Page 111 of Royal Flush

And it didn’t matter.

I felt sick and hollow yet almost as if there was a light. Or maybe exhaustion was playing tricks on my mind.

I couldn’t sit in one of the pews. It felt blasphemous to do so. So I stood and placed my hand on the railing, looking at the image of a holy man. Somehow, it felt right to express my emotions out loud. There’d been a lot of firsts since meeting Jasmine a lifetime ago.

“I don’t how to do this but I need some help. There’s someone I care about in the middle of surgery. She, um…” Dear fucking God. I was more emotional than I’d thought I’d be. An entire flood of tears had formed and it was impossible to push them aside.

What the hell was wrong with me? I’d turned into a blubbering mess.

I took a deep breath, clamping down on the railing. I sucked at this.

“I need her alive, safe. Brought back to me. I’ll do anything. I’ll promise anything.”

Yeah, don’t promise shit you can’t keep.

“There’s a child growing inside of her. The baby doesn’t deserve this. I promise I will do everything I can to make her life better. I won’t allow my child to grow up without a father. I’ll be there. Just… just do this one thing for me. I can’t promise you I’ll be a holy man but I’d do everything in my power to follow the right path.”

Fuck.

“I don’t know if you care or what, but my prayer isn’t just for me. Okay?”

The rustle from behind yanked at my attention.

“Mr. Royal,” Dr. Myers said as soon as I turned around. He pulled off his surgical cap, his sterile gown covered in blood.

My heart sank. “Braxton. Just call me Braxton.”

“Braxton,” he repeated and walked closer. “I have news.”

Both Gage and Valerio had entered, Selena, Valerio’s wife with them. All three appeared as stressed as I was.

I inched closer, still trying to hold my shit together. I wasn’t certain how much longer I could do it.

“I was able to repair the damage to Ms. Sinclair’s spleen. Fortunately, I found minimal internal bleeding.”

While my family breathed easier, my gut told me there was more. I glanced down at his gown again, cringing from the sight of so much blood. He seemed to notice, offering a slight smile.

“Don’t worry. An artery was nicked but repaired instantly. Sadly, there were some complications with the fetus’ heart.”

“Baby. She had a living, breathing baby growing inside of her!” I instantly regretted being so damn harsh, but I had nothing left.

“Your baby is a fighter,” he added. “If he makes it through the night, he has a fighting chance.”

Selena yelped, clapping her hands over her mouth.

It took me a few seconds to register what Dr. Myers was insinuating. “He?”

The man patted me on the arm and nodded. “Yes, sir.”

All three family members crowded around me and at last I was able to take a slight breath, even though the ache in my heart remained.

“Try and get some rest. We still have a tiring twenty-four hours or so but I’m more hopeful,” he added, nodding to the others before heading toward the chapel door. When he stopped, another twinge of worry rushed into me. “By the way, Braxton. You are a good man deep down inside no matter how much you try and hide that. And he heard you. The man upstairs? There are no rules to praying or asking for help. It’s about what’s in your heart and it’s painfully obvious how much you love your family. Stay strong.”

I did appreciate his words. We’d had many a discussion on religion and the medical field over the last few years. It was strange how everything he’d tried to teach me without shoving it down my throat had come to pass.

Except I wasn’t certain I would ever fit into the good man category because of what I was about to do.

But it was time, past time.

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