ROYAL'S CHILD

by Sharon Sala

  * * *

  Contents:

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

  Epilogue

  * * *

  * * *

  Chapter 1

  ^ »

  The fat man on the floor was holding his crotch and cursing in at least two languages. But Angel Rojas was impervious to his threats. She'd heard them all before. Instead of cowering beneath his anger, she pushed at his foot with the toe of her shoe in a warning gesture.

  "Shut up, Louie. You can't fire me. I already quit."

  His face green, Louie groaned. "You bitch! Your days in this town are over. I'll make damn sure you never work around here again."

  His threats didn't frighten her, and harsh words had long since lost their ability to hurt her. Angel Maria Conchita Rojas had learned early on that the only people who could hurt you were the ones you loved. And the last person Angel loved had been her mother, who died when she was seven. By the time she was nine she'd run away from home, weary of the beatings her father kept giving her. As a teenager, she had run from one foster home after another. Angel had been running all her life and was afraid to stop. If she had, the devastation of her life might have overwhelmed her. She'd become adept at surviving in a male-dominated world and even more so at protecting herself.

  But at the age of twenty-five, she was still waiting to find a place to call home. Her entire existence consisted of what she called pit stops. Fat Louie's Bar and Grill on the outskirts of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was about to become a part of her history.

  Angel felt like cheering. Today she'd reached a breaking point and done something about it. Lewd innuendos and groping hands were a thing of her past. With a heartfelt sigh of relief, she tossed her apron aside.

  "You owe me two hundred and fifty dollars for the last two weeks' work. Don't bother to get up. I'll help myself."

  Louie cursed again. "I'll have you arrested for stealing."

  Angel turned, and the look on her face was warning enough. Louie was silenced.

  "I personally know six other women, besides myself, who are willing to file charges of sexual harassment against you. Are you interested in calling my bluff?"

  Wincing with pain, Louie struggled to get up. But there was something in her words he couldn't ignore. His complexion darkened as he waved a fist in her direction.

  "Just get your damned money and get out." Then he cupped his crotch again and groaned.

  Angel counted out her money and then grabbed her jacket and purse. By the time she got to the door, Louie was on his feet and still cursing her name.

  She never looked back.

  * * *

  Royal Justice rolled out of bed and stood within the quiet of his bedroom. His heart was hammering against his chest as he glanced at the clock. It was almost five. In an hour or so the sun would be breaking the cover of darkness. His four-year-old daughter, Maddie, was asleep in her room down the hall, and although he couldn't hear a thing but the intermittent drip from a leaking shower head, he knew something was wrong. Nearly five years of being a single parent had honed his instincts to razor-sharp perception. Without hesitation, he grabbed his Levi's, hastily dressing as he started out of his room.

  Maddie was fine when he'd put her to bed last night, but he'd learned the hard way that time and children never stay static. Just as he reached the door of her room, the flesh crawled on the back of his neck. Shuddering, he paused, and it was as if a hand centered in the middle of his back suddenly pushed him forward. Frowning at his flight of fancy, he stepped in.

  He knew before he touched her that she was sick. Maddie could tear up a bed faster than anyone he knew when she was healthy. When she was restless, it was impossible to tell head from foot. The covers were in a wad on the floor, and her pillow was nowhere in sight. He turned on the bedside lamp. When he brushed his hand across her cheek, her skin felt hot to his touch. She opened her eyes, but he could tell it wasn't him she was seeing. The image frightened him.

  "I don't see her," Maddie mumbled.

  "See who, baby?" Royal asked, but Maddie didn't answer. His hand was shaking as he cupped the side of her face. "Maddie? See who?"

  "The lady. I don't see the lady."

  He gritted his teeth and dashed into the adjoining bathroom, emerging moments later with a cold, wet washcloth. As he bent to wipe it across her burning face, she began to whisper.

  "Daddy? Daddy?"

  "Daddy's here, baby."

  "I don't feel good, Daddy. My bed is spinning. Make it stop. Make it stop."

  Royal clenched his jaw. He'd faced wild bulls, mad dogs and crazy hired hands without batting an eye, but anything regarding his daughter's well-being made him sick to his stomach.

  "I know," he said softly. "Tell me where you feel bad."

  She rolled into a fetal position without answering.

  Royal's pulse shifted into high gear as he ran his hands along her arms. Her entire body was so hot and dry it almost felt like paper.

  "Angel," Maddie mumbled, weakly pushing against the restraint of her father's hands. "I can't find my angel."

  Royal's heart nearly stopped. "No!" he groaned, and thrust his hands into her hair and turned her until she was facing him.

  The mere mention of angels made him crazy. He'd watched his wife, Susan, die and had tried to die with her. But that was before they'd put Maddie in his arms. Within a week of bringing his baby girl home from the hospital, he'd been too tired and sleep-deprived to think of anything but the next bottle to heat and the next diaper to change. At that point, Royal Justice would have had to get better to die. But that was then, and this was now, and he wasn't giving up any more of his family without a fight.

  "Maddie, tell Daddy where you feel bad. Can you do that?"

  Instead of answering, she fell into a feverish sleep.

  He turned on the overhead lights, trying not to panic. Her long, dark hair was damp with perspiration and was sticking to her neck and face. He threw back the covers, then inhaled sharply as his gaze centered on a large, inflamed area on her thigh. Stunned, he bent closer, rubbing the area, testing the size and the heat emanating from within.

  "Damn."

  There was little else to say. His hands shook as he quickly checked the rest of her body, making certain there were no more spots like it. There were not.

  It hadn't been there when he'd put her to bed. He would have bet his life on it. And then he remembered how impatient he'd been with her and how cranky he'd been when he'd tossed her pajamas on the bed. He thought back. The phone had rung. He'd left the room to answer it. By the time he had returned, she was already in her pajamas and in bed, begging him to read her a story.

  Pain wrapped around a big dose of guilt as he remembered that he hadn't read her the story, either. Instead, he'd given her a quick kiss good-night and promised to read her two stories tomorrow. All he could think now was, Please, God, let there be a tomorrow for her.

  He looked at the huge welt again. The only thing he could think of was that something had bitten her. Probably an insect. But what? She'd been bitten by mosquitoes, stung by bees, even stung by a wasp, and not once had she experienced a reaction like this.

  When she began to shiver, he panicked. He had to get her to a doctor, and fast.

  "Maddie, I'm going to get dressed and then I'm taking you to the doctor. He'll make you feel better."

  The fact that she didn't even argue about an impending trip to the doctor was sign enough for Royal that this was serious.

  He was down the hall and in his room within seconds, yanking shirts from hangers and socks from his drawer. Within moments, he was dressed and in her room.

  As he lifted her into his arms, he noticed something on the sheets where she'd been lying. As he looked closer
, he identified the tiny carcass of a brown spider. In spite of the fact that it was flatter than normal and its long legs were curled in upon itself, the mark on the dead spider's back was impossible to mistake. It was a fiddleback, a brown recluse spider, highly poisonous to all and deadly to some.

  He looked in horror at her lifeless little body, then grabbed a blanket from the foot of the bed and wrapped her in it as he dashed from the room.

  A short while later he was in his truck and flying down the darkened highway toward Dallas with Maddie beside him in the seat. Although he drove with one hand on the wheel and the other on his daughter, her covers were already trailing on the floor.

  "Daddy, Daddy, I'm falling," she cried, weakly pushing at the quilt her father had wrapped around her.

  He splayed his hand across her stomach, assuring her that he was there.

  "No, baby, you're not falling. Daddy's got you. He won't let you fall."

  "Angel … my angel," she whispered, and kicked at the covers on her legs.

  "Son of a bitch," he muttered, quelling an urge to throw up. His voice was shaking as he glanced down. "Damn it to hell, Madeline Michelle, you do not see angels, do you hear me?"

  In typical Royal fashion, he had reacted to fear with anger. And for Royal, the fear was all the greater for the fact that he had nothing on which to focus except his daughter's condition. He couldn't eradicate the spider. It was already dead. He couldn't blame Maddie for the incident. For once, his maverick child had been a victim of circumstance, not of rebellion. And his great strength was useless in the face of such overwhelming odds. It was all he could do to concentrate on the drive to the hospital. He wouldn't let himself think of life without her. He couldn't believe that God would be so cruel as to take away his wife and his child.

  A short while later, he stood at one side of the bed where Maddie was lying. He was in shock and numb to everything around him except the rapid rise and fall of her chest as her little lungs struggled to cope with the ravages of a rising fever. It wasn't until they moved her into intensive care that he started to crumble. He headed for a phone.

  * * *

  Roman Justice glanced at the digital readout on his alarm clock as he reached for the ringing phone. When he saw the time, he frowned. It was seven minutes after six in the morning. This was his private line. Few people other than family had this number. Instinct told him this wasn't going to be good.

  "Hello."

  "Roman, it's me, Royal."

  Roman heard the panic in his older brother's voice and rolled out of bed. He was reaching for his jeans as he spoke.

  "What's wrong?"

  "It's Maddie. They just put her in intensive care."

  Roman's heart dropped. It was all he could do to focus. Except for his wife, Holly, his niece was the most important person in his life.

  His voice was rough and shaky as he buttoned his Levi's. "What the hell happened?"

  "Spider bite. It was a fiddleback." His voice was shaky as he added, "It doesn't look good."

  Roman flipped on the lights. "Where is she?"

  "Dallas Memorial."

  "Have you called Ryder and Casey?" Roman asked.

  Royal took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "No. You do it. I don't think I can say this again."

  Roman could hear the panic in his brother's voice. His hand tightened around the receiver. "Don't worry. I'll handle everything," he said. "Hang in there, brother. We're on our way."

  Royal disconnected and leaned his forehead against the cool surface of the wall. The comfort of knowing his brothers were coming was small, but for now, it was enough. He straightened his shoulders, then lifted his chin and jammed his Stetson tighter on his head as he headed for intensive care. He didn't give a good damn about hospital rules. His daughter was only four years old, and he wasn't going to have her waking up in a strange place alone. There was no hesitation in his step. He wouldn't let himself believe Maddie might not wake up. She would get better. She had to.

  He wangled his way through the closed doors of ICU and went to the nurse's desk.

  "Please," Royal begged the nurse. "I won't move. I won't talk. I won't even breathe out loud. Just don't make me leave her."

  The nurse was sympathetic, but the rules had been put in place for the benefit of the patients, not the family, and for the patients' sakes, they must be obeyed.

  "I'm sorry, Mr. Justice, but visiting time is over. Everyone else has to leave, and so do you. I can't extend special privileges just to you, and you know it."

  "But what if she wakes up and I'm not here? What if she asks for something and no one hears her?"

  "That's why we're here," the nurse said. "Now please."

  "One more minute," Royal begged.

  The nurse rolled her eyes then glanced at her watch. "I have to replace an IV. When I'm finished, you're out of here."

  Royal went weak with relief. "Deal."

  The nurse glared. "I do not make deals," she said, and walked away.

  Royal didn't bother to watch her exit. He was too busy taking in everything they'd done to his daughter in his absence.

  He looked at the needle in the back of her hand and winced. Maddie hated shots. He couldn't imagine how she was going to react when she saw it. He touched her forehead. It burned. His hands shook as he swept the hair from her face. Then he glanced up. The nurse was looking his way. He leaned down, desperate to get in one last word before he was forced to leave.

  "Daddy's here, baby. Don't be scared. Daddy's here."

  A soft sigh escaped Maddie's lips. Her fingers twitched, as if trying to grasp something just out of her reach. Then silent tears began seeping from the corners of her eyes.

  "Can't find my angel," she whispered.

  Royal's eyes widened in fear.

  "Help me, Daddy. Help me."

  He leaned his forehead against her arm, fighting the urge to weep.

  "You just get better, sweetheart, and I'll help you find anything you want. Okay?"

  Her eyelids fluttered as she drifted in and out of consciousness. Royal watched her struggling against the confines of the machines they had hooked her to and was almost glad she didn't know what was happening. As he watched, Maddie sighed and seemed to relax. He kept telling himself she was in good hands. And the longer he stood there, the more solid the belief became. His panic began to subside. She was in the hospital. The doctors would make her better.

  "I love you, Maddie. Do you hear me? Daddy loves you more than anyone in this world."

  "Mr. Justice."

  He jerked. The ICU nurse was standing at his elbow, and the warning in her voice was impossible to miss. He straightened, giving her a hard look as he turned toward the door.

  "Have you ever had a loved one in a place like this?"

  The nurse blinked, taken aback by his anger.

  "No, sir, I have not."

  "Then I'll say a prayer for you that it never happens," he said shortly. "Because this is a parent's hell on earth."

  When Royal exited ICU, Roman and Holly were waiting for him. Royal took one look at the fear on their faces and answered their unspoken question.

  "As I said on the phone, it was a spider bite. They're pretty sure it was a fiddleback."

  Holly pressed a hand to her lips and clutched her husband's arm. She and Roman had been married only a few short months, but in that time, Roman's niece had become as dear to her as if she was her own daughter. She couldn't bear to think of that tiny child suffering.

  "Where did it bite her?" Holly asked.

  "Her leg."

  Roman looked toward the doors to ICU. The urge to see her was overwhelming. He couldn't believe such a lively child could be in such serious condition, and so quickly. He glanced at his brother, judging Royal's panic against his own.

  "Royal?"

  "Just pray," Royal said, and dropped into a chair. He stared at the floor, gathering the guts to say aloud what he'd been thinking for hours. His voice was shaking when he began to sp
eak.

  "She's pretty sick. Her fever keeps spiking. She's not out of the woods until they can get that under control."

  Roman shook his head and slid into the chair beside his brother.

  "I have never been this scared in my entire life," he muttered.

  Royal managed a small grin. "Just wait until you have kids of your own.

  Holly laid her hand on Royal's shoulder. "Is there anything we can do? If there's a specialist you need, all you have to do is ask. We'll get him here immediately."

  Royal frowned as he glanced at the doors barring him from his child. "At this point, I don't think a specialist could help. Thanks for offering, honey, but there's not even anything I can do."

  "Ryder and Casey are flying in," she added.

  Royal leaned back in the chair and covered his face with his hands. He remembered last night and how Maddie kept begging him to read her a story. Guilt sat heavy on his shoulders as he took a deep, shuddering breath. Ah, God, if only this was just a bad dream and any minute he was going to wake up with Maddie begging him for breakfast. He bolted out of the chair and began to pace.

  "I hate this," he muttered.

  "Hate what?" Roman asked.

  Royal wouldn't look at them, knowing they'd see panic in his eyes.

  "The gathering of family. It makes Maddie's condition seem…"

  He couldn't finish the sentence. He didn't have to. There was no way they could miss the point. Families gathered for various reasons. Births. Holidays. Illnesses. Deaths.

  He shuddered. Ah, God.

  All they could do was wait.

  * * *

  Seven hours into Royal's hell, his daughter woke up screaming. Royal was out of his chair in the waiting room of ICU before anyone had time to react. He was halfway through the doors when his brothers stopped him.

  "Wait," Ryder urged, nervously eyeing the bed at the other end of the ward where he knew his niece was lying. Already nurses were hovering around her. "Don't make matters worse."

  "They can't get any worse," Royal argued, and would have pulled away but for Roman's terse remark.

  "Yes, they could," Roman said sharply. "She could be dead. Now let them do their work. If they need us, they know where we are."