Page 23 of Theirs to Have

“We’ll go but I want it noted that I’m not all right with this either, baby,” Callan put his two cents in. Mercy giggled at how much of a fight they were giving her. From the look of them, they could use some sleep and should be jumping at the chance to lie down in their bed.

“Duly noted, Callan. You and Cash can protest all you want but I need you both rested and ready to go tomorrow when we return home. I’m going to need some time to recover, and I’ll be counting on you both to help with Katie.” They all looked down at their daughter who was making quiet sucking noises, still nursing.

They both bent to kiss her and Katie, “We will be back first thing in the morning, little one,” Cash whispered.

“Good, I can’t wait to get Katie home and into her beautiful nursery. I’m sure she’ll love it, and I know that she already loves both of her daddies.” Her hormones were out of control, leaving her crying once again. She was ready for everything to go back to normal, especially her hormones.

The guys both groaned and she couldn’t help but laugh through her tears. They were never going to get used to her crying either. She did like all the ways that they tried to make her feel better though. Mercy finished feeding Katie and got her settled in her little bed next to her own and the guys said theirgoodbyes, promising to call her later. She was ready for a few hours of sleep before Katie would need to feed again.

Mercy woketo the sound of Katie's crying and sighed, knowing that she was going to have to get used to her new alarm. She stretched and sat up in her bed reaching for the baby, but she wasn’t in her little bed. Mercy panicked. The nurses weren’t allowed to take Katie from the room without letting her know. She turned on the light above her bed allowing the dim light to fill the tiny room. She shielded her eyes against the light and searched the room, finding her baby crying in Lisa’s arms.

“Lisa, why do you have my baby?” Mercy spat. She threw off her covers and put her feet on the floor, stopping at the sight of the gun in Lisa’s hand.

“Not another step!” Lisa’s loud whisper sent a shiver down her spine. She watched as her old boss shoved Katie’s pacifier into her mouth, effectively calming her. “You don’t deserve such a gift,” Lisa sobbed. “None of you do and yet, she’s here while my sister rots in her grave. This should be my sister’s baby, not yours. You were just the little slut that crawled into bed with two men. You don’t deserve any of this.” Lisa waved the gun around and Mercy was scared to death that she was accidentally going to shoot Katie. She knew that if she didn’t keep Lisa calm there was no chance of her or Katie getting out of there alive.

“Lisa, please give me Katie, she’s hungry.” Mercy held her arms out for her daughter and Lisa barked out a mean laugh. She knew that Lisa wasn’t going to just hand over the baby, but she didn’t know what else to do.

“There is no way that I’m giving this baby back to you. I tried to warn you, to tell you that you shouldn’t be with the two ofthem. I even thought that losing your job at the only hospital in town would have you moving away to never see either of them again. You just couldn’t listen, could you?” Katie had fallen back to sleep, oblivious to having a crazy woman holding her or waving a gun at her mother. Still, Mercy knew that she needed to act quickly if she hoped to get Katie away from her crazy ex-boss.

“It’s a shame really because if you had just left town you wouldn’t have to go through the pain of losing your baby. But you weren’t smart enough to listen to me, to heed my warnings. Cash is bad news. This is what he does, you know? He takes innocent women and turns them into his playthings, sharing them with other men and then throwing them away. He did that to my sister, and she paid the ultimate price.” Mercy shook her head, trying to process Lisa’s words. She wasn’t making any sense and how the hell did she know Cash?

“Who is your sister, Lisa? What does she have to do with me and my family?” Mercy was almost afraid to ask but the longer Lisa held Katie, the more Mercy feared that she was going to be able to just walk away with her daughter and that couldn’t happen. Maybe if she could just get Lisa talking she’d buy herself some time to come up with a plan.

“My sister’s name was Jasmine. She was with Cash and his friend Slade until they got tired of playing with her and threw her out like garbage,” Lisa spat, causing Katie to squirm in her arms.

Mercy gasped, finally putting all the puzzle pieces together. “Your sister was Jasmine, and she killed herself.” Lisa barked out her laugh, jolting Katie and making her fuss again. Mercy ached to take her daughter back from the crazy woman that stood before her. She had worked for Lisa for the two years that she was at the hospital. Mercy thought she knew her old boss pretty well, she never would have guessed that Lisa had such a tormented past. Sure, she wasn’t always the nicest person onthe maternity floor, but she didn’t pass for crazy enough to steal someone’s baby either.

“Jasmine didn’t kill herself,” Lisa said, shoving Katie’s pacifier back into her open mouth. “Cash killed her. He rejected her and she couldn’t take the pain that he inflicted on her. He even admitted to the authorities that he was at fault on the day of her funeral. I read the fucking police report. He took the only person that I had left in this world from me. Now, you’ll know what that pain feels like, to lose someone that you love.”

Mercy shook her head, “Cash didn’t shove pills down your sister’s throat Lisa. She did that all on her own. He was just honest with his feelings. Would you have rather he pretended to be in love with her? What kind of relationship would that have been?” Mercy gingerly placed her feet on the cold hospital floor again, carefully pushing the call button for the nurse on her way out of bed. She needed to get her daughter back from Lisa, gun or no gun. She wouldn’t let Lisa leave the room with her baby. If she did, the possibility of getting her back was slim and that thought scared her to death.

“Not another move, Mercy.” Lisa pointed the gun directly at her chest and she knew that if the gun went off, her daughter would grow up without a mom. Mercy knew all too well how losing a parent felt and she wouldn’t let Katie know that pain. “Cash is a monster, and I won’t let this precious baby grow up with a murderer.”

“Please Lisa,” Mercy begged, holding out her arms for her baby. The doorknob turned, startling Lisa enough that she turned to see who was trying to come into the room. Mercy was relieved that Lisa didn’t think of locking the door, but she worried about the person who was about to enter the room.

“She’s got a gun,” Mercy screamed. Lisa spun on her heel and as she turned to face Mercy, the gun went off. Mercy hit the floor, her ears ringing from the loud noise of the shot in thesmall hospital room. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as she looked up to find Lisa pointing her gun at the new nurse that Mercy had called in. The young nurse had the good sense to run in the opposite direction but that gave Lisa a direct path to escape with Katie. Her baby girl was screaming in Lisa’s arms, and all Mercy could do was lay sobbing on the floor holding her leg that now had blood trickling down it. And just like that, Lisa was gone taking Mercy’s world with her. The sound of her baby girl screaming down the hallway and Lisa warning everyone to stay back were the last sounds she remembered before her world went dark.

Callan

When the hospital called to tell Cash and him what happened to Mercy, Callan just about lost it. They had only been home for a few hours and he knew that leaving Mercy and Katie was a big mistake. He was tired and the sound of getting some rest sounded like heaven. He and Cash never imagined that Mercy’s crazy, former boss would try to kill her and take Katie. They were both dressed and in Cash’s pickup, heading to the hospital just a few minutes after receiving the call. The thought of someone else having their daughter made him sick.

Jackson was on his way into the hospital and Emily was with him, ready to demand that she see Mercy. He knew that their girl was in good hands and from what the doctor told them; she was lucky that the bullet had just grazed her thigh. If Lisa was a better shot they would be facing the unthinkable.

“Can we go any faster?” he barked at Cash.

“I’m already going ninety in a fucking forty, Cal. I’m just as nervous as you are but we have to try to keep our heads on straight. Mercy is probably going to be beside herself with worry. Our top priority needs to be finding that lunatic that took our daughter and getting Katie back.” Callan growled in frustration.He knew that Cash was right but the last thing he wanted was to remain calm. He wanted to tear someone apart, but he also knew that wouldn’t help get their daughter back.

He sighed, “I know man. I’m just pissed that we left her in the first place. My gut was screaming at me that one of us should have stayed with them, but I let my exhaustion talk me into going home. I’m madder at myself than anything else.” Callan looked out the window, the thought of their baby being out in the world without them made him feel half crazy. They had to find the lunatic that took her, there was no other option.

When they gotup to Mercy’s room, the local police detective tried to keep them from going in and Cash nearly lost his shit. Jackson ducked his head out and waved them through. Cash and he immediately went to find Mercy, who was crying in her bed. They had her leg wrapped in a bandage and propped on a few pillows. “Baby,” Callan crooned, pulling her gently into his arms. It felt so fucking good to hold her and know that she was safe. Her sob nearly gutted him. The only reason he released her was so Cash could pull her into his body. She willingly took the comfort that the two of them tried to give her.

“Little one,” Cash whispered into her ear. “We’ll find her.” Mercy nodded and lay back in her bed wiping the tears from her face.

“She took her. Lisa took my baby.” Jackson cleared his throat drawing their attention.

“Can you tell me exactly what happened, Mercy? I know this is hard to re-live, but time is of the essence. The more details you can give me the better chance we will have of finding Katie.”

Mercy nodded and took a few deep breaths, willing herself to calm down. Callan never realized just how strong his girl was before, but these last few weeks showed him what a fighter Mercy is. “I woke up to Lisa standing in the doorway holding Katie.” Mercy’s voice caught when she said their daughter’s name. “Lisa was talking in circles about how I didn’t deserve to have a baby and that our relationship was disgusting.” She looked from Jackson back over to where Cash and Callan stood beside her bed.

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