Page 25 of Sinful Queen (Dark Mafia Sins 5)

Chapter 14: Katrina

Iblowoutanotherbreath as I try to live through my next contraction. I was supposed to have three more weeks to work out my plan. Suddenly, I’m petrified to have this baby. What if it’s a girl, and he doesn’t want it because he already has one? What if it’s a boy, and he steals him from me? Every possiblewhat-ifsituation swirls around in my head.

He’s barking orders to the nurses. I’m sure they know how to do their job better than he does.

“What’s your birth plan?” One of them shoves her hips in front of him to put herself in front of me.

My mouth opens. I don’t have one. I always assumed my mother would be with me, coaching me along the way. Other than that, I don’t know.

“No drugs,” I respond.

Demetri’s phone rings, and the room silences. “I’ll be back,” he gruffly tells me—or the room, I don’t know.

Demetri is in and out during the whole process. I’m relievedandangry. I don’t have time to dig deeper into it, as I’m forced to push once again.

And then a baby is crying.

And I’m crying.

“It’s a girl,” the doctor announces, and my sweet, beautiful daughter is placed in my arms. I look up to see if Demetri is in the room, and he’s already standing over me, a soft expression on his face that warms my heart.

He takes her from me, cradling her to his wide chest, and my hands get clammy, wanting to steal her back from him. In this instant, I vow no one will ever take my child away from me. Husband or not.

The machines I’m hooked up to begin to beep, and a nurse comes and takes a look. They say something about needing to do something with my daughter, and Demetri turns his back to me, my baby still in his arms. The machines beep faster.

“I need my daughter,” I try to explain, each breath like razor blades. Nurses surround me as I try to pull the things out of my arm. When I want my legs to swing over the bed, they stay perfectly in place.

“Why can’t I move?” I don’t recognize my own voice. I’m crying harder as a nurse tries to talk to me, but all I see is my baby being stolen from me. The more the nurses pat my face with a cold cloth and talk to me like a child, the more worked up I become.

“Doctor?” I hear a deep, accented voice call.

No. That can’t be right.

My hands are trying to move my legs. I ignore everyone around me. The only thing on my mind is making sure Capree is safe. I need her in my arms. She is what makes everything all right.

“Ouch.” I glare over at my arm and see a needle being pulled out of my skin by someone I don’t recognize. My vision doubles, and I rub at my eyes. I stick out my tongue, which feels fuzzy and numb.

“She’s reacting to it.”

I twist my head toward another stranger. “Capree?”

Another needle is poked into me, and I fall back onto the pillow. My body is frozen, and my eyes close until there is only darkness that surrounds me.

Iwakeupwitha gasp, my torso shooting off the bed to sit straight up. The room is dim, and I can hear people walking around outside the room. I need to leave here and find Capree. As I stand, a deep ache between my legs, I see her in a clear plastic little bassinet, bundled in a white blanket, and the pain falls to the background of my mind. Immediately, I pick her up, holding her tight to my chest.

“I thought I lost you,” I whisper before I kiss her. My heart grows, and a silent tear slips down my cheek. “I will protect you at all costs.” I lay her down and slip on sweatpants that are folded on a padded bench. I try to tuck the hospital gown in the best I can before I pick up Demetri’s jacket, pulling it around me. It engulfs my entire body. Picking up Capree, I hide her inside the jacket before I look out of my room. I’m across from the nurse’s station, but no one is there.

I try to walk as casually as possible as I go down the hall. My heart pounds, but I keep my posture steady. Each step hurts a little more than the last. My insides are cramping, but I keep going. I turn the corner and see elevators, my steps more like hobbling now, and Capree worms around in my hold.

Please don’t cry.

The elevator’s metal doors open as I hear voices, and I step inside just as I make out Demetri’s asking “How is she?” I hold my breath, watching as the doors close slowly, and I see him walk in front of me just as they shut, the air leaving me in a whoosh.

Each floor number lights up, and when the door opens, I expect an army of people to stop me. But as I walk out, strangers enter, and I keep on walking. My daughter becomes fussy, and just as I see the exit, Capree cries at the sound of the alarm system, the phrase “Code Pink” repeating, and I run.

I run for Capree’s and my life.

Chapter 15: Demetri

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