Vidal! (Snakes Henchmen MC 6)

I called Brooke but got no answer. I called Hammer, and he told me he hadn't heard from her. I called Maria, and she bitched me out. Marnie was in the hospital! Of course, I jumped in my Jag and drove right over. I couldn't be bothered to wait for Tony to drive me. I didn't even think about the dangers of someone shooting me down in cold blood; all I could think about was getting my wife.

Right now, I'm terrified that I'll never see Marnie again. I have an awful feeling in my gut that something is so very wrong. I'm running through the hospital corridor toward the people waiting for me. Maria, Jett, Brooke, and Hawk. My baby girl is in Maria's arm's crying her little heart out. It kills me to see her like that. The second Lydia's eyes clock me, she's off my sister's lap and running toward me. I scoop her up and hold her to me tightly.

“Mommy's sick, Daddy!” She wails in my ear. My eyes close for a second. I can't believe I let myself get so fucking wrapped up in shit that means nothing right now. I should have been there for Marnie. I know how important the next month or so is for her, she's heavily pregnant, and I let work get in the way of my family.

Brooke is crying in Hawk's arms. I'm assuming her kids are with Hawk's parents because I don't see them anywhere. I don't see Jessica either.

“Where's Amber?” I can see my little girl anywhere.

“She's with my parents. She's safe. I promise.” I nod at Hawk. It’s all I can do. “Lydia refused to stay with them. She was so upset that Jett brought her with him.” I hold my daughter closer to me. I can't imagine how frightened she is right now.

Maria gets out of her seat, and I wrap my arm around her while holding onto Lydia. She's clinging to me so tightly right now she's almost choking me.

“I tried to call you.”

“I had no signal. I got no calls from anyone,” I tell Maria. It's not a lie, I was underground all evening, and I couldn't get a signal. I didn't even think to check my phone when I got out of there. First time in years that I didn't and this happened. What are the fucking odds? “What happened?”

It's Jett who tells me, “Lydia called me a couple hours ago. She said that Marnie had been sick, that she was burning up, and that she needed a bandaid. I thought maybe she'd cut herself and needed help.” My sister turns in his arms, and I wrap both of mine around my daughter. “I went over there and found Marnie passed out on the bed. She was way too hot, and she was bleeding.”

“Bleeding where?”

“In a place, she shouldn't've been bleeding from.” Shit! “I called Hawk to come get the kids, and I got Marnie to the hospital as fast as I could. As soon as we got here, they took her from me, but they've told us nothing since.”

I don't answer him, I turn and walk away. No one tries to stop me – not that they'd have succeeded – I need to find a damn doctor. Don't they fucking know who Marnie is? Every fucker in this town knows she's my wife! I am Draven Vidal for fuck's sake!

I reach the nurses’ station. Little blonde thing behind the desk's eyes widen. Yeah, she knows who I am all right. There's not a person in Tennessee that doesn't know my name!

“Mr. Vidal,”

“My wife. I want to know how she is, and now!”

“Yes, sir. I'll just go find a doctor who can speak with you.”

“Hurry up!” I snap at her. I'm aware that none of this is her fault, but I want to know what the hell is going right now! My fucking heart is in my throat!

Lydia flinches in my arms. “It's okay, princess.” I rub her back. I can't imagine how scared she's been. I'll never forgive myself for this! I'm only grateful that Amber has slept through all of this and doesn't know what's going on right now.

She looks up at me, her little brown eyes filled with tears. “Is Mommy going to die?”

“No, baby girl. Mommy is going to be just fine.” I clasp the back of her head, bringing it against my shoulder. I have no idea if Marnie is going to be okay, but I can't let the little girl she lives for believe anything but. “Everything will be just fine.”

“Mr. Vidal?” I swing around to face the man standing next to me. He doesn't look to be all that old — just a fucking kid. However, his tag definitely says that he's a doctor. Dr. Rawlings.

“Yes, that's me. How's my wife?” I can't describe how fucking sick I feel right now. I have never felt this kind of fear in my life. If I lost Marnie, I don't know how I'd go on.

“Would you like to go somewhere more private?” He's referring to the fact Maria and the rest of them are now standing to the side of me.

“Just fuckin' tell me!” I yell, but Lydia whimpers. I shush her while stroking the back of her head. “Do you have any idea who I am?” I ask him.

“Y-yes, Mr. Vidal.” He's visibly afraid. He should be right now. One wrong word and I'll end him. No matter what the fuck happens, even though it won't be his fault, I'll kill him in the worst way if Marnie doesn't come back to me.

“This is my daughter.” I tip my head to Lydia. She has her face buried in my neck. “Her mother is in your care. She's frightened. Cause me to raise my voice and frighten her again, and I'll rip your throat out!” He visibly swallows hard. I see his Adam’s apple bob. “Now, get to the damn point and tell me what the hell is going on with my wife.”

“Yes. Yes, of course. Well,” He swallows again. “Mrs. Vidal seems to have contracted an infection,”

“What kind of infection?”

“In her bloodstream.”

“Is it serious?”

“It's treatable.” Good. Good. “There's something else. I don't want to ask this, but I have to, it could save her life.” Save her life? Fuck, this is bad, I know it is. “Mrs. Vidal,”

That's right, motherfucker, show the damn respect my wife deserves.

No one refers to my wife as anything but “Mrs. Vidal,” out of respect. Only those closest to us call either of us by our given names.

“She has a mark on her upper arm that would suggest she'd been given an injection of some kind. Do you know if she's had any shots of late?”

“No,” Shots? Her doctor hasn't given her any shots; she doesn't need them, Marnie is very healthy. “Shot of what, exactly?”

“Well, we've run some tests, and it seems your wife was given a shot to...” He stops and rakes his fingers through his hair for a second before continuing. “To end her pregnancy.” No! There is no fucking way in this world!

“That's bullshit!” Brooke yells, and I just pull my daughter closer to my body. She's fallen asleep in my arms, but I need to cling to something right now. This cannot be real. “Marnie would die for that baby! There is no way she would do anything to harm it.”

“We're just checking her records as we speak. However, if Mrs. Vidal didn't do this willingly...”

“She didn't!”

“Brooke, calm down.” Hawk hushes her.

“Then we need to look at who could've done this to her.”

“In your honest opinion as a doctor,” I say, “Do you think my wife did this?”

“No,” I knew that, but I had to ask. “No doctor would've performed anything like this either. For a start, it is illegal to do so at this late stage in pregnancy, and highly unethical to send the mother home to birth the baby alone. It's dangerous beyond words. In my opinion, someone did this to Mrs. Vidal, probably without her even noticing. It seems she contracted the infection because of said injection, and the fact her body has been fighting the effects of the drug.”

“How could that happen?” I ask. I don't understand, I've made sure Marnie has been well protected. No one from the outside has been near her, so that means it can only have been someone who close to us or someone who works for me.

“If someone bumped into her?” The doctor shrugs.

My blood runs cold. Fuck it all! I can't say a person wouldn't've done this to get at me. I'm Draven fucking Vidal! Boss of the Vidal Crime Famiglia! Anything to get to me, people will do. I'll find the cunt that did this, and I will end them in the worst way imaginable! And that is a promise!

I ne

ed to speak to Tom. I want to know what Marnie did today. I also want to know where the fuck he's been when he should have been with my wife! I've known Tom for a long time, but I won't rule out that he could have done this. For his sake, I hope it isn't true.

“Mrs. Vidal is very sick right now. We had to perform an emergency C-section. I'm afraid we had no choice. The placenta came away, and the baby was starved of oxygen.”

The wailing coming from behind me, my sister and Marnie's, is too much, I can't bear it.

“The baby?” I swallow hard. If anybody wanted to bring me to my knees all they have to do is hurt my family. They have, and I'm finding it hard to stay on my feet. If it weren't for the little girl in my arms, I wouldn't be.

“Your son's were delivered safely.”

My sons?

Delivered safely?

My sons!

“Twins?” I swallow hard. We weren't told that we were expecting twins!