Chapter 3 Danger Left Breathing #2
Kayden turned and positioned his wheelchair in front of her and placed his hand on her stomach.
“How’s my little boy doing?” he broke in, changing the subject.
Lana smiled and covered his hand with hers. It made her happy to see how excited he was about the new life they made together. The light in his eyes when he brought up the baby seemed to lift his darkest of days—pure joy.
“She’s fine,” Lana teased.
Maureen smiled too, admiring them both, and Lana caught a look on her face. It flashed quickly, and if you blinked, you’d have never seen it. Was it worry? Regret? Guilt?
“Well, I’d better be on my way. Lots to do,” she announced, slipping into her coat.
“Where are you headed?” Kayden asked as she picked up her Hermes Birkin bag.
“Heathcliff and I have a lunch date, then, I have to get the retainer to the lawyers for the case against Kim, and of course, check that the contractors at your new estate are doing their jobs,” she informed. “A mother’s work is never done. You’ll see.”
She winked at Lana as she threw her pashmina over her shoulder and stalked down the hallway to the front door. Kayden rolled his eyes after the thud of the front door closed behind her. He turned to Theo next.
“I apologize about my mother,” he said, as Theo continued packing up his bag.
“I appreciate that, but perhaps we should schedule your therapy at times when you don’t have as many distractions?” he replied, hefting the bag off the floor.
“Understood,” Kayden replied.
Lana grabbed one of her crutches, balanced on her leg, then walked Theo to the front door.
“Drive safe,” she called out, as he trotted down the stairs towards his rental.
When she hopped back into the living room again, she was stunned to find Kayden trying to stand on his feet with the help of her other crutch!
“Are you kidding me! What are you doing?!” she shrieked.
It was way too early for him to attempt something like that with a barely healed hip, a broken leg, and a maimed arm.
“It’s getting better,” he gasped, as beads of sweat soaked his forehead. His breathing was labored, and Lana hopped over to him as fast as she could and grabbed his arm.
“Sit down, Kayden, before you hurt yourself !”
He looked down at her worried face, then dropped his head. It was useless to fight, and he had started feeling dizzy anyway. Slowly, he eased himself down, with her help, back into the chair. He let out a big breath and a sheepish grin.
“See, good as new,” he joked, but Lana wasn’t laughing.
They used to be broken people for very different reasons, and now, because of Kim, they were both literally broken, and it enraged her.
Every time she looked at his battered body or put too much weight on her ankle, she wanted to yank all her hair out again.
She eased herself down on the couch, and he positioned his wheelchair to face her.
“She’s gonna pay for this,” Lana declared.
She hated that anyone, especially Kim, had made them victims.
“Justice will prevail, don’t you worry about her. What you need to be concerned with is staying stress-free for the baby’s sake,” he reasoned in his cool and calm voice.
Lana smirked, knew it was true, but every fiber of her soul wanted to corner Kim alone in a room for a few minutes, preferably, with the use of all her limbs this time.
Jail would have to suffice for her, and that calmed her a bit.
Kayden reached over with his good arm and grabbed her hand.
She looked into his beautiful eyes and forced a weak smile.
Although he was in good spirits, there was something under the lid of his eyes that looked off.
Fear maybe? She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she caught glimpses of it when he didn’t realize she was watching.
The clicking of Paula’s heels turned her attention to the stairs, and she was dressed in jeans and a turtleneck.
Her oversized shades were covering most of her face, and she smiled at them when she hit the landing.
“You ready?” she chirped.
Lana nodded, but she wasn’t ready. Not ready for the drive into Shelby, or the embarrassing stirrups.
She stood from the couch and grabbed both her crutches, raising a brow at Kayden.
Nurse Almaria Thompson would be Kayden’s caretaker for the day, and she was scheduled to arrive in fifteen minutes.
After the care she took with her at the hospital, Lana recommended the nurse to Maureen, and she happily accepted the job.
She leaned over and gave him a sultry kiss, although her bruised lip stung.
“I love you. I’ll be back in a bit,” she said.
He pulled her closer and kissed her again.
“I’ll be fine,” he beamed up at Paula, “Be careful with my family, big sister.”
“Of course,” she replied, then strolled down the hallway towards the door with Lana.
Once it closed, Kayden roared and grabbed his leg. The truth was, it hurt like a mother, and trying to stand on it was the most idiotic thing he’d done that morning. The pain sent shockwaves through his hip, and he held back every bit of that pain to not alarm Lana any more than she already was.
He pushed his wheelchair to the coffee table and retrieved the bottle of oxycodone. He struggled with the top, but finally popped it off and chucked two into his mouth. He swallowed, then took another long breath and welcomed the drowsiness that would soon follow.
LYING ON THE paper-covered examination table with her legs in stirrups, Lana couldn’t help the nervous wiggling of her good leg.
It caused her thin blanket to ride up her thigh, though, and expose more of herself to the doctor than she wished.
Dr. Lisa Bellevue placed her arm on Lana’s foot and gave a gentle smile.
“Try to be calm, OK.” She smiled through teeth so white they looked tinted light blue.
Lana let out a slow breath as Dr. Bellevue removed the long sonogram tool and readied it for an intravaginal exam. They had tried over the stomach a few minutes earlier, but couldn’t find the embryo, and that scared the shit out of her.
“I just need you to take a breath as I insert, and be very still for me,” she coached.
Lana looked over at Paula, who had taken off her shades, revealing puffy eyes. She held onto her best friend’s hand as the long-lubed metal tool was slipped inside her. It didn’t hurt so much as it was uncomfortable, and she squeezed Paula’s hand when the doctor started moving it around.
“It’s gonna be fine,” Paula assured, stroking Lana’s hair with her free hand and ignoring the hulk-like grip she had on the other.
“Alrighty, there we go,” Dr. Bellevue said, as she looked up at the small monitor above Lana’s head.
Lana looked at the monitor but couldn’t tell what she was seeing. As if on cue, the doctor spoke.
“Now it’s still early—but there is your baby,” she announced, grinning ear to ear.
Lana looked at her, then at the monitor again, then at Paula.
“Where?” Lana asked as the doctor turned the pole around her nether region.
“Right there,” Dr. Bellevue replied, then hit a button on a keyboard to freeze the frame.
Lana could only see what looked like black and gray swirls and couldn’t make any sense of it.
“Oh, I see,” she lied, “is everything OK then?”
“So far, so good. I’ll print a few pictures for you.”
Lana nodded as she tapped the keyboard and printed out the small images. Dr. Bellevue pulled the pole out, and it really hurt that time.
“Alright, we have a little blood, but it’s nothing to be alarmed about. It happens often with this type of exam ok” she explained.
Lana’s heart rate increased, and she looked up at Paula.
“It’s OK, it’s normal,” she reassured, but Paula had no idea if the doctor was lying or not.
The reserved and professional woman didn’t seem alarmed in the least, so she didn’t worry and didn’t want Lana to.
Dr. Bellevue handed Lana the two black-and-white images.
“I’ll give you a moment to get dressed. There are some wipes and tissues right here for you,” she pointed to the table next to her, then disappeared from the room.
Lana sat up slowly and looked at the blob in the picture.
“Can you make out anything?” she asked Paula, handing them to her.
Paula took the photos and gave an inspection. “Not a clue,” she admitted, giggling.
“Me either. I lied,” Lana replied, laughing, relieved she wasn’t the only one.
“Can you help me get dressed?”
Paula helped her balance as she started putting her clothes back on; her earlier stress melted away.
If the doctor said everything was fine, then everything was fine, and she would stop worrying.
She wanted to get back to Kayden as fast as possible anyway, and the quicker she could get dressed, the faster she could be in his waiting arms.
MAUREEN TAPPED HER heel against the concrete floor and waited as the guard opened the gate to the hallway containing Kimberly Wallace’s cell.
She had no intention of making nice with the monster of a girl after what she’d done, but the urgency in her call earlier piqued her interest. Maureen stepped inside and motioned for the guard to leave.
Betty nodded, grabbed her box lunch, and walked away.
Maureen continued down the hall and stopped when she saw Kim sitting in the cell to her left.
She stood up then and approached Maureen eagerly, a smile plastered on her face.
“What do you have to say to me that couldn’t be done on your collect call?” Maureen demanded, her steely gaze wiping the smile off her mouth.
Kim felt the frost emanating from Maureen, but didn’t let it worry her since the woman was typically frigid anyway.
“I need you to help get me out of here,” Kim stated as she folded her arms over her chest defiantly.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. You seriously are delusional, aren’t you? I can’t believe I never saw it before,” Maureen said, scoffing at her audacity.