Chapter Twenty-Five

Valor

LAST NIGHT WITH Savannah and the girls was one of the best I've ever had. It didn't matter that we were in the hospital with my wife with nurses walking in and out taking blood, checking her vitals, and doing everything else they do on a daily basis. Savannah and the girls laughed and talked about everything under the sun. Conrad isn't a topic that's brought up when the girls are around because they don't need to overhear everything being said about him. We tell them things when we feel they need to know, but keep all other details to ourselves. Savannah is the only one who knows just about as much as I do when it comes to Conrad, his father, and the trafficking ring. There are a few details she doesn't know, but it's more for her peace of mind than anything else. I don't want any of my girls to worry more than they already are about Conrad or anyone else involved with him.

"Guys!" Vault says, rushing into Savannah's room, out of breath and looking as if he's about to pass out. "Annabell just went into labor. She's bein' rushed up to the maternity ward right now. I just want to let you know. The rest of the guys are still out searchin' and will call you when they learn anythin'."

"Fuck!" I say, my voice rushed and panicked as I look at my brother with wide eyes and fear filling me. "You go be with your wife and we'll be there once Savannah gets discharged from here. I'll make sure to keep you updated if I think it's important enough to bother you. Give Annabell a kiss from us. We're here for you both."

"Congratulations, Alex. Give Annabell a huge hug from me and tell her I'll be there as soon as I can. We love you guys," Savannah tells him, a large smile on her face as she looks at me and keeps our secret from my twin.

Last night we talked about the fact that we're having twins and decided to hold off on sharing it with anyone right now. We want to wrap our heads around the fact that we're not adding to our family by one baby, but by two. The girls will be told before anyone else because they're members of our family and deserve that. Everyone else in the club is family, but they aren't my children. My children will always know what's going on before anyone else because their lives are the ones directly affected by any changes to our family.

"Well, it looks like we won't be leavin' here when we thought you would, Love," I tell Savannah as she looks up at me with a large smile on her face.

"That's okay. I can't wait to meet their baby. Our family is already growing, baby. They've been waiting for this day for so long and I can't blame them. Even learning I'm only two months pregnant, I want to have our twins now. I want to hold them in my arms, see who they're going to look like more, and everything else. The girls are going to love them so much. I can't wait to tell everyone. Maybe we can tell everyone when we do a gender reveal or something," my wife says, thinking of our babies and our future. One I wasn't sure we'd have for a long time.

"I think that's a great idea, Love. I want you to do whatever you feel comfortable doin'. The most important thing is we tell the girls before anyone else. But it shouldn't be today. Today we're gonna celebrate the newest addition to our family with the baby my brother and Annabell are about to welcome into the world," I tell her, getting choked up with emotion as I think of my brother becoming a dad today.

Vault has always wanted to be a dad. He wanted a family of his own and that was his biggest dream. Not many people know it, but I do. I know everything about Vault once again because he's made sure to tell me everything. We're back to being as close as we were before losing our dad. That was one of the darkest points in our lives and if I didn't have Savannah and my daughters at my side, I'm not sure I would have made it through the same way I did. No, I didn't get lost like my brother did. It doesn't mean I didn't get lost though. I just pushed the best woman I've ever met away and in the process lost my daughters and her for longer than I care to admit. That's time I'll never be able to get back with them and I hate it more than I thought I would.

"Where did you just go, Zach?" Savannah asks me, her voice full of concern as she looks at me and only me.

Savannah is the first and only woman to only have eyes for me. She doesn't make me feel as if I'm nothing behind my cut or that I'm not good enough for her. My wife sees the man I am behind everything on the surface and knows me better than everyone but my brother. Vault knows me as well as she does and those are the only two I'll ever let in as deep as I have. Savannah has been there through my darkest days and during the best ones. She knows when I'm lost in thought and when to let me have space to work shit out on my own. Court is getting there, but he'll always force me more than my brother and wife because that's his job as my best friend. Yes, he told me that one day and I know he'll never let me get away with anything if it's hurting myself, family, or anyone else I care about.

"I was just thinkin' about the time we lost. Those five years are ones we'll never get back. I missed so much with the girls and you. You got so much stronger than you were before I left and changed in all the best ways. The girls grew so much in those five years and I wasn't around to watch it happen. I'm so mad at myself for fuckin' shit up," I answer my girl honestly as she looks at me with sad eyes.

"I think things happened as they were meant to, Zach. We both made mistakes in the past and it's time for us to let it all go and move forward with our lives. Now, we have our girls and we're going to add two more children to our family. Vault and Annabell are giving us a niece or nephew to love and spoil too. Right now, we're in the place we're meant to be and we traveled the road we had to in order to make it here with nothing holding us back," she tells me, her voice full of love as the doctor makes his way in her room and we give him our attention to make sure nothing has changed overnight and that she can still go home.

"Savannah, we're gonna cut you loose. I heard you'll be heading up to the maternity ward for your brother-in-law. You'll have to go up in a wheelchair. For the foreseeable future, you're not to be on your feet at all. I'll see you in two weeks and we'll figure out if you can start walking yet or not. It all depends on how well they've healed," Dr. Copeland tells us as he makes a note in her chart and I look at him with a smile on my face.

"Is she supposed to be on bed rest or anythin' once she leaves here?" I ask the doctor as he looks up at me with a smile on his face.

"No. I don't want you up moving around if you don't have to, but I don't believe bed rest is something you need at this point. If anything changes, then we might have to change that. I'll be in contact with your obstetrician once you find one. I can make a suggestion of one in the city though," Dr. Copeland informs us as he looks between my wife and me.

"Okay. My sister is seeing Dr. Craven and I was going to give her office a call to see if they were accepting new patients," Savannah says, knowing I'll approve of this doctor since she's Doc's daughter and we've known her since moving here.

"That's actually who I was going to recommend to you. She's very good and takes time with her patients without making them feel as if she's rushing them through her office or not listening to them. Every patient is important to her and she has a practice right in Pine View. I know that's where you're from so it will work out well for you," Dr. Copeland says and I instantly like him more than I already did before this moment.

Dr. Copeland hasn't made us wait for answers or anything from the second I walked through the door. He let me remain at Savannah's side as long as I stayed out of the way so they could work and didn't try to hide or sugar coat anything about her condition or what they were doing. I was included every step of the way and not shoved aside like most hospitals would have done to me until she was moved up to a room out of the emergency department.

"The nurse will be in to get rid of the IV and make sure you understand all of the instructions we'll be sending you home with. Zach has told me that you already have a wheelchair so you won't need to use one of ours while you're upstairs. I believe it's in the closet here and waiting for you. Zach, you can help her change as soon as the IV has been removed. I'm here if you need me and I will make sure you have my cell phone number in case of any emergencies. Dr. Craven does the same thing so you can always get in touch with her no matter what time it is," Dr. Copeland says, giving us one last look before leaving Savannah's room and leaving us alone once again.

It doesn't take the nurse long to come in and remove the IV as I grab the bag Annabell and Shy packed for my wife. I listen as the nurse goes over the instructions because I won't be leaving Savannah's side for any reason because she needs help. Not being able to walk is going to kill her and I'll make sure she's carried everywhere she wants to go. It's the least I can do after everything she's been through.

It doesn't take me long to help Savannah get dressed. As soon as she's ready, I grab everything from the room and shove it in her bag before helping her in the wheelchair my brother picked up yesterday for her to use at the clubhouse. We're not going home right now, so there's no point in having a second one for there. I can carry her up the stairs and then down again so she can work or hang out in the common room. After checking the room once more to be sure we're not forgetting anything, I finally put Savannah in the wheelchair and then push her from the room and up to the maternity ward. The nurse did give me a blanket to cover her up with and I'm happy she has one. It's always so damn cold in the hospitals and I can't stand that shit.

We make our way up to the floor everyone else not out searching for Conrad and his father are located. Yesterday, Shy removed the girls from the room so we could talk more in-depth with Savannah to see if we could figure out where she was located when Conrad was holding her hostage. Fox also reached out to Tom, the man who rescued her and brought her in. He told us the road he found her on and Savannah described the house to him. Fox and Kingston looked it up on maps and using the computers to find the area we're sure my wife was held in. Now, we're all just waiting on news that they've found them. I hope it's soon so my girls can finally start living their lives again and not have to worry about these assholes coming to get them ever again.

Fox has already been in contact with his contact in the FBI and given them all the updates we have. Not just about Conrad and his father, but about the buyers as well. They're going to arrest all of them and make sure every single sick fuck pays for what they've done. My girls won't have to look over their shoulders again because we're gonna take everyone down and not hold back when it comes to a single one of them.

Just as we get off the elevator and head for the waiting room where the ol' ladies and a few men are sitting, my phone vibrates in my pocket. Pulling it out, I find a message from Court.

Court: I just got to the hospital. On my way up to maternity now. Need to talk to you and Savannah as soon as I get there.

Me: Okay. We just got to the waiting room on the maternity floor. I'll see if there's a conference room or something we can use.

I let Savannah know what's going on before heading for the nurse's station. One of them directs me to a conference room as I go back for my wife and wait for Court to get up here. Shy lets us know there haven't been any updates from Vault yet. I have a feeling we'll be waiting the rest of the day to find out any news. Babies come when they want to and there's no rushing them unless something happens and one of those surgery things need to happen. Telling her we'll be in the conference room for a few minutes, I make sure she knows where it is before pushing Savannah closer to the elevator where Court will come out.

It doesn't take long for my best friend to make an appearance. He walks straight up to us and I lead him to the conference room while pushing Savannah in the wheelchair. Court closes the door behind us and waits for me to get Savannah pushed up close to the table before taking the seat next to her. I grab her hand as Court sits down on the opposite side of her. For a minute, he doesn't say anything but he's got a large smile on his face that makes me hopeful. Court's been one of the guys out searching all over between Pine View and Cedar Bay for Conrad and his father.

"We got them. Both of them were in the house where Savannah was bein' held," Court finally says as I take a minute to process his words before a smile covers my face and I look to Savannah.

"Are you serious?" she asks him, her eyes wide with hope, shock, and fear that it's all a big joke or something.

"I'm dead serious, Savannah. We have them locked up in the back of a van and they're on the way to the clubhouse as we speak. Not only were Conrad and his father in the house, but there was a third man and I have a feelin' that he's the one they're usin' to bypass all the security systems and shit like they did at the house and compound. We'll find out one way or another and make sure they all go down for what they've done. Not just to our family, but to every other victim over the years," Court tells us as my heart starts pounding in my chest and I can't wait to leave here and get my hands on Conrad.

"Does Fox' FBI contact know what's goin' on?" I question my best friend as Savannah finally smiles and drops her head to her chest as her shoulders slump in relief.

"He does. He's gonna give us a chance to get more information from them before we hand them over. Fox explained that your wife is just gettin' out of the hospital and that Vault's wife is about to have a baby. We've got a little time to get to them," Court states as we stand and I push Savannah from the room.

The three of us make our way back to the waiting room where I park Savannah's wheelchair next to Gwen and Shy. They start talking while I head over with Court to where Killer, Playboy, Red, Dime, and Chrome are standing in a group. Court informs them that Conrad and his father have been detained and the others will show up soon to be here for Vault and Annabell. A few guys will remain behind to make sure none of them escape as usual. Killer and Playboy are itching to get back to the clubhouse so they can take a turn watching over them. However, they would rather protect my girls than go get their hands on those stupid fucks right now. We'll all get our hands on them eventually.

After twelve hours of hard labor, Annabell finally gave birth to my nephew. He's a big boy weighing in at over nine pounds. Vault said she was a fucking champion and didn't ever give up or say she was too tired to give birth to their baby boy. She hasn't been sleeping the best and still fought through the pain and exhaustion to bring my nephew into the world. Savannah and I actually got to go in to see him and we are the only ones today since everyone is so tired.

"So, are you ready to hear his name?" Vault asks me as he stands next to me at the end of Annabell's bed where I hold my nephew.

"Of course. I know you two were debatin' a few of them. What did you finally settle on?" I ask him as Savannah looks over at us from her wheelchair.

"His name is Cyrus Joel Stone," my brother states, pride showing on his face as he looks down at his baby boy who is already a miniature version of him. Tears fill his eyes and mine because of his name.

"You gave him dad's name for a middle name," I whisper, looking at Cyrus and making out hints of our dad in his face.

"Yeah. I wanted to honor him. You're not mad are you?" my brother questions me, worry now filling his voice.

"Not at all. You deserve this, Alex. He's so handsome already and I know he's gonna be a heartbreaker when he gets older. I'm sure his mama will raise him right so that doesn't happen," I joke, getting Annabell to smile at me even as her eyes start to slide closed. "We're gonna let you three be alone. We'll be back with the girls tomorrow. They're so excited to meet the baby. I love you, Alex and Annabell."

"We love you too, Zach. Give the girls hugs from us and tell them we can't wait for them to meet Cyrus. You can share the name for us so we don't have to repeat it every time someone new comes in tomorrow," Vault says, taking his son back in his arms as I make my way over to Savannah so I can push her from the room.

Today has been a long day and it's finally over. We can go home and be with our girls. I don't want to do a damn thing other than climb in bed with my wife and get some sleep. Other than a few hours since she was taken, I haven't slept at all. And the sleep I managed to get was here in the hospital where it was so damn uncomfortable I could hardly stay asleep. Savannah isn't looking any better right now as she fights to stay awake. My wife is exhausted and needs to rest without someone coming in and out of her room at all hours of the day and night. We might be sharing a room with the girls, but Savannah and I can sleep on the couch. Slim got a new one with a pull-out bed for us. Hopefully the girls are still awake when we get back and not already sleeping. They've had a long few days too and I'm sure they are trying to wait up for us. It's just not easy when your body is exhausted beyond belief.