Page 51 of Violent Reign (Violent Kingdom)

When I wake up,Doctor Hollis is standing at the end of my hospital bed, looking about ten years younger. My hands instinctively go to my stomach. I breathe a sigh of relief as I feel my babies, their tiny bodies moving underneath my stretched skin. They’re still with me.

“How are you feeling, Avery?” the doctor asks me.

“Okay.” My eyes dart around the room. I know Nathan has been arrested - I watched the scene unfold with my own eyes - but can I trust that it’s not an elaborate trick, designed to test me? I can’t trust anything, or anyone.

“He’s gone,” a male voice pipes up from the corner, beside my bed. I turn my head with some difficulty, craning my neck to catch sight of Detective McRae. He looks like the cat that got the cream, his blue eyes positively sparkling as he reassures me. “Nathan is under heavy police guard in the most secure cell I could find. He’s not getting away, Avery.”

I nod, blinking back tears. The shock at the sudden turn of events has begun to dissipate, replaced by anxiety. It annoys me that I can’t just be relieved and happy in this moment. NO, instead I’m worrying. I glance at the monitor beside my bed, the one that displays my heart rate and blood pressure. One-forty over ninety. It’s edging higher by the day, and Nathan being arrested hasn’t brought it back to normal levels. If anything, it’s getting worse.

“I’ll give you two a moment,” Doctor Hollis says, breezing out of the room. I bet he’s thrilled that Nathan has been arrested and I’m no longer blackmailing him to protect my unborn children. I’ll have to apologize for that at some point, I suppose. Right now though, a sense of dread is still heavy in my belly.

“Rome?” I ask, staring at the ceiling. “Is he…”

I don’t even want to finish my sentence. Is he OK? What if he’s not? I’ve only seen glimpses of what Nathan did to him, of what he made Tyler do. While I’ve been hanging out and gestating a couple of babies, Rome has been imprisoned and tortured. I’m plagued with guilt when I think about what he must have been through the past nine months.

“He’s okay,” Elliot says, leaning forward in his chair so that I don’t have to crane my neck to meet his gaze. “He’s pretty beat up, but you should see the other guy. And girl.”

I must look confused. Elliot shakes his head. “Your husband fought for his life. He fought for his life, and he won.”

“I want to see him,” I say, struggling to get up off the bed. Elliot jumps up from his seat, steadying me as I wriggle my way to the edge and let my bare feet touch the cold linoleum floor. “Whoa, hold on,” he says urgently. “You don’t want to pass out again. Take it slow.”

I open my mouth to yell at him that I don’t want to take it slow, that I’ve just lived through nine fucking months of torturous slowness, that I want to see Rome right fucking now. But before I can, the door to my hospital room opens, and he’s here.

Elliot makes sure I’m steady before he lets go of me, staying in arms reach in case I fall. I lean on the edge of the bed, swallowing back sobs as I furiously blink tears away, my vision swimming. Rome approaches me slowly, his bright blue eyes wet, his expression simultaneously pained and relieved. He’s looking at my belly, and has anyone told him? I’m almost ashamed as he takes me in. Does he think these babies are Nathan’s? Does he think I went along with all of this? I know he watched us get married. I know Nathan sent videos of me and him for Tyler to force Rome to watch. Videos of Tyler and I. Horrible things. Shame floods me. The things Nathan did to me - that he made me do with him - they must surely have extinguished any love that Rome held for me. Right? I feel utterly naked, exposed, as Rome reaches me. He stops in front of me, taking me in, my face, my stomach. He reaches out tentatively, his hand shaking as he waits for me. I grasp his hand, staring into his eyes, begging him silently to still love me.

“I’ll be right outside if you need me,” Elliot murmurs, stepping away, heading out into the hallway.

And it’s just us.

“This feels like a dream,” I blurt out. “It doesn’t feel real.”

Rome nods, edging closer to me. “I agree.”

I swallow thickly. “I don’t want to wake up from this.”

He pinches his own skin, smiling at me. “Still here.”

I do the same. I pinch as hard as I can. “See?” he says. “Still here. So it must be real.”

“Remember our wedding day?” I ask him suddenly. I need him to know.

He nods. “Best day of my life.”

I blink back tears, tugging his hand, pressing it firmly to my belly. “Me too.”

His eyes widen. “Are you saying - did we…” he can’t find the words to say as he lets his hand stay on my stomach. As his child greets him with a resounding kick through my taut skin.

“We made a miracle that day,” I whisper. “You’re going to be a Daddy.”

Rome can’t keep the smile off his face as he plants his hands on either side of my stomach. There’s a couple of stretchy pink bands around my stomach, holding two heart monitors against my skin. I’m still attached to the monitors by a ton of cables and my own heart monitor that sits snugly over my index finger, three heart readings pulsing in real time on the screen next to my bed. Rome looks at the little gray monitors on my belly, then at the screen. “Your heart started beating faster when I touched you,” he says, gazing down at me.

I smile. “Always has, always will.”

He looks at the monitor again, seemingly confused. “What is that?” he points to the screen. “Our baby has two hearts?”

I laugh. “No.” I point to the top reading. “That’s our son’s heartbeat, up top.”

Rome draws in a sharp breath, looking down at my belly in wonder. “It’s a boy?”

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