Page 45 of Jaded Red

His phone rings and he answers it, “Fuck! Are you sure?” Silence on the other side. “I’ll be right there. Don’t move.”

“Matt?” I ask. Worry settles deep in my bones. “What’s going on?”

He hurries over to the side of my bed and kisses me on the forehead. “I’ve got this all under control.” Matt hands me his laptop. “Here, I’ve rerouted the servers to come to this. Will you please watch the Clubhouse for me? I have to take care of something.”

“Sure, but is our little guy ok?” I ask taking the laptop out of his hands.

“He’s perfect, Pulchra. I promise you. Don’t open that door for anyone but me or Aftermath. I don’t give a shit if the Queen of England is on the other side demanding you to open. Do NOT open that door.” The finality in Matt’s voice makes merealize how dangerous he really is and I wouldn’t trade him for anything.

“OK, Matt. I won’t open it. Be safe, please.”

“I will and I’ll be back with our little one.” He kisses me on the lips and everything he isn’t saying is poured into it. He loves me. He loves our son and he will do everything he can to protect us from the harshness of the world.

“Do whatever you need to do to bring him to me.” My heart hurts when Matt walks out my hospital room door and Kensi locks it behind her. Then she shoves a dresser in front of it for more security. I haven’t had a chance to really see my son, now I’m worried I never will. I passed out almost immediately after he was born and all I could see was the shape of his little body and hear him cry.

Tears form in my eyes but I push them back. Now isn’t the time for a breakdown. Kensi’s phone rings and she pulls it out of her pocket. “Hey, Marc.” She stays quiet while Aftermath is speaking. She nods her head a few times, only he can’t see it. “Ok. I love you, too. Be safe.”

“That was Marc. He said Rush will be here with Nolan and Krimson in a few minutes to watch our door. Something doesn’t feel right, Nadia.”

“I agree.” I open the laptop while Kensi sits next to me on the bed and pull up the camera feeds Matt has left open. The Clubhouse comes into view and I see people moving all around. Nothing seems out of the ordinary except they’re ushering the Ol’ Ladies and patch bunnies inside.

An alert pops up on the bottom of the screen where the search bar is. I click on it and my heart stops beating. It’s a grainy image of the hospital NICU wing. Bones is out cold on the floor and the nursery is empty. I zoom inside the room to make sure I’m seeing things correctly. The nursery is empty. My baby is gone.

“No!” I scream while tears run down my face. I might not be in any shape to help, but I’ll be damned if I sit here while someone steals my child. I slam the laptop closed and throw it at the foot of the bed. I shove the covers off my legs and swing them over the side.

“Nadia, what are you doing?” Kensi asks while helping me stand.

“My son is missing, Kensi. I’m not sitting here while he’s out there.” I take a step and pain shoots through my abdomen, but I’m not quitting. “You can either help me or step the fuck out of my way.”

“Duh. I’m helping you. But you can’t go out there dressed like that.” Kensi points to the back of my hospital gown.

“I hate these fucking things,” I growl while she tosses my fat pants to me. I slide them on and slowly stand back up. “Ok, let’s go.”

I carefully make my way to the door when there’s a loud bang coming from the other side and the dresser moves. Kensi and I jump.

“Nadia, Kensi, open up. It’s me.” Matt shouts from the other side of the door. Kensi hurries and shoves the dresser away from the door and unlocks it.

The door bursts open and Matt comes into the room with a nursery bed and our son inside. He’s sound asleep sucking his fist. “What? How?” I can’t seem to form any questions. “I saw…” I point to the laptop.

“I know what you saw and it wasn’t real.” Matt motions to the door and Bones comes limping in with an ice pack on his head. Aftermath, Rush, Nolan and Krimson all file in behind him. “Get back in bed and I’ll explain everything.”

I slowly make my way back to the hospital bed and settle in. Matt wheels our son, Matthew, over to the side of the bed and takes him out of the bed. He hands him to me and I cry as I holdthis little life for the first time. Matthew squeaks when I check over his fingers and toes. “Well, part of it was real. Josiah did break into the Clubhouse looking for you but he left when he realized where you were.”

My gaze snaps to Matt. “Are you telling me Josiah is here?”

“Not anymore. See, I set up a decoy in the NICU. I pretended Matthew was in there when in all actuality, he wasn’t. The nurses had him hiding in another room with Doctor Amber and Rush.” Matt sits on the edge of the bed, watching our son. “As it turns out little guy is stronger than what anyone thought. He didn’t need the tubes or the incubator. His lungs are healthy and strong, he can keep his own body temperature and he can eat on his own. The first few hours were a precaution but when he was kicking ass, they took him off the feeding tube and out of the incubator. Even though he is six weeks early, he is definitely ready for this world. And he was a champ while Rush and Amber kept him safe.”

My gaze shifts to my son in my arms. His eyes are open and fixated on me. “So, is it over? Is Josiah gone?” A lonely tear rolls down my cheek onto Matthew’s tiny fingers and I wipe it away.

“He won’t be a problem anymore. When he snuck into the hospital with all intent of stealing our son, he actually came face to face with me instead. He did knock Bones on the head, but that was planned.” Matt explains.

“Well, it was planned but not for him to hit me that hard. I think I have a concussion.” Bones grumbles from the door. “But I’d do it again in a heartbeat if it means keeping these two safe.”

“Where is Josiah?” I ask.

“You don’t need to know.” Matt counters.

“Yes, I do.” I pull my gaze from Matthew to stare at the man who has captured my heart and my soul. “You don’t understand. If I don’t do something, he will continue to star inmy nightmares. I want a hand in ending him. He tortured me every single day he had me. I deserve this.”

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