by Zoey Parker
“How many times did you make me come?” Darla asked, the corner of her mouth turning up.
Sam pinched her eyes shut, wishing this torture would be over. Not her baby’s daddy. Not Trent.
Just make this end.
“Um, once.”
Her face darkened. “Wrong.”
The tension in the room skyrocketed. And then a gun fired. The sharp pow made Sam wince and bunch up, afraid to open her eyes. Darla didn’t say anything else, then, but somebody gurgled. A body hit the floor. A sickening crack.
Sam peered through one eye, and everything happened in a flurry. Trent rushed over to her, his face creased with concern. Next to her, Darla lay in a heap. Someone had shot her in the chest, and blood pooled around her, her mouth wrenched open like she was about to protest.
And then suddenly Trent was there, covering her, protecting her, tugging at the ropes around her wrists and ankles. He had her loosened and in his arms, the heat and solidness of him reassuring. She wept into his shoulder as he scooped her into his arms. He shrugged his jacket off and draped it over her, protecting her, shielding her.
Men filled the room, shouts and orders and laughter forming the soundtrack to her safety. She couldn’t tell what was going on, who was who, or why they were there.
She must have mumbled something about it into Trent’s ear, because he said, “They’re Sokolovs. They’ve got our back. You’re safe.”
And she was. Not just in Trent’s arms but in his life.
This she could count on.
She melted into him, releasing all the fear and frustration through tears into his shoulder. He just held her and swayed, tucking them into a corner. Somebody dragged Darla’s body out, and then some big beefy guy dragged the chair Lucas was on out of the room.
“How did you find us?” Sam asked once she’d gathered the strength to stop crying.
“I beat the shit out of Jacobi, and his brother helped me track down his and Darla’s remote cell. They’ve been operating a sex trafficking ring without telling the other Sokolov brothers. They don’t let shit like that fly. So Jacobi was killed too.”
Sam took a deep, reassuring breath. At least this nightmare was ending. At least they didn’t have to worry about Darla and Lucas and anyone else. Hopefully ever again.
“I can’t believe it,” she murmured.
“Are you okay, babe?” Trent grabbed her chin between his thumb and forefinger, searching her face. “Tell me what happened.”
Sam started to tell the story, but emotion overcame her. Tears clogged her throat, and she couldn’t get a word out.
Trent just nodded, rubbing her back. “Let’s go home, babe. We’ll talk there, and you can rest.”
***
Trent made a fast exit stage left with a naked Sam in tow, covered only by his jacket and his T-shirt wrapped around her waist like a lame skirt. He drove home as fast as he could, eager to put this insane episode behind him, eager to get the full story from Sam. With how beat up she looked, he doubted it had been an easy ride for her. His chest tightened as the worst possible scenarios cycled through him.
The only thing to be grateful for was that this was over. The nightmare was over.
Back at home, Trent tended to her like a nurse. He helped her step into the shower, washed her gently with soapy water, and kissed her while she cried. The two of them stayed under the water long enough to prune. Once they were dried and dressed, they laid on the couch together. She was quiet for a long time.
“I was in the shower when the man came for me,” she finally said, her voice quiet. “I was actually thinking about you. Fantasizing. Touching myself.” Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “And when I heard footsteps, I thought they were yours. I thought you had come home from wherever you’d gone in the morning.”
Trent hugged her tighter, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
“All I know is he grabbed me by the throat. Dragged me out of the shower. And pressed something to my mouth so that I passed out.”
Trent’s insides tightened. Fearing the worst. “And when you woke up?”
“I was in that room. Tied to the chair.”
Relief prickled through him. “Does anything hurt? Do you think they… did anything else?”
“I don’t think so. Nothing hurts down there. I just worry…” She covered her belly with her hands. “I don’t know.”
Trent’s eyes drifted shut. Of course. The baby. The stress of the kidnapping could be fatal. “We have to go to the hospital. Let’s get you checked out.”
She looked up at him, concern swirling in her eyes. “Do you think everything is going to be okay?”
He jerked his head into a nod. “I do. We just need to be careful and check things out.”
Sam nodded but didn’t move. She swirled a fingertip over his forearm. “There’s one more thing.”
“Yeah?”
“What Darla said.”
He shook his head, burying his face in the hollow of her neck. “I hope you didn’t believe a single thing she told you.”
“Well, she said you went over there this morning looking for Lucas. Which I believed.”
“I did. And she was there, in a tiny robe, trying to get me to fuck her.” He scoffed, shifting beneath Sam. “I told her to go to hell. I think she was just salty I rejected her. What a fucking piece of work.”
Sam nodded, settling back into him.
And then Trent added, “I didn’t fuck her. I promise. Because I’m yours, Sam. I realized that today, more than ever before. And you are mine.”
A lazy smile crossed her face. She looked up at him, mischief in her eyes. “I am?”
“Yeah, babe. You could probably tell by now.”
Her eyes misted over. “Yeah. I could.”
Trent squeezed her shoulder. “Let’s go to the hospital before we get trapped on this couch. Come on.”
Sam grumbled as she got to her feet.
Trent ushered her out the door, and they passed a tense, quiet car ride to the hospital. He didn’t even want to think about what would happen if it turned out she’d lost the baby. Nothing other than try for another one someday.
But this, what they had right here – they had to protect. Trent reached out and squeezed her hand while he drove. He could tell the same thoughts were cycling through her head too.
They made it to the primary hospital in the city, parked, and walked up to the automatic sliding doors of the Emergency Room hand in hand. When they made it to the front desk to sign in, Sam told the receptionist in a quiet voice what she was there for.
“I need to check on my pregnancy,” she almost whispered. “I had a stressful day, and we’re afraid that I miscarried.”
The receptionist nodded, typing the information into the system. “Do you have a primary OB?”
Sam shook her head. “It’s very early. I haven’t chosen a provider yet.”
The receptionist had them sit down and wait.
Trent practically gnawed through his lip as they waited. He couldn’t look away from the door where the nurse periodically poked her head out of, calling the next patient.
Finally, after what felt like an hour of waiting, the nurse called for Samantha Black.
Trent popped to his feet, helping Sam up.
“I’m not an invalid, you know,” she joked but allowed him to guide her along to the triage area anyway.
He stayed at her side while the nurse took her vitals and asked a few questions. He wouldn’t let her out of his sight now for anything. Never again.
“The doctor will be in soon for a transvaginal ultrasound,” the nurse said, after depositing her in a room next to a machine with a very concerning looking wand attached to it. “That’s the only way to determine right now the viability of the pregnancy this early on. And then afterward, you’re going to need to follow up with an OB to establish care.”
Both Trent and Sam nodded, his hand clamped around hers. Even though they were awaiting what felt like a dea
th sentence, all the talk about the pregnancy had him excited. Made it seem so much more real. Reminded him that if all went well, he was going to be a father soon.
After another interminable wait, the doctor came into the room. He had kind eyes but a weary face, and without much ado, he hooked Sam up to the machine, prompting her legs open under the drape.
Trent gripped her hand as he watched, knowing he shouldn’t feel jealous or possessive about a man simply doing his job, where touching his girlfriend was part of the description. But still. He held her in a vice grip as the doctor inserted the wand, frowning at the screen.
Seconds ticked on, each one adding more to the Big Fear that all was lost. He and Sam hadn’t gone into much description when asked what the cause of the stress was. Sam simply responded, “Other stress,” which was the understatement of the year.
Finally, the doctor nodded, made a small noise to himself, and then switched the machine off.
“Okay, folks.” He sent them a bright smile. “Looks like everything is all clear. The baby is fine. I just recommend that you take it easy and get plenty of rest. If you can, try to avoid the stressful situations that brought you here in the first place.”
Trent and Sam shared a look. “No problem there.”
The doctor thanked them then excused himself, leaving Sam on the reclining chair.
“Is it wrong that I wanted to bust his face in for touching you?” Trent asked, smoothing his lips against her forehead.
She giggled. “No. Just makes you a caveman.”
“Well if being a caveman is wrong, then I don’t want to be right.”
She tilted her head back, tenderness written across her face. “I like having a caveman around. Makes things more interesting. And safer.”
“I’ll be your caveman as long as you’ll have me,” Trent said, swiping his thumb along her hairline.
And it was true. He’d never considered ‘forever’ before. Not until he walked into Sam’s orbit. And it sucked that their love came on the heels of her father’s gambling problems, but maybe that was just the silver lining that life always liked to offer up.
For every shit storm, there was always a rainbow waiting on the other end. That was just how shit worked. Except instead of a rainbow, he’d gotten a whole, glittering, rainbow-infused world in Sam.
“I think I’m in the market for a pretty long time.” Her pretty smile made his chest tight. “And you know what else?”
He smoothed his lips over hers. “What’s that?”
“I love you.”
The words fell heavily in the air between them. But not like an axe. More like a blanket. Something soft, comforting. Something real. Something he wanted to snuggle up to for the rest of his life.
He grinned, running his thumb over her jawline, gobbling up the crystal clarity of her eyes, the tiny wisps of hair at her temple. This woman, who had snagged him from day one. This firecracker lover. This unexpected partner.
“I love you too.” It was the first time he’d said those words, but not the last time.
Now that Sam was in the picture, it was just the first time of many to come.
Epilogue
One year later…
“My little Lily! My little Lily!”
Trent’s gruff voice was full of joy – a common thing these days. Every time he said his daughter’s name, the world about cracked open with perfection.
Sam could only smile over at the two of them. Trent rocked her in his arms. She’d just woken up from a nap, and he liked to personally welcome her into the world. Make sure he was the first thing she saw.
A true daddy’s girl in the making.
And Sam wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Okay, Daddy,” Sam teased, holding out her arms. “Baby girl needs to feed. Now hand her over.”
Trent rocked his daughter as he gently handed her over. She was decked out in a cute rainbow sleeper, one of many that Sam had found and stockpiled, along with her mother, in the months leading up to Lily’s birth. She and Trent had opted to find out what the sex was during pregnancy so they could prepare. The ultrasound had told them they were having a girl, and despite Trent, at first, wanting a boy, he was over the moon.
And now their little family was perfect. Perfectly complete.
In the beginning, he’d treated Lily like a porcelain doll one breath away from shattering. Now, he knew how to hold her, how to change her diaper, how to do basically everything except breastfeeding, which was at least one thing Sam and Lily exclusively shared.
Sam cooed at her daughter, tucking her into her arms to get ready for feeding. Lily fidgeted, mouth moving in anticipation of milk, a little smile erupting. Sam giggled.
“Trent, come look, come look!”
It was like this all the time. Lily made the tiniest noise or movement, and the entire world stopped to come gawk.
But it was okay. Sam was still on maternity leave, having combined a generous benefits package with accumulated paid time off and all her remaining vacation time cashed in. She’d gotten a full three months and a few days of unbroken time with her little one. On Monday, she’d be going back to work. She had a lot of mixed feelings about it.
With Trent at home more now, they’d make it work. Ever since rescuing her from Darla’s clutches, Trent had gotten promoted to a full-time capo with the Sokolovs. He’d explained it to her – he was essentially a branch manager. Now he oversaw the grunt workers and made sure things ran smoothly for his new boss, Yosef Sokolov.
Ever since Jacobi’s untimely but much-needed demise, the Sokolov operation ran smoothly. Trent reported that there were less skirmishes, the streets were safer overall, and less hard drugs coming into the city. Seemed like Jacobi had been bringing a lot of the bad into the city with him.
And less bad things made Sam happy, especially now that they had their perfect little peanut to worry about and take care of. Sam rocked Lily gently while she suckled. She’d never imagined she’d enjoy breastfeeding so much. Just one of many things that had shocked her about this whole motherhood thing.
“You know, babe,” Trent said as he rummaged around in the kitchen, “tonight we need to celebrate.”
“Celebrate what?” she asked absentmindedly, gazing down at Lily.
“The fact that you’re heading back to work.”
“I don’t know if that’s a cause for celebration,” she remarked.
“Well, it’s a cause for something.” He shut a cabinet, then flicked the ignition to light a burner on the stove. “I’ve got something special planned for us tonight. Once Lily goes down.”
Sam lifted a brow, looking up at him. “Okay. Whatever you say, Mr. Mysterious.”
He grinned evilly, wiggling his brows. That heartbreaker grin was out in full force, sending something stirring between her legs.
They hadn’t gotten down and dirty since the day Lily was born. Really, they’d woken up that morning, had passionate sex for being nine months pregnant, and then rushed to the hospital with contractions. Something about semen stimulating labor.
Trent’s semen must have been superpowered because Lily arrived quickly. More like a comet than a newborn. But the childbirth had been painful. A little destructive, actually. And only recently had Sam even felt recuperated enough to consider getting down and dirty again.
Sam fed Lily and then burped her while Trent prepared a quick lunch. She picked at scrambled eggs while Lily kicked and squealed on her playmat. Trent never once took his eyes off his daughter.
“She has your eyes,” Trent said after he’d cleared their plates. He nodded, resting his hands on his hips. “I think it’s official.”
“No. I think she has your eyes.” Sam poked his side.
“Maybe she has both. One of each.”
She giggled. “Little creepy but I like it.”
The afternoon passed quickly between naps, the feeding schedule, the surprise poop explosions, and laundry. Lily usually went down to sleep around nine p.m., and to
night she went down quickly. Almost like she knew Trent had something planned and wanted to comply. Of course she would – for her daddy. Sam already knew there was a lifetime of that ahead of her.
Once Trent shut Lily’s door behind him, he turned to Sam, something sultry in his gaze.
“Might I ask what the surprise is?” she asked.
“Nope.” His eyes went over her shoulder, and a light knock sounded. “But you’ll find out soon enough.”
