Page 13 of Defy
He raps his knuckles on the counter, "Until next time," Gabriel nods.
"Give them babies a kiss for me, and tell my sister I'll stop by tomorrow," I say waving and giving a warm smile over my shoulder as I walk out the door.
Once I'm in my car I glance down at my watch and see I still have about an hour before I'm due at the hospital, so I decide to run to Grace's for a sweet snack. When I pull up in front of the bakery, the first thing I notice is all the lights are off. Climbing out of my car, I make my way to the front door, and when I pull on it, it's locked. Cupping my hands over my eyes, I peer through the window. I see no signs of Grace or that the bakery was even open at some point today. The display cases that are usually full of cupcakes, cookies and donuts are empty.Something is off. Grace's bakery is open every day, even on Sundays.
Deciding to investigate further, I walk around to the side of the building where I know the stairs that lead to the apartment is located. Making my way up the stairs, I go to knock on the door and notice it's partially open. This is the part where I should take my ass back down and call Logan or one of the guys, but what if Grace is hurt. Making a hasty decision, I place my palm on the door and push it open. What I find is an empty apartment. The further I walk inside I take notice of a small kitchenette. Surprisingly, the apartment has no personal touches. Nothing that indicates who lives here. Not a picture… nothing. Looking to my left something catches my eye. A white dresser with all the drawers half open. When I walk over, I see the drawers are empty. Then I walk to the bathroom and flip on the light switch. Nothing. Grace is gone, and from the looks of her place, she left in a hurry. Digging my cell phone from my purse, I pull up Logan's number. It rings twice before he answers.
"What's up, Angel?"
"Logan," I say with a shaky voice.
"Angel, what's wrong?" he asks on high alert.
"I stopped by the bakery for something to eat before heading to the hospital, and it's closed. I thought maybe Grace was sick or something, so I came upstairs to her apartment, and she's gone." I finish.
"What do you mean Grace is gone?" Logan urges.
"What the fuck you talkin' about Grace is gone!" Jake booms in the background. "Fuck," Logan clips under his breath. "Babe, stay there. We're on our way."
Not ten minutes later I hear the roar of several motorcycles alerting me to the fact the men have arrived. Jake is the first to burst through the door, and Logan is hot on his heels. I'm a little taken back. I've never seen Jake look so wild.
"Babe?" Logan says getting my attention. "Why don't you go on to the hospital. The club will handle shit with Grace."
Nodding my head, I lean up on my toes and kiss him. I don't question what's going to happen next. I know the guys will find out what's going on. "I'll see you at home later."
Arriving at the NICU, I go through the ritual of putting the hospital gown on and washing my hands. After a quick greeting with the nurse on duty, I sit in the rocking chair beside the incubator and wait patiently as she places the baby in my arms. I've only been out of town for a few days, and she already looks bigger… stronger. I look back up at the nurse who is standing to my left, "You took the feeding tube out."
The nurse smiles, "We took it out about an hour ago. Would you like to give her, her first bottle?" she asks.
"Yes!" I reply enthusiastically.
"Alright then," she chuckles. "Just let me go fix it. I'll be right back."
A minute later the nurse returns with a bottle. Taking it from her, I bring it down to the baby's mouth. I allow a few drops to coat her lips. Just enough to entice her to open. It doesn't take much coaxing before she opens greedily and begins going to town.
"Well, it looks like you two are old pros at this. I'll leave you to it."
Before I know it, an hour and a half has flown by. The baby has been fed, burped, had her diaper changed and is now asleep. Visiting hours are almost over and my time is up. Reluctantly, I stand and place her back in the incubator along with the gift I bought her. Stealing one last look at her, I sigh and wish for tomorrow to hurry up and get here.
