Page 59 of Joker's Ghost
I grip his forearm. “You’re not lying to me.”
He covers my hand with his. “The baby’s fine, and so are you.” He leans in and hugs me to him. “I’m so glad you’re back.”
When he straightens, his cheeks are damp, and I realize mine are too.
“What happened? The last thing I remember was being in our kitchen.”
“It’s all good.” He cups my cheek. “You’re back with me, and that’s all that matters.”
“I want to see my baby.”
Nothing will feel right until I hold my baby girl in my arms.
CHAPTER 20
JOKER
“I’m sorry.” The nurse shoulders her way into Daisy’s room. “There is no way you can have all these people visiting at one time.”
Since Daisy regained consciousness, there’s been a constant stream of visitors. Mostly Serpents and their old ladies.
Rattler wraps his muscled arm around the nurse’s shoulder. “C’mon, sweetheart, I’m sure you can make an exception.” He beams down at her. “And I will personally see to it all these bastards keep it down.”
“Well, you have to remember there are other patients and?—”
“You have my word.” Rattler hits her with another mega-watt smile, and of course, she leaves with a huge grin on her face as Rattler closes the door behind her.
“You just can’t help yourself, can you?” Mamba teases. “Married to a superstar, and you’re still on the make.”
Rattler flips him off. “What can I say, the ladies love me.”
Mamba shoulder-butts him. “Does Serafina know about your constant flirting?”
“Of course, it’s part of my charm.”
I shake my head at their antics, but truth, I can’t believe the hospital staff hasn’t thrown us all out. It started out just Cobra and Sheena visiting, and now Rattler and Mamba showed up with Mandy, along with Python and Virginia.
The room is filled with balloons and stuffed animals of all sizes, even a stuffed bear wearing a Serpents cut, compliments of Samson from Club Wicked. Everyone has celebrated our new baby, for whom Daisy still hasn’t picked a name. My girl has a steel trap for a brain, runs my shop, keeps our house in first-rate order, but ask her to decide on a name for a baby, and she short-circuits.
She wants to keep the D theme, so over the last two days, we’ve explored Daniela, Dakota, Dana, Delancy and Danica. I’m partial to Dakota, but I know she’ll figure it out in the end. I just hope it’s before my baby girl starts school.
Python grips my shoulder. “So, another girl. Shit, you’re outnumbered now, brother. Might as well pack it up and say good night. You will never win another argument.”
“Who the fuck are you kidding? It’s just you and Virginia, and you never win a fight.”
“That’s ‘cause I’m a lover, not a fighter.” Then he sobers and glances back at Daisy. “Shit, let’s just be glad everything turned out right. And when Daisy’s feeling up to it, we are gonna have a blowout party to celebrate your new baby girl—without a name.”
“Yeah.” I smile at his joke, but I just can’t sell it.
“What’s the matter? You should be the one leading the party.”
“Just tired after everything.”
Total fuckin’ lie. Truth is my body feels like there are electrical currents surging through it. Amping me up worse than the old days when I was hoovering up blow three lines at a time.
When I’m awake, suffocating anxiety and unknown fears plague me, but the nights are the worst. Lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, imagining every terrible thing that could possibly happen. When it gets really bad, my hands shake, and my chest tightens up like a time bomb about to explode. The same sensation as when I was in the ambulance with Daisy. I keep thinking it’s gonna go away, but three days later, and this shit feeling is getting worse instead of better.
Even the sight of Daisy holding our new baby girl fills me with a deep sadness and dread. Like something bad is waiting just outside the door. I’ve chastised myself and tried to drag my sorry ass out of whatever this is, but the time for feeling sorry for myself is over.
