Page 77 of Redemption's Inferno

“I think James is a strong, wonderful name. What we call him doesn’t matter, not a lot. He can be James or Jamie. Maybe once we get to know him, his personality will dictate what we call him.”

She nodded. “And for a middle name, what about Sebastian? It was Karl’s idea a while back—he thinks paying tribute to my twin would be meaningful.”

Jamie nodded. “I like it. James Sebastian Teller.”

“Hockey player name,” Chains muttered, but his eyes twinkled even as he sagged against the side of the bed.

“Come on, let’s get you to your new room,” Dr. Diaz interrupted. “We’ll take care of the birth certificate once you’re both settled.”

“I’m going to make some calls,” Viggo said.

“I’m going to stay here and stare at my son,” Jamie admitted, flushing slightly.

“That’s absolutely what you should do,” Emilie whispered happily.

* * *

Chains dozed for several hours while Emilie ate and fed the baby. Jamie and Viggo went home to shower and get a little sleep, promising to bring her bag, phone charger and some other essentials when they returned. At some point she fell asleep as well because when she awoke Chains was sitting up in bed eating something, watching the news without any sound.

“Hi.” She smiled, sitting up and stretching.

“Hello, darling.” He gazed over at her lovingly. “I’d like very much to kiss you and tell you how beautiful you are, and how incredible it was to watch you give birth, but I’m sore as hell and don’t feel like getting up.”

“I, on the other hand,” she said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed, “feel wonderful and am going to come over there to kiss you!” She walked over to him and leaned over, pressing her lips to his.

“Damn,” he breathed. “Didn’t think I’d ever kiss those lips again.”

“I need to use the bathroom,” she whispered. “But I’ll be right back.”

A few minutes later she was in a chair next to his bed, the baby in her arms.

“You shouldn’t have come, you know,” he said after a moment.

She looked up, wrinkling her nose. “I had to. I knew something had happened and if you weren’t already dead, I had to find a way to save you.”

“You could have died trying!” He tried to act stern, but he didn’t have it in him to chastise her. He was so awed by this strong, beautiful, loving woman he wanted to wrap his arms around her and never let her go.

“I know, and I made sure I did everything you’d told me to do…kind of.” She bit her lip. “I did one thing you told me not to, but…sometimes you have to let people in. My brother and Viggo and Jamie—I had to tell them the truth because there was never a chance they would betray us and I needed that support. Sometimes, you have to let people help you. That was something else you taught me.”

“I know, darling.” He reached out a hand and she took it. “I’m so proud of you. You would’ve made a good spy!”

She shook her head. “All I could think about was giving back to you what you gave to me.”

“I never gave you anything,” he protested. “Except friendship. And now much more than that.”

“Your quiet strength revitalized me,” she said slowly, the love in her eyes evident as they gazed into his. “The first time you grabbed me and pulled me against you, you told me everything was going to be okay—and somehow I believed you. Although I see how big and strong you are, and I know because of your past that you’re capable of killing, that’s not what makes me feel safe. I don’t see or care about that part of you; what I feel when I’m with you is a different kind of safety. You don’t have to kick someone’s ass to protect me—your very presence makes me believe I don’t need protection because the person that’s caused me the most harm is me. When I’m with you, I don’t hurt anymore. The moment you picked me up off that table at Cuddy’s, those scared, ugly pieces inside me immediately started to crack…and the first time you made love to me, they disintegrated.

“You, my love, are the glue that took the shattered pieces of my life and put them back together stronger than they were before. I knew I was broken, but it wasn’t until you touched me I realized I could be fixed. So knowing you’d sacrificed yourself to protect me… I couldn’t let her kill you.”

His eyes darkened as he listened to her, and if she didn’t know better, she might think they were a little misty. “All I thought about while she had me was that you were safe…it got me through it.”

“Was it terrible?” she whispered, looking at him sadly.

“It was…” He paused, thoughtful. “She’s not a spy or a terrorist—simply a pissed off woman with an axe to grind, which I guess was enough. She couldn’t truly hurt me until she started starving me…that’s when it got rough.”

“But how did she find you?”

“Texted me,” he said softly. “Sent me pictures of Mum’s house, let me know that the break-in was her doing and next time it would be when there was someone home. Told me she wanted to meet with me, had things to tell me.”

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