51. Anson
ANSON
This was a fucking PR nightmare.
I rubbed my eyes as I sat in Rosalie’s hospital room with Enzo and Ryder. Cole had run off to get coffee, and Evan and Klaus had gone with him, likely to kick his ass for this mess. Ellis was with Dante for the time being. We’d sent her and Trix there.
“Ani?” Rosalie called out softly.
“LeeLee,” I murmured, taking her hand in mine. “What’s wrong, baby?”
Cole had made them admit her, so instead of getting to our place to see her, I had to go to the hospital.
Reporters were already circling like buzzards outside the building. So much for fucking privacy policies.
I wasn’t mad she was here. I was pissed at the situation, which never should have happened.
The doc said she had some syncope. She’d done that when she was pregnant with Ellis, but she’d never gotten hurt.
I expected the fight between Cole and Ryder might have led to it.
When I’d walked in, Ryder hung his head and wouldn’t even look at me.
I loved him to pieces, but fuck.
Evan and Klaus were both pretty pissed. Cole was lucky we hadn’t strung his ass up outside on the flagpole for this shit.
He wasn’t out of the woods yet, though.
“Please don’t be mad. I screwed up—” Rosalie started.
“This is on Cole for attacking,” I said firmly. “Not you.”
“I should have told him about Ryder,” she argued softly.
“Shh.” I leaned in and kissed her gently. “I don’t want you to be stressing over this. Everything is OK. The most important thing is for you and the babies to rest.”
Babies.
Two.
She was having twins. I could very well be having two babies in just a matter of months.
When I heard the news, I wept. I was so damn happy.
Of course, I had to get the testing to make sure fucking Cole’s dick wasn’t involved, but I was hopeful.
“I don’t want you to be mad at Cole. This is my fault—”
“It’s my fault, too,” Ryder said from her other side. “I shouldn’t have fought him, but he pisses me off. I’m sorry, Anson. Rosalie. I’m so fucking sorry.” He squeezed Rosalie’s hand.
“Cole has a terrible attitude and jumps the gun. This is on him. He’s going to be punished for it.” I sat back in my seat.
“The fuck he is,” Enzo said softly.
I looked over at him. He sat near the window and hadn’t said a word since we’d arrived. I knew he and Rosalie were trying, and it was some secret from the horsemen because she didn’t want the guys disappointed if it didn’t work out, but the guy pissed me off more than he made me smile.
“I assure you, he is. And quite frankly, De Luca, I think we both know he’s more ours than yours, so I think we get the say when it comes to our men.”
Enzo stared back at me, no emotion on his face. It was the face of a ruthless mob boss.
He didn’t get to snap back at me because Evan, Klaus, and Cole returned.
“Gage is coming in to do a Doppler, then we’re out of here,” Cole said, handing Enzo a cup of coffee. Cole leveled his gaze on me. “In case you didn’t know, that’s so we can listen to the babies’ heartbeats before we leave.”
“Good to know,” I said, my own heart pounding at the possibility of hearing my kids for the first time.
“Ro, they didn’t have chicken tenders,” Evan said. “I was going to get you a burger, but mine was shit and rubbery. I couldn’t inflict that torment on you, so I got you a banana.”
Rosalie laughed softly and took the banana. “It’s OK. I’m not hungry.”
“Eat,” Cole said before I could tell her to. From my understanding, she hadn’t eaten since yesterday.
“I’m scared,” she admitted softly. “It makes me so sick to my stomach.”
Cole moved to stand next to me.
“Rosebud, I know, but trust me, OK?” He put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of pills before he dropped one onto his palm. “Take this.”
“What the fuck is it?” I demanded, holding her hand tightly so she couldn’t take the pill from him.
“Relax, dick. It’s for the nausea. I’ve been researching a lot. This should help.”
I hesitated and looked to Evan and Klaus. Evan nodded, completely trusting Cole. Klaus frowned, clearly caught between wanting her to feel better and knowing Cole was a fuck-up. I was on the fuck-up end of things.
But I wanted her to feel better, so I released her hand. He dropped the pill onto her palm before offering her a bottle of water from her small table. She swallowed the pill and rested back against her pillows.
I reached out and pushed her curls off her forehead.
“I love you,” I murmured.
She gave me a tired smile. “I love you, too.”
I brought her hand to my lips and kissed her wedding rings.
It was awkward in the room with Enzo and Cole there. Typically, I could get through with Cole, but he had a way of pissing me off.
Her doctor came in and greeted Cole before turning to me.
“Hello. I’m Doctor Holt. You’re the husband?”
“Yes,” I said as Cole scowled at me.
Doctor Holt looked at Cole quickly before glancing at Enzo, who remained silent.
“Uh, OK. Well, Rosalie is doing well. She can go. I’ve written out some prescriptions to help with the nausea. Figured we’d kick it up a notch. I don’t really expect the morning sickness to last long. She said it was over by her second trimester, and we’re getting close to there now.”
I nodded. She’d gotten a ton better with Ellis by her second trimester.
He took the handheld device out of his lab coat and adjusted the blankets for Rosalie before running the probe along her stomach. It took a moment, but then the sound of the twins’ hearts filled the room.
My throat tightened, and Evan rested his hand on my shoulder.
“LeeLee…” I choked out. “Th-that’s our babies.”
She smiled at me. “It is.”
“Uh,” Cole started.
“Not now,” Klaus muttered.
Cole snapped his mouth shut.
“Everything really does sound good here,” Holt said, moving the probe off Rosalie before turning it off.
“Doctor Scott here knows how to handle things, so if anything goes wrong, he’s going to be your first phone call,” Holt continued. “Rosalie, stay out of trouble, OK?”
“I will.” She smiled at him. “Thank you.”
He nodded for Cole to follow him. Cole glanced at us before following the doctor out of the room.
I breathed out. “Guess we can go. Ready, baby?”
“Yeah.”
I helped her to sit up, but paused and looked over at Enzo.
“Can you step out? We need to get her dressed,” I said.
He blinked at me for a moment before letting out a soft scoff, but he got up and left the room.
I knew he didn’t need to, but I was irritated with the horsemen.
“Ryder, grab her dress,” I said, nodding at the bag next to him.
He quickly got her clothes out, and Evan undid her hospital gown. I glanced at Ryder to see his reaction to seeing her bare, but he’d looked away.
Klaus smirked at me before grabbing her shoes for her.
We managed to get her dressed before a nurse brought in a wheelchair.
“Oh god. Oh my god,” the nurse blabbered. “You’re Bishop! I thought they were just messing with me!”
Rosalie gave her a tired smile.
“And you’re Anson!” She stared at me wide-eyed.
“Hey,” I greeted her. “Thank you for the wheelchair.”
She just nodded, her eyes still wide.
Cole came into the room then and went straight for Rosalie.
“Cole,” I hissed at him.
“Ass Hat,” he muttered, taking Rosalie from me and helping her into the wheelchair. “You good, baby?”
“I’m good.”
“Yeah? I’m worried about you.” He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers.
Fucking prick.
We had witnesses.
“Cole!” I snapped at him.
He straightened and gave me a sour look before his blue eyes moved to the nurse.
“Josie,” he murmured.
“S-She… Bishop is your girlfriend?”
“Uh.” Cole scratched his head.
Motherfucker…
“And that guy… Lorenzo De Luca. He’s with her too? And her husband?”
“It’s not like that,” I said immediately, shooting Cole a look that said to shut the fuck up.
“We’re just very close,” Cole mumbled.
She sputtered but didn’t make a scene, thankfully. She helped push Rosalie out of the room and toward the elevator.
“We actually don’t need you to come with us,” I said as we all piled into the lift.
“It’s fine. Cole and I need to talk anyway,” she said.
“The fuck we do,” Cole snapped. “You need to stop your shit.”
She let out a breath and went quiet for a moment before speaking.
“Bishop, I just want you to know that I am a huge fan. I’m a girl’s girl, so I think you should know that Cole has been cheating on you with me.”
“Um…” Rosalie crinkled her brows and looked at Cole.
“What the fuck?” Cole roared. “You lying ass bitch mouth motherfucker!” He made to step forward, but it was Evan who hit the stop button on the next floor.
The door opened, and he shoved Josie out of the elevator. She turned and sputtered at him.
“Go fuck off somewhere,” Evan said. “You’re pissing me off.”
The doors closed before she could get another word out.
“That’s going to be a cleanup,” I muttered, sighing.
“I’ll handle it,” Ryder replied. “You know I’ve got bargaining skills.”
“No more than ten.” I shot him a look. We had limits on the amounts we’d pay out for silence attached to the NDAs.
“You know me. Always bargaining with nut bags,” Ryder said.
“Your bargaining gifts seemed to have failed with Cole.” Klaus chuckled. “He’s still here.”
“Man, fuck off, you big German dick wrinkle.” Cole shook his head.
We chuckled at that as Rosalie admonished us. Enzo still said nothing.
But that was fine. I was sure he would tell me everything he needed to say soon enough.