Holy shit, I was a father.
MELODY
“Don’t worry, you’re going to close your eyes and before you even know it, they will both be back demanding your attention.” Evelyn laughed, kissing my forehead. It was odd. I wasn’t used to anyone other than Liam doing that, and even so, it had taken me a while to adjust to him. But I guess seeing me with a baby tucked into my arms made her forget who I was.
“We’re going to head out and let you have some space.” Sedric smiled at me. He looked as if he were holding back a hug or something. The best I could do right now was squeeze his hand.
I was pleased that I still felt like myself, only now I had a greater priority and that was my son. He was the person I now lived, and would die, for and I would do everything in my power to make sure he was safe. Which meant I had to be stronger, maybe even harsher with those around me. I would be anything, do anything, to protect him.
“Bye, Mel. Oh, I got Ethan some cute new clothes for him to come home in.” Coraline grinned, leaving the baby blue bag on the chair Sedric had previously occupied.
“That reminds me, the press will be tripping over themselves for pictures…” Olivia started, but I cut her off quickly.
“Neal, make sure any and all press around our house is taken care of immediately. Also, I want a new car, something that isn’t too flashy, with tinted windows. A Volvo, maybe?” I’d heard all this shit about them being safe, so I might as well.
“I’ll get right on it, boss.” He grinned, but I still didn’t trust him. He made way too many fucking mistakes, and if he weren’t family, I would have already killed him. Olivia bit her tongue—as she should—before taking a deep breath and playing with the pearls at her neck.
“Declan, stay a moment?” I turned to him. None of them waited or even looked back. Evelyn wheeled Coraline out, giving us the privacy my statement insinuated.
“What do you need?” he asked, rolling up his sleeves.
“The house swept, I want every last one of our security cameras firewalled and impossible to be hacked. Then get a profile of all of our employees. Make sure they know their lives depend on what they don’t see or hear, and who they let into my house. We brought a little boy over the border to keep his mother quiet. The police want to use her as an informant. Focus more on her.” Saying it all out loud made me relax, just a little bit.
“I’ll get working on everything, but Neal told me that Liam is having the house swept again as we speak. He has fifteen men walking the property here and roaming the surrounding areas.” Of course he was. He and I were too much alike; sometimes it was crazy.
“I’ll leave you to get some res—”
“How’s Coraline?”
He frowned. “She’s doing better, but I don’t think she’s up to do anything right now.”
“I’m not asking as your boss.”
“Oh.” He nodded slowly. This was one of the hassles when dealing with family. “She has her dark days, but she’s been doing better. It’s a slow process but she’s getting there. It’s been a few weeks since she’s been off the chemo, and she starts therapy soon.”
“Good. I’m glad.” I yawned. My entire body felt so heavy.
He said something before stepping out the door, leaving only silence and the muted whirring of the machines in his wake. Finally, I could rest and allow my eyes to close.
“Hi, sweetheart,” someone whispered over me.
I felt like I had only just closed my eyes, but now they felt harder to open. “Wh…I…wha…” I couldn’t form words. What the hell was going on?
“Don’t worry, this will be over very soon.” I knew that voice. With all the might I had, I forced my eyelids open, blinking quickly at the stream of light pouring into my eyes.
“Avi..Avi...” I hissed through my teeth.
“Not here.” She grinned, looking at the name on her lab coat. “Here, I’m Doctor Yang.”
She was pushing my bed down the hall. I tried to move, but my body felt like it was encased in lead. Nurses, doctors, patients, and walls passed me by without my control. All I could see were her damn blue scrubs and bad red wig hovering over me. Clenching my teeth, I tried my best to speak but the muscles in my jaw were useless. Whatever she fucking drugged me with, I wasn’t used to it.
“Liam…kill…”
“My doctor friend will keep him and little Ethan so busy he won’t notice until it’s too late. Now sleep, sweetheart.” I didn’t have time to brace myself before she stabbed me in the fucking neck. I no longer had any control over my body. That’s when the tears started to fall. I refused to believe that I may never see my family again.
Fuck her. If she thought she could end me like this, she didn’t know who she was fucking with.
LIAM
Something was wrong. I could fucking feel it in the pit of my stomach. The fucking doctor was taking her sweet time looking him over, but that wasn’t my problem. Something was off and I couldn’t put my finger on it.
“Liam.” Declan stepped in next to me, staring at Ethan through the window. He was blissful as he gurgled in his little incubator.
Declan was stiff, his jaw was clenched so tightly that it looked like stone, he breathed through his nose slowly, watching the doctor’s hands carefully. Hearing the door slide open, I watched as my father walked in without even bothering to look at me. He stepped up to my son, blocking my view of the doctor.
“You have five seconds to start speaking, Declan.” My hands twitched, more than ready to bash someone’s head in.
“Don’t make a scen—”
“I asked you a motherfucking question, you work for me, now answer. What fuck is going on Declan?”
He was silent.
“If I have to ask you again…”
“Mel.” He paused. “She’s gone.”
Taking a deep breath, I tried to ignore how quickly my heart was pounding. “Did you check with the—”
“She’s gone. Evelyn went back to check on her and noticed. No one has seen her in the last two hours. I hacked the hospital cameras…” He handed me his cell phone, but I didn’t need to fucking see it.
“Aviela.”
The bitch! I’m going to fucking kill her!
“Liam, breathe.”
“I want this whole fucking hospital on lockdown! Every fucking exit, shut! How the hell did she get to my wife?” Right under my nose.
Every head in the vicinity turned towards me, but I didn’t give a fuck. I would slit each one of their fucking throats.
“She got in using Dr. Yang’s badge and a wig. Liam, don’t…”
I started towards the door before he could even finish, but he jumped in front of me, halting my steps. “We have eyes everywhere. There are cops all over this place.”
“Bring me Dr. Yang! Take her out back. Block out the damn cameras.”
“Okay. I know you’re panicking, but brother, breathe,” he replied.
Running my hands through my hair, I took a step back, and breathed through my nose before nodding.
“Get her the fuck away from my son. I want men around him at all times.”
When he left me, I tried not to think about her. I couldn’t think about her not being in her room waiting for me. I just couldn’t handle that. Fuck. How did she fucking get her? Fuck.