Page 124 of The Heir

"Beep… beep… beep."

The monotone sound of the machine assuring me that my wife is stable does much to soothe my unease; however, my blood still boils thinking about that fucker tied up waiting for us.

"Hey Henny, you good?" Mason's voice interrupts my thoughts.

I raise my head tiredly to look over at him from where I'm sitting in the chair besides Izzy's hospital bed. She's still knocked out from when they sedated her before surgery, removing the knife and repairing the stab wounds she endured.

And her UTI from being denied sanitary accommodations...

And her lung infection from not having clean air...

And the concussion she sustained from apparently having her head knocked into the wall or thefloor.

Twofractured ribs from being kicked. When I saw the state of her back I almost left the hospital to finish Claudio off, but Joaquin told me Claudio is locked up nice and safe for me.

For her.

"Don't worry about me," I say quietly, flicking my gaze up and down his body.

I turn away from Mason, in favor of Isobel who's sleeping peacefully in the hospital bed next to me. You wouldn't be able to tell from looking at her right now that Claudio put her through hell for the last month and a half, but I can. I kept him alive so my baby can experience justice for herself. The only way I believe she can forgive me for leaving her unprotected. But never,everagain.

We will never be going through this again.

I don't care if she hates me, Isobel will be under maximum protection for the rest of her life. I won't allow what she's been through this last month to be even a remote possibility. My eyes drift down to her stomach. There's a soft swell under the blankets where her arms are currently cradling her abdomen in her sleep.

Placing my hand softly over her arms I rub gently, thanking God for small blessings that there's still something in there to protect. It's a miracle our baby didn't die, but it was touch and go for a bit there. Though the state of our child's situation seems ever fluctuating, I don't think the baby will pass.

She's a strong one. Like her mom.

Mason sits next to me on a little grumble, stretching his legs out and then turning his head to lock eyes with Melody, who's currently staring with tears in her eyes at Isobel. She'd lost so much weight in the last month we'd thought we were going to have to put her in a rehab facility. Her cheeks are sunken in, and her eyes are gaunt.

She looks dead inside, as if Isobel is her only source of life.

"Here," Mason says, handing her a hospital burrito wrapped in foil.

She takes it with a soft thank you, nibbling on the corner. I avert my eyes, not able to bring myself to worry about that right now. My phone vibrates in my pocket, distracting me from Mason and Melody.

"Micah," I say, answering for my best friend. "What's up?"

"Is she okay?"he asks.

"Yes, we'll be leaving here when her infection has cleared up and she's off oxygen." I lean back holding up my hand to Isobel's mother who catches my eye and leans forward closer with her brow arched. She'd been sitting on the other side of Isobel's bed, holding her hand.

"Good. I'm just calling with an update. Frank Jackson's got Claudio secure off Buckhead Island. We're just waiting for your word."

"Thank you," I say tiredly. "We might need about a month for her to recover before we can fly out to him. Does he got that kind of time?"

"Frank? Yes, he accepts new shipments around every three weeks for training purposes. But don't worry, no one will mess with Claudio. He's secure under Frank's watch."

I tilt my head, seeing Isobel stir on a moan. "Good. I'll be in touch brother, take care."

"You'd better." Micah hangs up without a goodbye which is just fine with me.

Isobel whimpers suddenly, drawing everyone's attention to where she lays. "Hendrix," she moans, struggling out of sleep.

Her eyes snap open, and she starts screaming, jerking in bed against the covers tucked in around her. I fly up out of my seat at the same time Isobel's mother stands up and leans over her.

"Honey, it's okay," Donna says tearfully, smoothing her hand down her cheek.

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