Chapter 22

22

E yela

As I rubbed my stomach, I stared out of the window. While all of the men were in Karrington’s room, the women were in mine. So were my parents and Carma. A couple of nurses tried to get them to leave, but one threat from Daddy had them bringing Mommy a bed and chairs for everyone else to ensure their comfort. I insisted they could leave but they wanted to stay with me until Karrington woke up. I appreciated the extra care since I was pregnant, but I kept telling them I was okay. I wanted to be with my husband, and if it wasn’t for my palpitating heart and high blood pressure, they would have let me.

At the sound of commotion in the hallway, I sat up in the bed. I didn’t think it was my husband until I heard him say, “Somebody gon’ tell me where the fuck my wife is.”

“Oh God.” Mommy hopped up. “Let me get this man before he burns this place down.”

A smile spread my lips, and my eyes watered at the sight of him, but I immediately got frustrated because he was supposed to be in bed. A grimace was on his face as he charged over to me.

“What the hell are you doing?” I yelled. “Go get your ass back in that bed!”

His movements stopped and all eyes were on me. “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard you curse. And you yelled at me.”

“Really, Karrington?”

Cupping my cheeks, he looked me over intently. “Are you okay? What about the baby? God, I’m so sorry, little one. I’m so sorry.”

“Shh… You have nothing to apologize for.”

“Let’s give them some privacy,” Daddy said, which I appreciated.

“At least get in bed with me.” Karrington laid down. “How do you feel? I know that was a lot for you.”

“I don’t think I’ve processed it yet. I can’t believe he killed Pops and tried to kill me. In front of you. I’m sorry you had to see that.”

I kissed all over his face and placed his hand on my stomach to soothe him. “Don’t worry about that, baby. I need you to get back hooked up to whatever they had you on and take it easy so you can get out of here.”

“I will now that I’ve seen you. I just needed to make sure you and the baby were okay.”

“We’re just fine. I did faint and had some other issues, but I’ll be fine now that you’re awake.”

I called the nurse’s station and asked if the doctor could come check on him and let him hear the baby’s heartbeat, so he’d be more at ease. It blew my mind how everything went down. One second, we were blissfully happy in our own little world, and the next, his uncle shot. I thought I was going to lose my husband, and that was the scariest feeling of all. It made me understand exactly why Karrington didn’t want to get close to me and lose anyone else.

Even with that knowledge, that fear, I wouldn’t trade falling in love with him for anything else in the world. I would appreciate every moment we had with our baby a million times over before I ever allowed fear to keep me from it. From them. I didn’t know how this experience would change the organization or even Karrington, but it definitely made us value and love each other a little bit deeper.

One Week Later

My eyes rolled as we carefully walked into the house. Karrington had been cleared to go home, and he was already handling business. Since he’d missed the ceremony, he had to reschedule it, and that was his biggest concern right now, which I understood. Now, more than ever, he wanted to restructure the organization and put people in place that he trusted.

After the shooting, he got rid of every man on Pete and Bosco’s teams. Not only was it a smart business move, but it was a warning to anyone else who ever considered coming after him.

Karrington decided to not dissolve arranged marriages altogether. Instead, he’d employ a matchmaker to ensure the marriages would be healthy and as organic as possible. I loved that. I understood the negative connotation arranged marriages received and the dangers of some, but I was so happy with him, I didn’t want people to miss out on a bond as beautiful as ours if it was possible.

Bully was still MIA, and Innvy had given birth to a beautiful baby girl. His phone was inactive, but he’d sent word to his friends that he was alive. I wasn’t sure what was going on with him, but I hoped he would come back home soon. Until he did, Beethoven would be Karrington’s underboss, and I know that he hated the sacrifice his friend was making on his behalf, but Beethoven seemed happy about it.

When Merc and Asylum found out, they gave Karrington a hard time about not including them. They were so bratty about it, it was hilarious. I never thought I’d see the day grown men would be upset about another keeping them safe and with their families, but that was the case. It did show me how tight their bond was, and Karrington eventually gave in and agreed to find spaces for them.

“Okay, baby. It’s time to get off the phone so you can rest,” I told him.

He looked down at me and gave me a sexy smile and bob of his head. I could never get enough of looking at him. That caramel skin. Those balsamic colored eyes. Those juicy pink and brown lips. His first day out of the hospital and he was in a suit.

God, I loved him.

“Yes, little one. I’m about to hang up now.”

I nodded and headed upstairs. Karrington had decided against having a home nurse, which meant it would be up to me to make sure he cleaned his wound and took his pain medicine and antibiotics consistently. I didn’t mind at all. There was so much blood from the shots to his back and side that I thought I was going to lose him, and I was grateful that wasn’t the case.

It took a few minutes, but eventually, he made his way to our temporary bedroom. I refused to let him take the steps while he healed, and he refused to sleep without me, so we were going to be in a downstairs guest room for the next month or so. A smile curved his lips when he saw what I’d done to the room. I couldn’t keep him from working, but I was going to make sure he rested while he was at home. To do that, I’d had a larger TV installed and snack station since sports and Lifetime movies were the only things beyond sex that could keep him in bed. I also had several gifts waiting for him on the chaise, because even though it wasn’t his birthday, I wanted to celebrate his life.

We wouldn’t be having sex for a while, but the ambiance was romantic because of the candles and rose petals. I even went as far as to create a playlist of the songs I remembered playing during our honeymoon.

“What’s all this?” he asked with soft eyes, wrapping his arms around me.

“I know it’s technically not your birthday, but I wanted to celebrate your life, so I bought you a few things. And I wanted to make the room comfortable so you wouldn’t be tempted to walk all over the house. It’s huge !”

His hearty laughter was like music to my ears. I loved the way his eyes crinkled at the edges. How his head tilted back slightly when he was really amused.

“Thank you for making this a smooth transition for me, little one. I love you, and I promise I’m going to take it as easy as I can around the house for the next week.”

“Month, and that’s the minimum.”

“Baby, now I done spent the week at the hospital—”

“And you’re already dressed and ready to go like they didn’t tell you to take it easy while you heal.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll take it easy.”

“Thank you. Now, I’m going to make sure Pamela has picked up your prescriptions. Can I assume you’re about to leave?”

“You can.” His syrupy grin made me chuckle. “But I made the plans before I saw all this. I can reschedule and rest in bed with you.”

“You sure?”

“I’m positive, baby.”

“Yay.”

Carefully, I undressed him before getting out of my clothes as well. The minute we snuggled into bed, he started kissing my neck and face and rubbing my belly. Nothing could have been better than this.

Things were different. With Karrington knowing the truth about his father now, my music still helped him, but not in a haunting kind of way. While I played, he painted. We were considering knocking a wall down and replacing it with a sliding door to combine my music room with what would be his art room. Every time he picked up a paint brush now, pride consumed me. I wouldn’t say it was just my urging that motivated Karrington to paint again but also the peace of accepting he wouldn’t have the life he thought he would with Luna Ray and appreciating the life he had with me.

Like musicians had shed sessions where they played instruments for hours, Karrington, Aspen, and Neko were going to have an art session where they would be painting tonight. While they did, Malaysia, Malorie, and I were going to do some planning since we all had things we were working on for next year. I would be playing at the same children’s hospital that saved my life until I gave birth. After that, I would take some time off so I could devote all of my energy to the baby and my husband. When I started back up, it would be with my own practice, and I’d offer my services to whoever needed them.

All in all, things were great for me and my husband, and I was excited to see what was in store for us next.