Chapter 15

Amelia

The sun has set and I still haven't moved from this spot since Beth and I got home. I refused to go inside and stayed out on the porch on the swing Nos and I sat on, with the ultrasound picture in my hand. I can't believe it.

I'm having a little girl.

Tears prick the backs of my eyes. None of this felt real until I saw her on the screen. Hearing her little heartbeat for the first time robbed me of breath. I've experienced love and know what it feels like, but the instant I heard that heartbeat and saw her, my heart was no longer my own. It belongs to my daughter.

Daughter.

God. It feels so weird thinking that. I close my eyes and will my tears to remain where they are. I have cried enough these past few months and now that shit has to stop. It's not just about me anymore, this is about my little girl and keeping her safe. She needs me to be strong and that is exactly what I'll do, starting now.

"You're gonna catch a chill sitting out here, little missy." I turn my head to see Bill strolling toward me with a warm smile on his face and a throw blanket in his hand. I smile my thanks when he places it on my lap and sits down beside me, swinging us. We remain in comfortable silence for a while as we stare off into the distance, lost in our own thoughts. "Can I see that?" I jolt and frown at him. He flicks his gaze to the picture in my hand. I hand it over and watch as a smile so wide scratches across his weathered face. "Beautiful," he whispers.

"I may be biased but I sure think so."

"My Bethy tells me you're having a little girl."

I nod. "I am."

He hands me back the picture, smiling. "She is lucky to have a strong woman as a mother."

I snort. "I'm not strong," I mutter bitterly.

He places a hand on mine, his eyes take on a hard edge and I stiffen. He immediately withdraws his hand as if sensing my unwarranted fear. I curse myself internally for allowing my past trauma to intrude on this moment. I open my mouth to say sorry but Bill beats me to it.

"Bernice was the light of mine and Bethy's life." My brows draw in and I cock my head to the side, slightly confused. "She only answered to Berry, God, I wish I could have had more time with her but time can't be borrowed." He sounds so bitter.

"Who was she?" I ask.

His watery gaze meets mine and I suck in a sharp inhale. "She was our only child." My jaw slackens in horror.

" Was ?"

He nods. "Berry was a force, so strong and courageous like her mother. She wanted out of this town as soon as she could and she did, she got out." He sighs and drops his gaze to his lap. "Six months after she left and moved to Texas we got a call saying she was in love and pregnant." A gnawing feeling begins to stir inside my stomach, I already know this isn't going to be a happy story.

"What happened to Berry?" I whisper.

His shoulders droop. "Bethy said she could feel something wasn't right so we went to her. When we got there she was battered and bruised, scared of her own shadow and any loud noises." I drop my own gaze, knowing exactly how that poor girl felt. "We packed her things and brought her home. She was a mess. So timid and easily frightened by a gust of wind. She was always looking over her shoulder. We did our best to try and reassure her that the father to her unborn baby would never get near her. We filed police reports but they couldn't find that son of a bitch."

Anger thrums through me at the injustice this beautiful girl suffered through. "What happened to her, Bill?"

"She was here for five months and finally started to heal. Her belly was so big and round, she was due in four weeks. Beth and I had everything set up and ready for our grandbaby to be born. Berry started to act like her old self and was even smiling. She didn't look over her shoulder as often, but we knew she still had a long way to go."

A strangled sob tears from him. I slide closer to him and grip his hand in mine as I rest my head against his shoulder, offering my comfort.

"There was an accident, five bodies, it was late and raining that night. Beth came with me to help retrieve the bodies. Berry assured us she would be fine. I could see it in her eyes, she was scared but she was trying so hard to be strong. I remember being so proud of her for not allowing that bastard to win and continue to hold her in fear. Beth and I were just placing the last body in the chiller when we got a call." My stomach sinks. "Berry was screaming for me to help her."

"Oh my God," I choke out as my own tears cascade down my cheeks.

"Beth and I raced out of the morgue and drove as fast as we could in the rain to save our little girl. As we got out of the car we heard a gunshot." A shiver runs down my spine. "Every molecule in my body knew at that moment that my baby had just taken her last breath." I cover my mouth to muffle my sob. "When we got inside, we saw that bastard running out the back door. I wanted to run after him but the sight of my girl laying on the floor in our living room staring up at the ceiling with no life in her eyes stopped me."

"Bill, I am so sorry," I choke out.

"Hearing her fight for her life and not being able to save her broke me. Seeing the man that fathered the grandchild my wife and I will never get to know kill our daughter, destroyed me. Having to complete the autopsy on my daughter and remove her child from her womb and place it in her arms to be buried, obliterated any chance of me ever overcoming her death." My heart breaks into a million pieces for Bill and Beth and all they have suffered through.

"Bill—"

"I see the same fear I saw in my daughter's eyes in yours, Max." I reel back in shock and begin to shake my head, trying to deny what he says. "She denied it as well, told me she fell and gave me the run around for weeks until she finally didn't. I know you and the boy have a history, I also know that boy would never raise a hand to you."

"Bill, I don't?—"

"Max, he isn't the type of man to stand in a living room and watch a killer run out the back door. He is the type of man to hunt a son of a bitch down and make them bleed. I care a lot about that boy and I don't want to see him hurt by you or the events of your past." Guilt churns inside me. I turn away from Bill, knowing everything he is saying is true. Me coming here has turned what Cronos built for himself upside down, I've brought an evil to his doorstep and I had no right to do that. I know it with every fiber of my being that Colson will be hunting me down. He'll be using his security and tech company to track me and it's not a matter of if but when he finds me, what he will do.

"Kill a demon today and face the devil tomorrow." Both Bill and I snap our gazes up to see Cronos standing on the porch steps. "It's my battle to fight, old man. If I want to hunt the cunt down then I will." Oh God, he overheard the conversation!

"Boy, you need to be smart about this. You have made a good honest life for yourself here and I don't want to see that getting messed up by secrets from Max's past." Nos grinds his teeth and clenches his fists at his sides at Bill's words.

"That's my cross to bear, not yours," he grits out.

Before they can continue, I climb to my feet and meet my dark angel's gaze for the first time since this morning. Some of the anger seems to flee him as he stares into my eyes and I hate that I can calm him. He shouldn't find my presence comforting.

"I don't want anyone getting hurt because of me." Nos opens his mouth to argue but I push on. "I've made my mind up. I'm leaving." He moves so fast I don't have a chance to back up, he stands before me with my face clasped between his hands and a look on his face I can't decipher but it almost resembles panic.

"If you choose to walk away and end this thing between us, I won't stop you but I also won't write, text or ever let you know where I am again in the hopes that you will find me."

"Nos—"

He cuts me off before I can continue. "Angel, I am standing here trying. I'm showing you I want this to work. I want a future with you and that baby. I want sleepless nights as we just stare at that little girl. I want it all, Amelia, every single fucking second of your future and hers. I want to be a part of it. I don't want to miss a single fucking thing. You told me to choose last time and this is me making that choice."

Tears burn the backs of my eyes as I stare up at him and see the truth in those brown eyes that hold so much love in them. I grip the front of his shirt and offer him one last chance to turn around and walk away from me and the mess I have made of my life.

"It's not just me anymore. I have this little girl to think about, Nos. Can you handle always being second because she is and will always be my first priority?"

A slow smile spreads across his face as he bends down and rests his forehead against mine. "As long as I'm the runner up to her, I'll always be good with that." Relief washes over me, never in my life have I ever felt so cared for until this moment.

"Max, huh?" Nos and I pull a part to stare at Bill, who is standing there with a cunning smirk on his face.

"Old man?—"

Bill raises his hand stopping Cronos. "I wasn't born yesterday, boy. I knew a beautiful thing like her wouldn't be named Max but so you can rest easy tonight, I will forget all about hearing your real name but just know, little missy, I want your full story when you are ready to tell it." Gratefulness surges inside me as I nod, I've never met someone so genuine and understanding before. "I'm assuming you two have a lot to discuss?" Nos and I share a look. I exhale and nod, it's time he knew the truth.

"Yeah, we do," I answer.

"Good. Now both of you go on, this old man needs to get his rest." Bill waves us both off as he makes his way inside, patting Cronos on the shoulder as he passes by.

"Old man?" Bill stops and peers over his shoulder at Nos. "Thank you… For everything."

Bill's eyes turn misty for a second before he clears his throat and nods in a manly way. "Thank you for waking me up from a dark and lonely slumber." His dark ominous words hang in the air as he disappears inside.

"Come on, angel, let's go home and… Talk." He seems just as nervous about this as I am.