Page 35 of Death's Devotion
Chapter Twenty-Four
WAKING UP, MY entire body feels as if I’ve been run over a hundred times and then thrown into the middle of a cage like what Death fights in. The last thing I remember is being in the kitchen of the clubhouse. I was baking and missing Death like crazy. I wanted him to come home so he could go to my doctor’s appointments and be here when I went into labor. There’s a bit of haze, but I think Jaelyn came in to see me. I’m not sure if that’s something I dreamed up or if she actually showed up though. Looking around the room, I quickly realize I’m not at home. I’m back in the hospital. Fear instantly fills me at the thought of Brent being with Vince. My hands move to my stomach and I realize it’s not as big as it was.
“No!” I scream out as I try to pull the blankets off me.
My moves are sluggish and I’m not sure what the hell is going on. I can barely move as I try to get out of bed.
“Hey, Half Pint. Calm down. What’s goin’ through your head right now?” Death asks me as I whip my eyes to him.
“Death? You’re here?” I question him, trying to look at no one but him.
“Of course I’m here, Half Pint. Wouldn’t be anywhere else,” he says, his voice gruff as he leans over me.
“What happened? Where’s the baby and Brent? Did I lose the baby, Death? Do you hate me?” I rush out, needing to know what’s going on.
“I don’t hate you, Kels. I could never hate you, baby. You need to calm down. Nyx and Brent are right in the room with us. Brent is on the other side of you and Nyx is sleepin’ in the little cot thing they put babies in. I’ll bring Nyx over to you as soon as we figure out what’s goin’ on in your head right now. What do you remember?”
“I remember being in the kitchen at the clubhouse. I was baking and missing you. Wondering when you were gonna be able to come home. Jaelyn might have come in to see me. it’s kind of hazy though,” I say, trying to remember anything else that might have happened.
“You don’t remember goin’ to the store and bein’ hit on the way there?”
I lay back and try to think. My head pounds, and it only gets worse as I try to remember what happened. With a flash, all the memories come back to me. The shattering glass, spinning and tipping over, hearing my son screaming at the top of his lungs, and going into labor. I remember every damn thing. This was Vince. He’s the one who hit me and tried to kill all of us.
“Do you have him?” I ask, needing to make sure they got him and no one else will be able to hurt us.
“He’s at the clubhouse, Half Pint. I haven’t seen him yet, but Shank made sure he got there. He’s locked up in a cell and no one will be able to get at him until I do. You don’t have to worry about him again, baby. I’m goin’ to deal with him and he’ll never leave Braedon while still breathin’ again,” Death says, his voice full of promise and the reassurance I need right now.
“What’s wrong with Brent? Was he hurt really bad? He was screaming, Death. I couldn’t get to him and he was so loud. Sabotage came here with him and I haven’t seen him since I put him in the SUV to leave the clubhouse. I’m so sorry, Death. I wanted to make you a nice dinner when Lash told me you were coming home. The grocery order I made wouldn’t have been there in time. It was so damn stupid.”
“Stop, Half Pint. I don’t blame you and there’s nothin’ you could have done differently. Vince was gonna get to you one way or another. Even if you were behind the gates of the compound, he would have found a way to get to you. Besides, I know what it’s like to go fuckin’ stir crazy bein’ cooped up in the clubhouse and not bein’ able to go anywhere else. We’ve been on lockdown and it’s lasted for days. You wanted to run to the store, and that’s okay Kelsey. You weren’t alone and there was nothin’ you could do to prevent the accident from happenin’,” he tells me just before turning his back and taking a few steps away.
Death turns back around and is holding our son in his hands. He brings him over to me and lays him down on my chest. Taking the blanket he’s wrapped up in, I move it so I can get a good look at our boy. Nyx is so small. Much smaller than Brent was when I had him. I count all his little fingers and toes as he holds one of my fingers in his tiny hand. When I move the hat on his head, I find a headful of dark hair. There isn’t a single bald spot in sight. Taking in every inch of Nyx, I realize something very quickly. He looks exactly like his daddy. Our boy is going to be a miniature version of Death. And I couldn’t be happier about it.
“He looks just like you, Death,” I tell him as I cover him back up.
“I fed him just before you woke up and made sure to change his diaper. He’s gonna sleep for about an hour and a half before wantin’ to eat again,” he tells me as a knock sounds on the door.
Kathy pokes her head inside before making her way over to me. For a minute she looks down at Nyx in my arms before smiling at Death and me.
“How are you feeling, Kelsey?” she asks as I hand Nyx off to his daddy.
“I feel like I’ve been run over a hundred times before fighting in a cage a few rounds. Guess that’s normal after being in a car accident and giving birth,” I say, trying to smile even though there’s no reason to in this situation.
“It’s a little more complicated than that, Kelsey. Let’s start with Brent’s injuries first. He suffered a broken arm in the accident. We’ve got him in a cast right now. It will be on for the next six weeks at least. Other than that, he has cuts and bruising on his body. They’ll heal on their own and he won’t have any scarring or anything from them. You’re both really lucky if I’m being honest. Things could have been so much worse than what they were,” Kathy says, her voice gentle as she goes on to what happened to me. “Your injuries are more complicated. When the accident happened, a piece of metal sliced into the side of your abdomen. You were bleeding internally and also in labor. We took the baby and performed all the tests to rule out anything being wrong with him. Your son is healthy and there won’t be any complications with him. Unfortunately, because of the damage done from the accident and other complications, we had to perform a hysterectomy on you. We couldn’t stop the bleeding any other way.”
Laying back against the bed, I remain silent. I don’t even know what I’m feeling right now. My heart is breaking with the thought of never carrying another baby. Death and I certainly never talked about more babies in our future and I’m not saying I won’t be completely happy and overfilled with love with my boys. Vince took this from me and there was nothing I could do to stop it from happening.
“I know this is a lot to take in, Kelsey. I’m sorry I don’t have better news for you,” Kathy says as I start crying. “I’m going to check your incisions quick and if you need something for the pain, I’ll make sure you get it. I’m here no matter what you need. Both of you. Plus, you have an entire room filled with the club.”
Nodding my head, I don’t move as Kathy exams me and tells me everything looks good for having surgery a matter of hours ago. When I tell her I don’t want anything for the pain, she leaves us alone. Death places Nyx on my chest and holds the two of us until Brent wakes up. we can’t even get him out of the crib without someone helping us because of the IV and other things hooked up to him. Death does bring him over closer to me though. I reach through the bars of his crib and hold his little hand the best I can.
“It’s gonna be okay, Half Pint. If we decide we want more kids later on, we’ll adopt them. There’s always a child who needs a home filled with love and the patience you’ll give them. This doesn’t mean anythin’ in the grand scheme of things. I love you and it’s okay if you don’t say it back. I heard when you were brought in from recovery and that’s enough for me. Don’t cry, baby. I hate seein’ you in tears,” he tells me, his voice gentle as he simply holds me.
“What do you mean I said the words when I was brought in?” I ask him, confusion filling me.
“When you were brought in here, you told me you loved me even though I hated you for the accident and everythin’. Judge and Gramps were in here with us and heard it,” he informs me, a smile lighting up his face.
“I do love you, Death. I know our relationship isn’t gonna be easy, but it’s true.”
