Chapter 24 #2
“I’ll make sure she does,” I answer at the same time.
“Alright. Rest and then I’ll sign the discharge papers.” He leaves so she can’t argue with him.
My arms tighten around her as I pull her against my chest once more. “Rest. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Promise?”
“I swear on my life.”
Six hours later, and after a battery of blood tests have been done, Delphi is finally released. Instead of going home, though, she hits the button in the elevator for the maternity floor.
“Delphi, I’m not sure this is a good idea.”
“Probably not, but I’m doing it anyway. He took so much from me, Kruger. I won’t let him take this too.”
I slide my hand into hers and sigh. “Okay, chestnut. Whatever you need.”
When the elevator opens on the correct floor, we head to the nurses’ station to find out where Legs is, when I hear my name called.
“Kruger, over here.”
I turn and see Crane sitting in one of the waiting room chairs, the rest of the visitors giving him a wide berth.
“Hey, any news?”
“Not yet. First babies take a while, though. You might have come too soon.” His gaze drifts down to Delphi’s arm, where he sees the hospital bracelet around her wrist. “Delphi?”
“I need to use the restroom. Kruger can fill you in. I…I’ll be right back.”
“Del—”
“I promise I’m okay, Kruger. I just can’t go through it again. I won’t be long, so don’t drag it out, okay?”
She’s gone before I can stop her. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about her having another seizure, but wrapping her in cotton wool is a sure-fire way to lose her.
“What the fuck is going on, Kruger? I know Blade, and the way he was acting was fucked. Tell me he didn’t hurt her.”
“No, not like that.” I sigh, taking a seat. “Sit down. Trust me, you’re going to need it.” I tell him everything he missed, including what happened since we got here.
“That poor fucking woman. It would be so easy to lay the blame at Blade’s feet and say we didn’t know. But we knew what he was suggesting wasn’t Delphi’s style. If we’d really thought about it, we’d have known he wasn’t acting right himself. But we were all too wrapped up in what was happening.”
“Why is everyone so set on blaming themselves? Why can’t we just blame the assholes who did this to us?” We both jolt at the sound of Delphi’s voice.
Before I can say anything, Crane jumps up and gently pulls her in for a hug. She looks so surprised for a second, she doesn’t know what to do with her hands. Eventually, she wraps them around his waist and hugs him back.
He pulls back and looks down at her. “I’m blaming them. I’m blaming them all, trust me. And later, you better be sure I’m going to piss all over them.”
I snort, knowing he’s being serious. He knows exactly where the bodies are buried because he helped bury them.
“But we all let you down, Delphi. Nothing you can say will change that. We can’t go back, but I can guarantee moving forward that each man will lie on broken glass so that you don’t cut your feet. We can be dumb motherfuckers, but we learn our lessons.”
She reaches up and kisses him on the cheek. “I missed you, Crane.”
He swallows, and I can see the man getting choked up. “And me you, sweet girl.”
I grin, not sure that was English, though I got the gist. But sweet girl? Even Delphi laughs at that.
“Not sure I’m all that sweet anymore.”
“Bullshit. By rights, you should have doused us all in gasoline and thrown a match at us. But here you are, standing with the man who was always meant to be yours, forgiving an old man who fucked up and knows it, all while waiting on news about a mother and baby you helped save. Damn fucking right you’re sweet. ”
She chuckles, and the sound loosens some of the tightness in my chest. It’s not gone, and this might be the calm before the storm because I’m not sure she’s processing shit the way she should be.
But then how are you supposed to process this?
Is there a handbook to guide you through something like this?
Or is it just one more thing that men ignore, and women endure in silence as a lesson learned?
As if she knows what I’m thinking, she looks my way. Before she can say anything, Midas comes running into the waiting room.
“He’s here.”
Delphi whirls around and hurries over to him. “Is he okay? Is Legs okay? Wait…he…I thought you were having a girl?”
“Surprised the fuck out of us too. But both baby and mom are doing well.” He grins at her before he reaches down and picks her up, swinging her around, which makes her squeal.
He places her back on her feet before he cups her face and presses his lips to her forehead, making me scowl.
Why the fuck does everyone insist on kissing my woman?
“Thank you, Delphi.”
“You are so very welcome.”
“Want to meet him?”
She nods as he looks over to us.
“Come on then. Come meet my son.”
He beams with pride as he practically drags a laughing Delphi along with him. We follow, walking through the door to Legs’s room, behind them.
I see Legs on the bed, looking tired and so fucking happy it’s impossible not to smile.
“Hey, little man,” she coos to the baby in her arms. “I want you to meet your Aunt Delphi.”
Midas gently takes him from Legs and hands him over to Delphi. “Delphi, meet Hero, our son,” Midas murmurs reverently.
It’s only because I’m so focused on her face that I see the tortured pain steal her breath away before she masks it, pasting on a smile as she introduces herself to the little boy I know she’ll spoil rotten.
As happy as she is for Legs, and god knows she is, the baby is a stark reminder of the little boy she never got to take home.
I walk up behind her, wrap my arms around her, and offer her my silent support. “Breathe, Delphi. I’ve got you, baby.”
She takes a shuddering breath, her gaze never leaving the baby’s, but I catch the tear that drips into his onesie.
“You are so loved, little one. You’re going to have an amazing life, and I’m so happy I get to be a part of it,” she whispers before kissing the top of his head and handing him back to Midas. I can feel her shaking, but she doesn’t let her smile falter, even when Legs looks at her and frowns.
“Everything okay? What happened after we left?”
“Everything is fine. And the rest doesn’t matter right now. Enjoy this moment, Legs. The rest—it’s all bullshit anyway.”
“Delphi—”
“The seizure took it out of her Legs, but she refused to rest until she saw you.”
“Oh, my goodness, I got so caught up in everything, I forgot. Please—”
“No. You didn’t forget, you were busy,” Delphi teases. “But I’ve gotta go lie down before I fall down. I’ll be back, though, I promise.”
She takes a deep breath and walks over to Legs to hug her.
When she pulls free, she heads back to me.
I ignore Midas and Legs’s worried looks, happy when Crane steps in to distract them.
We say our goodbyes, and I lead her out.
She’s shaking so hard right now, I’m not sure we’ll even make it to the elevator.
“You need to breathe for me, Delphi, or you’re going to end up having another seizure.”
“I’m okay. I’m okay, I’m okay,” she chants as we step on board. She grips the front of my T-shirt and holds on tight as the elevator descends.
The doors open, but she stands there, holding me, not making a move to get off. “He was so beautiful, wasn’t he?”
I don’t know if she’s talking about Hero or Samuel, but my answer is the same. “Yeah, baby. He’s beautiful.”
She holds herself together as I lead her out of the elevator and toward the main exit. When we make it outside, the sky has darkened to an indigo blue, streaked with the vivid pink of the setting sun. It’s not the color of the sky that makes her stop, though. It’s the boy who walks up to us.
One look at him and she breaks. He pulls her from my arms into his and holds on to her as I move in close, letting her know I’m here, offering Theo support as much as Delphi.
His eyes lock on mine as he shields her from the storm of chaos surrounding her.
I know in that moment, where Delphi is concerned, we’ll always be a team.
I don’t know how long we stand there, but by the time she pulls back, she looks as if someone has hollowed out her insides.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
“Why? You were my shoulder when I needed it. Why can’t I be yours?”
She swallows and offers him a watery smile. “You’re right. And for future reference, you’re really good at it.”
“Of course, I am. Have you seen these bad boys? They were made for comforting women.” Theo flexes his arms, making her laugh, which was the aim.
I wrap my hand around his neck and tug him forward, my head touching his briefly before I pull back. “Let’s go home. I’m feeling pizza and Netflix.”
“I’ll catch you guys later?” Theo says, stepping back.
I frown. “You’re coming with us, right?”
He swallows, looking to Delphi, who nods.
“Yeah, yeah, that sounds good.”
Hours later, when the food is gone and the movie is over, I tuck Delphi into bed.
She fell asleep with her head in my lap and her feet in Theo’s.
She didn’t last past the opening credits, but I didn’t care.
She was home, safe, and that’s all that mattered.
I look back on her one last time before I pull the door closed and head downstairs.
Theo is sitting on the couch after tidying up the pizza boxes. He jumps up when I enter. “What happened? Con wouldn’t tell me much, just that Delphi needed me.”
Damn, that kid is impossible not to like.
“The prospects didn’t know what was going on.
I won’t lie, Theo, I’m not going to tell you everything because it’s not my story to tell.
What I will say is she found out today that something happened to her, something orchestrated by someone she loved.
She got hurt in ways you can’t even imagine, and I don’t even want you to try.
I just need you to keep an eye on her if I can’t be around. She had two seizures tonight.”
His eyes bug out. “Fuck.”
“Language.” I sigh.
He rolls his eyes but doesn’t argue with me. “Is she gonna be okay?”
“In the long run, yeah. She has people around her who love her and who’ll support her every step of the way. But she’s going to hurt for a while. We can’t stop that. All we can do is hold her hand and walk beside her so when she stumbles, we can catch her.”
He nods, reaching for his can of Coke, taking a sip as he processes everything. “The person who hurt her? He dead?”
I hesitate, but then I decide that if I expect honesty, I need to be honest with him. “Yeah, though he got off far too fucking easy if you ask me.”
He jumps to his feet and starts stomping on the ground, calling out every name under the sun as I sit there watching him with amusement.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
“I figure he’s down there somewhere. Evil fucker, he deserves it. I just want him to know exactly what I think of him.”
I grin and get to my feet, doing the same. It’s oddly cathartic telling Snake how much I want to rip his spine out of his asshole, though I worry about the vocabulary this kid will go back to school with by the time we’re done. Eventually, the anger tapers out and we both sit down.
“Want to crash on the sofa tonight? Tomorrow we can go look at houses.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
He nods. I get up and head to the closet for spare pillows and a blanket.
“Need something to sleep in?”
“Nah, I’ll sleep in my boxers.”
“Alright, catch you in the morning.”
“Night, Kruger.”
“Night, kid.”
I head up to bed and crawl in beside the woman I love. Unbeknownst to us, prospects surround the house like a security blanket, keeping her safe while she sleeps.