Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 77980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“Stop wasting my fucking time, Doc.”
“Stop wasting mine! I’m doing my job,” he growled back. “You have a gun to my head, so I want, need you to manage your expectations.”
“Consider them managed.” My jaw clenched, and I nodded for him to get out. “Get out of here. I’ll do it myself.”
Thomas and I sat for hours. I prayed, begged her, and willed her to open her eyes. Hours passed. Then I realized the doctor was right.
Sitting here with a gun in my hand wouldn’t make Sadie wake up. And in a flash of insight, something in me surrendered to that truth. This was Sadie’s fight and I had to wait until she was ready.
But as much as I knew I couldn’t bend Sadie to my will, I also knew I couldn’t leave her alone that day. I had to stay with her and wait for her to let me know she was ready. And I’d wait in that hospital room with her until hell froze over if that was what it took.
It was the longest goddamn wait of my life.
And then suddenly, hours after I’d stormed into the hospital, gun blazing with Thomas at my side, humbled now by a power I couldn’t control, Sadie’s eyelids fluttered. Her fingers twitched. That was the only movement for another few minutes.
“Come on, Ma.” She was so close, I could tell. “Just wake up,” I whispered.
Thomas went to her side, and I stayed where I was, worried she wouldn’t wake up. Worried she wouldn’t be able to speak, or worse, she would have no memories of any of us.
“Come on, babe. Open up those pretty green eyes for me. We’ve all been waiting.”
She blinked, and finally, her eyes were open. Wide open and clear. Recognition dawned at the sight of Thomas, and she smiled. My heart leaped into my throat. Sadie was awake. Thomas held her hand to his face and closed his eyes.
“Tommy,” she whispered in a voice haggard from illness and disuse. Cillian says hi.”
He laughed and turned into her hand, kissing her palm. “Glad to see you, babe.”
“Ma.” I took a step forward but stopped abruptly when her gaze landed on me and turned to a scowl.
“Colm. You bastard!” She shouted. “Get the fuck out!” And just as fast as they opened, her eyes closed.
“What the fuck just happened?” I grunted and turned on my heels, getting away from the fucking hospital as fast as I could.
Colm. She looked at me and saw that fucking monster?
My phone pinged at an ungodly hour. Of course it was Thomas. Who else gets up at the crack of dawn?
“What?” I growled, needing to take care of my morning wood.
“Thought you’d like a report on Beck’s raid last night.”
I could tell from the tone in his voice it was Lucky Lopez 1, Beck 0.
“Tell me,” I said, hunching up against the upholstered headboard of my bed. “But first, did Sadie wake up again after I left the hospital?”
His long awkward silence gave me the answer, but he said no, anyway. “But that’s not why I’m calling. Our place was clean as a kindergarten bake sale when Beck’s feds came in, flashing their badges and guns. They didn’t find a dancer under twenty-five years of age.”
I snorted. “You brought out the old ladies. What about the college girls? Are they all legit?”
“Yes, they are. Twenty-one and up. I checked them out myself. Ellison’s spot on this time.”
“So Beck didn’t show up herself?”
“Nope,” Thomas said with a chuckle. “I guess she wanted it to seem like a regular raid, not harassment. You’ll have to see if she brings it up.”
”Will do.” I cut off the call and walked into the shower, a happy man for a change.
Fat chance Beck would ever mention that she’d been bested by Lucky Lopez’s close attention to federal laws.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Mo
“The nausea is normal, Maureen. Perfectly normal.” The doctor’s kind smile did nothing to ease my worries. “You’re nearly sixteen weeks, so it should get better, if not disappear altogether. If it worsens, come back.”
I nodded, happy to hear that everything was normal as far as pregnancies went. “And the baby is okay?”
He nodded. “Growing exactly as expected. Your baby’s development is where it should be. On your next visit, we might find out the gender if the little one cooperates.” He pointed to the screen where the little ball was facing away from us.
“Sounds good.” It hardly seemed soon enough to know if I was having a boy or a girl. How was the pregnancy moving along so fast?
“I take it that means you’ve decided to continue the pregnancy?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“You don’t sound sure.”
“I am sure. Absolutely.” I always wanted a child but thought I’d find a decent man first, one who wanted me, who thought I was great enough to marry, not just fuck.