Chapter One

Leo

I sat beside Brynn and held her hand as we waited for the doctor. The room was cold and sterile and the air thick with anxiety. As she shifted, the crinkle of the paper on the exam table made my skin crawl. For the past three days, she’d been telling me something felt off, though she couldn’t say exactly what it was. She still felt the baby, but not as often. Today, though—today, she hadn’t felt the baby at all. That’s why we were here. We had gotten the soonest appointment available, and now I could hardly breathe from the tension sitting heavy in my chest.

The doctor entered, all business, though there was a gentle edge to his voice. He greeted us, a forced smile playing at his lips before he rolled the ultrasound machine toward Brynn. She lay back, her shirt pushed up just enough to reveal her belly, her skin gleaming with the gel he applied. His brow furrowed in concentration as he moved the probe across her abdomen. The room was quiet except for the sound of the machine.

“What are you seeing?” I demanded, my voice sharper than I intended.

The doctor didn’t answer immediately, just kept his gaze fixed on the screen. His brow knitted further, and I could tell he wasn’t finding what he was looking for. The probe moved back and forth over the same spot, slow and deliberate.

Brynn’s fingers dug into my hand, and I turned my head to meet her eyes. They were wide, filled with worry and an unspoken plea for reassurance. I didn’t have any. I squeezed her hand tighter and wished I could offer her something more than my own dread. I felt powerless just sitting there as the seconds stretched into what felt like an eternity.

The doctor’s silence was deafening. His jaw clenched as he adjusted the machine, but nothing changed on the screen. I knew what he was searching for—the sound of our baby’s heartbeat, the steady rhythm that had reassured us at the last appointment. But no, there was only an eerie quiet, and it was like the entire room was holding its breath.

“Doctor?” Brynn’s voice trembled, and my heart broke hearing it. She was usually so strong, so steady, but now she was barely holding it together. I could see her chest rising and falling more rapidly, her breath quickening as panic crept in.

He exhaled heavily, his hand pausing on her stomach. He lowered the probe, his face somber as he turned to us.

“I’m… I’m very sorry,” he said softly. His voice wavered slightly, as if he was struggling to find the right words. “It appears that the baby’s heart… has stopped beating.”

The words hit me like a truck, knocking the breath out of my lungs. My vision blurred, and I couldn’t process what he had just said. Brynn’s grip on my hand tightened to the point of pain, but I didn’t care. She let out a small, strangled cry—a sound that shattered whatever strength I was trying to hold onto.

“No,” Brynn whispered, her voice barely audible. She looked at the doctor, her face pale. “No, there has to be a mistake. I… I felt the baby. Not as much, but… there has to be a mistake.”

“I wish I could tell you otherwise,” the doctor said, his voice gentle but firm. “But I’ve double-checked. The baby is no longer showing signs of life.”

Brynn shook her head and her whole body trembled as tears filled her eyes. “But I… I felt them…”

I wrapped my arms around her as best as I could, pulling her against me as her body shook with sobs. I could feel my own throat tighten, my own tears threatening to spill, but I had to be strong for her. I couldn’t break, not now.

“It’s not your fault,” the doctor said quietly. “Sometimes these things just happen… We can discuss what comes next when you’re ready.”

I barely heard him over Brynn’s cries and my own mind swimming with grief. My chest felt like it had been cracked open and my heart shredded into pieces. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. How could something so small and precious be gone just like that?

I stroked Brynn’s hair, whispering words of comfort I didn’t really believe. “I’m here, Brynn. I’m right here.”

The doctor left the room to give us some privacy. The door clicked shut behind him, and all I could hear was the sound of Brynn crying into my chest. I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling her pain as if it were my own. Itwasmy own. We had lost something we hadn’t even fully known yet. Our baby. Our future.

After a while, Brynn’s sobs quieted into soft whimpers. I held her close, rocking her gently. She was so fragile, so broken, and I didn’t know how to fix it. I didn’t know how to make this pain go away.

“Why?” she whispered against my chest. “Why did this happen?”

“I don’t know,” I choked out, my voice cracking. “I don’t know, Brynn.”

She pulled away slightly, just enough to look up at me. Her tear-streaked face broke my heart all over again. “I was so scared something was wrong,” she said. “I… I felt it. I just didn’t want to believe it.”

“I should have done something sooner,” I muttered, guilt gnawing at me. “I should have—”

“No,” Brynn cut me off, shaking her head. “This isn’t your fault, Leo. We couldn’t have known… We couldn’t have done anything.”

I stared into her eyes, wanting to believe her, but the guilt wouldn’t let go. I should have protected her, protected our baby. But I hadn’t. I had failed.

Brynn wiped her tears with the back of her hand, sniffling as she tried to compose herself. “What do we do now?” she whispered.

“I don’t know,” I admitted, my voice hoarse. “I don’t know, Brynn.”

The room felt too quiet again, the weight of our loss pressing down on us like a suffocating blanket. The reality of it was sinking in—there was no baby anymore. The life we had been planning for, dreaming about, was gone in an instant.

“I… I can’t stay here,” Brynn said suddenly, sitting up on the table. She wiped her eyes again and looked at me. “I need to go home, Leo. I just want to go home.”

I woke up suddenly, my heart pounding as I blinked away the remnants of the dream. My eyes darted around the room, half-expecting to still see the sterile walls of the doctor’s office. But instead, I was in a soft bed, the room dimly lit by the early morning sun filtering through the blinds. I felt movement beside me and turned my head, my breath catching in my throat as my eyes connected with Brynn’s.

“Bad dream?” she whispered, her voice soft, almost concerned.

I stared at her, completely stunned. Brynn. I hadn’t seen her—hadn’t been in the same bed with her—in years. So many years that I could barely remember the last time we’d spoken. My head spun as I tried to make sense of it all.

The last thing I remembered was getting off the plane in Charleston. Apollo had been with me, trailing behind to grab our stuff. A black SUV had pulled up, and I’d assumed it was Teddy, my contact. Then, the driver’s door opened, a gun appeared, and after that… nothing.

Now I was here. In bed. With Brynn.

“What the hell is going on?” I croaked, my throat dry.

Brynn sat up, and I noticed she was fully clothed. “Now, that is a long story,” she said with a small smile. “One I can tell you over breakfast.”