Viper almost crumpled, holding back the tears he refused to spill in front of another man.
“It was in the very early stages. Her becoming pregnant probably saved her life. I already have some of the best doctors in their field on standby for her, so you can decide which one you want to oversee her treatment. They’ll want to make sure it hasn’t metastasized and set Winter up with a treatment plan.”
“Thank you,” he said huskily.
“I know you; you’ll want the best.” The doctor almost lost his professional calm. “Winter is a strong woman, possibly the strongest woman I’ve ever met. She was in pain the last couple of weeks, yet she came into my office with a smile. She refused to take the pain medication, because she was afraid it would affect the baby.”
“She is stubborn. I knew she was hurting, but she told me it was a three on a scale of one to ten.” His wife’s stubbornness made Viper shake his head.
“More like a twelve,” Dr. Price said. “She’s a fighter like her husband. I’m very confident she will face her challenges and come out on top.”
Viper waited expectantly for Dr. Price to discuss his child. When the doctor’s eyes went to his hands on the table, Viper could barely get the words out of his mouth. He squared his jaw so his voice wouldn’t tremble, preparing himself for the hit he knew was coming.
“What about my daughter?”
Viper was exhausted. He needed sleep, but time wasn’t on his side. He wanted to spend the last days with his child before he lost her. He had been sitting by her side in the neonatal unit, watching the respirator breathe for her. Winter was still sedated, and until she came to, he knew she would want him at their daughter’s side.
He opened the door to her room, seeing Beth still sitting in the chair by her bed.
“You need to go home and get some sleep.”
Wearily, she straightened in the chair. “I’m not leaving her again.”
“Beth, you did what Sex Piston told you to do when she heard the shots. You helped Holly get Logan and Star over the fence and away from Raul. He would have killed you all if he had the chance.”
“Sex Piston didn’t leave.” Beth’s guilty conscious had her refusing to leave her bedside.
“That’s because she’s crazy.”
Beth gave a small laugh. “Yes, she is.”
“Winter will be furious if she thinks you’re blaming yourself, so stop it.”
“I’ll try.”
“Good. Now, I want you to go home to bed. You can come back tomorrow morning. Rachel is going to watch Winter when I go back to the nursery. I want to spend a few minutes alone with her before I go back.”
“All right. I’ll bring you something to eat when I come back in the morning.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it.”
Tiredly, he sat down after Beth left, reaching through the bedrails to hold Winter’s hand.
“Sleep, pretty girl. You’re going to need all your strength when you wake up. And when you do, I want you to remember your promise to me.” Viper’s voice broke. “That we will get through this together. You’re not going to be alone. All the Last Riders will help us get through this, one step at a time.”
“Yes, we will,” Rachel said from his side.
Viper jerked back. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
Rachel and Cash stared down at him sympathetically. “We didn’t want to disturb you. We stopped by the nursery. She’s beautiful, Viper.”
“She’s so small.” Viper released her hand, getting to his feet.
“I wish I could help… I want to—”
“No, Rachel. I don’t want you risking your life to save the baby. You already said you think she’s too far gone.”
Rachel nodded, and Cash placed his arm around her shoulders. Viper understood his worry. Rachel had almost died twice when she had saved Cash’s life and his grandmother’s. He had sworn never to let her use the power she had been gifted with from her Indian heritage again. Regardless, Viper didn’t know if he believed in the miracles Shade had said she was capable of.
“I need to get back to the nursery.” The machines were keeping his child alive until Winter could be there and they could say their goodbyes together.
He was moving around them, going toward the door, when Rachel said, “Viper, wait. Can I talk—”
“Security, Code Red,” a voice over the speakers sounded in the room. “Code Red. Second Floor.”
“Cash, stay here.” Viper slammed the door open, running. Winter and the nursery were both on the second floor.
His heart began pounding when he saw a group of nurses outside the nursery, where his daughter was.
“What’s going on?” he asked one of the nurses, his eyes going to the glass window, seeing Megan rocking his child.
“Move!” Viper yelled, flinging two of the nurses out of his way. He began slamming his fist on the glass.
“You can’t break it. It’s plastic.”
Shade and Knox came out of the elevator as he tried to put his boot through the door.