Chapter 65
Chapter Sixty-Five
Mila
The beeping of machines and scratchy blankets tell me that, once again, I’m not dead, just in the hospital. At this point, I think I’m going to opt for a home birth.
Gently opening my eyes, I see the room looks a little different from the last one, but not by much. Kash is slumped in the chair next to my bed, his tattooed hand covering mine. His face is covered in bruises, and I panic, wondering what happened to him.
Sitting up, I wince when I try to move my arm and pain shoots through my body. Looking down, I find my arm in a sling and rest my head back. Figures.
I close my eyes, trying to piece together what happened. I remember coming home with Kash, then running into the house while I was on the phone with Cora, then being attacked. I was out for a bit, but when I came to, I saw that girl pointing a gun at Kash.
My eyes fly open, and I find his trained on me. “Mila,” he rasps. “Thank God.”
Rising from his chair, Kash grabs the remote at the side of my bed and hits the button for the nurse. “How do you feel? Stupid question. I’m so sorry, Mila.”
“What are you sorry for?” I ask, confused.
“We don’t apologize for things we don’t do, right, Kash?” Mara’s voice sounds from the door. She’s carrying two cups of coffee as she walks in, handing one to Kash. “Or, should I say brother?”
Looking between the two of us, Mara takes the seat closest to my bed. “How’s the shoulder? Mine hurts like a bitch.” She smirks.
“Pretty much like that,” I admit.
Kash stands quietly on the other side of the bed as the nurse comes in and takes my blood pressure, asking me some questions. She assures me the doctor will be in soon and gives me some pain medicine.
“Why are you standing? What happened to you?” I direct my questions at Kash. “Was that all Bri?”
Laughing, Mara leans back in her chair. “Nah. Some of that was Dad. The leg was courtesy of Bri, but the face is all Dad.”
“My dad hit you?”
“Twice,” he clarifies.
My dad is one of the least violent people I know, so finding out he hit Kash not once but twice confuses me.
“But, why?”
Mara raises her hand. “Can I answer?”
“Go for it,” Kash mutters, taking a seat on the edge of my bed. He threads his fingers into mine, squeezing my hand. He’s telling me he’s okay, but I’m not.
“Well, when we got here, Dad saw him and boom. Hit number one. Then, Kash was screaming at the nurses’ station about you being his wife and all.
They didn’t believe him until Emma showed up with his wallet and he pulled out this marriage certificate, like a proud papa showing off his baby’s picture.
Dad wasn’t too happy about that, but it was really the next part that did it.
” Smiling, she laughs a bit. “He might as well have held up a sonogram photo instead, because when he asked the doctor if the baby was okay, Dad knocked him out cold.”
My hand flies to my stomach. I don’t feel any different, but Kash squeezes my leg, silently demanding my attention. “It’s okay, Sunshine. Baby Sprout is good and safe.”
Sighing in relief, I settle back against my pillow. Kash runs his hand across my stomach softly, then murmurs, “I’m so mad at you, Mila. So fucking mad.”
“And that’s my cue to give you kids some space.” Standing from her chair, Mara moves past Kash. She stops a moment, then leans down to whisper something in his ear. Nodding his head, he looks at her with gratitude.
Kash moves to the vacated chair and gives me a look. “I thought I died on that floor, Mila.”
“Kash, I—”
“You don’t get to make decisions for the rest of our lives,” he interrupts, giving me a stern look.
“Bri shot you in the shoulder, which is bad enough, but I thought she hit you in the chest.” Staring at his hands, Kash continues, “There was so much blood everywhere, and I’ve never felt so hopeless in my life.
Not even when my dad died, and I realized my mom wasn’t coming home.
” His eyes soften as he adds with a broken whisper, “I was so scared, Mila.”
When I woke up on the floor, I saw Kash standing a few feet away from me. My arm was throbbing, and my head hurt, but I remember the fear I felt when I saw her pull that gun out. She had it trained on his chest, and I didn’t even think about it twice.
I couldn’t let Kash die thinking that this is what the women in his life were made of. Bri wanted to control him, and his mom left him behind. I needed him to understand that there was someone who loved him more than they loved themself.
“You are everything to me, Mila. You can’t leave me. I need you, remember? You promised me forever, and you can’t keep that promise if you aren’t here.” His voice cracks.
Burying his head in my lap, Kash’s body shakes with tremors. “I’m here, Kash. I won’t go anywhere.”
Shuffling over in the bed, I pat the side of it. “Come on, Casanova.” I know damn well we aren’t going to fit, but I need him close to me. Kash gives me strength.
He shakes his head, but then I gesture to his leg. “Your leg is in a cast. You and I both know it should be elevated. Get up here. Please.”
Gently climbing into bed on my right side, Kash angles his body against mine. The bed is not meant for both of us, but I don’t care.
Kash rests his hand on my stomach, as if he has to protect our baby from anything here. Laying my good hand on top, I thread our fingers together and tighten my grip. “I love you, Casanova. Baby Sprout and I both do.”
Kissing my forehead, he tugs me as close as he dares. “I’m going to spank your ass so hard for what you did. Don’t think it’s going unpunished, Mrs. Malone,” he whispers, though there’s no actual threat in his voice.
I don’t want to ask any more questions right now.
I feel sleep pulling me back under, and as I close my eyes, I know enough.
Kash and I are okay, and so is our baby.
Bri is gone, however that looks, and nothing else matters at this point.
I can talk to my dad later and smooth things out because I know one thing for certain. My husband isn’t going anywhere.
“Promises, promises.”