Page 21 of Sinful Bride

As the Hamishes are hoisted onto their feet and led away, something nags inside my mind to the point that I can’t let it go.

“Why?”

Stewart pulls against his restraint so he can look at me. “‘Why’? You really need to ask?”

I nod. I don’t trust myself to not scream in his face.

“She thinks you’re some goddamned hero come to save the day,” he spits. “We know better. I know better. We just wanted our daughter and granddaughter home with us. Where it’s safe. From you.”

The maternity ward is eerily quiet when we return. The staff won’t look at me, and there’s a lone janitor sweeping up debris from “some guy who shot the ceiling.”

“Do you know anything about that?” the lead officer asked me before they left.

Sofi and I looked at each other. Then, in unison, we both shrugged. “You’ll have to check with the head of security.”

Though they’ll have to wait on that until I’m done with him. For now, he’s safely tucked away in a locked bunker where he can ponder the days he has left on this earth.

When we reach the door to the room, Mama greets us with a finger to her lips. “Softly,” she whispers. “They had to give her a little something to calm her down. She’s awake, but…”

Mama’s voice trails off, and then her eyes light up when she sees Taty snug and swaddled in my arms.

“Go to her.” She rubs my arm and nudges me inside.

The room is dark, the blinds drawn, the lights low. Daphne sits upright on the bed, pale and listless as she stares at the sheets. Tracks of tears are now dry on her face, but her body still hiccups.

“I can’t… I can’t find…” Her mumblings drift. She curls her arms around her waist and hunches over. “I’m sorry… I can’t find…”

“Hey, hey.” I try to calm her with a gentle hand to her head, sitting down on the bed next to her. “It’s okay. Look.”

I ease Tatyanna onto her lap, careful to support her little head while Daphne’s eyes struggle to focus on the bundle wriggling and babbling at her.

It takes a while for realization to dawn.

“Taty…? Tatyanna! My baby!” Daphne bursts into tears and cradles our daughter to her breast, rocking back and forth to soothe both of them. Taty seems to sense her mother’s distress, because she goes from calm and quiet into a squealing force of nature.

I shift from the bed to the chair next to them and slump into the cushions with a heavy sigh. I never realized how fucking tense my entire body has been until right now. Now, I’m a limp puddle of relief and exhaustion.

No one asks me to move from this spot. No one needs me or at least, no one comes to me needing anything for the rest of the day. Mama pokes her head in now and then to make sure we have food and drinks, but otherwise, she leaves us alone to recover. Mak stands guard outside the door, but doesn’t enter unless he’s grabbing some of the food. Sofi stops by once to let me know everything pertinent will be emailed, but that I’m not allowed to check my inbox for the rest of the day.

She’ll hear no argument from me. I’m in no mood to deal with any more bullshit. I just want to sit here and watch my two beautiful girls sleep.

“We just wanted our daughter and granddaughter home with us.”

That must have been what the nursery in their home was for. The unfinished crib, the stuffed toys and pale pink blankets…

They’ve been planning this.

Knowing them, they won’t stop. Not until Taty is in their clutches, Daphne be damned.

The sun is down and has been for a while. I don’t know what time it is. All I know is I need sleep, and I’m not going to get any unless I can feel Daphne and Tatyanna safe in my arms. So I kick off my shoes and crawl into the bed next to my woman, my beautiful woman, and wrap my arm around her waist. My hand rests on Tatyanna where she sleeps soundly in her attached bassinet.

I don’t want to give any weight to Hamish’s words at all—they’re the ravings of a man on the edge of losing his mind. Hell, he’s already lost almost everything else.

But that’s the part that worries me: when a man has nothing to lose, he has everything to gain.

And I have everything he wants.

9

---