Page 102 of Hot Momosa

I raised my hand to take my frustration out on the steering wheel, but caught sight of Gunnar in the rearview and stopped. He had a wide-eyed, terrified expression. The last thing he needed was me freaking the hell out.

What the hell am I going to do if she doesn’t make it?

The thought clouded my vision. Wiping my eyes on the back of my hand, I white-knuckled the wheel and focused on the road.

She’ll make it.

I nodded to myself. “She loves us too much to leave us, buddy. Don’t you worry. Your mamma’s going to be okay.”

As soon as I left the Quarter, traffic came to a standstill.

“Come on.” I drummed my fingers on my thigh.

“Come on, Daddy.” Gunnar grinned through his tears and snot.

“Hey, little man, why don’t you tell me a story for a change?”

He giggled but launched into his version of the caterpillar book.

I made the appropriate encouraging sounds, but I’d stopped listening after the first few words. I thought I’d come out of my skin before I reached the exit.

Twenty minutes later, I turned into the emergency room entrance and into a circus. Camera crews and satellite trucks had set up shop in the parking lot. I recognized cable news and a couple of national networks. What I didn’t recognize was a place to park.

I slowed, grabbed my phone, and called Gabe.

“Leo, where are you?” His voice came out breathless as if he’d run down ten flights of stairs. “We’ve been here for an hour.”

I assumed Shanna had called them. Too bad no one but the incompetent bodyguard had thought to notify me. “Looking for a place to park. I left the house as soon as Stuart called.”

“Pull onto the grass if you have to, just get in here. Dahlia’s doctor was looking for her next of kin.”

Those three words, next of kin, made it difficult to breathe. The last time I’d heard them was the night my brother and his wife had died in a car accident that hadn’t been an accident at all. Some son of a bitch had tampered with their vehicle.

“Is she…” I refused to finish the sentence.

“She’s alive, but they won’t tell us anything. Hang on.” A rustling sound came over the line. A few second later, Gabe was back. “I told them you were her fiancé, but they are trying to reach her father.”

“Someone should call him, but it’ll take him at least an hour to get here.” I circled the lot again with no luck. “The media has set up camp. There’s nowhere to park.”

He sighed. “Listen to me. Park in the grass. If you’re towed, we’ll deal with it.”

I glanced at the sleeping toddler in the backseat. “I’m going to the main entrance. Gunnar doesn’t need to have people shouting questions about his mom’s condition.”

“You brought him?”

“What the hell was I supposed to do? Leave him home alone?” I cut the wheel and headed for the front of the hospital.

“I’ll have Maggie take him back to your place.”

“Sure.” I rolled past a mob of reporters outside the glass doors leading to the lobby.

“There’s more reporters out front.” I’d had it with the press. “Screw it. I’m pulling into the portico. Be there in five.”

“Leo, wait. Ma’s here—”

“I figured.” I disconnected, threw my phone on the passenger seat, and parked a few feet from the doors. I figured my car was a goner no matter where I left it. I might as well get as close as possible. Hell, at that point I would have driven it into the lobby if it meant getting to Dahlia quicker.

The questions started before I managed to unbuckle the little guy from his car seat. Reporters shouted bullshit about suspects, Dahl’s condition, the governor’s whereabouts, Harrison, the stalker, and my relationship to Ms. Calhoun.

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