Protecting My Hart (Protectors Series Book 1) (40 page)

“Well?” I ask Leia. It really doesn’t matter what those results are, he’s my kid regardless, but the results will tell us if we can just add my name to the birth certificate or if I have to legally adopt him. Leia looks up at me with tears in her eyes.

“He’s yours. No doubt about it now.” She smiles. I let out a breath that I didn’t even know I was holding and hug my son tighter. Beamer squeezes my shoulder

“I know it never mattered to you, man, but I’m glad he’s your blood. Hart will be happy to know the truth now too.”

“Yeah.” I rasp out.

“Hartley Cardoane.” I spin when I hear her name being called.

“I’m her husband.” I tell the doctor, and lay Ethan down on the couch next to Leia, just as the doctor reaches us.

“Mr. Cardoane, your wife has two broken ribs, a fractured wrist and bruises over most of her torso and face. She also suffered a hairline fracture to her skull. There is no swelling, which is all good. There is no internal bleeding or injuries other than the ribs. The baby is just fine, has a nice strong heartbeat.”

“Thank god. Thank you Doct.…Wait, what? Did you say baby?” my mind is spinning. A baby. We are going to have a baby.

“Um, yes. I take it you didn’t know she was pregnant.” The doctor smiles. “Well she might not know either, she’s about three months along, but everything looks good. The baby looks healthy. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Doctor. When can I see my wife?”

“Now if you’d like. We have her under light sedation so that she will sleep until morning, but you can go in there. There is a waiting room just outside her room, if you’d all like to move up there.

“Congrats, man. You are gonna be a daddy again!” Beamer gives me a hug.

“Sweet, another nephew, or I might get a niece this time!” Kash exclaims.

“Congratulations, honey. I’m so happy for you both and I’m glad that everyone is OK.”

“Thank you, Leia. Did she tell you?”

“No. She did say she needed to talk girl-talk but she didn’t say what it was about.”

I nod at her. “Can you take Ethan home for me? I’m staying here tonight but, there’s no reason that Ethan can’t sleep in his own bed.”

“Sure thing.”

I wake Ethan up and explain to him that his Momma is going to be OK, and that she needs to sleep. Ethan is a little reluctant to leave, but the guys tell him they are going to have a giant sleepover with Auntie Leia as well and that they can make pancakes in the morning. This information excites him and he’s more willing to go home. Leia promised to call me if he wakes up at all and can’t go back to sleep, but Beamer reassures me that they can handle it. I give my son a huge hug and kiss before he leaves with his Auntie and Uncles. I make my way up to Hartley’s room. She’s lying in the bed, not moving except for her chest. She is hooked up to a few machines, but other than that, she is perfectly still. I now understand exactly what she felt when she saw me in the hospital. This is a horrible feeling. I lower the bedside railing, settle into a chair and take her hand. I silently send up a prayer and thank you to my parents for watching out for us. Yes, she is in the hospital, but it could be so, so, much worse. I thank my lucky stars that she is going to be OK and that Ethan was found, and is alive. I thank them for not letting things become worse for Hartley and for giving us a baby. I can’t believe I’m going to be a Daddy again, it feels surreal. I take a deep breath and try to relax some. I am going to be right here when she wakes up.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
My eyes open slightly. I’m in a hospital room. My body hurts.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Why am I in the hospital?
Beep. Beep. Beep.
I keep still while the fog in my head lifts slowly, and then it all comes crashing down on me. My eyes close tightly, and the next thing I know I’m crying, body shaking sobs and it hurts. Everything hurts. “NO. NO! Ethan, baby, I’m so sorry. No! Sorry, so sorry.”

“Hart, it’s OK, Tesoro.” Slyde’s voice fills my ears.

“Slyde?” I choke out as my eyes open. He smiles at me. Why is he smiling? He must not know. He doesn’t know. I have to tell him. He can’t smile.

“Ethan’s dead.” I choke on the words that shatter my heart into a billion tiny painful shards.

“No, Hart, he’s not. He’s perfectly OK.”

“He is. I heard the gunshot. I saw him fall. He’s dead.”

“Hartley, you saw him fall to the ground before the gun ever went off. I was there, I saw JD raise the gun to him and I yelled for Ethan to get down as he was running toward me. You heard the gunshot from JD’s gun, he was startled and shot the wall, and then we shot him. Several times. JD’s dead, Hart. Ethan isn’t. He has a couple of bruises but other than that he is perfectly fine.

“He’s alive?” I cry.

“Yeah, Hart, here.” Slyde presses a button and the bed starts to sit up. He moves me with it gently so that I am propped up more, then he pulls out his phone I hear it ringing and Beamer answers. “Hey, man, she’s awake put Ethan on the phone.” Slyde hits a button and then I hear it. The most beautiful sound in the world. My son’s voice.

“Momma?”

“Hi, baby.” I choke out, the relief I feel is so overpowering that I’m not even sure my voice works.

“Momma, you are awake now. Do you feel better?”

“Yeah, sweetie. I do. Are you OK?”

“Oh yeah, Momma. I am OK. Uncle Kash and Uncle Beamer and Auntie Leia are here playing with me. We had a big sleepover last night. Uncle Beamer, can we go see Momma now?”

“Yeah, buddy, we can go see her in a little while. She needs to rest some more, but I will talk to Daddy about it.”

“OK. Momma, Uncle Beamer said we can come see you later after he talks to Daddy.”

“I can’t wait, sweetie. I miss you and I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Momma.” Then he is gone and Slyde takes the phone off speaker, exchanging a few words with Beamer before hanging up.

“He’s alive.” I cry. The crying hurts my ribs but I can’t stop. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have gone, but I had to. I had to save him. I’m sorry I hit you. I’m sorry I said all of those horrible things to you. I’m so sorry, Slyde, I didn’t mean any of them. This wasn’t your fault. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I love you so much. I’m so sorry.”

“Shhh, Hart, calm down, Tesoro. It’s OK. I understand it all. You were just scared, I was too. There’s no need to apologize, Hart, it’s all OK. You need to calm down, Tesoro; you have a couple broken ribs, fractured wrist and a hairline fracture to the skull. You have lots of bruising but you are OK, you and Ethan are both OK, Hartley, I swear.”

I’m trying to calm down when another thought slams through me. My baby. Oh my god, my baby. My hand automatically moves to my stomach as the bright blue plus sign flashes in my head. Terror fills me again at the thought of JD hurting my new baby. Slyde’s hand gently covers mine and squeezes softly.

“The baby is fine. Nice strong heart beat.” Slyde states. He knows, oh my god he knows. Well of course he does. I’m in the hospital so they would have found out and told him. “Tesoro, how long have you known?” he asks softly and the ice cold fear and panic races through me.

“Two weeks.” I sob. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

Next thing I know Slyde has climbed into bed next to me and pulled me to him.

“Shhhh, Hart, don’t cry. There is no reason to cry or to be sorry.” He kisses my head.

“You’re not mad?”

“Mad that we are going to have a baby? No, Tesoro, I’m not mad at all. I was surprised when the doctor told me that you were pregnant, but I was never mad. I wasn’t even sure if you knew. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m terrified. We never really talked about having kids and I didn’t know if you wanted kids ever. Ethan was kinda forced upon you and I’m so happy that you love him and he loves you, but I didn’t want you to feel like I trapped you or something. This wasn’t planned and I’m afraid that one day you are going to realize that this isn’t what you want, that it’s not worth it. I just didn’t know what to do, or how to tell you. I’m not really prepared to leave if you want me to, of course I will and you won’t have to—” I’m cut off from finishing what I was saying by his warm lips sealed to mine. My body relaxes into him. My heart is being healed; I can feel it. All of the fear and panic that has consumed me has disappeared. My family is OK, and I’m in Slyde’s arms.

“Hartley, you are always worth the fight, always have been, always will be and I will always, always, always fight for you. Do you understand me?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, now no more thoughts about leaving. Never again do you have to leave or run and if you do, I swear you won’t get far. I will find you, Tesoro. I won’t let you vanish again. If you want to leave, then we leave as a family. Nothing was forced on me either, so you can toss that thought out of your head as well. You, Ethan, this life we have is what I chose and I’d choose it again every fuckin’ time. I’m happy that our little family is expanding. I’m excited to experience this with you this time. You don’t have to go through it alone. We are going to get to decorate a nursery and buy clothes and toys, I’m gonna be by your side the entire time. I love you, Hart, and that is never going to change, mi Tesoro, ever.”

“Slyde.” I choke out and press closer.

“I have one more thing to tell you, Hart. It’s good news.” He moves so we are facing one another.

“I made the nurses here run a DNA test on me and Ethan. They wouldn’t let me back there during his exam at first cause according to the records Ethan doesn’t have a father. I was persuasive and they let me stay with him, they did the rapid test.”

“And?” I ask breathlessly.

“There’s no more doubt, he’s my son, Hartley.”

“Really?” I ask as his words race through me pushing out any remaining darkness I had.

“Really, Hartley, Ethan is my son. Te amo mi amor. Tu eres mi preciosa Tesoro, y mi belleza. Siempre, Hartley, I will love you forever.”

I can’t say anything because I am overcome with so much emotion that the only escape they have is through tears, so I just throw myself in his arms and start crying, again. Everything that I have dreamed about has happened. I’m married, happily to Slyde Cardoane. He is the father of my son. I have a family, a place to call home and a new baby to be excited about. My nightmares are truly over, and my husband helped me end them. He has been my protector, even when I didn’t know it. He has loved me unconditionally without fault. He fought for me, for our son, for our family, because it was what he wanted, and not out of obligation. I no longer have to run or hide. I can live happily. I no longer have to protect my heart, I have given it to a man who will do that for me, and I get to love him for the rest of my life.

“Come on, Hart, one more.”

“I can’t.” I pant out.

“Yeah you can, Tesoro. Just one more push.” Slyde has his arm around me holding me up as I lean into him. Labor sucks. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking doing this shit naturally again, at least this time Slyde is here and he is letting me squeeze the hell out of his hands and arms and is helping me focus. “Come on, Tesoro, you can do this, Hart.”

With one last push and a scream torn from my body, our daughter enters the world. I collapse back onto the bed, dragging in air. The nurse lays her on my chest and begins to clean her up. She lets out a loud cry and it’s beautiful. Slyde’s lips press to my forehead, and when I turn to look at him he is smiling so wide and has tears in his eyes.

“I’m so proud of you, Tesoro. She’s perfect. So beautiful like her Momma.”

“Hi my baby Lilly.” I tell her softly. Slyde and I both fell in love with the name Lilly, and we decided to name her after Slyde’s mother Annabelle, so we combined them, and her name is Lilliana Cardoane. The nurse takes her from me and over to the counter where they give her a bath and take her measurements. Slyde watches, completely fascinated, and tells me everything they are doing. One of the other nurses helps me get put back together and I’m finally settled back in bed. I can’t wipe the smile off my face as I watch the nurse place Lilly in her Daddy’s arms. Slyde looks as if he is floating as he walks back to my bed.

“Te amo, mi precisosa Lilly.” He whispers, leaving a kiss on her head before gently laying her in my arms.