by S R Dyble
"I'm Eve’s partner," Kit said, offering her his hand.
Shaking it, Leanne stared at his battered face.
"Do you need a nurse to see to your face?"
"No, thanks... I'm a boxer, I get worse than this all the time. I really just want to know what's going on."
Leanne then looked at me, "You haven't told him?"
"I didn't really get a chance," I answered honestly.
"Okay, shall I explain or…?"
I nodded and thanked her before lowering my eyes to my lap.
"Okay, so I'm not sure how much you know already but when Eve came in after fainting, we ran some tests."
I could feel Kit's eyes on me after she'd said that I'd fainted and I looked at him. The look I saw in his eyes, I couldn't quite explain.
"All is good with the baby, before I go any further. The being sick and bleeding can all be normal but it must be monitored. As does the low blood pressure. Now, it's hard to say what's causing the low blood pressure. Your blood results came back as normal so there's no likeliness of diabetes. Whether it's just a symptom you've acquired from pregnancy, or if it's caused by stress, we won't know."
"It could be caused by stress?" Kit asked and the nurse nodded.
"It's important to not only rest when it's needed but to minimise stress as much as possible. I know that's sometimes easier said than done," she scoffed.
Haha, you're telling me...
"I've spoken to you about counselling for the PTSD and I understand it's not for you, but please think about it."
I nodded and thanked her, feeling Kit's eyes burning into the side of my face.
"Has the bleeding stopped?"
"Yeah," I answered.
"Good, if it starts again you can always ring us. We can check you over at any time. Your blood pressure will need to be re-taken, as I've said already if it doesn't get better you may need medication but it's something to be discussed after monitoring it some more."
I thanked her.
"Is that it?" Kit asked, "She's okay? And the baby?"
"Yes," Leanne answered, "unless there's anything else?"
Shaking my head I thanked her and got up, as did Kit.
"Thank you for all of your help," Kit said then, threading his fingers into mine.
"You're welcome, and remember, we're here at any time should you need us."
I thanked her once more and left with Kit. As we walked I could feel how on edge he was, but he brought my knuckles to his lips and kissed them.
"Is everything okay?" Jax stood up from the table in the cafe and I nodded.
"Just gotta take it easy."
"And the baby?"
"I had a scan and all is fine."
He took a big sigh of relief as did all of Kit's brothers. I saw Lilly paying for something at the till and was about to make her way over.
"You had a scan?" Kit asked me directly and when I nodded he looked away pissed off that he'd missed it.
"Could they see the sex yet?" Eric asked me and I shook my head.
"It wasn't mentioned, they just checked to make sure the baby was healthy."
Nodding, they moved aside so Lilly could come closer and just for a second Kit let go to give us some space. I heard him ask where Nick was, and just as he did Nick came through the double doors and approached him.
"What were the results?" Lilly asked.
"I'm not diabetic, and everything else is normal."
Nodding, she just looked at me before welling up again and pulling me into a hug.
"I'm sorry I acted like a cow," she said into my hair.
"You don't have to be sorry," I said after pulling away.
"I just care about you and the baby so much, if something was to happen—"
"Hey," I cut her off, giving her a small smile.
"I know, I'd have been the same if I were you."
She nodded and smiled before giving me another hug. I looked at Kit, and thankfully he got the hint that I wanted to talk to him, but Lilly didn't move a muscle. I knew that Kit wasn't afraid of Lilly, none of the brothers were. He still approached as if approaching a firework about to go off.
"Where were you?" I asked him directly.
Shaking his head, he looked at the pair of us.
"I'm not discussing it here."
"Can you take me home?" I said, but Kit wasn't expecting me to be talking to Lilly.
She nodded awkwardly and moved so we could walk but Kit shifted in front of me.
"Woah, what?"
"I'm going home."
"Yeah, you're going home with me," he said, looking me in the eyes.
"You need to fix your face, you can find me when you're ready to include me on what happened today."
"I'm including you right now," he spoke quietly and close so that no passers-by could hear.
"If you think I'm letting you be anywhere but with me after what's happened today, you're fucking crazy."
"Oh shit," Jason breathed before lifting his hands and running them over his head. "He just called her fucking crazy," he said before taking steps away in disbelief.
"He's got a fucking death wish…" he spoke to no one in particular as he turned back to us. All the while, Kit kept his eyes fixated on me, daring me to go against him.
"The nurse just told the pair of us that you need to avoid stress, so where does that leave me? You fight me on everything, you expect me to explain everything even though I know by doing so you'll get more stressed."
"You're supposed to be my partner, you're supposed to be with me not only mentally but physically!"
I saw the hurt in Kit's eyes, he knew what I'd meant. I meant because he hadn't been with me when I needed him today.
I was speaking out of anger and I regretted it instantly. I knew Kit was just trying to protect me, but it was the fact that he wasn't here with me and our baby and that he was elsewhere with Maddie. Also, the fact that everything felt like a huge secret, not to mention the worry and stress built up from that day alone caused me to lash out at him with my words.
"We need to leave," he said then.
"And you expect me to just come with you?" I asked, saying the first thing that came to mind.
"Yes, I do. Now come on."
Kit wasn't playing, and I could see it in his eyes.
"I'm not a child, Kit," I answered bitterly.
"Then stop acting like one," he came back for me, staring into my eyes.
Glaring back at him, I gave Lilly a quick hug. Then I thanked her for being here—told her I'd ring her later—and then I stormed off without Kit, not even knowing where he'd parked.
"The car is that way," he said cockily from behind.
Once I was close I saw the lights on the car flash as he pressed the key to unlock it.
Getting in, I pushed my hair back and reached for my bobble that was situated in the centre console. At the same time Kit reached for something on the dash and our hands clashed.
"Sorry," we both said in unison and then looked at each other as I let go of my hair and let it fall back around my shoulders.
Kit moved first, and I moved to meet his hand as it cradled my face and he quickly kissed me hard. Thankfully we were parked within a ton of cars, and no one was around to see our passionate kiss. I lost my trail of thought quickly and brought my hand to Kit's neck, which earned me a pained hiss in return.
"Oh god, I'm so sorry." I pulled back and analysed him as he held up his hand.
"It's fine," he said adjusting his top around his neck.
Whilst he did, I saw the edges of marks around his neck and gasped.
"What the hell happened to you?" I asked, reaching for his shoulder to get a better look.
"Nothing, Eves," he said quickly, brushing my hand away so I couldn't reach back to see his neck.
"That is not nothing, Kit! What the hell happened?"
When Kit wouldn't let me look I became more forceful, making him move his hand so I could take a look. He didn't look at me as
I moved his collar, instead, he brought his fist to his mouth whilst looking out of the window. He wanted to ignore the fact I was looking, and not talk about it. He didn't want me to see the agonising marks that ran the full length of his neck. I gulped staring at the marks, then back to his face.
"Tell me what happened, right now."
"Eves, It's—"
"Tell me right now or I'm getting out of this car," I threatened.
"You know better than to threaten me, Eves."
"You know better than to lie to me. So don't bother."
Closing his eyes, Kit rubbed his lips and thought about what he was going to say.
"How can I protect you from stress if you won't let me?"
"I need to know, Kit."
"Fine," he said in defeat.
"It was a trap. Maddie fell into a trap. She thought she had a lead, went in first and they knew she was alone. Thankfully she had time to let us know and we had her tracked to her position. We got there and all hell broke loose, okay?"
"You and Nick went alone?"
"At first, yes. We couldn't wait for backup, we had to get to Maddie."
"You could have been killed," I said through gritted teeth, as anger boiled my blood.
"Yeah, well she would have been if we hadn't gotten there when we did."
"Did they think she was me?"
Kit nodded. "At least that much I am certain about."
"What do you mean?"
"They wanted me, Eves." He said, looking directly at me. "They were using her to get me. They thought she was you."
"But why would they want you? If they were using Maddie to get to you then why were they about to kill her? You said you got there just in time."
"I mean, if I hadn't have shown up as they planned, they would have probably killed her purely because their plan would have failed. They wouldn't have let her go after seeing their faces."
I gulped and sat back in my seat, trying not to let the fear consume me. It was making me feel sick.
"The marks on your neck, how did that happen?" I asked, looking back at him.
"You don't need to know, Eves."
"Please tell me, I need to know."
"Why do you want me to upset you?" he asked me directly, not understanding my need to know.
"Kit, please."
Closing his eyes in defeat Kit stared out of the window and then glanced at me.
"Let's just say one of the bastards thought he was a cowboy, alright?"
I stared at him and looked at his neck, thinking about it.
"What? You mean," I began to stutter, "a rope did this to you? A rope around your neck?"
Kit nodded and I began to well up.
"Eves—"
"What did they do, drag you across the fucking floor?"
"Enough now," he said looking into my weakening eyes.
"Tell me," I urged.
I wasn't sure why I needed to know specifically, but I did.
"Eves, enough."
"You told me the rest, why won't you just tell me?"
"Yes! Okay?" he demanded.
"I ran to Maddie and the bastard wrapped the rope around my neck from a distance like a fucking cowboy. Dragged me across the room before I could grab a hold of something and It just got tighter and tighter. The more I fought the more..."
"Oh my god," I breathed.
"The others from Delta showed up afterwards and obviously..."
He didn't go on any further. I knew they were probably all now dead. Reaching over he took my hand, then brought it to his lips to kiss my knuckles whilst looking into my eyes.
"Please don't cry, Eves. I'm fine, baby."
I shook my head, trying to wipe my tears away.
"I don't understand. Why did they want you? Surely they knew they were going to get caught. So why would they set a trap like that?"
"Sometimes revenge is worth a lot of money, they wouldn't have thought about getting caught afterwards. Guys like that—bloodthirsty bastards. It probably didn't even cross their minds about being caught."
"So you knew them? Were they Ralph’s men?"
Kit shook his head, "I don't know who they were."
"But you think they're his men?"
Kit sat up straight, looking at me.
"I'm not talking about this anymore here, I wanna get you home."
"Home?"
"Yes, home, with me?"
I wasn't sure if he meant Kit's home was my home, or that he just wanted to take me to his home but I nodded and stared out of the window as he pulled out of the car parking spot.
"We were beginning to get worried, where have you been?" Jax asked as we entered the kitchen. All of his brothers were sitting around with a drink and I noticed Nick was sitting with a beer. He looked troubled.
"We stayed behind a bit to talk," Kit answered, rounding the kitchen counter to get to the fridge.
"You hungry?" he asked me, and as I was about to say no I glanced at the clock and saw the time.
I knew it was getting late, I'd been at the hospital for hours, but I genuinely wasn't hungry.
It was futile rejecting Kit's offer, though. Rejecting his offer of food would result in a lecture about needing to eat for the baby's sake. He would be right and so I nodded.
"Pasta, it is." Eric stood up and approached Kit, "I'll cook. Go take a shower, you need it."
Thanking his brother, Kit came towards me and took my hand, taking me with him.
"You can leave her here, you know, bro?" Eric said after us.
"Not after today. Gonna take me some time to let her leave my side."
"That shower should be interesting then," Jason scoffed as Kit waited for me to take the stairs.
I didn't have to see the rest of them to know they were probably smiling at what Jason had said.
"You're really quiet," Kit commented.
Nodding, I sat on his bed and looked around the room.
"Trying to process everything, I guess."
"Everything is going to be okay, you know that right?"
He came to my level and crouched before me so that I had to look at him.
"I won't stop until I know you're safe."
I watched as he brushed the tops of his knuckles across my stomach.
"And what about you? Who is gonna protect you?"
When he didn't answer, I shifted.
"This is gonna kill you, Kit."
I closed my eyes and looked away from him, just praying things could be different.
"I'll die if I have to."
It brought tears to my eyes.
"You can't die," I said and I brought my hand to the back of his head and ran my fingers through his hair before kissing him.
"I'm gonna make all of this okay, I promise," he said between our lips.
Shaking my head, I opened my eyes and looked into his.
"You can't promise that."
"I just did, Blondie," he said getting up.
The little smile that tugged at his mouth as he spoke made me bite my lip.
"God, I wish I could fuck that pretty mouth of yours when you bite your lip like that."
His abrupt words made my eyes widen. He could change the atmosphere within a second. Only a second ago were we both being deadly serious about everything that had happened. Now, I felt a little relieved and it was because of his ability to make me feel so at ease.
"Do you forgive me after our fight?" he asked, looking down at me.
It had been a taste of Kit finally opening up to me about his feelings. Despite our argument, I couldn't stay mad at him after everything that had happened.
"Go get a shower, pretty boy."
Scoffing, Kit pulled away. "Not so pretty anymore."
Kit's face was a mess, but even despite how bruised and busted his face was, he was still the hottest guy I'd ever seen in my life. He stared at me, something clearly on his mind.
"I wanna take you out," he said randomly, pulling his top off.
Words were lost
to me as I stood and stared at the state of his body. I thought his face was bad until I saw his body and images of the abuse he must have had to endure to earn such marks clouded my mind, making me feel sick. I stood up and ran my fingers over his skin gently as a tear ran down my cheek. The fear Kit had eased was back in full force.
"Eves, I'm sorry. I should have waited until I was in the shower."
Shaking my head I brought my face to his shoulder, trying not to cry anymore.
"You don't need to hide from me," I said and tried to pull myself together.
"You need to relax. You heard what the nurse said."
I nodded. "What did you say about wanting to take me out? You know you can't do that."
Since the new mission had been enforced, it had been made clear that Kit and myself couldn't be seen together in public. Today at the hospital had been an exception under the circumstances. I found it hard to come to terms with.
Kit shook his head. "I wanna take you out. There's a ball held at Delta every year. It's mainly for our sponsors, to show our appreciation and to celebrate what we do at Delta. Most of our sponsors are multi-billionaires."
Using his finger and placing it beneath my chin, he looked me in the eyes.
"You're coming with me, Blondie."
I raised my eyebrows in question and looked away.
"I don't think I'd fit in well with that type of crowd. Plus, I don't have anything to wear."
"That's why you're going to take my credit card and buy yourself a dress."
"Your credit card? I don't think so," I said, trying to get away from him.
"Hey," he stopped me. "This means a lot to me. I want you to buy a dress, and I wanna take you to the ball."
"Shouldn't you be going with Maddie?"
"Don't do that," he said, getting close to my face.
"I'm taking you, my girlfriend."
I smiled, hearing him saying it out loud made my stomach flood with butterflies. Kit always had the ability to make me feel like a young teenager giddy over having a boyfriend.
"Fine, but I'm buying my own dress."
Kit shook his head. "You're so stubborn, do you know that?"
I faced him once more. "And you're so mucky. Do you know that?"
He lowered his eyes to my lips and I felt his body tighten again, as did mine.
"If sex wasn't off the cards, I'd invite you in there with me."
