by T. K. Leigh
“Chase the demons away, Tyler,” she whispered, opening her eyes once more, a lone tear falling down her cheek.
I lowered my lips to hers, wishing I could breathe life back into her. Kissing her softly, I sang the words to “Every Time We Say Goodbye”, barely able to get through the lyrics, praying this wasn’t the last time we would ever say goodbye.
Tyler
IT WAS A FRANTIC scene as I followed the paramedics out of the ambulance and into the emergency room, nurses and doctors meeting us before we could even take two steps. They spoke in medical terms I couldn’t understand, and I had no idea what anything meant.
“Sir.”
I snapped my head up to see a woman with green scrubs addressing me.
“How far along is your wife?”
“Almost thirty-eight weeks,” I answered.
“Okay. She’s lost a lot of blood. If there’s any chance of us saving the baby, we need to perform a C-section, but that means we have to delay operating on her own wounds.”
I nodded solemnly, taking a deep breath as I remembered the promise I made to Mackenzie. “I understand. I promised her I’d save the baby.”
She gave me a sympathetic smile before following the stretcher through a pair of swinging doors, one of the nurses staying behind to ensure I didn’t follow. I retreated down the hallway, watching as the second ambulance arrived carrying Mackenzie’s father, the paramedics pumping oxygen into him as they ran him down the same corridor.
I paced the empty sitting area, time seeming to crawl as I desperately waited for someone to come to me with good news to put my concerns at ease. But I had a feeling that wasn’t going to happen.
Falling into a chair, I buried my head in my hands, trying to figure everything out. I had no idea how everything went down. How had Richard, or Viktor, gotten away with what he did for years? I feared the only people who could answer those questions wouldn’t survive, leaving the rest of us with more questions than answers.
“Tyler!” Eli shouted, snapping me out of my thoughts as he barreled into the waiting room.
I stood up and hugged him briefly before noticing the crazed look on his face. “What is it?”
“This,” he said, shoving an iPad at me.
I scrunched my eyebrows, unsure of what I was supposed to be looking at. All I knew was it appeared to be a camera feed of a man chained to a wall and surrounded by a bank of monitors and computers.
“Looks like Richard has this guy locked away somewhere,” he explained.
“Who?”
A satisfied smile crossed his face. “I ran a facial scan on him and we got a hit. That is Damian Mills.”
“Damian?!” I exclaimed. “Mackenzie’s Damian?” I had all but given up hope we’d ever find him alive.
He nodded. “Benson and Maxwell are doing their best to trace the source of this feed right now.”
I exhaled and collapsed into a chair. “That’s a relief. I was so worried with everything that just happened, we’d all have more questions than answers. Maybe Damian can fill in some of the blanks we’re left with right now.”
Eli placed his hand on my arm in a comforting manner. “Don’t think that way. She’s a fighter. She’ll get through this. I’m sure she has all the answers you need.”
“I hope you’re right,” I said solemnly.
Over the next few hours, people began to trickle into the waiting room…other members of my team anxious for any news about what happened this evening; Mackenzie’s co-workers at the restaurant; Brayden and Jenna, who seemed to be in a daze as she was now faced with the reality of who the man she married truly was. Despite the scratches and bruises on her face, she remained strong, vowing to stay at the hospital until Mackenzie was well enough to walk out of here with her. I knew she saw the truth in my eyes, that there was a strong possibility that would not happen, but I didn’t want to dampen her spirit. In fact, it was her positive attitude that gave me hope everything would be okay.
I had no idea how much time had passed and I was getting anxious for some kind of news about Mackenzie and the baby…good or bad. The waiting was eating me up. Finally, the doctor who had met the paramedics when we arrived appeared in the waiting room, her expression blank.
“Mr. Burnham,” she said, looking at me. “Will you come with me, please?”
Standing up, I hesitated briefly, glancing at the full waiting room, everyone else just as anxious for news as I was.
“Go,” Eli said, gesturing. “We’ll be here if you need us.”
I nodded and followed the doctor. “How is she?” I asked quickly as she led me toward an elevator.
“She’s in surgery right now,” she replied, getting into the elevator and pressing a button for the fourth floor. I scanned the directory, seeing that the fourth floor was the labor and delivery unit. “We had to be careful when we delivered the baby, but he made it. We gave him a thorough exam because of all the trauma he had endured, but he’s doing wonderfully.”
I remained somewhat in shock as I followed the doctor down a hallway and into a room, a nurse sitting on a chair in the corner and rocking a little blue bundle. I’d had months to prepare for this moment, but it wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Mackenzie was supposed to be here so we could celebrate the birth of our child together. Instead, she was undergoing surgery to save her life.
The nurse heard us enter and looked in our direction, a warm smile crossing her face. “You must be the father.”
I remained still, in awe. Even though I felt our baby kick and move around in Mackenzie’s stomach on a daily basis, it was still just an abstract thing. But as the nurse raised herself from the chair and walked toward me with the little bundle, it dawned on me… I was a father.
As I stood there and held my son for the first time, I knew why Mackenzie made me make that promise to her. This moment was what life was all about. A year ago, I never saw myself settling down for long enough to even have a wife, let alone actually want to have kids. Now, as I stared into his hazel eyes dotted with speckles of gold and green, I got it. He was only hours old, yet I saw so much of myself and Mackenzie in him.
Too mesmerized by my son, I barely noticed when the doctor left, promising to come find me when she had any news of Mackenzie’s status.
Throughout the evening, nurses came in to check on us at least once an hour, offering to show me how to put him down in the crib so I could give my arm a rest, but I refused to let go. I wanted him to feel all the love he deserved.
A million thoughts swam through my head as time crept by with no word on Mackenzie… How was I supposed to do this without her? How was I going to explain to our son that his mother gave her life for his? I didn’t know the first thing about raising a child. My mother had assured me we would figure it out as we went along. But I wondered if I could possibly be a good father without Mackenzie at my side.
As the clock neared midnight, I finally relented and allowed one of the nurses to put him in a crib, but I couldn’t stop looking at him. I wanted to remember this moment…a moment when, in my mind, we were still a family. At any minute, the door to this room could open and a doctor could give me the news I had been dreading all night long. Then I would finally have to face the reality that we would never be a family, that Mackenzie would never be given the opportunity to hold her son.
Reaching into the crib, I grabbed our son’s hand, holding it tight. “Don’t worry,” I whispered. “I’ll never let anything happen to you.”
~~~~~~~~~~
“MR. BURNHAM,” A SOFT voice said and I felt someone nudge me. I opened my eyes, taking in the serene surroundings of the hospital room in the maternity ward. I looked at the crib to my left, my hand still wrapped around my son’s as he slept without a care in the world.
“Yes?” I answered groggily. Trying to snap out of it, I wiped at my face and straightened myself. I met the doctor’s flat expression, a sinking feeling forming in the pit of my stomach that there was no way I’d receive good
news twice in one night. Then her mouth turned into a warm smile and my eyes widened, hope washing over me.
“She’s going to be just fine. The bullet missed any vital organs. She did lose quite a bit of blood, but we were able to stop the flow and stitch her back up.”
Letting out a huge breath, I sagged into my chair, closing my eyes. All the tension that had been building up over the hours was immediately gone, gratitude filling my heart. I was a bundle of a thousand emotions, unable to properly convey how thankful I truly was that Mackenzie was okay. Part of me thought this was all a dream, that I would wake up to find out she didn’t make it.
“Can I see her?”
“You may, but she hasn’t woken up just yet. Between the C-section and the surgery on her shoulder, she’s been through a lot. We’re keeping her as comfortable as we can. When she does wake up, it may only be for a few minutes, and she will most likely be out of it.”
“I understand. I just need to see her.”
“Understood,” the doctor said, beginning to walk out of the room.
Hesitating, I looked back at the crib and our son.
“Don’t worry,” the doctor said as a petite blonde woman entered the room. “I called for a nurse to come look after him for a while.”
I still didn’t like the idea of leaving him, but I knew I couldn’t bring him with me. Reluctantly leaving his side, I followed the doctor back toward the bank of elevators. We rode in silence to the second floor, the journey seeming to take forever. Finally, it slowed to a stop and we exited into the bustling lobby of the trauma unit. After navigating through a few hallways, she stopped in front of a door and pushed it open.
Entering, I was surrounded by the sound of beeping machines as I shuffled toward where Mackenzie lay, a soft smile on her face. Seeing her chest rising and falling in a gentle rhythm, I couldn’t remember ever being so relieved. It still didn’t seem real to me. I had hoped and prayed for this outcome, but I didn’t think it was in the cards, not the way my luck had usually gone.
All of a sudden, it dawned on me that Mackenzie wasn’t the only one injured this evening. Spinning around, I called, “Doctor?”
“Yes?” She met my eyes.
“The man who came in with her… Francis Galloway…” I swallowed hard, worried that I had acted impulsively and would now be faced with having to tell Mackenzie I had killed her father. “How is he doing?”
“Mr. Galloway lost a lot of blood and one of the bullets lodged in his chest cavity. You need to understand the survival rate of that kind of wound has a tendency to be rather low.”
I rubbed my temples, the guilt I felt making me sick.
“But…,” she continued and I snapped my head up, meeting her eyes once more. “We were able to extract the bullet and stopped the flow of blood. He’s in the room next door and is also expected to make a full recovery.”
My shoulders relaxed as I blew out a breath. “Thank you, Doctor. I appreciate it.”
“Of course.” She turned from me and I started back toward Mackenzie, marveling at how much had happened in the span of just six hours. It had been the longest and most trying time of my life and I wouldn’t wish anyone to have to suffer through what I had.
“One more thing,” the doctor said. I faced her and waited for her to speak. “Those burns on Mr. Galloway… How did he get them?”
A small smile crossed my mouth. “It’s a very long story.”
The doctor nodded. “Understood. Have a nice evening, Mr. Burnham.”
“You, too,” I replied. “And thanks again.”
The doctor closed the door and I turned my attention back to Mackenzie, pulling up a chair and sitting next to her. I reached for her hand and took it in mine, toying with her wedding band and engagement ring.
Her face was serene, her lips turned up just slightly as she slept. The demons of her past no longer haunted her. She was finally at peace.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” I said to her sleeping form. “I don’t know what I would have done if I lost you, Serafina. I don’t think…” I trailed off, composing myself. Despite the fact she was okay, I was still choked up thinking about what almost was. “I wouldn’t have been able to go on if I lost you. You’re a part of me.” A small smile crossed my face as I recalled how far we had come since our first meeting.
“I knew the first day I met you that I was never going to let you go. You were the first woman who ever challenged me, and in that instant, I could tell you were the one for me. Sure, we’ve had more than our fair share of disagreements, but I wouldn’t trade one of those for anything. You made me finally feel like I found my place in the world, and that’s by your side, with our beautiful son.”
Mackenzie began to shift in her bed and her eyes fluttered open, meeting mine. “Hey,” she croaked out.
“Hey,” I responded.
A small smile crossed her lips. “Hey.”
“Hey.” I pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, savoring in the warmth of her skin, a warmth I didn’t think I’d ever feel again.
“Our son…” She looked at me with worry in her eyes.
My gaze softened. “He’s perfect. He’s a healthy seven pound, six ounce boy and already has a full head of dark hair.”
She sighed, closing her eyes as if thanking someone from up above for answering her silent prayers.
“Can I see him?” she asked, her voice growing lazy as she struggled to keep her eyes open.
“You will,” I promised. “But you need your rest. Everything’s going to be okay.” I planted a soft kiss on her forehead. “You won’t have to pretend to be someone you’re not ever again. It’s finally over.”
Mackenzie
A WEEK AFTER BEING shot by my father to save my life, I lay in the hospital bed, surrounded by all my friends and family as they fussed over the little bundle I held in my arms. It took me a few days to finally be able to stay awake for longer than five minutes at a time, and once I felt the pain all over my body, I knew why the doctors had been keeping me drugged. It would still be a few weeks until I could comfortably walk around, but I didn’t care. I was here and so was my son.
I looked to my right, Tyler standing there with a wide grin on his face. He had spent nearly every minute at my side, vowing to stay with me until I was strong enough to leave which, according to the doctors who had checked on me this morning, could be tomorrow. I was itching to finally leave this hospital…as a family.
“Have you picked out a name yet?” Jenna asked.
I met her brilliant blue eyes and smiled warmly. Over the past few days, she had apologized over and over again about what Richard had done, how she should have seen the signs, how she should have known there was something off about him. But there was no way for her to know any of that. I had trusted him, too, thinking he was the perfect catch for someone like Jenna. He was charming, smart, debonair, always knew what to say and when to say it. He had put on the perfect act and we all fell for it. Brayden had been doing his best to keep her mind off of everything. He even went to the hotel, packed all her belongings, and relocated her to my old condo, which had been released and was no longer considered a crime scene.
“Yes,” I said. “Francis Charles Burnham… Charlie for short,” I said with a slight lump in my throat.
“He looks like a Charlie,” Brayden commented.
“Well,” Colleen said, leaning down to kiss her grandson on the forehead. “Welcome to the family, little man. You better give your father as hard a time as he gave me when he was growing up.”
“Hey!” Tyler exclaimed. “I was a complete angel. At least compared to him, I was.” He gestured to Alexander.
“Oh, really?” Alexander said, rushing his brother and putting him in a headlock.
“Boys!” a small voice shouted. We all turned our heads to see little Melanie standing next to Olivia, her hand on her hip in mock irritation. “Play nice! Or Grandma’s going to take away your toys. Isn’t that right?” she asked, looking towar
d Colleen.
Shrugging, she responded, “That usually is the punishment.” She winked.
“Well, I’m sure you’re tired,” Jenna said, squeezing my arm. “Why don’t you get some rest? We’ll stop by in the next few days when you’re all settled back at home, okay?”
I nodded. “I’d like that.”
Everyone said their goodbyes and began to file out of the room. “Dad, wait,” I said, grabbing his hand as he was about to follow everyone else.
“Yes, mi bichito?” he asked, his eyes brimming with love and affection.
Once the last person had left and it was just Tyler and us, I faced him. His shoulder was in a sling, but other than that, it didn’t appear as if he had suffered a gunshot wound to the chest just a week ago. “How did you know?” I asked. The question had been eating me up for days.
“Know what?”
“Where I would be?”
A smile crossed his face as he kept my hand clasped in his. “I knew Agent Suarez was dirty, particularly when I made arrangements to turn myself in and he asked me to surrender at a location other than the local police department. When he took me into ‘custody’, he didn’t really search me too well, so as he was driving around the island with me handcuffed in the back seat, I put one of my old skills to use. It’s amazing what a bobby pin can get you out of these days.” He winked.
“So you got out of your handcuffs, then what?”
“Suarez stopped in front of the house, saying it would be his big pay day. When he opened the back door to let me out, I easily overtook him and snatched his weapon from him. Then I made him call 911 and confess to everything. How do you think the police arrived so quickly?”
He raised his eyebrows at me, a satisfied look crossing his face. “It’s a good thing, too, because during the internal investigation, they found a video file Suarez must have confiscated when looking into Charlie’s death. Charlie hid a camera in your condo and got his murder on video, including Richard’s confession beforehand. He always was a smart guy.” He squeezed my arm and I fought the lump in my throat now that I had confirmation Charlie had sacrificed himself in his quest for the truth. Kissing me on the temple, my dad walked away, leaving Tyler and me alone.
