Page 76 of Trick

Kane gives him a toothy smile. “Great.”

He pats Howler’s shoulder before leaving the room, presumably to collect his prize.

“He’s fucking crazy,” Trick mutters as Howler approaches.

Carefully, he takes the blanket from me so he can look at the wound.

“Who cares? He ain’t our problem,” Howler says. “Doc’s on his way. You feelin’ okay?”

“I feel like I took a bullet.” The glibness of his response makes Howler snort.

I curl my bloodied fingers into my palms as they tremble. Once again, we nearly died. Someone up there must be looking out for us.

“It’s over,” Howler says. “That fucker’s gone.”

The relief threading through his words is unmistakable. I feel it too. No more looking over our shoulders. No more prospects trailing me everywhere I go. Life can go back to normal, whatever that looks like.

“I hope he rots in hell,” I mutter.

“I think Kane Fraser and his crazy brothers are gonna make sure of that,” Trick says.

Howler leaves us to make sure the cleanup is done properly. I keep pressure on Trick’s wound, our eyes magnetised to each other’s.

“We should move.”

His words surprise me. “And go where?”

“Somewhere we can have a fresh start.”

“But this is your home.”

“Home is about the people. This place,” he glances around the room, “it has too many ghosts. I don’t want to be eating breakfast with the kids thinking about Desmond fucking Richardson bleeding out on the floor.”

That’s a good point, but all his memories with Mara are here. I don’t want to take him away from that. “Don’t make any decisions now.”

“We need a fresh start, Heidi. A place that is just ours.” His hand splays over my stomach again. “Somewhere that we can all call our home.”

I kiss the side of his face, the coarse hair of his beard scratching across my skin. “We’ll talk about this when you’re not bleeding.”

“Fine, but I’m not gonna change my mind.”

The doctor turns up, breaking through our conversation. I step back to give him room to work, watching as he cleans and stitches the wound.

I use some of Sophia’s baby wipes to clean my hands before sitting with her. She seems oblivious to the fact her father is hurt, and I’m glad she’s not old enough to understand what is happening around her. I want to keep her innocent for as long as possible.

So many terrible things had to happen to get us to this point, but Trick and I have been given a second chance, and I fully intend to make the most of it.

Life is fleeting and can be snuffed out in the blink of an eye. Every moment must be seized and lived. I glance towards Trick, and I’m not surprised to see he’s watching me.

“Keep it dry, keep it clean. Any sign of infection, call me.” The doctor sits back, packing up his supplies. The gauze patch covering the wound is neat.

Maybe he is a real doctor.

“Thanks, doc. You need to look at Heidi now.”

The doctor turns to me, and I see the confusion on his face. I’m not bleeding, and outwardly, I don’t look hurt. “Are you injured?”

A smile creeps onto my face. “Pregnant.”

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