Page 25 of Stolen Moments with a Bad Boy

I nodded.

“She’s gorgeous,” my Zia expressed. She turned her brown-eyed gaze on me. My Zia examined me.

“You’re covered in blood. Are you hurt anywhere?” She turned my face side to side and checked my body for wounds.

“No, Zia Bianca. I’m not hurt. This is Erie’s blood,” I replied sadly.

“You know who did it?” my Zio questioned, folding his arms.

“Yeah, and I killed them but not the person behind the hit. The loudmouth I’m sure you saw being carried out is the culprit. Her own damn brother,” I expressed, dropping my head.

My uncle’s phone pinged. He quickly pulled out his phone and examined the message.

“Horse, we’ve been in town for a few days. There’s been a hit contracted for you and your daughter. The message that just came through is for your lady here, Londen. I take it that was your son who issued the hits,” he announced.

“Yes. That would be my waste of a nut son. What do you say we go old-school?” Mr. Lakes quizzed mischievously.

“Are you sure you want to really do this?” my uncle questioned.

“For the first time ever, I realized that I don’t have any other alternatives. It’s not something I’m going to take pleasure in. If I don’t, he’ll keep coming for us, and I can’t have that. I don’t roll over and play dead for no one,” Mr. Lakes spoke with finality.

“I’m here for you, brother.” They pulled each other in for a hug.

“That won’t be necessary, Mr. Lakes. This hit is personal. No offense to you, but I’ll be handling Troy Jr. on my own.”

He exhaled and stepped in front of me. “The last time we saw each other, things got heated. Erie is my daughter, my Sweet Pea, and I refuse to let anybody play in her face. I was hurt that you came into her life to potentially kill her.

“Erie sat me down, and we had a talk about you. Your intentions for her have always been clear, and it's obvious how much you love and care about her. Continue to do what isnecessary to keep her safe, even if that means you have to take out my namesake. He’s left us no other option.”

He extended his hand. I grabbed his hand, and we gave each other a tight hug.

“Thank you for coming around and accepting me. Now that we’re on the same page, can I have your blessing to marry Erie? She’s my heart and soul, and I refuse to do the remainder of this life without her. What do you say?”

“You love her that much?” Mr. Lakes probed.

“I’d die for her. That’s my sweetheart in that bed. When she wakes up, I’m going to show her how much I love her.”

He smirked. “I get it. Trust me. I loved, married, and buried my first love, and God sought fit to bless me with another incredible love. You have my blessing, son.”

Mr. Lakes and I gave each other another hug.

“Thank you, Mr. Lakes.”

“No, thank you for loving her the way she needs and wants to be,” he expressed after we separated.

I nodded in agreement. We were interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Are you all the family of Ms. Erie Lakes?” the short and pudgy doctor queried.

In unison, everyone answered, “Yes.”

He walked toward us with a clipboard in hand, and he shook all our hands.

“I’m Dr. Steinberg. I’m filling in for Dr. Shoffner. As I’ve been told, you all know the surgery went well. One bullet was removed. One bullet scraped the side of her head, causing a lot of blood loss. The second bullet was lodged in her upper shoulder, but it was easy for us to remove it. She lost a lot of blood, but your prayers were heard. I’m here to tell you guys that after further tests, we discovered that Erie is pregnant with multiple babies, and they are just fine,” he revealed.

My knees buckled for the first time in my life. My Zio was the first to grab on to me.

“D-Did you say b-babies?” I stuttered with apparent fear in my voice.

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