Page 140 of Tempting Fate

He gets a damp hand towel, then looks away as Bebe uses it to clean between Lily’s legs.

He is kind, gentle even, as he ushers me out of the room when the good doctor tells us we need to let Lily rest.

He also asks the question that’s banging around my skull when Bebe joins us a few moments later.

“What’s happenin’?”

Bebe is matter of fact when she tells us, “She’s miscarrying.”

That last word jerks me out of the daze I’m trapped inside. Shaking my head, shaking all over, I grab Bebe’s upper arm and drag her to her tiptoes so I can get right in her face. “That’s fuckin’ impossible.”

“Let. Her. Go.” Slash shoves my shoulder to make me unhand his woman. “She doesn’t know?—”

“What don’t I know?”

I stammer as I answer her question. “She can’t—Lily can’t… it’s not possible.”

“Uh.” Slash clears his throat then leads Bebe to the chair he was sitting in before the shouting started. “This isn’t the first time Cherub was—” He waves his hand in the general direction of his groin. “The last time caused damage that means she can’t conceive.”

“Can’t conceive, or would have trouble doing so?”

Slash glances my way. It’s a silent request for me to take over this discussion, since he doesn’t know the exact answer to Bebe’s question. “The doctor didn’t say she couldn’t. He said she wouldn’t be able to without intervention.”

“I see miracles like this happen all the time,” Bebe tells me. When she realises what she said, all colour drops from her face, and she all but trips over her tongue to backtrack in a rush. “I’m sorry. That was flippant. What I’m trying to say is that I’m a hundred percent sure that Anna is in the midst of a miscarriage… I take it neither of you was aware she might be pregnant?”

“We needa take her to the hospital,” Slash interjects in a ragged tone before I can answer. He steps toward the bedroom. “She’s passed out… beaten to hell. She’s bleedin’.”

“No hospital,” I snarl, ignoring the way my gut twists at his description of Lily’s suffering.

“Slash.” Quickly, Bebe slides off the chair to stop him when he doesn’t heed my command. “You can’t. She said…”

“I don’t give a shit what she said.”

Drawing up to her full height, the tiny redhead glares up at my best friend with blazing eyes. “It’s not your call. Anna is my patient, and I’m going to respect her wishes. Right now, her body is doing what it needs to do to get through this. She passed out because everything caught up with her. Shock is a beast to cope with at the best of times, let alone when you’ve been beaten to the point of…” My mind fills in the word she didn’t say when Bebe trails off to drag in a deep breath. “Listen, I’ll monitor her all night… help her clean up when she’s capable, keep her comfortable. Any hint that she needs more attention than I can give her—well, I know a women’s health specialist who will treat her off the books, no questions asked.” On her tiptoes, Bebe places her hand on Slash’s cheek. He captures her wrist, his fingers almost doubling around her birdlike limb, and leans into her palm. “I promise she’s safe in my hands. I’m still a registrar, so my God complex hasn’t fully matured yet… asking for help won’t shatter my precious ego.”

“You’re goin’ above and beyond, doll.”

“Anyone with a heart would do the same thing—what she’s been through is every woman’s worst nightmare.”

I swallow down the lump in my throat. It returns in the next breath. Choking on my new reality, my voice is shaky as I seek the confirmation I need. “Did—did he cause it?”

“The pregnancy?” Bebe frowns at me, seemingly offended by my bluntness. “I don’t know… I hope not. Without the right equipment to be completely sure, I’d guess that she’s maybe six, seven weeks along. You can’t take my word for it, though… Anna would know better than me. When did he… you know… the first time?”

“Until two weeks ago, he hasn’t gotten close to her in years,” I state in a deadly voice. When I try to explain, the words seem impossible to pronounce. “I wanna know if he killed our b-baby—caused the mis-c-carriage?”

The pity in Bebe’s expression tells me more than the words she reluctantly utters. “I would imagine so. She was severely beaten, mainly to the face and her abdomen… that kind of cruelty, that type of savagery, the bloody-minded viciousness used on her, well, it can be devastating this early in a pregnancy.”

Slash barely glances my way before he’s ushering Bebe back into the room where Lily is sleeping. “Might wanna close the door behind you, doll.”

“I’ll keep a close eye on her.” Bebe slants a look at me. Sympathy clouds her usually bright eyes. The corners of her mouth droop. “I’m sorry, Venom. It’s just horrible.”

The click of the door latch is loud in the eerie quiet Bebe leaves in her wake. Hands balled into fists. Body vibrating with a combination of fury and desolation. My head is a maelstrom of sorrow, vengeance, and guilt. Eyes locked on Slash’s as he slowly closes the distance between us, I clench my jaw and breathe through my nose as my right leg bounces.

My lungs burn.

My teeth ache.

My eyes water.

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