Page 74 of The Billionaire Alpha Surrogate

Lucy hungrily consumed everything and then leaned back in the bed, completely exhausted. She rubbed her belly, hoping to feel the babies moving, but they were still.

“They are likely sleeping,” Micah said. “I feel deep in my gut that they will be just fine, and so will you.”

“I tried fighting them,” Lucy said.

“I know, and you did a good job with just one of you and three of them. They are in the hospital, too. All three of them are in a lot worse shape, and no one is sure that they are going to survive. They haven’t woken up yet,” Micah said. “If I had my way, they wouldn’t.”

Lucy put her hand on Micah’s arm. “You don’t want that kind of violence on your conscience. You did what you had to do to save me and the babies, but right now, they can’t even fight back.”

“Lucky for them,” Micah growled. “Do you remember what happened?”

“I had writer’s block. I couldn’t think of a single word. My mind was just fuzzy and buzzing with white noise, so I decided that I would take a walk. I stayed on the grounds. They jumped out of the bushes. One of them put a knife to my throat.”

“We found the blood,” Micah said.

Lucy described the ride up to the mountain and the knife.

“I have no idea why all three of them left me in the cave. I guess they were hoping that one of them would be able to get some sort of signal on their cell phones. The knife guy had taken a picture of me tied up.”

Micah growled. “Proof for payment. They won’t get to spend whatever they were promised.”

Lucy coughed and then moaned. “I told them that you would pay them more than the person who hired them. They said that they were honorable men and had already had a contract with someone else. They were going to stay true to that.”

“Did they say who hired them?”

“No,” Lucy said.

An hour later, she pressed the nurse’s call button. “I’m still hungry, and I kept the food down.”

“So, you did,” the nurse said with a huge smile. “Peanut butter bread or peanut butter crackers?”

“Bread, please,” Lucy said.

Lucy devoured the food and then fell back asleep.

Throughout the next week, it seemed like everyone stopped by to visit. Flora, Jade, Vera, and Michelle were there almost constantly. They brought her books and magazines to read, but the doctor said she wasn’t well enough to work on her book yet. Vera had talked the doctor into letting her bring in Lucy’s favorite foods, as long as they weren’t too spicy.

Either Micah, Sean, Ian, Ronnie, or Conner were close by, as though they were making sure no one tried to get into her room and finish the job that the three wolves had started. Lucy slept through most of it and appreciated the fact that she was never alone. Dr. Garner and Dr. Ratliff stopped by often. They both said that they were “cautiously optimistic” that she and the babies were going to be fine.

A week and a half after she was first brought into the hospital, Dr. Ratliff and Dr. Garner came in together. Both men wore beaming grins.

“Lucy, you are healing well. Although you still have a ways to go, I believe that you are out of the danger zone. That being said, I want to keep you here for at least another week,” Dr. Garner said.

“But…” Lucy started to protest.

Dr. Ratliff held up his hand. “I second what he said. As far as I can tell the babies are fine. They were not physically hurt in any way during the attack. Your quick thinking of rolling into a ball saved them. However, they are still stressed. Plus, there are two babies, which puts an added burden on your body. For now, I recommend complete bed rest. I know you well enough to know that the best way to make sure that happens is to keep you here.”

Lucy looked at both of the doctors, who had crossed their arms over their chests at the same time and stared at her. They weren’t going to change their minds.

“Fine,” Lucy said. “Can I have Michelle bring me my computer so I can work on my book?”

The doctors looked at each other and nodded in unison.

Lucy was so delighted the next morning when she felt the babies move that she cried. Micah was sitting next to her. She reached out for his hand and put it on her belly.

“They’re going to be okay,” she said. “Now I know.”

“I knew it,” Micah exclaimed.

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