Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
KRUGER
I catch her as she falls, lowering her quickly to the ground as another seizure takes hold. Panic claws away inside of me at her having one so close to the last.
Everyone gathers around, almost protectively, as we wait for the worst of it to pass. When she settles down, I look up at Blade, whose face is pale.
“What was that at the end? What did she figure out that the rest of us missed?”
He lifts his gaze from Delphi to me. “That the babies could have been anyone’s, and Snake couldn’t have that. It would give him away.”
“What did he do?” I grit out, but I know, goddamn it.
“He gave her pills that would make her abort the babies.”
“That motherfucker!” I hear G snarl before something smashes
I look down at my girl and wonder how the fuck you come back from that, only to find her looking up at me. Tears track down the sides of her face as her body comes back online. She might not be able to speak or move, but her brain remembers. I wish like fuck she could forget.
After a few minutes, she takes a deep, shaky breath, and the room quiets once more, as if she’d screamed instead.
“It wasn’t a dream, was it? It was real.”
I dip my head and press my lips to her forehead, breathing her in, trying to figure out what to say. But what the fuck is there to say to this? I look up at the men around me, needing someone to tell me what the fuck to do.
Havoc is the first to move. He drags G with him, and both stand side by side as Circus and Capone do the same on the other side of us.
Before I can comprehend what’s happening, I hear Delphi gasp as she takes them in.
I look back up and feel a lump in my throat when I realize they’ve lined up on either side of us in solidarity.
“I’m going to sit you up, okay? Then I’m going to take you to the hospital to get you checked out.”
“I’m okay,” she answers like she always fucking does. Like she didn’t just have her life flipped upside down all over again.
“I’m getting you checked anyway. That’s two seizures, one right on top of the other.”
“It was just the shock I—”
I press my forehead to hers. “Please, baby, just let me do this.”
“Okay,” she whispers as I ease her into a sitting position. I jump up when I know she’s not going to fall back and scoop her into my arms.
Blade steps up to us, smoothing her hair back from her face. “I didn’t want you to know. I fucked up. I know I did, but I couldn’t see a scenario where you wouldn’t get hurt.”
She reaches out and cups his cheek. “It was an impossible choice. You should have told me. But if it had been Legs, I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same.”
He leans over and kisses her forehead.
“I can come home now, right? You won’t hate me anymore?”
He sniffs, his voice coming out choked when he replies. “I never hated you, Delphi. I hated myself.”
“I don’t want you to do that anymore.”
“Okay,” he whispers as she wraps her arms around my neck and lays her head against my shoulder.
As we walk through the line-up of brothers, each of them presses a hand to their hearts while bowing their heads.
“What are they doing?” she whispers, her voice a little slurred.
“Respecting you. Honoring you. Loving you without overwhelming you.”
“Really?” The disbelief in her voice hits us all hard.
“Yeah, chestnut, really.” Her eyes flutter closed as she drifts off, the back-to-back seizures wiping her out.
As I get to the end of the line, Dice steps forward. “I’ll drive you to the hospital.”
“We’ll keep traffic out of the way,” Hoops states as he and Powers step forward, their eyes on Delphi.
None of them were here when everything went down. They didn’t know any of the players or Delphi back then. But they hurt for her, like the rest of us, because nobody should have to endure what she has, especially at the hands of a man who professed to love her.
I nod but keep walking as they fall into step beside me. None of us speaks. None of us needs to. But their presence is a reminder for Delphi that no matter what lies ahead, this time, she won’t be facing it alone.
When we make it to the hospital, it’s by sheer luck that we’re seen by the doctor we saw before.
When he catches sight of her unconscious in my arms, he snaps the nursing staff around him into gear before using us to get her into a room.
I lay her down on the bed and explain to him what happened.
I planned to lie my ass off, but instead the truth comes out.
Well, most of it. I realize there are probably a bunch of tests that she should have, least of all screening for STDs.
“Tell me this asshole is in jail. Tell me they all are.”
“They’re dead.”
He opens his mouth but shuts it again when he sees the expression on my face. “Good. I’m tired of seeing good people get fucked over while men like that walk away scot-free every time.”
I eye him and make a mental note to bring him up with Havoc.
Not sure the doctor would be interested in helping the club, but he seems less judgmental than others.
Until we can get something more permanently sorted, we need someone.
Hell, today we had Delphi’s seizures, Legs going into labor, and Blade with what we thought was a heart attack.
“Shouldn’t she be waking up now?”
“Her body is doing just what it needs to—resting. Epilepsy aside, this woman’s body has been under an immense amount of strain lately. It fought hard to keep her alive. I’m more worried about the mental toll it’s taking.”
“I’ll see if I can get her to talk to someone.”
He looks up at me, surprised.
“I want her happy and healthy. I’ll use every tool in my arsenal to make that happen.”
“You’re a good man, Kruger.”
“I hope I’m good enough because she doesn’t just need someone to weather the storm with her. She needs someone to shield her from it. I’ve let her down so many times.”
“Then learn from your mistakes. Instead of falling down, step up.”
“Just like that?”
“Is she worth it?”
“Fuck yes,” I answer without hesitation.
“Then yes, just like that.”
I walk over to the bed when she stirs, her eyes fluttering open for a few seconds before clarity returns.
I lean over her, taking one of her hands in mine as the doctor walks closer.
“Hello again, Miss Anders.”
She turns her head to look at him. “Hi.” Her voice is small and wounded, and I fucking hate it.
“Can I get some tests done while I’m here?”
“Of course, Miss Anders. Kruger explained the situation. I’ll get a nurse in to take your blood and order a full panel screening.”
“Kruger, too. I didn’t know. I would never have put you in danger if I knew—”
I cut her off with a peck on the lips. “None of this is your fault. I’ll get tested too.”
She takes a relieved breath before looking at the doctor again.
“After I lost my babies, the doctors said there was nothing I could have done differently, that it was an act of God. But what if it wasn’t an act of God?
What if it were the act of a monster? I’d stopped dreaming of having kids because I can’t keep losing them.
Only I wasn’t losing them, doc. They were being stolen from me. ”
She breaks down sobbing. I climb up onto the bed beside her and pull her into my arms, holding her tightly to me, wishing I could take this pain for her.
“Miss Anders—”
“Delphi.” She hiccups, pulling away just enough so she can look over at the doctor. “Call me Delphi.”
“Alright, Delphi. The answer to your question is no. As a general rule, that type of medication will not affect you getting pregnant in the future. I’m so very, very sorry that this happened to you.”
She nods rapidly. “Me too. I feel so stupid. I should have been able to tell, right? Like I should have known in myself that something wasn’t right.”
“Why? Yes, you might have felt something the next morning, but it could have easily been put off as something else—premenstrual cramps, food allergies and intolerances, diet, stress, even your migraines.”
“Yeah, that’s…that’s exactly it. It wasn’t every morning. I’d have known. Well, not known…who would ever think their loving husband was drugging them and having them raped? God, I’m going to be sick.”
The doctor hurries over with one of those weird kidney bean-shaped plastic bowls and holds it under her mouth as she starts puking. I murmur soothing words to her and pull her hair away from her face until she mumbles that she’s done.
“If it were daily,” she resumes, her hand shaking in mine, “I’d have gone to my doctor complaining that things didn’t feel right. But it wasn’t every day. It wasn’t even every week. It was sporadic and easily explained away. He was clever, and I was dumb. So fucking dumb.”
“No. He was a predator. They don’t think like us regular folks.
They manipulate and twist everything, so you don’t question anything.
They make you think you’re the problem and that you’re imagining things.
I’m sure he gaslit you a lot, likely subtle enough that you didn’t notice at the time.
But perhaps looking back, without the blinders of love? ”
She nods slowly before looking at me. “I don’t know how many men I’ve slept with.”
“Two. You chose to sleep with two men. The rest don’t matter. You didn’t give them anything. They took it—without consent. They don’t fucking count.”
“But they do because I feel dirty and used.”
“No. You don’t see what I see, chestnut. You shine so bright, it’s like a beacon. Hell, sometimes it hurts my eyes just to look at you. I feel like the luckiest man on the planet just to sit next to you.”
“He’s right, Delphi. Imagine a young girl walking in right now with your story. What would you say to her? Would you tell her it was her own fault? That she was to blame somehow?”
“No, of course not.” She sighs, getting what the doctor is saying.
“I’ll get the nurse to draw blood on both of you.”
“Do I have to stay, or can I go home?”
“You get a little more rest, and I’ll send you home as long as you take it easy.”
“I will.”