Chapter 32

Amelia

"You're doing great. On the next contraction, I need you to push as hard as you can," Kim says.

"No!" I scream. "I can't do this without them, I won't!" I choke out. The fact Colson isn't here and it's only me and the three nurses doesn't ease my anxiety.

"You need to push, she is right there and you are doing her more harm than good fighting it," Kim snaps, clearly annoyed at my refusal to give birth. I need my mom! Just the thought of her has me crying harder. I choke on my own spit in fright when the door is kicked open. My heart stops, thinking it's Colson coming to kill me because I'm taking too long.

"Angel." At the sight of him and my dad standing there looking utterly spent and distraught, I cry.

"Cronos." At the sound of my cry they both rush forward and look angry at the state of the bruises on my face and try to touch me but another contraction hits, making them halt as my back arches off the bed and I scream out.

"Push!" Kim barks. Dad grips my hand in his and squeezes.

"I'm right here, Meelz, I got you both," He reassures me.

"Come on, angel, bring our girl into this world so we can get you both home," Nos coos as he places a kiss on my forehead. Just as I bear down to push, gunfire can be heard outside the room.

"Shit, stay with her!" Dad barks. I reach for him but it's too late, he's already across the room and rushing out to fight the enemy I brought to my family's door step. For the first time in my life I can't blame my family for this horror story. I concocted this all on my own and breathed life back into this hate Colson has toward my father because I was desperate for a bit of attention. Cronos snaps me out of my thoughts when he dumps his guns on the ground, then pushes me forward so he can climb on the bed behind me.

I rest back against him as he wraps his arms around me and holds me tight. Kim doesn't look pleased about this new position but fuck her, I need him close.

"Come on, baby, you can do this," he encourages as another contraction hits. I dig my nails into his forearms, scrunch my eyes closed and push with every ounce of strength I have left. I am exhausted and could sleep for a week, but not until I bring our daughter into this world and make sure she is safe.

"Ahh," I cry out in frustration when the contraction passes.

"Next one, I need you to push harder and get her out, she is starting to stress," Kim says as she flicks her gaze to the heart monitor that is attached to the band around my stomach. I look over and see her heartbeat is dropping.

"Oh my God," I breathe out. "Please?—"

"Shhhh, angel, you're doing great. One more push and then the pain will be gone and we can go home." I shake my head as tears falls faster down my cheeks.

"I can't do this, I need my mom," I cry out.

He brushes the hair back from my face and looks down at me with a loving smile but I can see the fear in his eyes. "Then we'll be stopping by the hospital with Kingsley to surprise your mom." Before I can ask what he means another contraction hits. His lips brush the shell of my ear. "She's alive, angel, now push." Something about hearing that news has a renewed sense of strength flowing through me. I grit my teeth and meet Kim's stare as I growl loudly and push harder than I have before.

"Just like that, when I say stop, stop or you will tear." If she thinks she is getting an answer from me, then she is out of her fucking mind, I can barely breathe let alone talk right now. "The heads out, stop!" Instantly, I obey her command. I can feel Nos shifting behind to try and get a better look but he can't see over my gown. "On the next one, I need you to give me one last big push, then she will be out." I nod. Normally I get nearly a minute break between contractions but not this time, this one comes hard and fast.

I push and feel it the instant my baby is out. It's a relief to know she is here and we can finally meet her but I feel so… empty without her presence inside me. I can no longer protect my little girl from the horrors of this world, she was safer inside me. Before she even entered this world, she had a man wanting to hurt her, people who will come for her because of who her mother is—because of who our family is—and now suddenly, I understand why my father was the way he was. So over the top and always checking in or making sure I would send him a message when my plans would change. It all makes sense now.

"Can I see her?" I ask as Kim starts clamping the cord, Kingsley's cry finally rents the air and I begin sobbing at the sound of my baby.

"You did it, baby, you did so fucking good." I look up at Nos to see tears in his own eyes. All we can see is our baby's back, I just want to see her face and look into those beautiful eyes.

"Take her now and get her on the ventilator," Kim barks at the other two nurses. They rush over and take Kingsley. I start to panic.

"I want to see her!" I shout.

Kim lifts her gaze to me. "Her lungs aren't formed, Amelia, let us get her on some oxygen and then get this placenta out so we can move you and her, you will have all the time in the world to see your baby when we get the hell out of here." I purse my lips and choose to remain silent when Nos tightens his hold around me. Now that I can think clearly for a moment, I start to worry again.

"Where's my dad?" I feel him tense behind me. "Go find him," I grit out.

"I'm not leaving you, I'm staying right here," he argues.

"Cronos, I can't move until this placenta is out, we aren't going anywhere for a while." The argument dies in my throat when Kim stands and removes her gloves, dropping them to the floor. I open my mouth to ask what's going on, but the second she bends and collects the rifle from the ground and kicks the other two guns to the side, her intentions are made clear. I feel Nos stiffen behind me.

"Think very carefully about this choice, Kim," Cronos grits out, fear gripping me but not for myself, for my baby who is currently being held captive in an incubator across the room.

"Oh, I have thought long and hard and this is the outcome I have been praying for," she replies, sounding evil and unlike the woman who tried to help me earlier. She pulls her gaze from him to look at me, I see so much loathing and hate in the depths of her eyes. "You don't remember me, do you?" I recoil and flinch when a sudden cramp hits me. I breathe through the pain of the contraction. It's nothing like the last ones, thank God.

"Should I?" I force out through clenched teeth as the urge to push overwhelms me again.

"Considering we worked together, I would have thought so." Earlier I thought she looked familiar but I just put it down to the pain I was in, clearly my first instinct was correct. I study her for a minute trying to recall a memory or anything but I keep coming up blank until I don't. My eyes widen in horror.

"You were there that night at the pub with Amara, Lisa, Devon and Kevin." I remember her now, at the time I was too focused on keeping Colson calm and trying to hide the fact I was pregnant that I didn't even pay her much attention.

"Ding, ding and the award for the world's dumbest bitch goes to you!" I fight to keep the pain of the contraction from splaying over my face.

"Why are you doing this?" I snarl through the pain.

"If you had paid closer attention, you would have seen the signs."

"What fucking signs?" I scream.

"How did he know when you worked late? When you changed your shifts? When you were somewhere you weren't supposed to be?" My jaw unhinges as her implications sink in.

"You were his spy?" I mumble.

"No, not a spy, just a big sister helping her little brother out." My brows raise in surprise. "You see, the day my family died, I was at my friend's so I wasn't in the car. It took me years to find Colson through the foster system. When I did find him, we promised we would do whatever it took to avenge our family and now we are finally about to fulfill that promise." She flicks her gaze to the two nurses. "Take the kid, meet me at the elevator."

"Take that baby and I swear your ending will not be swift or painless," Cronos vows.

"Fucking hell," Kim snaps, then shoots the blonde one in the center of her eyes, the raven-haired one screams and begins to plead for her life.

"Take the fucking kid now or you join your friend." She shoots us a regretful look, before shakily wheeling the incubator out.

"Please!" I scream. "Take me, she means nothing to my father. If you kill me?—"

"Angel, no!" I ignore Cronos as I push on.

"You will destroy King Murdoch if you kill me. You already killed his wife, he doesn't care about that baby." I'm taking a calculated risk here, I have no idea if they know my mom survived or not, but the fact Nos only told me about it, I suspect I am right when Kim purses her lips. She doesn't get a chance to respond as the pain returns tenfold and rips through me, forcing me to push.

Labor fucking sucks!

"Nice try," Kim snickers. "Follow us and I put a bullet in the kids head, if your father hadn't killed my family things may have been different." As the two of them rush out of the room, I push with everything I have to get this fucking thing out of me so I can go after my baby. I just hope I don't have a sticky placenta and it gets stuck. The second they exit the room, Nos moves from behind and retrieves both his Glock's from the corner,

"Go!" I grit out as I feel the placenta pass, the pain I'm in is minimal compared to the worry churning inside me over the safety of my daughter. It's only now I register that gun fire is still happening outside. I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and cringe at the sight of the placenta and all the blood on the bed. My yellow gown is instantly soaked in my own blood as I stand shakily. Cronos is at my side in an instant, wrapping an arm around my waist as blood trickles down my thighs.

"Can you walk?"

"Yes, just leave me and go after Kingsley," I beg.

"I can't leave you, Amelia, please don't ask me to choose between you both right now." I hate that I understand his fear, I don't waste time fighting. I limp beside him as he leads me to the door. Before we can exit, he hands me one of his guns. I take it without hesitation.

"You know how to shoot?—"

"I'm a Murdoch, of course I know how to fucking shoot!" He pulls the door open and then we move. I have my gun raised and ready to kill any son of a bitch that gets between me and my daughter. This bloodlust is new for me, I have never wanted to harm anyone like this in my life. Maybe I was scared to embrace who I truly am because deep down inside, I always knew there was darkness inside me begging to be released. We round a corner and Cronos fires a shot. Before I can even blink, a man falls to the ground. "How did you know he wasn't one of ours?"

"I didn't but I'm not taking any chances with your safety." I balk up at him.

"You're kidding, right?" I snap as we move forward.

"Yes, Bishop instructed all his men to have green on their vests and he didn't." Relief washes over me, I would fucking hate for him to have been serious and accidentally shoot one of my cousins or something. My eyes widen when I see Kim push the incubator with my screaming baby into the elevator. I raise my gun ready to shoot the cunt but she shifts and ducks inside. Nos smacks my gun just as I pull the trigger.

"You do not take an uncalculated risk when it concerns Kingsley's safety. Do not take a shot without a guarantee, am I clear?" This is the first time he has ever spoken to me like this. I nod my head, unable to form words as he drags me toward the elevators.