Tackle (K19 Security Solutions)

by Heather Slade

The woman turned around and studied me. “Who are you?”

  “A good friend of hers.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know her.”

  I pulled the same photo out that I’d shown the boy. “Are you sure you haven’t seen her?” I asked, handing it to her.

  Before she could respond, we heard sirens. I turned toward the window and saw an ambulance pull up near the door that led to the building’s elevators.

  I tossed a twenty on the counter and raced out. “I’m a trained first responder,” I shouted. “Can I help?”

  “Woman called 9-1-1,” one of the paramedics answered. “Bleeding. Maybe a miscarriage.”

  I gripped the rail in the elevator after he motioned for me to get on, and counted every ding as it seemed to take ten minutes to reach the twentieth floor.

  “This way,” one of them shouted, rushing down the hallway.

  “Paramedics,” one of the guys shouted, pounding on the door.

  “Did the victim give a name?” I asked one of the other guys.

  He looked at his phone. “Sloane?”

  I pushed the guy standing at the door out of the way and slammed my body into it. It swung open, and I raced over to where I saw Sloane’s crumpled body on the floor.

  “Don’t move her!” shouted one of the other guys.

  “She’s pregnant. About six months,” I shouted back, checking the vitals of the unconscious woman I loved with every fiber of my being.

  “I got a pulse,” said one of the other guys. “A lot of blood,” he muttered, motioning with his head. “You know her?”

  “I’m the baby’s father.” They were about to lift her onto the gurney when Sloane opened her eyes.

  “Tackle?”

  “Hi, peanut.” I leaned down and kissed her forehead. “We’re gonna get you over to the hospital.”

  “The baby?”

  “The baby is going to be fine, and so are you.”

  “We are?”

  “Yep.”

  “How…how did you find me?” Her eyes closed, and her head fell to the side.

  “Who’s this guy?” asked one of the men who’d stayed with the ambulance when I went to get in with her.

  “The baby’s father,” answered the EMT who’d checked her pulse.

  “Ride up front,” said the first guy.

  “He’s a first responder.”

  “Quit arguing and let’s go!” shouted the driver.

  I got in, the door slammed closed, and I took Sloane’s hand in mine.

  A woman in a white coat opened the curtain and walked over to the bed in the emergency room bay. “She lost a lot of blood, but every test we ran indicated the baby is fine. I understand you’re the father?”

  “That’s right.”

  “I’m Dr. Phillips, and this is Audrey, the tech who will do the ultrasound.” The woman wheeled a large cart in behind her.

  “Hello, Sloane. I’m Dr. Phillips. We’re going to take a peek at your baby.”

  I squeezed the hand I’d been holding and leaned down to kiss her forehead. “It’s nice to see those beautiful blue eyes looking back at me.”

  “You’re here.”

  The tech moved the blanket and sheet back and folded the hospital gown the nurses had changed her into while she’d slipped in and out of consciousness.

  She spread gel on her tummy, and Sloane hissed. “That’s cold.”

  “Sorry,” the tech mumbled.

  The screen was turned in such a way that neither Sloane nor I could see it, but the tech and doctor could.

  “Do you know whether you’re having a boy or a girl?” Dr. Phillips asked.

  “No,” Sloane answered.

  “Do you want to know?”

  She looked up at me.

  “It’s up to you, peanut.”

  She bit her bottom lip, and I leaned in closer. “If you want to wait, it’s okay with me,” I whispered.

  “I want to know,” she whispered back.

  The doctor repositioned the machine so we could see the screen.

  “Oh, wow,” I gasped, gazing at the tiny human appearing in 3D. I could even see his or her face. I looked down at Sloane, whose eyes were filled with tears.

  “It’s amazing, isn’t it?” she murmured.

  I brushed at the moisture forming at the corner of my eye. “Miraculous.”

  “Last time I’ll ask. Are you sure you want to know?”

  I looked at Sloane, who nodded.

  “Based on what I see, or don’t see here,”—she pointed to the screen—“I’d say you’re having a little girl.”

  I didn’t care if Sloane was mad at me, not speaking to me, whatever it was that made her hide from me, I leaned down and kissed her lips. “Congratulations, little mama.”

  Sloane brought her arm up, wrapped it around my neck, and I kissed her again.

  When the tech left, the doctor pulled a chair near the side of the gurney. “The bleeding you experienced was caused by placenta previa. Are you familiar with the term?”

  Both Sloane and I shook our heads.

  “In simpler terms, it means the placenta is either fully or partially covering the cervix. In your case, it’s between full and partial. Three-quarters, if you will. I’m not concerned about you carrying the baby to full term, but in order to do that, you’ll have to remain on bed rest for the duration.”

  “Okay,” I heard Sloane whisper.

  “I want to keep you overnight, just to be sure, but you should be able to return home tomorrow.”

  “Okay,” she repeated.

  “Any questions?” The doctor looked from me to Sloane and back again. I had a million but doubted she was looking for anything unrelated to what she’d just told us. “No? We’ll see about getting you up to a regular room as soon as possible. I’ll be back by later, either here or there, but hopefully there.”

  When the doctor left and pulled the curtain closed behind her, Sloane closed her eyes.

  I stroked her hair. “Get some rest, peanut.”

  “Tackle, I…”

  “Shh. Just rest for now. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

  “My parents…”

  “They’re here. I called them. Do you want me to have them come in?”

  “Not yet.” Her eyes drifted closed again. “Tackle, you and I need to—”

  I kissed her to stop her from talking. Whatever we needed to do, didn’t need to be done right now. My guess was she wanted to talk about whatever it was that had made her hide from me.

  The longer I sat by her side and watched her sleep, the more I realized I would do whatever I had to, to keep her in my life.

  I’d already severed ties with Nick, but if that wasn’t enough, I was ready to do whatever would be.

  I think I may have dozed off when I heard the bay’s curtain open.

  “Tackle? What are you doing here?”

  When I stood, I woke Sloane up. “Halo, um, did your parents call you?”

  “My parents? No, I’m Sloane’s ICE.”

  “Huh?”

  “My number is listed on Sloane’s phone in case of emergency.”

  “Oh. Right. Your parents should be in the waiting room.”

  “If my parents are here, why are you in with Sloane?” Halo went to the other side of the bed and leaned down to kiss his sister’s forehead. “Hey, peanut, what happened?” he asked without waiting for me to answer his first question.

  “Um…” She looked up at me.

  “Something called placenta previa. Evidently, it causes bleeding. The baby is fine, though.”

  Halo looked from me to his sister. “Why isn’t Mom in here with you?”

  Sloane reached out and took my hand.

  “Wait…no. No…fucking…way.” Halo’s face turned red, and his voice got louder with every word.

  “Hang on,” I said. “Let’s take this conversation outside.”

  “You sonuvabitch,” he seethed.

  “Outside,” I repeated, grabbing
his arm and pulling him out of the bay. I picked up my pace, knowing this thing with Halo was going to escalate quickly. Whatever we had to say to each other, shouldn’t be said in an emergency room full of people.

  I went out the double doors the ambulance had pulled up to when they brought Sloane in, out to the parking lot, and stopped. Halo charged toward me, grabbing my shirt with one hand, and punching me in the face with the other.

  “You goddamn bastard. You got my little sister pregnant!” he shouted, continuing to throw punches that I did little more than try to block.

  “Knox!” I heard his father yell. “Stop this! Now!” His words did nothing to deter the man who had been my best friend for more than half my life from pummeling me. Only when Ben grabbed the back of Halo’s collar and yanked him away from me, did he stop.

  “You okay, man?” asked one of the paramedics I recognized from earlier. “Looks like he got you pretty good.”

  “I’m all right.”

  “Might be a couple gashes that need to be stitched up. Let’s go in and take a look.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  The guy laughed. “Let’s at least get you cleaned up, so you don’t scare the shit out of that pretty girl you knocked up.”

  I laughed. “Okay, okay. I’ll let you clean me up.” I could already feel my right eye swelling up, and I knew my lip was split and bleeding.

  33

  Sloane

  I looked at the bleeding knuckles on my brother’s hand when he came back into the emergency room bay followed by my dad. “What did you do?”

  “Less than I wanted to.”

  “Where’s Tackle?”

  “I think one of the paramedics is cleaning him up.”

  I looked from my father to my brother. “Cleaning him up? What the fuck, Knox?”

  “Have a seat.” My dad pulled out a chair and nudged Knox toward it. “The first thing the two of you need to do is lower your voices. There are other people in this hospital who are sick or injured and need care. They don’t need to be disturbed by your argument.”

  “Argument?” I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and told myself to calm down. “This isn’t an argument, Dad. My brother just beat up the father of my baby.”

  “Don’t call him that,” Knox spat.

  I’d never once seen my father lay a hand on my brother, until today. He didn’t hit him hard, but he did swat the back of his head.

  I, of course, did the most inappropriate thing ever and laughed out loud.

  Knox spun around and looked at him. “Did you know?”

  “I had my suspicions, as did your mother, but to answer your question; no, until recently, we did not know.”

  “That’s why you wouldn’t tell me who it was.”

  “You’re right. If I could’ve kept it from you even longer, I would’ve. Do you want to know why?”

  “Because you knew I’d kill him.”

  “No, Knox, because this isn’t any of your business. Tackle and I are having a baby, and guess what? It has nothing to do with you. Nothing. This is between him and me and no one else. If you can’t accept that, you can leave.”

  “Is he going to marry you?”

  “The better question is, am I going to marry him? I haven’t decided yet.”

  “You have to.”

  I stared at him, wide-eyed. “No wonder you’re best friends. You’re both Neanderthals. No, I don’t have to.”

  “Is he at least going to take care of you and the baby? Provide for you?”

  “Again, none of your business.”

  “I can’t believe this.”

  “There isn’t anything for you to believe. I’m pregnant, Tackle is the father, and the two of us will figure out how it’s going to work in our own way.”

  “When did this happen?”

  I looked up at my dad. “Would you please get him out of here?”

  “We aren’t finished talking about this.”

  “Yeah, Knox. We are. Go back to New York City.” Those last words hurt him. I knew they did the minute I said them. I wasn’t surprised by my brother’s reaction. It was what I’d expected. I’d just hoped for better from him.

  “Wait,” I said when he stood to leave. “Dad, can you give us a minute?”

  “I won’t be far, and I better not be able to hear you.”

  “Sit back down, Knox,” I said when my father pulled the curtain closed behind him. “You’re not going to like what I’m about to tell you, but I want you to listen to me anyway.”

  He sat and folded his arms.

  “Look at me.” I waited until he raised his head. “I’m not a child, Knox. I’m a woman, as is evidenced by this.” I put both hands on my belly. “Here’s the part you’re going to hate. I’ve loved Tackle since the day I met him. Head-over-heels loved him. I may not have understood the emotions I was feeling, but somewhere deep inside, I knew he was the only man I’d ever love. The only man I’d ever be with. Do you understand what I’m saying, Knox?”

  “He took advantage of you, and for that—”

  “That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Have you met me? Do you really believe that I would let anyone take advantage of me?”

  I heard my dad clear his throat from the other side of the curtain and lowered my voice.

  “I don’t know if Tackle will ever feel the same way I do. I don’t even know how much of a role he’ll play in our baby’s life. What I do know is that I’ll still love him and I will never, ever regret having his baby. I haven’t met her yet, but I love this little girl so much. I want you to be in her life. In order for me to allow that to happen, you have to promise me you’ll take a step back, think about this from my point of view, and understand that none of this is about you.”

  “You’re having a girl?”

  I smiled. Of everything I’d said, that was the one thing I wanted him to focus on, and my brother hadn’t disappointed me. I was having a baby girl, and she was all that really mattered.

  “Knock, knock,” I heard an unfamiliar voice say. The curtain opened, and a man in scrubs stepped in. “I’m here to take you up to the fourth floor if you’re ready.”

  “I’m ready.”

  “They’re admitting you?” Knox asked.

  “Just overnight. The doctor said she thinks I’ll be able to go home tomorrow.”

  When the man wheeled me out, I looked around for Tackle, but didn’t see him. “Um, wait,” I said and he stopped. “Dad, do you know…”

  He nodded. “I’ll see if I can find him.”

  “Let me.”

  “Knox, please—”

  “I need to, Sloane. He and I need to talk, and I promise not to use my fists this time.”

  “You promise?”

  “I do.”

  34

  Tackle

  Halo didn’t have to look far. I was in the bay next to Sloane. Ben knew it too, and I appreciated that he hadn’t said anything.

  I’d heard every word Sloane said, and a lot of them hurt worse than her brother’s punches had.

  Hearing her say she didn’t know how much of a role I’d play in our baby’s life almost killed me.

  From the second I realized she was pregnant, I’d done everything I could to let her know I would be there for her and for the baby. Most of it, I didn’t handle the right way, especially in the very beginning, but the time we’d spent together in the house in Chestnut Hill, I thought, had been magical.

  I understood why she said she didn’t know if I’d ever feel the same way about her as she felt for me. I’d never told her I loved her, but I did. I don’t know exactly when I realized it. Maybe it wasn’t until today, but I’d felt it.

  When I heard Halo ask someone if they knew where I was, I got off the gurney and opened the curtain. “I’m right here.”

  “Oh, man.” He winced. “Who did that to you?”

  “Some asshole who believed he needed to defend the honor of his sister.”

  “She sure set me straig
ht, didn’t she?”

  “In that way that only Sloane can.” I followed him out of the emergency room and over to the bank of elevators.

  “I’m sorry, Tackle.”

  “So am I.”

  “What for?”

  “Mainly that we didn’t tell you sooner. We wanted to, but then everything happened with Tara, and we decided to let you be happy for as long as we could.”

  “I’m not unhappy.”

  “I know. We just didn’t want to put a damper on it. Ya know?”

  “Yeah, I get it.”

  “So, that thing she said about whether or not she’d marry me? I kind of fucked that up big-time.”

  “What did you do?”

  I spent the time we waited for the elevator and during the ride up to the fourth floor, telling him all the stupid shit I’d done since I found out Sloane was pregnant. When the doors opened, both Halo and I were laughing.

  “I, uh, bought her a house. I mean, I didn’t know I was buying it for her exactly when I did, but maybe I really did know.”

  “Huh?”

  “Remember Chestnut Hill Park?”

  “How could I forget it? It’s where you broke my neck.”

  “You broke your neck. I didn’t. Anyway, remember the house across the street and how whenever Sloane came along with us, she’d sit and stare at it?”

  “Vaguely.”

  “You’ll remember when you see it. My dad, the crew, and I have been renovating it. When you were first in New York with Tara, Sloane and I started living there.”

  “Wow.”

  “Yeah. It’s pretty amazing.”

  “No, not wow the house; wow, you love her.”

  “Yeah, man, I do. Not that I’ve told her yet.”

  “Why not?”

  “After all the bonehead things you did with Tara, you’re giving me shit?”

  “Oh Dios mío,” Carolina said when I walked into Sloane’s room and she saw my face.

  “Oh my God,” said Sloane a few seconds later.

  I walked over and kissed her. “It hurts worse than it looks.”

  “Did the two of you make up?”

  “He forgave me when I told him I bought your dream house.”