This was the last time he’d be kept away from Maxie because they weren’t married. They were damn well going to work through her issues and get married as soon as possible. In his book, their I love yous weren’t new, they were years in the feeling … and they’d wasted enough time apart.
“Mr. Monroe?” A nurse walked through the door and called out his name.
Lucas nodded. “That’s me.”
His friends turned, as eager for news as he was.
“You can come back and see Ms. Sullivan now.”
Lucas expelled a long breath of relief. “I’ll fill you guys in as soon as I can,” he promised, and followed the woman through the double doors.
They passed a row of closed curtains and finally came to the corner cubicle. “In here. She’s expecting you,” the nurse said.
Lucas nodded. “Thank you.” His heart galloped inside his chest as he pushed the curtain aside and stepped into the small enclosed area.
Maxie lay on a hospital bed, her head back against the pillows, her skin pale. A slight bruise marred one cheek, and anger swamped Lucas along with a sense of futility that he hadn’t been there to prevent her from getting hurt. Logically he knew he couldn’t be with her every minute of every day, but in this case, his anger was warranted. He’d relied on false information, and she’d been out alone, exposed to Bernardi.
He quietly stepped into the room, and she stirred, her big brown eyes settling on his. In that one instant, he affirmed that she was everything he wanted and cared about, and he’d do anything to fix whatever had been wrong over the last several weeks or so.
Anything to make her his for good.
* * *
Maxie was dizzy and her head hurt, but there was no better sight than Lucas walking in. She’d been asking for him for the past hour, but they’d insisted on checking her for injuries and making sure the baby was okay. She’d have been happier if Lucas had been here the entire time. But at least he was here now.
He strode over and clasped her hand, but it wasn’t enough. The next thing she knew, his arms were wrapped solidly around her, holding her tight, and the tears she’d been holding back since Bernardi had approached her fell freely.
“I’m sorry,” she said, sniffling against his shirt.
“For what?” He pulled back and met her gaze, all the worry he’d been through in his expression, all the love he felt for her in his eyes.
She swallowed hard. “For how I’ve acted lately.”
A corner of his mouth kicked up in a half smile. “We’ll get to that.”
He brushed her hair off her face, studying her intently. “Are you really okay?”
She nodded, regretting it immediately. The pain seared through her skull. “Just a bad headache.”
“Are you up to telling me what happened?”
She wasn’t ready to tell him about the baby. Not until this mess with Keith was out and behind them. “Bernardi walked up to me on the street, grabbed my arm, and said I was coming with him. That the cops in the Caymans got a decoy he sent instead of going himself because he suspected a trap. I started walking with him, but the minute I saw the car, all the TV talk shows I’ve seen telling you not to get into a vehicle and go to a second location with a kidnapper came back to me. I knew I’d risk anything to stay where I was.”
“Smart girl,” he murmured.
She shrugged, trying not to remember the abject fear and just relay the story. “I let myself go limp and fell to the ground, lying down flat. He was so angry. He tried to yank me up, and when I wouldn’t go, he slapped me. That’s when my head hit the concrete.”
A low growl escaped Lucas’ throat. “Are you okay?”
“They’re watching me for a concussion.”
He pulled in a deep breath. “What happened next?”
“Next thing I knew, someone tackled him, throwing him off me. His gun fell near me, I grabbed it…”
His entire body trembled. “Jesus. And I thought there was nothing worse than getting the phone call from Gold telling me they’d gotten the wrong guy. I tried to reach you. I kept dialing. Eventually I called Nick, who said you were at a doctor’s appointment,” Lucas said, his gaze narrowing, as if that piece of information had been lost in his panic and he was just now remembering it.
Her face flushed with heat. “Right. About that…”
He pushed himself onto the edge of the bed, scooting in beside her. “You don’t have to report your every move to me, but—”
She drew a deep breath. “It’s all tied to how I’ve been acting lately.”
She drew nervous circles on the hospital blanket. “It turns out I’m pregnant.” She paused to let that piece of information sink in.
He blinked. “Pregnant.”
“Yep.”
“As in having a baby. My baby.”
She caught herself before nodding. “Yes. And I didn’t handle the news well at all. After everything I went through last time, I panicked. I couldn’t imagine living every day of the next nine months wondering when something was going to go wrong. I was petrified of losing the baby, of the pain, the depression, the hurt, the loss.” Tears were flowing freely now.
He brushed them away with his thumb, looking dazed himself. “Are you telling me you were at the doctor to… end the pregnancy?” he asked, the words sounding torn from his throat.
“No! No. I never once considered that possibility.”