Chapter 35 #3
“It is very important to me that you know this decision is yours. Whatever that may be…” He released me, and I slipped a step back.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’d be honored beyond belief if I had the privilege of being a father.
” A brief upturn of his mouth was quickly schooled into submission.
“But I don’t expect you to… I want you to not care what I think. Do what’s right for you.”
The writhing mass of my fury, paused, stuttered, ceased, leaving an unbearable lightness in its wake. I must not have heard him right.
“Whatever you need,” he repeated. “Whatever—"
A sinking-swimming sensation flooded through me. The ground moved, and suddenly I was wrapped in a pair for strong arms, pressed flush to a warm wall of solid muscle.
It was too late for many choices anyway. Despite not yet being at the twenty-four-week mark, the condescending doctor had slapped a ‘fetus viable’ sticker all over my medical records, which even while under a pseudonym, had done something to my psyche.
And though I was loathe to admit it, and the idea of having a child scared me, I’d grown attached to my passenger.
“I need you to figure out a way to keep me out of prison.” I murmured into the crook of his soaking wet dress shirt. “And I’m choosing the name.”
A choke emanated from the back of his throat. The wall of muscle trembled. “So, you’re saying…”
“We’re going to…” My mouth quivered. “You’re going to…” I couldn’t finish.
“…have a baby?” Disbelief and reverence radiated from Jack. The moment more tender, more all-consuming, than I could have hoped.
Slipping my arms up through the circle of Jack’s embrace, I sheltered my face with my hands and nodded.
“Really?” Jack’s words were a whisper against my skin.
I just kept nodding, not daring to look at anything beyond the darkness of my closed lids.
“Delilah, this is… thank you. I—” Jack repositioned himself, cupping my head, holding me close, his lips at my temple.
“This is the greatest gift I’ve ever received.
Our child won’t want for anything. I promise you. ”
“Easy for you to say,” I choked.
“I’ll prove it to you.” He hummed against my skin. “I’ll do right by you. Our child. I swear it.”
And for a second, I let myself forgot all about the dangers at our doorstep, and let myself believe him.
Just for a second before—
Ahem-hem. Someone cleared their throat behind us.
Peeling out of Jack’s arms, I turned to find Todd surveying the alley, avoiding eye contact at all costs. “We should go.”
I took another couple steps away from Jack, as if Todd hadn’t just caught me wrapped up in his superior’s arms. “I can’t go back in there.”
The hospital was far too close to the set up I had with the Seal, and way too close to judgmental doctors, hospital gowns, ultrasounds, and everything from the last three months I was trying to forget.
“You don’t have to go back in.” Rain collected on Todd’s shoulders, plastering his shirt to his form. “But we need to get you somewhere safe.”
My need to leave, or my refusal to return, had been anticipated because parked at the far end of the alley was Todd’s sedan.
And while my body still screamed at me to run, to get as far away from dealing with my situation as possible, I forced myself to say, “Fine. But this coat is mine until I get some real clothes.”
The fluttering in my stomach renewed with vigor as I spun on my heel and marched towards the car. The sedan unlocked as I approached and slid into the back seat where there was more room for me to occupy. But the men hadn’t followed.
Over my shoulder, Todd had a hold on Jack, keeping him at arm’s length.
Both were perfectly still, staring at each other in the rain.
A moment or two passed, then with a spontaneous and simultaneous nod, they came to some sort of agreement.
Todd released his grip on Jack, before walking shoulder to shoulder in an intimidating wall of muscle towards the car.
Feeling somewhat the voyeur, I spun myself around to avoid getting caught gawking, but it just so happened I had positioned myself in perfect alignment with the rear-view mirror, and continued to watch as Todd said, “For the record, Jack, the question you should have asked was about her wellbeing. Not why you were left out.” He shot cold hard steel in Jack’s direction. “Do better.”
Jack absorbed the feedback with a dip of is head, before the agents rounded the car, going their separate directions. Todd took the driver’s seat. Jack slid into the back with me.
I was going to comment on the lack of personal space, when Jack guided my head onto his shoulder and said, “We’ve got you.” Any remaining resistance promptly left. “Rest.”
But even with the steady drum of Jack’s heart against my ear, all I could pay attention to was Todd as he repositioned the rear-view mirror until I was in his eyeline, and I was staring straight into his molten core. He was livid. I could feel the disappointment rolling off him.
Guess he figured out Jack was the father.