Chapter 14
Nico
“Cap’ wants you to start,” Leo says, and I sigh into the phone and look out from the patio into the backyard, where Goose and Daisy are playing. Well, Daisy is playing; Goose is just walking around while Daisy jumps in and out between his feet.
“I can’t, man. I hate leaving Sophie right now. She just reached the eighth-month mark, and the doctor said she could go into labor any time. Her doctor’s appointments have moved to every week. They’re concerned because she’s already begun to dilate.”
“We could really use you right now.”
“I told you before—Sophie’s my priority,” I remind him. When this whole thing started, I told everyone that I’m not going to start working until after the babies are born and I know Sophie will be okay on her own with them.
“I know. I just thought you would relax some after you moved,” he confesses.
“I can’t relax. I still have no clue who was after her or if they still are. Now, with her due date getting closer, I’ve gotten even more nervous. I swear I feel like I’m constantly on edge. I know something’s going to happen. I just don’t know when or how to prepare for it.”
“Has anything happened?”
“No, nothing.” I rub my hand over my face.
“You’re probably just nervous about becoming a dad. When Jenna had Lynn, I was a nervous wreck.”
I’m not nervous about becoming a dad; that’s the one thing I never really worry about. I know that, with Sophie as my kids’ mother, the rest will fall into place. Plus, I have a shitload experience with kids now. I’m not nervous about having my own; I’m ready for that, even knowing how much work it will be.
“How are Jenna and Lynn?” I forgot all about his fiancée and daughter because he never talks about them.
“Jenna is a bitch and Lynn is beautiful.”
“What? I thought you guys were getting married.”
“Yeah, I thought we were getting married too until I found out she was sleeping with her high school sweetheart behind my back,” he growls into the phone.
“Shut the f*ck up. She did that?” I knew Jenna had a tendency to act like my old neighbor Deb, but I never imagined her cheating.
“She did. And had been doing it for about six months when I found out.”
“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“You mean why didn’t I tell everyone my ex-fiancée was having an affair when she was supposed to be at work? I felt like an idiot, and when I caught on to what was happening, she blamed me and my job, saying I wasn’t around when she needed me.”
“Shit. I’m sorry,” I tell him, rubbing the back of my neck.
“I’m not. I’m glad I found that shit out before I gave her my last name.”
“True, man. How are things with Lynn? She’s what, three now?”
“Perfect. If it wasn’t for her, I would be pissed I wasted so much time on her mother. That’s why I’m tellin’ you Sophie’s safe. You’re just nervous about having not only one, but two kids.”
“It’s not that, man. You’re a cop. You know that feeling you get in your gut when something is off. That’s what I feel. It’s not nerves.” I shake my head.
“You want me to do anything?”
“I don’t think there is anything anyone can do right now. That’s the f*cked-up part. I have done all I can to make sure she is safe and that, even if I’m not around, she will be okay.”
“Well, you know if you need me I’m here.”
“Thanks. As soon as I know when I can start, I’ll let you know.”
“Looking forward to it. Everyone’s excited to have Nico Mayson on board. Cap’ wanted me to see about Kenton joining the team too, but I told him that shit was not gonna happen.” He chuckles.
“Yeah, not happening, especially not right now.”
“Why? What’s going on right now?”
“Nothing. Kenton just doesn’t like red tape.”
“Your cousin’s crazy.”
He’s not wrong; Kenton does his own thing and doesn’t like anyone telling him when or how it should be done.
“All right, man. We’ll talk soon.”
“Yeah, man. Talk to you soon.” I hang up, watching Daisy and Goose for a few more minutes before heading inside to check on Sophie. I still have that feeling in my gut, and I have no idea what I’m going to do to get rid of it, but I want it gone before my kids are born.
*~*~*
“Goose, what the f*ck?” I yell, chasing him up the stairs to where Sophie is supposed to be taking a nap. The moment I get to the second floor and look down the hall towards our bedroom, I see the giant dog scraping the door, trying to get inside. “What the hell?”
I run to the door, swinging it open. Sophie’s on the floor, her body wrapped around her belly. Her face is red and sweaty, and tears are running down her face onto the hardwood floors.
“Baby.” I get down on my knees in front of her, running a hand over her head.
“Something’s wrong!” she cries out, wrapping herself tighter around her belly.
“Are you having contractions?”
“Yes, but I think there’s something wrong,” she cries harder, her body trembling. My first instinct is to pick her up and get her to the car, but something is off, and I don’t want to make this worse for her.
“I don’t think I should move you,” I tell her, grabbing the phone off the nightstand and dialing 911.
Once the dispatcher answers, I tell her what’s going on. She tells me that I need to check Sophie over, so I lift the bottom of her nightgown up to her waist before helping her onto her back and pulling off her panties. I spread her legs and don’t see the babies, so I take that as a good sign. I tell the woman on the phone that there is no blood or anything else I can see just as I hear sirens outside.
“Oh God!” Sophie screams, shoving her face into my lap, and then, without warning, I feel her teeth sink into the skin of my thigh. I grit my teeth, running a hand down her hair. Whatever pain I’m feeling right now is nothing compared to what she’s feeling.
“I gotta get the door, babe,” I tell her becoming more concerned.
Her face has paled, her breathing is more shallow, and her skin is now cool and damp. She doesn’t say anything, but she whimpers when I stand to leave.
“I’ll be right back. Goose, come.” I point to the floor where Sophie is. He whines, laying his head on top of her arms still wrapped around her waist.
I run down the stairs and throw the door open, not even bothering to make sure they’re following before I run back up the stairs. “My wife is eight months pregnant and was laying down for a nap. I found her on the floor of our room, and she said she’s having contractions, but something’s wrong.”
“We’ll take care of her,” one of the EMTs says.
As soon as we enter the master bedroom, Goose stands up in front of Sophie and growls. I knew he was a good dog before that, but guarding my girl just earned him free rein—especially since he’s the reason I knew something was wrong to begin with.
“Goose.” I point to the floor next to the bed, and he immediately goes there to stand guard. The EMTs hurry over to Sophie. I kneel above her head, putting my lips on her forehead, telling her softly that everything will be okay.
“We need to get her to the hospital,” one of them barks at his coworker.
Everything is such a blur around me that I don’t even have time to think before they’re carrying her downstairs on a gurney. I see my dad’s cruiser pull up as I’m climbing into the back of the ambulance. He nods, letting me know that he will follow as the doors close behind me.
“What’s going on?” I ask when there is a lull in activity.
The one carefully placing an IV in Sophie’s arm looks at me, his face telling me more than I want to know right now. “We’re not sure, but we think one of the babies’ cords is tangled, and she’s going to have to have an emergency C-section as soon as we get to the hospital.”
I look down at Sophie. She’s the most important person in my life. I can’t imagine something happening to her, and that thought alone scares me more than anything else. I nod at the EMT and hold her hand a little tighter, my other hand going to her belly and rubbing it once before closing my eyes. As soon as we arrive at the hospital and get her out of the ambulance, they run us down the hall towards an operating room that I hear a nurse say is already prepped and waiting.
“I’m here, baby. Everything’s going to be okay,” I tell her, seeing her nod as tears begin to form in her eyes.
“It’s going to be okay,” I repeat as the bottom of the gurney she’s on slams through the door ahead of us.
“Sir, I’m sorry, but you’re not allowed past this point,” a small woman wearing scrubs says, wrapping her hand around my arm.
“That’s my wife and kids,” I growl.
“I understand, sir. I’m sorry, but until I get the okay from the doctor, you’re not allowed,” she says calmly.
“Go get the f*cking okay from him then. My wife is in there alone. I promised her—” I hear the break in my voice and try to swallow it down. Sophie’s back there by herself and scared, and there is nothing I can do for her.
“As soon as they get her prepped for surgery, I will talk to the doctor. For now, why don’t you come with me and get changed. That way, you’re ready if you’re allowed to be with her.” I immediately follow the nurse into another room, where she hands me a stack of clothes. “Just put these on and I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she says quietly.
I jerk up my chin and start pulling on the baggie scrubs over my clothes and then slip the shoe covers over my boots before taking a seat. I don’t know how long I’m in that room alone, but I know I pray more in that time than I have in my whole life.
“Sir, you can come with me.” I look up to see the nurse standing in the doorway. I get to my feet and follow her out of the room, down a well-lit corridor. “Now, when we get in there, you need to stay near her head unless instructed differently.”
I nod and follow her the rest of the way in silence. Once we reach the end of the hall, she grabs my arm and leads me into the room. Everyone is moving around quickly while people yell back and forth to each other around her. When my eyes land on Sophie, my stomach drops. She’s lying on her back, her head the only thing I can see. Her hair is covered, and they are getting ready to put an oxygen mask over her face. I pull my arm free from the nurse and go to her.
“Hey, baby.” I bend down, breathing her in.
“You’re here,” she croaks out.
“Nowhere else I would want to be.”
“All right, Mr. and Mrs. Mayson. Are you guys ready to have some babies?”
I look across the blanket at the doctor, whose cheerfulness relieves a little bit of the claustrophobic tension that’s been building inside me since I heard Goose barking.
“You ready, baby?” I run a finger down her cheek. She nods and closes her eyes. “We’re ready when you are,” I tell the doctor.
“Then let’s get started,” he says before disappearing behind the curtain.
The nurse comes back over, bringing a rolling chair for me to sit on. I thank her and put my face near Sophie’s.
“All right, you’re gonna feel some pressure, Sophie,” I hear the doctor say above the beeping of the monitors.
“You okay, baby?”
“Yeah.” She nods, squeezing her eyes closed.
“There we are! We’ve got baby number one,” the doctor says happily.
I want to stand and look over the curtain when a loud cry fills the room, but instead, I sit there, not breathing, holding Sophie’s hand.
“Okay, Mom and Dad, baby number one is a girl.” I smile down into Sophie’s face, quickly drying the tears starting to fall from her eyes.
“Just a quick hi so I can get her cleaned up,” the nurse says, bringing our daughter over to us.
“She’s perfect,” I whisper to Sophie, looking at our little girl, seeing her cute little face and headful of dark hair.
“Let’s go get you cleaned up,” the nurse coos before taking her away.
“You’re doing great, baby.” I smile down at Sophie, so f*cking proud of her.
“Okay, Mom and Dad, we’ve got baby number two, and she is a pretty girl as well! I’ll let you see her after I have her checked over,” the doctor says.
“Two girls.” I laugh, looking down at Sophie, who looks worried. “You did great, baby.”
“Rr-ee.”
“What?” I ask before pulling the mask away from her face so I can hear what she’s saying.
“I’m worried.”
“Everything’s okay, baby. You and the girls are okay.” I kiss her before putting her mask back in place and smoothing her hair away from her face.
“Two girls… Can you believe that?” I ask her, shaking my head. I certainly can’t.
I smile when I see a small one forming on Sophie’s face, and I’m so happy to see that smile again. At that moment, a second cry fills the room, forcing me to let out a long breath. All three of my girls are alive and healthy; nothing would ever matter as much as that.
“See, baby? They’re already showing off. Listen to those lungs.”
“Okay, girl number one is four pounds and seven ounces and seventeen inches long. Girl number two is four pounds and three ounces and sixteen inches long,” one of the nurses yells from across the room.
“They’re so small,” I whisper and watch across the room as a nurse puts one of the babies in an incubator.
“Why are they putting her in that?” I ask, my heart starting to pound.
“Her O2 level’s a little low, but that machine will help bring it up.”
“Are they both okay?”
“Twin number one is doing great, and twin number two needs oxygen but looks great otherwise,” the doctor says, calming me.
“Baby”—I look down at Sophie—“we really need to give them names. I think they may get upset with us if we refer to them as twin numbers one and two for the rest of their lives,” I tell her, trying to change the look of worry I see in her eyes.
I move the mask away from her face again, and she answers, “Willow and Harmony.”
“Those are perfect.” I kiss her forehead.
“Are you mad you didn’t get a boy?” she asks with genuine concern.
“How could I be mad when I have two beautiful girls?”
“I can’t wait to hold them,” she says softly.
“Me either.”
*~*~*
I look down at my daughter, Harmony, who’s been sleeping quietly in my arms for the last hour. Her sister, Willow, is still in ICU being monitored. They said that it’s just a precaution; they were worried about her oxygen levels. I’m willing to do whatever is necessary for her to get healthy so I can take all my girls home. Sophie is still out of it from the drugs they gave her for the C-section. She’s been asleep since they brought her into this room.
I look over at Sophie and can’t believe that it was just a few hours ago I was worried out of my mind, not knowing if she or the babies were going to be okay. After Sophie was brought into the room, I went out and saw my family to let them all know that she and the babies were doing great and I would call them the next day when they could come by for a visit. They were all worried, and as much as I wanted them to meet my girls, I didn’t want anyone near them yet.
“How is she?” I look up from Harmony’s sleeping face to her mom’s beautiful eyes.
“Perfect.”
“And Willow?” Her voice cracks, and I hate that she’s upset.
“She’s fine, baby. The doctor said she should be in here with us by tomorrow morning. They just want to monitor her for now.”
“Can I hold her?”
“Of course you can. Let me lay her down so I can help you.” I carry Harmony over to her bed before going to Sophie to help her sit up, adjusting the bed and pillows around her. Once she’s comfortable, I bring her Harmony and watch as tears fill her eyes.
“She is perfect.” Her eyes meet mine, and this time, they’re smiling.
“She is, and so is her sister.”
“I can’t wait to have both of them with us,” she whispers.
“Soon, baby.”
“I can’t believe how much I love them already.” She traces a line down the center of the baby’s tiny nose. I nod; I can’t talk with the tears clogging my throat.
We stay close the rest of the night, and the next morning, when they bring Willow in, I lose it completely. Seeing my wife holding each of my girls to her breast while they feed is a moment I will never forget. I can’t believe how perfect my family is. My girls are both gorgeous. Harmony has dark-brown hair like her mother, and Willow’s hair is dark blond like mine. We won’t know what color their eyes are for a while, but I pray they’re brown with golden flecks like Sophie’s.
“I want you to sleep for a while, baby. I’m gonna have a nurse help me take the girls out to meet everyone while you rest.”
“They can come in here,” she says quietly, looking down at the girls, who are both sleeping.
“No way, baby-mama. You need your rest, and I know if we stay in here, you won’t sleep.”
“I don’t want to miss anything,” she complains with a pout.
I smile then bend forward, kissing her. “I won’t let you miss anything. They’ll probably sleep the whole time anyways.”
“Okay, but if they smile or do anything cute, you need to take a picture.”
“Promise.” I press the call button for the nurse so she can help me take the girls to see my family.
I carry Harmony while the nurse carries Willow into the waiting room. Everyone is excited to see both of our girls, but with the babies being so small and Sophie being out of my sight, I want to get them back to the room as fast as possible. I don’t know how I’m going to stand going back to work. I don’t even like to think about not seeing them for any length of time.
“Where’s your wife?” the nurse asks when we walk into the room.
I look at the bed expecting to see Sophie there, and it takes a second to realize that she’s not in bed. The blankets are half on the floor, and the bed they brought in for the girls is pushed to the side. My heart starts slamming into my ribcage when I see that the bathroom door is open, letting me know that Sophie isn’t in there either. I walk to the bed, pressing the call button before pulling out my cell phone and calling Kenton.
“We’re just getting in my car. You need me to bring you something?” he asks as soon as he picks up.
“Sophie’s not in the room. I need you back in here. Now,” I tell him, trying to stay calm. Something isn’t right.
“What do you mean she’s not in the room?”
“Exactly what I just said. Get back in here now.” I hang up.
“Did you need something?” a second nurse wearing bright pink scrubs asks, stepping into the room.
“Do you know where my wife is?” I ask, not wanting to hear the word ‘no’ come out of her mouth.
“She’s not here?” she asks, looking at the nurse holding Willow then around the room before walking into the bathroom and turning on the light.
“Get security for me,” I growl impatiently.
“Yes, of course,” she mumbles, looking worried. She leaves the room, and I look down at Harmony then over at Willow.
“Anything?” Kenton asks, coming into the room.
“I’m waiting for security to get here before I go look for her myself. Do me a favor and take Willow.” I motion for him to take my daughter from the nurse, and he does immediately. “Go check and see what’s going on with security,” I tell the nurse, and she nods, leaving the room quickly.
“We’ll find her,” Kenton says with conviction, looking down at Willow.
“I know.” There isn’t any other option.
I know that, wherever Sophie is, she’s scared, and it’s f*cking with my head. I’ve made sure since we got together that she always felt safe. Knowing that she just had emergency surgery to have our daughters and is still recovering is only making my anxiety heighten.
It takes about five minutes for security to show up, and once there, they tell me that the nurse explained what’s going on. They’ve put the hospital on lockdown and are searching for Sophie.
I take a second to call my mom to let her know that I need her here and to bring Dad. As soon as they arrive, I give her Harmony and Willow and a strict instruction to not leave the room for any reason. I leave her and Dad in the room, along with a guard at the door, and follow the head of security down the hall to the security office. Once there, we go into a small room holding the CCTVs. An older gentleman with short white hair is sitting in front of the screens, playing back a video from the camera in front of the room Sophie was in.
“You find anything yet, Charlie?”
“Not yet. Still looking,” the guy mumbles.
I watch the screen as well, trying to catch a glimpse of anything out of the ordinary. Five minutes into the video, I’m ready to start breaking shit. I need to be out looking, but I know this is the first step in the process. I watch the video of me leaving the room with the nurse and heading to the waiting area, taking my girls to meet our family. About two minutes after we leave the room, a guy wearing a long doctor’s coat and pushing a wheelchair enters Sophie’s room. He’s facing away from the camera, so I can’t see what he looks like, but I feel bile in the back of my throat as I watch him enter the room. I don’t know what happens when he is in there alone with her, but I do know I will find and kill him. About four minutes after he enters her room, I watch as he leaves, pushing a passed-out Sophie in the wheelchair, and I finally see who the f*ck it is.
Rage fills me when I see that the man pushing the chair is the same man who’s had a hard-on for Sophie since she started working at the school. David goes out of camera-view before reappearing in the next shot. He pushes Sophie casually down three halls before wheeling her out of the front door of the hospital. My body is literally shaking with adrenalin. I cannot imagine what he wants with her or how he even found out she was here.
“I know who that is. I’m gonna call Justin and tell him what I know about this guy to see if he can lead us to where he lives or where he might have her.”
“Who is it?” Kenton asks.
“He worked with her.”
“Why would he take her?”
“He wants her. He’s had a thing for her since she started working at the school,” I growl.
“Call Justin,” Kenton says as I pull my phone out of my pocket, putting it to my ear.
“Hidee-ho, Ranger Joe,” Justin answers in his usual chipper voice.
“Cut the shit,” I snap, running a hand through my hair. “I need everything you can get on a guy named David who works at the same school Sophie did.”
“You got a last name?” Justin asks, his voice now all business. I guess he must hear the seriousness in my tone.
“I think it’s Rasmussen, but I’m not sure,” I mumble, hating that I didn’t dig into the f*cker when I should have.
“Give me five and I’ll call you back with everything I find.”
“Thanks,” I say, hanging up. “Justin’s on it. He said five, so let’s be ready to roll when he gets back to me.” Kenton nods, and we head outside just as the cops start to show up. “Look, I’m gonna call Leo and fill him in on what’s going on. I don’t what the local PD in on this right now.”
“Agreed. Too much red tape,” Kenton mumbles, typing something into his cell.
I dial Leo’s number once I reach to the truck, and he answers on the second ring.
“Nico?” He sounds tired.
“Yeah, man. Look, I don’t have a lot of time because I’ve got a call coming in, but I’m going to need backup from your boys.”
“What’s going on?” I can tell my words have woken him up and piqued his interest.
“Sophie went missing from the hospital”—I pull my phone away from my ear, looking at the time—“twenty minutes ago. I got footage of the guy that took her. I need you to be ready to roll when I text you the info my man sends me.”
“Shit,” he growls, and I can tell he’s up and moving. “Hit me back when you got something. Do you know who we’re looking for?”
“Yeah, man. A guy Sophie worked with at the school. His name is David, and I think his last name is Rasmussen. He must have been watching her for a while.”
“F*ck. All right. I’ll get the guys rounded up. As soon as you know where you want us, text me.”
“Thanks.” I hang up with him just as Justin calls.
“Go,” I say, opening the door to my car.
“His address is 382 Donner Street in Springhill. It says he has another house over on Commerce in the same area. His background is pulling up all kinds of f*cked-up shit, man. He was married twice, and both times, his wives went missing. The first one was when he was nineteen and his wife was eighteen, and they had dated throughout high school. The second wife was when he was twenty-eight and she was twenty-three. She went missing a year after they got married. He was suspect number one in each case, but the police couldn’t find any evidence.”
“Jesus.”
“That’s not all,” he says, and my gut goes f*cking tight. I can’t imagine anything worse than what he just told me.
“What?”
“Seems he moves around a lot.”
“And?” I prompt.
“Each place he has lived, there have been women who come up missing, and not long after they go missing does he move from the area.”
“F*ck,” I roar. That sick f*ck has my woman. She’s still recovering from the C-section she just had, and he f*cking has her when she’s in no state to fight back.
“Go get her, man,” Justin, says before hanging up.
I look at Kenton, giving him a silent signal to get into the car.
“Talk to me,” he says as soon as I hit the gas.
I don’t know what to say; I don’t want to say out loud the f*cked-up shit I just heard.
“We’re going to get her back,” he says, filling the silence. I pray he’s right; I can’t imagine having a life where there’s no Sophie in it.
“The guy who took her has a history of women disappearing,” I choke out, feeling bile crawl up the back of my throat.
“F*ck,” Kenton clips.
“I need you to call Leo and have him go to the second address Justin gave me. Tell him about his history and let him know I want that f*cker dead.”
“If he doesn’t get taken out by one of us tonight, the second he’s in jail, he’s dead,” Kenton mutters.
I know he has that kind of power, has people everywhere who owe him. I want that. Either way, the motherf*cker’s gonna die for even looking at Sophie.
*~*~*
I stoop, making my way in front of one window then another until I’m at the back of the house. I can hear arguing from inside, and I signal for Kenton to follow. I take three steps, my back hitting the wall near the back door before I turn the handle. It clicks open, and I lift my Glock, pressing the door open with it. I search both ways while stepping into the kitchen. I hear Kenton behind me as we scope out the first two rooms we come to.
“It’s all clear down here,” he whispers.
I nod then point up the stairs. We make our way to the top, and there are two doors; one has a light penetrating from the bottom of it. I gesture to it with a tilt of my gun, and Kenton signals over his shoulder to the door behind him. He cautiously opens it to find it empty, and then I lean forward, trying to hear anything from inside the lit room. I hear two male voices and a whimper.
I have been moving on autopilot since she was taken, just doing what was necessary to get her home. I know the minute I open the door that I’m going to kill whoever is in that room with her.
Kenton nods to the room he just checked, motioning with his left hand to show me that he’s about to set off a distraction. It takes two seconds for the flash bang to go off. The door to the room I’m covering flies open, and one guy comes out. I shoot him in the head without a second thought. The second guy we heard inside points a gun at Sophie.
“Drop the f*cking gun,” I tell him, my gun aimed at his head, ready for the smallest opening.
“You killed my brother,” he says, looking down at the man at my feet.
I hear Sophie whimper and look at her for the first time. Her eyes are full of tears, she has a gag in her mouth, her face is pale, and she is tied to a chair. All I can think about is getting her out of here to somewhere safe.
“I should f*cking kill her. You killed my brother!” he yells, and I watch his finger tighten on the trigger.
“Drop the f*cking gun, David,” Kenton says this time from behind me.
“F*ck you! I’m not David. I’m Dustin.” He looks at Sophie. “I f*cking told him you weren’t worth it. You didn’t even know, did you? He’s my twin. We like to pretend to be the same person. It’s a fun game, and no one ever figured it out until it was too late.”
“Eyes on me, f*cker,” I growl, his eyes coming back to me. “You’re dead. There is nothing you could say or do to get out of this.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this. This is all your fault.” He points the gun at me. “You and your brother Cash’s fault. I thought I had chance at something real with Lilly, and then he came along and took her from me—just like you took Sophie from David.”
“F*ck me,” I breathe.
“You’re crazy,” Kenton says calmly.
Before I have a chance to blink, there’s a loud explosion in the hall, and Dustin moves his gun towards us. I take my opening and shoot once, hitting him between the eyes. Blood goes everywhere, including on Sophie, who starts to scream against the gag in her mouth.
I go to her side, carefully pulling the gag out before untying her hands and feet, wrapping her in my arms. She starts sobbing, her fingers digging into me, her face going into my neck. I pull her away, wanting to check her over.
“I got you, baby. You’re safe,” I tell her, cupping her face. I check her over and see nothing until I reach her stomach, where the nightgown she has on is covered in blood across her lower abdomen. If those f*cks weren’t dead, I would kill them all over again. “I’m gonna get you to the hospital, baby.” I put my arm under her knees and pick her up.
“Leo’s here,” Kenton says, coming back into the room. Two seconds later, Leo and two other men I met recently walk in behind him.
“Ambulance is en route,” Leo says, looking at Sophie, who is clinging to me.
“We’ll get this cleaned up. Take care of her,” Kenton says.
I nod, carrying Sophie out of the house and down the stairs, and as soon as I reach the front door, the ambulance pulls up.
“I got you, baby,” I tell her, not sure if I’m reminding her or myself at this point.
“Our girls?” she asks against the skin of my neck.
“They’re at the hospital with Ma and Dad.” I kiss her temple. The ambulance door opens and I don’t even stop; I just carry her right inside, laying her down on the gurney. “She just had a C-section. I think her stitches are torn,” I tell the EMT, watching as they start to pull up her nightgown. “You wanna shut the f*cking door and get a blanket to cover her first?”
“I’m okay,” Sophie says, palming my cheek.
I look down at her and shake my head. “You’re not okay.”
“I am. You found me.” Tears start to fall from her eyes again.
“I will always find you,” I tell her, kissing her forehead.
The door to the ambulance closes, and a blanket is laid over Sophie’s lap. I sit back and watch as they lift her nightgown, showing her waist and the incision from the C-section. The wound is open, and I can tell she’s in pain. I grit my teeth, not wanting to flip out and make this harder for her.
The guys clean up her wound as best as they can, and as soon as we reach the hospital, she is rushed back into surgery while I’m forced to wait for her outside. I call my dad and mom to make sure they’re okay with the girls up in the nursery of the hospital. Ma tells me that they are fine and that Kenton called as soon as we were in the ambulance to let them know that we were on our way back to the hospital.
I feel like crying in relief that the situation is finally over, but at the same time, I know going through something like this is going to f*ck with Sophie’s head when she just started getting over what had happened to her when she was younger. Hell, I don’t know how I’m going to deal with it. I hate that I wasn’t able to protect her when she needed me. I vow right now that nothing else will ever touch her again. I don’t care how small or big—she will never be worried or scared as long as I walk this earth.