“I discussed it with my PR and my agent. Do you know how many brands will sponsor us? I can make a lot of money from having him. If I had known, I would’ve hired more nannies and done it sooner.”
What is she talking about?
“He’s never going to be a public person—unless he chooses to do so when he’s older.”
“He’s mine too.”
I don’t have time to argue with her. I can hear Keaghan crying. He’s not feeling well. “Funny that you mention it, but you rescinded your parental rights. It’s over. Leave and never come back.”
“I’ll go to the press. I’ll tell everyone that I had postpartum depression, and you took him away from me. You took advantage of the situation.” Her sweet tone changes, her eyes flare.
“Did you have postpartum depression?”
“No, but I can pay any doctor to say that I did. I’ll take him away from you. Who do you think they’re going to believe? His distraught mother or you…no one will believe your story. If we take this to court, the judge will give me custody of him, and you can kiss your career goodbye.”
Nathalie comes running back. She hands me Keaghan, who’s grunting. “Is he okay?”
She shakes her head, pulling her phone from her purse.
“Hey, where are you?”
I frown. Who is she calling?
Laura, who doesn’t care that Keaghan is not feeling well, continues, “You’re avoiding me, but I’m not leaving until we take the first picture and I post it.”
“If my son’s face appears on the internet, you’ll be paying dearly, Laura. Your career will be over—”
“Shut up!” Nathalie orders, glaring at Laura. “I can’t hear the person on the other line. If you really cared about my son, you wouldn’t be demanding stupid shit.”
“What is she talking about?”
“Be quiet, Laura!”
“As I was saying, Keaghan is grunting. I checked his abdomen and it’s pulling air and he’s breathing fast…when he coughs there’s mucus…He’s having trouble inhaling.” She gets closer to us, touches his forehead, kisses it. “He’s not burning hot, but he’s running a low fever. You’d be flustered and talking irrationally, too, if your child was sick. No wait, you’d hand him to your mother.”
She sighs. “Sorry. Yes, we could get there...give me a second.” She looks at me. “How soon can we get to the hospital?”
My heart is pounding rapidly. I call Lang right away. “Hey, Keaghan is sick. We need to rush him to the hospital.”
“It might be faster to fly a doctor in.”
“Give me a second.”
“What if we fly a doctor here instead? That’ll take thirty minutes.”
“Did you hear?” She taps the phone. “You’re on speaker.”
“Rush him to the hospital. He might need oxygen, an IV, or a procedure to open his airways. If you can be there within a couple of hours, it should be fine. Let me know where and I’ll meet you there.”
“I’ll text you the information. Thank you.”
“Hey, it’s going to be okay, I promise,” whoever is on the other side of the line assures her.
She shakes her head and hangs up the phone. “I’m going to change his clothes. Get a bag ready for him in case he has to stay overnight.”
I nod. “Lang, I’m going to text you some information. If you can send people to get rid of my trash, I’ll appreciate it.”
“Oh, we have trash? I’ll be happy to get it out of your house. In the meantime, go to the farmhouse and wait for the helicopter.”
I go through the house, lock all the rooms from the inside, and head toward Keaghan’s room. “Is he going to be okay?”
She nods twice.
“How about you?”
“We have to go,” she answers, avoiding my question.
I grab the bag, the empty carrier, and march behind Nat, who’s carrying the baby. I open the main door for her and kiss Keagh’s forehead. “Why don’t you go ahead? I have to take care of this issue.”
Nat nods. I brush her lips with mine. “It’s going to be okay,” I promise.
I’m not sure why I’m being optimistic. Her brother is in Seattle waiting for us, but is it just to help with the baby, or is he waiting for Nat to take her away?
As they leave, I feel like my family is crumbling. Just like it happened when I was a kid, there’s nothing I can do to stop this.
“Where are you going?” Laura asks.
“The hospital. My people will be here to escort you back to Seattle. My lawyer is working on a restraining order as we speak.”
She scoffs. “This is why things never worked between us. You’re too intense.”
We were never together. I never intended to be with her. This answers one of my questions. If I hadn’t been avoiding love, would I have loved her? No. I would’ve dodged women like Laura.
As I’m about to walk out of the house, Grace and Beacon arrive.
“Leave,” Grace orders.
“She’s cute when she gets bossy, isn’t she?” Beacon kisses her cheek.
It takes me a few seconds to realize she’s wearing armor and so is Beacon. Are they going on a mission without the team? “Where are you going?”
“I’m the clean-up crew,” she says, stretching her neck and cracking her knuckles. “No one threatens my nephew.”
News travels fast in Luna Harbor. “We can wait for whoever Lang is sending.”
“The helicopter will be here in fifty minutes. In the meantime, I get to kick her ass—or just restrain her. I’m the closest female detail of The Organization.”
I grin and say, “Break her nose.”
“G’s favorite thing, breaking bones,” Beacon says enthusiastically. “Can I watch?”
I don’t listen to their weird flirting. Those two are twisted. I run toward the farm, trying to catch up with Nat and Keaghan and fighting the demons that keep creeping inside my heart. They are taking away my hope, and I shouldn’t let them.
Keaghan will be okay, and Nathalie isn’t going to leave me.
But what if I’m wrong?
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Fisher
Sixty minutes feel like a hundred years.
Every second that passes I’m praying to a God I haven't spoken to in years.
I pray for the life of my child.
I pray for clarity.
I don’t know what’s happening, but fever and trouble breathing don’t scream that my child will be okay. Nathalie is holding onto Keaghan for dear life. If I had any questions about the gravity of this situation, I just had to look at her to know it’s critical.
She’s afraid she’s going to lose him.
We land on the hospital’s helipad and head to the first floor where Aspen and Elroy are waiting for us.
“He’s going to be okay,” Elroy says. “It’s probably RSV.”
“He’s not six months old yet,” Nathalie says.
“Trust me. I’ll make sure he’s fine.”