this is the part where you go to bed, and we watch over the little ones,” Lysander explains very slowly. He’s such an asshole.
“There’s only two of you,” I remind him.
“Alex is outside finishing his coffee. He forgot that this is like the airport. No liquids, no electronics, and no bad jokes allowed.”
I shake my head, rolling my eyes. “Thank you for doing this.”
Before leaving, I say goodbye to my three little ones. As Lysander said, Alex is outside with a cup of coffee and his phone. He’s on a video call. I wave at Hannah, his wife, and hear their children say, “Hi, Uncle Heath.”
“Hi!”
“When can we meet our new cousins?”
“Hopefully soon,” I promise.
I pat Alex’s shoulder before saying goodbye. If I hurry up, I’ll be able to go to my penthouse, shower, and come back before Atzi wakes up. I have to remind myself it won’t happen that fast—Dr. Russell-Aldridge reminded me of that when he explained it to me yesterday. Sometimes I put aside my medical knowledge and try to believe that maybe things can work out differently.
When I arrive at my house, it’s upside down. Toys everywhere, Bernie on the floor playing with Eris, Rys and Caspian’s daughter. Mia, their little puppy, is right next to her. I’m guessing Ralph isn’t around, or the mammoth of a dog would be trying to have playtime with the girls too. He’s gentle for a Newfoundland mix, but it still scares me to see him too close to the kids.
“So, we’re having a party,” I say, kissing the heads of both little girls.
“It’s my turn to babysit them,” Benedict says. That’s when I notice he’s sitting in the dining room area with Derek.
“We having a meeting?” I ask when I see a bunch of folders on the table.
Derek taps the papers. “We’re looking into your woman’s case.”
“She has a case?” I have been out of the loop. My entire focus has been on the health of Atzi and the babies.
“The police can’t find anything. The plates were fake, which makes me think there’s much more to this so-called accident.”
“What does that mean?”
“We’re looking into that, but it’ll take us longer than I thought to find who did it. If I were you, I’d hire a bodyguard to keep her safe.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Humor us,” he says. “I know a good company, and I’ll even pay for it.”
“Who would want to do anything to her?”
He shrugs. “We might get some answers when she wakes up.”
“I don’t want to stress her out.”
“We’ll wait, but only if you let us have someone shadowing her twenty-four seven.”
“Even at the hospital?”
He nods. “Especially then. What if it was someone trying to steal a child? There are many cases of abducted pregnant women who we’ve found dead and childless.”
“What do you do again?”
“It’s best if we keep this on a need-to-know basis, okay?”
I nod. “Fine, but I can pay for the security.”
He grabs his phone, taps it several times, and then says, “Done. You can go take a shower and go back to your family.”
“But what if—”
“I’ll take care of this, just as you took care of my brother while I couldn’t, okay?”
I can’t argue with him. This is outside my area of expertise, and if Ben trusts him, I do too. I hope he’s wrong and this was a freak accident.
Chapter Forty-Three
Atzi
My eyelids are heavy.
Did I go to a party and drink heavily?
I don’t recall doing that since college. Okay, that’s a lie. I remember when I turned twenty-one and Cory and I visited Heath and Benedict during their first year of med school. But I never felt this sick and achy. My head’s throbbing, and my throat is as dry as the Sahara Desert.
Opening my lids takes more effort than carrying a steel beam from the garage to my studio. When I finally make it happen, the first person I see is Heath.
Heathcliff Spearman.
The grumpy man who’s been invading my dreams and telling me to keep fighting, looks like shit. Don’t get me wrong, the whole unshaven and long hair is great. However, it’s not as appealing when there are dark circles under his eyes, and he looks thinner than the last time we saw each other. His eyes fill with worry.
“Hi, love,” he greets me.
I try to speak, but I can’t. The intensity and sequence of the beeping noise that woke me up increases.
“Take a deep breath,” Heath says. “Calm down, please. You’re okay.”
How can he say that when I’m unable to talk? A throaty, almost desperate sound echoes through the room. It takes me a long second to realize it’s me.
“Yes, I know you want to ask questions. You have a tube going down your throat to help you breathe.”
I sigh and move my hands toward my belly. The babies, but I can barely move one arm and the other is wrapped with tubes, cords, and needles. This is a bad dream. I’m eleven again, after the car accident feeling powerless and waiting to die.
“The doctor and the nurses will be here soon to check your vitals and take the tube out,” he continues explaining with that calm voice he uses when I’m too agitated.
“Blink once if you know who I am.”
I humor him by doing so, and he smiles. “There’s my girl,” he says. “Well, one of them. Our little girl is currently in the NICU, growing healthy and stronger.”
My pulse shoots up when he mentions her. Where are the boys? Did something happen to them?
“Love, I need you to take a deep breath. Stress isn’t your friend. Do this for our little ones. The three of them are expecting to see their mama soon.”
I stare at him expectantly, waiting for more. They can’t be out. They still have weeks to go. “Six,” the doctor said.