Chapter 41 #2
“I'm sorry, I can’t help it.” She pulls back and wipes her eyes before holding Ashia’s face in her hands. “Yes, sweetie. Serena told us everything. How are you really feeling? Do you need anything?”
“No, I think we’re okay. Damien was really good about packing what we would need, and Serena ran over to the house to check on everyone.”
My mom nods her head, then looks back at me before slowly making her way over. She holds her hands to her chest and fidgets, clearly fighting not to reach out and touch her.
“What’s her name?” My heart soars at her question, despite my previous tension. I glance over at Ashia and shrug, wanting her to do the honors.
“Come look at her name plate.” She taps the bassinet.
Mom narrows her eyes at me suspiciously before stepping over to it and bending down to read it.
When she snaps back around, her eyes are already filled with happy tears.
She covers her trembling lip with her hand and double-takes just to make sure she read it right.
“Well, Leanne?” Dad asks with a tilted head.
She uses her free hand to gesture him over, but he freezes.
He looks around the room, eyeing everything but me, because he already knows what we named her…
His stare crosses mine for only a split moment, but that’s all it took to make his face twitch with emotion.
“It’s beautiful,” he forces out and clears his throat, then beelines for the bathroom.
“Don’t mind him.” Mom swats her hand and scurries over to me, already pulling out her phone before she speaks again. “Can I take some pictures?”
“No flash,” I warn her, but as I see the excitement on her face, it comes out a little too nicely.
“I promise.”
I lean down and kiss my wife, fighting back the butterflies in my stomach and flush to my cheeks.
“Let me know what Alex says?” She looks up at me with wide eyes when I pull away.
“I promise I’ll tell you everything.” Now that Serena is back, I can walk my parents to the lobby and call to check in with the guys.
I need an update on their search for Satori and if there’s been another sighting.
It’s not that I don’t want Ashia to hear whatever Alex has to say, but I want to be able to relay any news to her in a way that won’t immediately upset her. “I’ll be right back, my love.”
“Okay, baby.” I kiss her again, then lean down to peck Emma’s little head as she feeds from her mother.
“Daddy will just be a few minutes, princess.” I turn away from them and instantly hate myself for it.
Each step as I lead my parents out of the room feels like it might kill me.
How am I ever going to go back to work? I’m going to be gone five minutes tops, and that’s already too long.
I’m supposed to go back to being away from them for hours?
In just six weeks? Maybe I should retire.
Twenty-eight seems like a reasonable age, and I’m sure Zeke wouldn’t mind taking over permanently.
“Oh, honey. Take a deep breath. They’re okay.” Mom lays her hand on my forearm, snapping me back into the moment. The elevator dings and almost scares me to death. When the fuck did we make it out to the waiting room?
“She really is perfect, son. You have a beautiful family.” Dad grips my shoulder as we step into the elevator.
“Yeah, they are. They’re…” I take a deep breath as the door closes, feeling so overwhelmed with every emotion that I feel dizzy. “They’re everything. I’m just…so in awe, like this isn’t real.”
“Oh, it’s real,” Mom chuckles. “Just wait until she keeps you up for thirty-six hours straight or starts teething.” She cups my face in her hands, looking at me with so much joy that it’s crushing. “We’re so proud of you, sweetie.”
“Thanks, Mom…” The bell dings and we step off into the full hospital entryway.
The late evening sun beams through the large main windows, reminding me of how much time has actually passed.
The past twenty-four hours have been the most hectic, yet amazing time of my life.
Wait a minute, when did Ashia eat dinner last night?
It hits me then.
She hasn’t had anything to eat in almost an entire day…
I yank out my phone as we walk, and start looking through a dashing app for anything and everything she likes—while also considering what will get here the quickest. I’m not going to subject her to hospital food, and she doesn’t need a nurse telling her what she can and can’t have.
My woman deserves a feast after what she’s been through, and she can have whatever the fuck she wants.
I quickly find the perfect place, already knowing exactly what to order.
“When will the doctor let you take them home?” Dad asks, stopping us near the main doors. I place the order and glance up at him.
“Hopefully in a couple of days, but they won’t release Emma until she can regulate her temperature without being held. Plus, they want to watch Ashia’s blood pressure and make sure she doesn’t develop any complications or infections.
“Well, you two just let us know what you need, and we’ll handle it.”
My phone vibrates in my hand, stealing my attention and forcing it on a text from Zeke.
Zeke
Carter and I are on the way to visit. Hope that’s alright.
Jesus, as nice as his mom is, didn’t she teach him some manners?
In his defense, I’m surprised the text didn’t just say ‘I’m coming to see my sister, asshole.’ So, at least this is somewhat of a question?
Only if you pick up the food I ordered for your sister on your way here.
His response is immediate.
Zeke
Done. Be back in twenty.
I raise an eyebrow.
Back? You guys were already here?
Zeke
We were about to pull in, but that’s irrelevant.
Well, that just proves my point.
I huff and change the order to pick up, then finally respond to my father.
“Thanks, Dad. We appreciate it.” I instinctively look around and catch someone staring back at me in the corner of my eye.
By the time I can focus, he’s made his way over to the elevator, but a cold chill runs down my spine, calling out to my inner demons.
He may be several yards away, but recognition slaps me in the face.
My protectiveness claws at my core, begging to unleash hell.
“What is it, Damien?” Mom asks, but I don’t look away.
“That’s Ian. He left with Satori…”
“Are you sure that’s him?” Dad steps up beside me and looks in the same direction, standing taller and stronger than before, like I am.
“I’m sure.” Darkness falls over me when he presses the button to call for the lift.
I step in that direction, only making it a couple of strides, then freeze.
This feels off—too easy. Elevators have cameras, and while Satori is a coward, he would never send someone else to finish his business.
What he would do, however, is throw his men into the fire to ensure his own success.
He's not stupid, either, but I'm not falling for his tricks again. “He’s a distraction.”
“Get back to them, I’ve got him,” Dad commands, and I split off before I can watch him act.
There are two sets of elevators, and the other is located on the opposite side of the hospital.
It'll be quicker if I take the stairs back to them, just like I did when I arrived last night, so I veer in that direction. My steps are long and forceful, attempting to make it to the stairs as quickly as possible without drawing attention. Killing him in a hospital and getting away with it is going to be difficult, so there isn’t any room for error.
The moment I step into the stairwell, I take off sprinting, flying up the stairs as if my feet aren’t actually touching them.
It’s hard to tell if it’s me making noise or someone else from the harsh echoes, but as I turn the corner to the first floor, I faintly catch a swipe of navy blue a flight above me, rushing up the steps.
Traitor…
They speak to me. Not to hurt me, not to confuse me, but to guide me.
They wouldn’t resurface for just anyone, no matter how angry and scared I am in this moment.
This is their way of telling me that is Satori.
Instead of working against me, they're now a part of me, guiding me in a way that they can still live inside me without sacrificing my sanity.
A surge of dark energy explodes in my chest and quickly makes its way through my veins, shoving me forward faster, running off of nothing but desperation and focus.
Once I approach the next corner, I grip the railing and throw myself over, ignoring the way my stomach flips as I land just a few steps behind him.
“Satori!” My voice echoes through the stairwell, making him halt in place.
Pressure builds in my chest as I stare at him.
If it wasn’t for the voices, I wouldn’t have thought it was him.
His hair is longer and disheveled, like he hasn’t washed it in weeks.
He wears navy blue scrubs, which is confusing for me until he finally turns around.
Blood trails down the front of the top, like it would if he was bleeding from his head.
He seems completely unharmed, though, and by the tight fit, I’d say he ended someone’s life to obtain this cover.
A badge dangles from the waistband, but it’s facing inward as to hide the identity.
I automatically assume that was his plan to gain access to the Labor and Delivery ward without detection.
When he turns completely, I feel nothing but hatred and anger, and I expect him to feel the same emotions when his eyes meet mine…
but I don’t. It’s there, but hidden, as if he’s waiting for the perfect moment to unleash his depravity.
There's also disappointment, like he didn’t expect to see me, and that tells me only one thing…
I’m not his target.