Page 47 of Damned By His Angel

A hush falls over the room as we all listen to Sin and Kacey calling out details to London, Vincent and Chaos. My brother stands behind London and speaks quietly so none of us can hear what he says.

“If you are anything like your brother, you won’t have a problem with my family,” Royal says low enough so only I can hear.

“If that was the case, why do you keep putting him through the shit you do?” I volley back.

“Because Artemis constantly needs to be tested, unlike you when he marries, he inherits two of the most powerful families in the world as well as his own. Your brother will be the most untouchable man on the earth when he takes over for me and my dad. That power can cause some men to alter who they truly are. I won’t allow my daughter to be married to a man who succumbs to power. He needs to show us all that he can keep a level head and block out all the noise to rule fairly.”

“Has he proven that to you?”

Royal lulls his head to the side and pins me with a dry stare. “If I didn’t think he could handle it, I wouldn’t allow the little shit to be marrying my daughter, no matter what my wife said.”

“Artemis isn’t like me, he will always rise to the challenge and prove anyone wrong who doubts him. Make no mistake, I love my brother but I also love your daughter. If I thought for a second that he was using her, I would end their relationship myself.”

“Why didn’t you take her from him when you had the opportunity?” he queries. My upper lip twitches. I know this is his way of testing me, to see if I am good enough to be with his cousin so I decide to surprise him by answering.

“Because she was never mine to take. I allowed the demons of my past to cloud my judgment for a short time, that is why I would never be able to lead. Unlike me, my brother is not ruled by his emotions, his only blind spot is London. Nothing else in this world matters to him. He would walk away from all the power in the world to be with her.”

“And you wouldn’t do that for Amelia?”

“No. Having all that power would mean I could protect her and keep her safe, but it would weigh too heavily on me and given both mine and Amelia’s pasts, it would crush us both and I can’t allow that to happen.”

“If your brother ever falls, what becomes of the Greeks then?”

Ah, there it is, the real question he wants an answer to.

“He would be married to London by then. She can have it all, so long as myself and the triplets are never called back to serve. I would walk away and allow her to have our birthright. You and I both know she was born to lead, she has every characteristic of a true leader. You don’t really care about what is happening between me and Amelia.” A sly smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth. “You just wanted me to validate what you already suspect about my brother and confirm your faith in your daughter.”

“We got a location, let’s roll out!” Chanel shouts, every single one of us rush into the entryway to arm ourselves.

I’m coming for you, angel.

Amelia

“Her contractions are a minute apart, she’s nine and a half centimeters dilated now, she’s about to have this baby,” the nurse from earlier announces to Colson, who is standing at my side. Another two nurses have been brought on to assist with the birth. They wheeled in an incubator and everything, which has eased some of my worries about Kingsley’s safety. He may hate me, but he needs my daughter alive to torture my dad, so I know he will do everything in his power to save her.

“What do you need?” Colson snaps.

“I need to prep and get her ready for the birth. The moment the baby is out we will need to move fast. These cuffs on her ankles need to be removed for better access. We need to get her on a ventilator because her lungs will most likely not be fully formed, which is the biggest worry here about her going into labor.”

“I don’t give a fuck, get the fucking kid out now!” Colson roars. The nurse reels back, but before she can respond, the door opens and one of his men sticks their head inside. “What is it?”

“We have a situation,” the man replies. Colson scrubs a hand down his face, clearly annoyed at how long this process is taking. I’m exhausted, sore and clinging to my sanity by a string.

“Get that fucking baby out, now!” he snarls before tossing some keys to Kim and storming out of the room, slamming the door closed behind him. The other two nurses are busy setting everything up on the other side of the room, leaving me to tend with the nurse from earlier. She leans in close as if she is checking my pulse.

“You weren’t keeping the baby from him out of spite, were you?” I shake my head, my bottom lip begins to tremble when regret swims in her deep brown eyes. “You weren’t beaten by your drug addict boyfriend either, huh?” Again, I shake my head. A whoosh of air escapes her as she rounds the bed and keeps her back to the other nurses who speak quietly between themselves, effectively ignoring us. “I will do whatever I can to save your baby and help you.” I’m unable to speak as another contraction rips through me. I cry out in agony. “Breathe through it, it’s nearly over. I’ll help you through this, Amelia. My name is Kim.” I nod my head, unable to utter a single word through the pain. As a doctor, we are taught that all women can endure childbirth but until you have experienced it yourself, you will never know what the definition of bringing life into this world means.

“We’re all set for the arrival,” one of the other two says to Kim.

“Once this contraction has passed I am going to check you, is that okay?” she asks the last part quietly. I take a deep breath after the pain subsides.

“Yes.” My voice is hoarse to my own ears.

“Crap, we need to head out to the rig, we’re missing the tubes.” Kim turns to the other two women.

“Hurry,” she snaps in an angry tone. The second the nurses are out of the door and we are alone, she faces me again. “Is there someone I can call?” Tears fill my eyes, I nod as she hands me the phone. I manage to enter Nos’s number before the next contraction hits. Kim takes the phone from me and makes the call. She is risking a lot to help me and that shows she is a good person, I am grateful to have her on my side.

“Who the fuck is this?” I hear Cronos growl. Kim doesn’t place the call on speaker but I can hear his voice just fine from how close she is to me.

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