Chapter 34
CASSIDY
The pain is excruciating, but funnily enough, it’s not as bad as a lot of the pain I’ve endured.
Killa paces the room like a wild animal while Stella tends to the burns on my legs. I am lucky it isn’t worse, much worse. I know that.
“Don’t want Noah to see her hurtin’,” Killa says, and I melt. “Can you give her something stronger to take the pain away?”
Poor Stella looks exhausted. She hasn’t breathed a word about what she’s experienced, and she’s making the girl Venom is taking care of her priority after she cares for me.
Stella clears her throat. “I have to be careful what I give her, Killa,” she bites the words out, and he locks eyes with her.
“Are we going to address that too?” It’s like she’s having a silent conversation with him, something I’m not a part of, and it should probably worry me, but I know they have my back. “We need to check her. Thoroughly.”
“Fuck!” Killa tugs on his hair and slowly exhales. He kneels beside me and takes my hand in his. “Got something to tell you, Little Demon.”
My heart pounds.
“Don’t want you to freak out.”
Again, with the trust thing. It’s like I’ve handed my life over to him to control, and I don’t even care to be bothered by how dependent I am on him. “O-Okay.”
“We’re having a baby.”
He watches me closely for a reaction.
“Yeah?” I bite my lip and wince at the sting behind it. My eyes ping-pong over his face, searching for a lie, a joke. I’m sure if I was pregnant, I would know about it.
Killa brushes his thumb over my hand.
“You hear me?” he asks, and I blink.
Is he being serious? I examine his face, but find no lie. I’m pregnant.
“You mad ’bout it?” he prompts.
A baby? Noah was born in hell, and he still became my everything. He was the gift I needed in order to survive. Something I can never be mad at.
“No. How …”
With his thumb, he wipes away the tear forming in the corner of my eye, and sucks it into his mouth, causing me to squirm.
“At the hospital. The doc told me, but I threatened him not to tell you. Wanted to make sure you let me keep you first. Love you, Little Demon. Love Noah. Love our baby already.” He places his thick hand on my stomach, and I melt at his touch.
I walked into my hell willingly, putting my baby’s life at risk yet again, but while I feel a pang of anger at Killa for keeping this from me, I am truly overjoyed at his news, and judging by the hopeful look on his face, he is too.
“You gonna marry me? Be my ol’ lady and make us all a family. Officially.”
“Oh, Jesus. Could you not have given the poor girl a proper proposal?” Stella groans, and a giggle bubbles inside me.
“Shut the fuck up and leave if you don’t wanna hear it,” he says, with not a bite of spite in his tone, but points toward the door.
“You want a proper proposal?” he whispers, and I shake my head. Truth be told, everything he’s just said is enough for me, making it perfect in our own imperfect way.
He furrows his brow. “You saying yes?”
“Yes.”
He holds my chin in place with a gentleness almost alien to him. “You’re mine, Little Demon, and I’d walk through hell for your love.”
And I believe him.