Sinner - A Bad Boy's Baby Romance

by Layla Valentine

  “Can we see him?” Veronica asked.

  The doctor nodded. “Yes. Right this way.”

  She turned back toward the double doors. Veronica gave Viv an encouraging look, and together they began walking in the direction of an uncertain future.

  Chapter 22

  Viv

  A noise across the room made Viv jerk to sitting.

  “Who’s there?”

  “It’s me.” Veronica gently closed the door.

  Rubbing her eyes, Viv looked out the window. The sky was a dull gray. Dawn? Dusk?

  How crazy that she couldn’t even make a good guess. She’d been half-sleeping on the cot in Markus’ room ever since Doctor Hanson first showed her in there. So was that today? Yesterday?

  “I brought you breakfast.” Veronica set a plastic bag of carryout food on the table in the corner. In her other hand was a large tote bag.

  “That solves the mystery,” Viv mumbled.

  “I also met Bea. She gave me your purse and phone.”

  “Really?” She’d nearly forgotten all about those things.

  “Yep.” From the tote bag, Veronica withdrew both items.

  Instead of checking her phone right away, Viv put it on the cot and went to the hospital bed. From what she could tell, nothing had changed.

  Markus lay on his back, gauze taped to his head and half of his face bruised. The machines hooked up to him continued to beep and read his vitals. Viv had asked one of the nurses to instruct her on exactly what each machine did so that she would know if something went wrong.

  “Have the doctors said anything new?” Veronica asked.

  “No,” Viv whispered. She traced her fingertips down the length of his arm.

  “I also brought you a change of clothes. I picked it all up at the corner drug store, so I hope you don’t mind sweatpants and a ‘Florida Life’ shirt. It’s clean socks and underwear, though. Totally new.”

  “Thanks.” She stayed facing Markus, tears trickling down her face.

  Veronica cleared her throat. “What about Markus’ mother? Do you know where she might have gone?”

  With a gasp, Viv spun around. “I need to call her.”

  She fumbled with the phone, which turned out to be dead. Luckily, she always kept a charger in her purse. As soon as the phone charged enough to use, she called Tracey’s number.

  It was a good thing she had it, from when Tracey had texted her the address for dinner. That dinner felt like a lifetime ago now.

  If Tracey was liable to follow Markus’ advice, she would be completely off-grid. Crossing her fingers, Viv prayed she wasn’t that kind of woman.

  “Vivian!”

  Viv pressed a hand to her heart. “Tracey. Thank God you picked up.”

  “Where are you?”

  “We’re back in Jacksonville.” She closed her eyes. How did she break this? “There was a… run-in. Markus is in a coma.”

  “Good Lord.”

  “Yeah.” Emotion thickened her voice. “It happened yesterday. They don’t know how long he’ll be in it for. Other than that, he’s okay. He just needs to wake up.”

  Veronica placed her hand on top of Viv’s.

  “The man,” Viv said. “Dagger? I think the police are arresting him soon. Hopefully.”

  “I’m coming back to Florida.”

  “I don’t know that Markus would like that. He wants you to stay safe, and there’s been no arrest, yet—”

  “Vivian. I’m his mother.”

  The finality in her words made Viv clamp her mouth shut.

  “One day,” Tracey said, “you might understand.”

  “Yeah. Maybe I will.”

  She would tell Tracey about the pregnancy once she arrived back in Jacksonville. It would be a nice moment to share among all the dark ones.

  They hung up, and Viv went through her phone. There wasn’t much, other than some texts in a group chat about yoga class. It made her realize how little time had gone by since she was kidnapped. An insane number of things had happened, and yet it had been another mundane day for so many people.

  “Do you need anything else?” Veronica asked.

  “I think I’m okay. Thank you.”

  Veronica nodded. “I’m gonna call Cruz and give him an update. He’s going crazy, I know.”

  “Hey. Tell him I’m sorry for all this, will you?”

  “That’s not necessary.” Her face folded. “He’s on edge, but he doesn’t blame you for this.”

  Viv shrugged. “He had to leave work. The kids had to leave all their things behind. If it wasn’t for me—”

  “Stop. You’re his family.” She took Viv’s chin in her hand and tilted her face up so they were eye to eye. “Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “So no more talk like this.” She pointed at the plastic bag. “Eat something while I’m gone. It’s your favorite.”

  “Red wine and chocolate?”

  Veronica smirked. “Smarty-pants.”

  With her sister gone, Viv opened up the take-out container and found waffles and scrambled eggs. Hours of getting by on minimal sleep and food had left her sore and ravenous. She ate the whole meal while staring out the window and trying not to think too much.

  Finished, she put everything in the trash and went to sit on the edge of Markus’ bed. Doctor Hanson had said he could wake up that day… or next week.

  And what if he didn’t? Say he never woke up?

  She would need to start thinking about life without him. Figuring out what that looked like, especially as a single mother. Where she could afford to live, what sort of place would be best for a young child.

  At least she knew that Veronica would be adamant about watching the baby while she worked, so there would be no daycare bills to worry about.

  “Oh, Markus.”

  She pushed a strand of hair from his forehead. His chest rose and fell slowly. Unless you looked carefully for its movement, you’d miss it.

  “Please come back to us,” she whispered. “The police are going to arrest Mr. Romano. Your mom is okay. Everything will only get better, if only you…”

  Muffled shouting made her look up.

  The noise had come from somewhere down the hall.

  “…right… my American right!” a man shouted.

  No, not any man. The voice was too familiar.

  Viv hurried to the door and pulled it open. A man in scrubs stood in front of Ryder, his palms up.

  “You need to be verified to come down here,” the man said.

  “Ryder!” Viv called.

  “Oh, look at that.” Ryder gestured at her. “I’m verified.”

  She jogged up to the employee. “Please. Let him see his friend for just a minute.”

  The man looked between the two of them. “I’ll be back in ten minutes. Be gone by then. And don’t let anyone see you.”

  “Thank you,” Viv gushed. “Thank you.”

  “Viv!” Ryder threw his arms around her and hugged her tight.

  “You’re alive,” she said into his collar. “How did you know we were here?”

  He looked up and down the hall. “I asked around. Where’s Markus?”

  “Right in here.” She led him to the door, but right before opening it, she paused. “Ryder… he’s in a coma. They don’t know when he’ll wake up.”

  He blinked, looking stunned. “Okay.”

  With that, she opened the door and they went into the room. Ryder faltered just over the threshold. Raising his hands to the back of his head, he sighed.

  “Christ.”

  Viv sat back on Markus’ bed. “Yeah.”

  Closing the door behind him, Ryder took a tentative step into the room. A loud knock on the door made them both spook.

  “What?” Ryder flung the door open. “Am I getting kicked out already?”

  Instead of a nurse or doctor, though, Officers Lopez and Harrison stood there.

  Viv stood up on a gasp. “Hi. Hello.”

  “May we come i
n?” Officer Harrison asked.

  “Yes. Please. Did you find out anything new?”

  The two of them eyed Ryder.

  “This is Markus’ best friend.” Viv walked up to Ryder and put a hand on his shoulder.

  Her heart raced. She didn’t know if it would be better to use his real name or a fake one. Like with Markus, she wasn’t sure whether he had a record or not.

  “We went to the address,” Officer Lopez said, “and found something.”

  Again, they both looked at Ryder. Apparently, Officer Harrison decided she didn’t care that he was there.

  “A large cache of drugs,” she said.

  “Really?”

  Viv covered her mouth, wanting them to think she was horrified rather than smiling with glee.

  Officer Lopez shrugged.

  “You were right. He’s Dagger Rossi. The news outlets are breaking it right now, so it’s no secret anymore. He’s already in custody.”

  His shrug might have suggested that he’d doubted Viv, but she didn’t care. Mr. Romano had been arrested!

  “This is good.” She lowered her hand to the base of her throat. “What now?”

  “Nothing,” Officer Harrison said. “We were in the neighborhood and thought we would stop by and share the news, tell you thank you, and you’re all good.”

  Viv looked from her to Officer Lopez. She waited for more, but it didn’t come.

  In the end, she only nodded and said, “Thank you.”

  She took “all good” to mean that they had chosen to overlook her breaking into Mr. Romano’s office.

  “Call us if you need anything.” Officer Harrison nodded at Ryder and, with that, they left.

  Ryder raised his eyebrows at Viv. “No way. So it worked? You showed the police the email?”

  “Yeah.” She shook her head in amazement. “It worked out after all.”

  “What exactly did you tell them?”

  “Nothing about you, and nothing about the diamonds.” She gasped. “The diamonds! They must still be in Markus’ car. I don’t even know where it is now.”

  Maybe that was for the best. The diamonds had brought strife into their lives.

  “Actually,” Ryder stuffed his hands into his jeans’ pockets. “I have them.”

  “What? How?”

  “I went to the impoundment yard and looked around in the car.”

  “They just let you do that?” She shook her head. “Oh. Right.”

  He broke into the yard. Duh.

  “But how come you found them?” With a glance at the door, she lowered her voice. That nurse who had warned Ryder to be gone in ten minutes could be back at any moment. “And the police didn’t?”

  “They were sewed into the seats’ linings.” He gave Markus an appreciative look. “You know…” He grew solemn. “If Markus doesn’t wake up…”

  Her chest tightened.

  “I don’t like to think that way.”

  “But you have some, right? You’ve had to think about what you’ll do if he doesn’t.”

  “Yeah.” She looked at the floor. “I’ve thought about it.”

  “The diamonds belong to you.”

  She snapped her gaze up. “What? No, they don’t.”

  “Yeah, they would. I have my share. Markus would want you to take his.”

  She pressed her lips together to keep back a sob. They started shaking, though, and she clapped a hand over her mouth.

  “That’s considerate of you.” Tamping down the emotion, she stood straighter. “But I can’t take them in good conscience. They’re stolen goods.”

  “You’re a sweet girl, Viv, but here’s the thing. We don’t even know where they’re originally stolen from. Like, where did Dagger get them? There’s no returning them to their original owner.”

  “Yeah,” she sighed. “But still…”

  “I would sell them for you and give you the money. Then you could do anything with it. Give it all to charity. Get yourself a nice house. Whatever you want.”

  She looked at Markus. Ryder was right. He would want her to take the diamond money, to use it to give their child a good start at life. Would it still be dirty money if she used it for a good purpose?

  “Maybe we can revisit the topic,” she said, still not completely sold.

  “Of course.” He backed toward the door. “I guess I should go get official visitation or whatever that douche was yelling about.” He rolled his eyes, then turned to Markus. “Stay strong, buddy. I’ll see you soon.”

  “Bye, Ryder,” Viv said.

  He gave her a big hug, and as he turned for the door, she saw him wipe at the corner of his eye—a move he was probably trying to hide.

  Finally, after a stream of visitors…

  “It’s just us again.”

  Viv crawled into bed next to Markus. The thin space only allowed her to lay on her side, but that was fine. She wanted to put her arm across his chest, anyway.

  “Can you hear me?”

  She delicately touched his lips and found them warm as always. It seemed he was only in a deep sleep and could wake up at any moment.

  Viv closed her eyes and sank into his warmth. “I’m here, Markus. I’m waiting for you. Everything is falling into place. Now I just need you back.”

  Chapter 23

  Viv

  Viv opened her eyes to morning light filtering through her curtains. Reaching across the bed, she checked the time and killed the alarm due to go off in ten minutes.

  Flopping onto her back, she stared at the ceiling. Her dreams, like most nights, had been full of Markus. In the one she’d had right before waking, they were walking hand-in-hand down the beach. Though she couldn’t remember what they were talking about, there had been tons of laughter.

  She smiled slightly but couldn’t ignore the deep pain underscoring the dream. Today marked eight weeks that Markus had been in a coma.

  It was also his birthday.

  For two months, nothing had changed. The doctors kept saying the same things they always did, that the future was uncertain and he could wake up at any time.

  As the discussions had continued, though, optimism had begun to fade. A few days earlier, Doctor Hanson had mentioned that one day soon, they would need to talk about how Markus might be different when—or if—he woke up.

  She meant he could have suffered brain damage, and that, well, could really mean anything. Changes to thought patterns and rationalization. Changes to personality, even.

  Viv’s stomach twisted, and not from morning sickness. It had been several weeks since she’d last had a bout of that.

  Climbing from the bed, she trudged into the bathroom and turned on the light. Some things were the same: the bags under her eyes that she’d grown accustomed to. The way her shoulders drooped.

  But one thing was different. The lower part of her stomach stuck out.

  With a slight gasp, she put her hand on her belly. The night before, she’d thought a bump might have begun, but it didn’t seem likely. Now, it appeared she’d popped a little bit literally overnight.

  The doorbell ringing drew her away from her reflection and into the living room. Opening the door, she found Tracey, already done up for the day in makeup and a designer tracksuit.

  “Oh, honey,” she said. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

  “No, no. I was up.”

  Viv swiped a hand across her face. She was exhausted, but she’d also lost her taste for coffee weeks ago. The smell alone made her gag. Not like she could have any if she wanted to, anyway.

  “I know I’m a little earlier than I said I’d be, but…” She trailed off and stared at Viv’s belly. “Well, look at that.”

  “Yeah.” Viv touched her slight bump. “I didn’t think I’d show this early.”

  “Every woman is different. With Markus, I swear, I looked pregnant from the first day. I looked and felt like a whale.”

  “I’m sure you were beautiful.” Viv turned for her bedroom and called over her shoulder. �
��I only need a few minutes to get ready.”

  In her bedroom, she dumped her pajamas in the hamper and pulled on jeans. The first top her hand stopped on was an oversized, loose one. Right before putting it on, she paused. Putting the shirt back in the drawer, she grabbed a snug, white tee.

  It was her first day with a baby bump. She wanted to show it off. Even if it did look more like she carried a food baby than a human baby.

  As she ran a brush through her hair, she smiled. It felt cleansing to have something to be excited about.

  Over the last two months, a lot had been new. She’d started working at Bea’s, she’d had several prenatal appointments, and Tracey had quickly become the most meaningful person in her life. But none of those things had brought the spark back into her life.

  Maybe, though, this baby would do exactly that.

  Her teeth brushed and her hair piled in a loose bun, she went to the front of the apartment and found Tracey running the dishwasher.

  “Oh, you don’t have to do that.”

  Tracey waved her hand dismissively.

  “I want to. Pregnancy is tiring. Plus, you’re working and worrying, and, you know…” She clutched the counter, her lips pressing together. “Today is his birthday,” she whispered.

  Viv stepped into the kitchen and put a hand on Tracey’s back. “Yeah.”

  Tracey wiped at tears. “They never stop being your baby, in a way.”

  “I kind of like hearing that. I’ve wanted to be a mother for the longest time, and I don’t think I’ll ever want this little one to grow up.”

  “You’ll be an amazing mother.” Tracey blinked away the last of her tears and straightened up. “Let’s get to the hospital. Markus is probably wondering where we are.”

  At the car, Viv was surprised to find several balloons crammed into the backseat, each of them proclaiming “Happy Birthday!”

  “Those are cute.” She swatted a balloon back so she could buckle up.

  “It’s kind of a tradition. I always send him balloons on his birthday. I wanted to bring them right to him this year, though, instead of, you know, sending them to the hospital.”

  Viv squeezed Tracey’s shoulder. “It’s really nice.”

  “I was thinking, maybe later you and I could do some baby shopping. I read about this new boutique. It’s all organic and from small businesses.”