Page 113 of Trial of Deceit

A baby.

Their baby.

Who wasn’t guaranteed to make it through the night.

Jediah inhaled a breath, then exhaled it in a tremble.“D-do you remember when I was born?”he asked in a whisper, unable to keep the crack out of his voice.

“Yes,” Bryony answered.“It was the scariest night of our lives, but you made it.”

“I made it…”

“Yes, Jediah.”Bryony moved to stand before him, reaching up to cup his cheeks.She made him shift his focus to her.Her expression held everything she felt for him: love, compassion, understanding.“And your baby will, too.”

“But—”

“Don’t say it,” Bryony interrupted.“You a no the first baby fi born with dextrocardia and survive, and your child naa go be the last fi born and survive as a premie.Trust Cedella’s medical expertise.Everything will be okay,” she affirmed, and Jediah nodded, though his heart still pounded rapidly.Bryony gave him a smile, then wiped beneath his eyes with her thumbs.

Jediah pulled away.He dragged the back of his hands across his eyes while turning his back to the incubator.“I’m going back to the estate.”

Bryony frowned.“Why yu don’ mek Reine carry the things come gi yu?Ashari need yu—”

“She’s been sleeping since we came back, Miss B.Why do you think I’m here?”Jediah asked, and she pursed her lips.“I’m not going to ask Reine because I don’t want her digging around me and my wife’s room.Suppose she sees things she’s not supposed to?”

Bryony gasped.“Jediah!”

He chuckled.“I need fresh air, so I don’t mind driving back.If Ash wakes up and asks for me, tell her I went out to get her comfort items.”

Nodding, Bryony removed her reading glasses from the top of her head and rested it on the tip of her nose.She walked away and sat on a chair in the corner of the room, then grabbed her phone off the table.

Jediah exited the room.Aside from the crew scattered throughout the hallway, the wing was empty.There were definitely perks to being the top donor to this hospital for so many years.

Arriving in the lobby, Jediah kept a tunnel vision while moving toward the exit.He knew the doctors and nurses must’ve been throwing glances at him — curious why the man who avoided the hospital he kept running for years, was suddenly freely walking the halls — but he couldn’t force a cordial smile at them.

He needed to go home, get an update on how Dimitri and Reka were doing with the clean-up, then return to his wife’s side.He was on edge from being in Kingston at a time like this.

“Uncle!”

The bodies around Jediah shuffled, disregarding the public as they pulled out their guns.People screamed as they scattered.

Jediah paused, inches away from the fleet of armored SUVs throttling by the curb.He looked over his shoulder, a scowl on his face when he saw Quadre.“You have some nerve,” Jediah gritted out, extending his arm for a guard to hand him a gun.

He needed to end this himself.

This boy was a pest.One Jediah would squish between his fingers, toss onto the ground, then trample.

“Malia said you don’t kill children!”Quadre rushed out, his eyes wide.

“What?”Jediah hissed.

Quadre lifted his chin.The tremble in his hands was still noticeable as he balled them into fists at his side.“The Richardson family has values.An oath.”

“You’re a Thorne,” Jediah said.

“Y-yes, b-but, Malia—”

Jediah continued speaking, pretending not to hear Quadre’s input, “Fatherless, like your mother.Soon to be motherless, like me.”

More fear rushed to the young man’s eyes.Quadre gulped hard.“Can I go into my pocket?”

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