40. Huntley
Chapter Forty
HUNTLEY
She was white as a ghost.
When my eyes landed on River making her way into the waiting room, I opened my mouth to ask her why she hadn’t called me so I could meet her to walk her in. Then my gaze took in her pale complexion, the fear in her eyes, and worry immediately set in.
I was on my feet in an instant and rushing toward her.
Reaching her, my gaze scanned her head to toe, looking for injuries, but nothing stood out.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” I asked, softly placing my hands on her arms and looking into her eyes.
Her flinch from my touch had despair slamming into me.
Was she hurt? Did I scare her?
River's beautiful eyes flashed apologetically but she said nothing; she just moved into my embrace and buried her face against my chest. Although I sighed in relief that she was letting me hold her, alarm bells were still going off in my head.
I placed one arm around her back and my other went to her head, softly stroking her hair. “It’s okay, baby, I’m right here,” I whispered as her muffled tears began to soak my shirt.
Hearing footsteps behind me, I knew we were about to have company—a whole lot of it from the sound of things.
“Mom, what’s going on? Why are you upset?” Lennon asked as he approached, his voice hard and full of worry.
He was gearing up to do whatever he needed to in order to take care of River. At sixteen, he held so much on his shoulders and I hoped one day he would let me carry more of the load. He’d been getting better but still struggled with not taking on the world when it came to his mom and sister.
It reinforced once again that I didn’t know everything the boy had been through—Bre either for that matter—but it made sense how protective he was. He knew some of what River had been through—not every small detail—and she’d also been the one to save him and Bre when they needed someone.
“Mom?” Bre’s voice came through, tentative with concern.
River pushed off me and glanced at her kids. When I turned, not only were they there but Lake too, while all our other friends watched with worried expressions. The kids stayed close to their parents, all but Stormi, who was clutching her mother’s hand and watching her aunt closely.
Still visibly shaken but in true River fashion, and not wanting to cause her family or others any worry, I watched her square her shoulders in an attempt to reassure them she was fine.
“I’m fine, just a small hiccup at work.” She blew out a breath. “Tell me how London is?”
No way after seeing her ashen face and terror-filled eyes, along with her tears that tore me up inside, was I letting this go. Something had happened and for her to be that upset, it wasn’t nothing.
Softly grasping her palm in mine, I started to pull her away from the group. “We’ll be right back, just give us a minute,” I told everyone, my eyes pleading with them to let me handle things.
I breathed in relief when nobody followed us, even as River protested repeatedly that she was okay.
Moving us to a secluded corner on the other side of the room, I lifted her chin with my hand and begged her first with my eyes, then my words to tell me what was wrong. After a minute, she sighed and with trembling lips, her voice shaky, she explained what went down outside her building.
As the words left her mouth, my body vibrated with rage and my jaw clenched so tightly I thought my back molars might break. I fought to stay calm so I didn’t scare her further than she already was.
Suddenly, panic began to rise and I reached toward her stomach as my gaze scanned her body again. I hadn’t seen anything when she walked in but what if…
Before I could check for injuries, she took hold of my hand where it softly gripped her shirt. “I’m okay. He didn’t hurt me.”
I released the material and tenderly skimmed the back of my hand down her soft cheek. “Maybe not physically, but he still hurt you, sweetheart.”
She shuddered.
In broad fucking daylight, someone had the damn nerve to scare my girl. But why? That's what I had to find out. We needed to check the security cameras to see if they picked up his face or vehicle at all.
I glanced over River’s shoulder and my gaze clashed with Braxton’s. When his brows lifted, I nodded subtly, making it clear we had an issue. A big fucking issue.
When I looked back to River, she met my gaze with tear-filled eyes.
“Let’s forget about this for now.” She placed her finger over my lips as I opened my mouth to say something. “I don’t want to ruin my friend's special moment” She blew out a shaky breath. “Please, just let me enjoy this moment with her and everyone, then we can talk more?”
God, I wanted to say we needed to get to the bottom of shit right that second, but I couldn’t say no to the woman I loved when she was looking at me with pleading, vulnerable eyes. Maybe we could compromise?
“I don’t want too much time to lapse before someone starts to put things in motion. How about we agree to meet in the middle?”
She cocked her head.
“Let me at least tell Braxton in private so he can have the security company check the camera and give a heads up to Bronson while he is on duty. Then we don’t have to talk about it again until after London has the baby.”
She nodded. “Okay.” Resting her hands on my chest, she gave me a tiny smile. “Thank you. After it happened…” She sniffled, an aftermath of her tears that had now stopped. “All I wanted was to get to you. I knew you would protect me.”
Damn her words felt good but fuck if I wanted her to ever go through anything like that. I couldn’t even imagine the sheer terror that must have gone through her at seeing that knife. Hearing her say it took her back to the worst night of her life almost dropped me to my knees.
“I’ll always protect you, sweetheart.” I kissed her forehead. “But you’re such a warrior and so damn strong.”
She shook her head.
“Yes you are, baby.” I ran the back of my hand down the side of her cheek. “But you will always have me.”
Her eyes closed for a second and then fluttered back open.
“I can’t live without you,” she whispered, her voice full of vulnerability .
I cupped her cheeks in the palm of my hands.
“You won’t ever have to,” I told her.
“You’re fucking kidding, nothing?”
It had been tough to wait until London had the baby before truly diving into who was responsible for scaring the shit out of River and threatening her.
Everyone was aware that something bad had happened and Lake was clearly worried about her sister, something that River hated since she was so close to giving birth too, but nobody pushed my girl to talk when it was obvious she hadn’t wanted to right then.
While the ladies took turns watching the kids in the waiting room and the others visited London along with the newest addition to their family—a beautiful baby girl—I was talking with the guys, Bronson included. He’d gotten off shift, swung by River’s work, and then had come to the hospital.
And then, there was also Lennon who deserved to know what was happening. He’d been River’s protector for the last few years and would also likely be home when I was at work, so it was important to be upfront with him. The kid’s face looked how I felt, worried and seething mad.
“Whoever it was, came from the side of the building so there was nothing showing him getting in and out of a vehicle. He also was wearing a ski mask and gloves,” Braxton stated.
My hands fisted at my sides, my fingers digging into my palms because they were clenched so tight. “Broad fucking daylight!”
I looked at Bronson hoping he had some good news after going by her place of business in person. He was shaking his head and blew out a frustrated breath .
“After arriving, I took a look around and went inside to speak with anyone who had offices there,” Bronson told us. “You mentioned River said a guy came out yelling and scared the dude off.”
Thank God that man came out when he had.
“Well, the guy wasn’t sure what to do since River took off, but he did call the cops. They’d taken the witness’s statement and got the info for the security company, along with obtaining River’s info so they could come back and talk to her,” Bronson went on.
Shit, she wasn’t going to like that.
“I’ve taken care of that and let the officer know I was family. I told them I was handling things with River and would be monitoring the situation.”
Thank fuck for that. River wasn’t going to like feeling like she was burdening anyone, but I knew she would much rather talk to her brother-in-law than random cops.
“Thank you,” I told Bronson, scrubbing my palms down my face.
A large hand clasped my shoulder. “We will keep looking into this,” Gyth said. “We know what you’re going through.”
All the guys nodded in agreement. I knew they understood; each of them had been right where I was at one time, going out of their mind with worry over the woman they loved.
Before anything else could be said, the door to London’s room opened and Lake waddled out with a concerned look on her face. She’d kill me if she knew I was thinking that, but it was true with her growing belly on her small frame.
She looked at me, then her gaze roamed the group. “Is someone going to tell me what’s going on?”
Bronson was by her side and wrapped an arm around her waist in a split second. “Babe, don’t worry. I don’t want you stressing. We can talk when we get home. ”
Lake huffed out a breath. “Fine, if you’re not going to spill the beans then you might want to take a peek into the room and look at your girl,” she said to me.
That had me curious and I was moving straight away. When I slowly opened the door, my gaze zeroed in on River immediately, and the sight stole my breath.
Swaddled safely in her arms, she held Lola Mae. The look of longing on her face—one I was sure she wasn’t even aware of— as she held the tiny bundle of joy, had a future we hadn’t talked about flashing before my eyes.
Had my girl ever thought of having a baby?
I could see it so clearly in my mind now, River round with my child. She loved her kids and was beyond amazing with them. She was a phenomenal mother. But something told me with her past a baby may not have been something she’d felt was obtainable.
As if she could feel me watching her, she looked up and our gazes locked. Her violet eyes glistened with unshed tears and a flicker of yearning sat heavy in their depths.
My heart pounded at the thought of adding to our family, something I truly hadn’t thought fully about until I met River.
Because I’d never been in love before I met her.
My girl was pooped.
While it had been a long day, one that lasted late into the evening before leaving the hospital, it wasn’t physical exertion that had her almost out like a light in my arms. No, it was the emotional toll, a mixture of her being scared out of her mind and then deliriously happy for her friend.
I had an inkling it may have also been that she didn’t know what to do with that longing I’d seen in her eyes as she held the newborn in her arms.
Her silky, black hair blanketed my chest that rose and fell with a heaviness because of all the emotions and questions rattling around inside me.
“What was that sigh for?” my girl asked, her whispered breath dancing across my bare skin.
We’d come a long way in my mind—even if she didn’t think so because she was too hard on herself—that this amazing woman was now able to lay beside me each night and even basked in the comfort of my body next to hers.
I hadn’t realized I’d sighed and hated that I’d disturbed her. She needed her rest. It was my job to protect her, to curb the worries going around in her head, and to take care of this family that I’d been blessed to now be part of.
“Don’t try and get out of not telling me what you are thinking.” River raised her head, resting her palms on my chest and laying her chin on top of her hands as she pinned me with her stare. “I want to know what you’re thinking. We are a team and I need to be there for you too.”
Her voice was stern, but the slight waver in it told me how much me sharing and letting her take care of me meant to her.
I lifted my arm and stroked my hand down her soft locks. “I have a lot running through this big brain of mine,” I teased, trying to lighten the mood before I asked a question I knew was a doozy.
She rolled her eyes and I gave a small chuckle—my chest moving as I did—which had her head bouncing up and down.
“Big brain, my a—”, she started but stopped herself before letting the last word slip out, a cheeky smile lifting her perfectly, kissable lips.
I couldn’t help myself.
Placing my hands under her armpits, I dragged her up my body until I could reach her mouth then give her a soft kiss. Now it was her turn to sigh and the sound was magnificent because I knew it meant she was as affected with just the simple touch as I was.
She shimmied back down my body a tad and settled back into place, her eyes boring into mine. “Tell me?”
Here went nothing because I knew I wasn’t getting out of it and she wasn’t going to try to go back to sleep until I confided in her about what I’d been thinking.
“We’ve never talked about it, but when I saw you holding Lola tonight, I couldn’t help wondering if you ever thought about having a baby?” Her violet eyes swirled with emotion and then she put her forehead down on my chest so I couldn’t read what was brewing inside her head. “Sweetheart, I know you are an exceptional mother. I just…”
Her head snapped up, catching me off guard and I stopped mid-sentence.
“I never thought about a baby because I knew it wasn’t possible.”
Possible?
River nibbled her lower lip as usual and I watched as she tried to gather her words. “How would one have a baby if they were never going to have sex?”
She lifted her head off her hand and waved one into the air. “Don’t answer that. I know there are ways, but for me having a baby somehow represented the act of making love with someone and I was never going to do that.”
Her hand fell back to my chest and she began making circles around my nipple, unaware of the reaction it was creating below the sheets. Before I could stop it, I made a hissing noise and her hand stilled, her eyes widening with comprehension.
Then they heated with desire .
The same desire I felt any time she was near mirrored her own right then.
“But maybe that isn’t true any longer and tonight I realized it might actually be possible.”
My heart raced. What exactly was she saying?
“Yeah. What changed, sweetheart?”
River leaned down and placed her lips to my chest and kissed me directly over my heart before looking back up and meeting my gaze.
“I met you ,” she whispered.
Holy shit, the woman did me in.
Once again, I pulled her up so I could lay my lips against hers.
I put everything I was feeling into the kiss.