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  I hear a commotion coming from upstairs, my heart starts beating rapidly. My head jerks up as I hear something heavy hit the floor and a loud groan. What the hell? I hear feet running across the floor, it sounds like more than one person. Shit, he has help! I’m so dead. I say a silent prayer. “Shane, my love, my man. I love you more than my life. I pray you’re ok.” I whisper. I look down to my stomach. “My baby. I’m so sorry that I couldn’t protect you and give you the life you deserve. I love you, my baby. We’ll be together in the end. We’ll be together forever.” I move to my knees and lay my head on my arm again, crying silent tears.

  The door upstairs slams open with a loud bang. My head turns automatically, the light blinding me again. “Allieeeee!” Shane! Oh, my God! My Shane! Footsteps running fast down the stairs and the light above me flicks on. I close my eyes, not able to withstand the brightness. I feel the ropes being tugged and pulled, but they aren’t pulling off. I squint and see Shane pull a knife from his boot and cut the ropes. I collapse, his strong arms catching me, holding me to him.

  He sweeps my hair away from my face and lightly touches my left cheek. “Mother Fucker!” He screams. I hear Jesse behind me yelling his opinion as well. Jesse’s here!

  I look in my love’s eyes that are set with determination and anger. “Shane,” I croak. He smooth’s my hair and kisses my head.

  “Shhhh, love. Try not to talk. I’m getting you out of here.” He looks over at Jesse and nods. I lay my head against his chest as he picks me up. I’m too exhausted to argue that he’s still hurt and shouldn’t be carrying me. My eyes close and I’m in darkness again.

  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

  I carry my girl upstairs and start to head for the front door. “Jesse, come on, Stiles will take care of that scum bag. We need to get our girl to the hospital,” I yell. He follows me, opens the door, and leads us to his Jeep. He opens the back door and I climb in with Allie. After he fastens us in, he opens the back hatch. He reappears at our door, unfolding a blanket, and lays it over my trembling girl. “Thanks, mate.” He nods and runs around the car, and starts it up. We move out so fast I have to hold my girl tighter.

  I keep holding her close as we fly down the street, towards the highway. Thank fuck the GPS I had put on her phone allowed us to find her quickly. She was only about 20 minutes away from my bar, in a house that had a ‘condemned’ sign on the front door. The place was fucking falling apart. It’s a wonder the floor didn’t cave in on her.

  I hear her moan and look down, her body shaking. She pushes her face into my chest. “I gotcha, love. I gotcha.” I look at Jesse in the rear view mirror. “Step on it, mate.” He nods back at me and floors it.

  “I— I tried. Table. Can’t breathe.” She calls out. I keep running my hand over her arms, pulling the blanket tighter around her. “Can’t, I can’t move it.” I lay my head on hers and keep whispering to her, trying to calm her. Fuck! I feel so helpless. I don’t know what to do to help her.

  We arrive at the hospital Emergency, Jesse’s Jeep skidding into the drive. He runs into the ER door and comes back out with a nurse, helping her push a gurney to our door. A doctor comes running out behind and tries to take Allie from me. Oh, fuck no! That ain’t gonna happen. “I’ve fucking got her,” I growl. The doctor reaches in and unfastens the seat belt around us and grabs my arm to help me up. I walk over with my girl laying her down on the gurney, gently. I’m pushed aside as they work on her. The nurse immediately places an oxygen mask over her mouth, the doctor taking her pulse, all while they run with the gurney into the doorway.

  I stand there for a minute, unsure of where to go. They just took my girl. I start to head to the door when Jesse puts his hand on my chest. “Man, have a durry. Let’s go sit over there,” Jesse says pointing to a bench. “She’ll be in there for a while, so let’s just hang out here.” He slaps me on the shoulder. “She’s in the right place, mate. They’ll take care of her.” He winks. We walk over and sit. I immediately light up a durry and hold up the pack to Jesse. He doesn’t smoke, but I figure what the hell? Apparently, he figured that as well because he took one, taking my lighter he lights it, inhaling deeply. He turns to me and smiles, letting out a stream of smoke. “Shit, thanks. I really needed this.”

  I smack his shoulder. “No problem, mate. Happy to help.” We sit in silence. I’m on my second durry now. Chain smoking like there is no tomorrow. Don’t judge. We’ve been through a lot, and I deserve it right now.

  Jesse takes another huge drag, blowing out the smoke in a sigh. He looks at me, worry in his eyes. “Fuck, mate. You scared the shit outta me. After you cut off our conversation, I high tailed it to the airport parking lot and found you lying on the ground next to your truck. I couldn’t get you to respond so I called an ambulance.” I take a long drag from my durry now. Shit, what he must have gone through. “By the time they got there, you kept pushing them away, saying you had to go get your girl. You have a pretty nasty bump on the back of your head. When I first got there, I really thought you were dead.” He puts his hand on my arm. “Glad you’re ok. I would have hated to lose my best friend.” I pat his shoulder and smile. My hand instinctively goes to the back of my head. Ow! Shit! He’s right that is a big bump. Eh, what’s one more?

  We sit out there, smoking and talking about all the events that lead to my girl. Stiles is one fucking fast man, in my book. He was on it so quick. I didn’t have much time to think. Jesse half dragged me to his Jeep, once the paramedics finally figured out that I was not going with them. He drove like a bat out of hell, following Stiles in his unmarked police car. I about died when I saw the house that mad man had my love in. Fucker! We flew out of the car once Jesse skidded it into the yard. We ran behind Stiles, his gun drawn. Ok. I limped really fast behind him, but I was still faster than Jesse. I was out for blood as we crashed through the front door. I landed right on top of that asshole, our breath being knocked out of us both. Stiles had to remove me from him as my fists beat in his face, simultaneously. I kept going even after I had beaten him into unconsciousness.

  I look at my hand, the knuckles all torn up and swollen with dried blood all over them.

  About the time Stiles got me up off that mother fucker and set me on my feet, Jesse yells ‘she’s down here’ and I took off again. He opens the door but I don’t wait for him, I head down the stairs, two at a time, pain in my leg killing me like a motherfucker. I pulled on the light string that hit me in the face and immediately see my girl, her arms hanging by ropes off a pipe. She was kneeling on a table, her head lying on her arm. Fuck I wanted to hit something, like that mother fucker upstairs, again, but I need to get my love.

  I’m shaken out of my thoughts by Jesse’s hand. “Dude, we need to get inside. A nurse just came out and said we can see Allie. Let’s go.”

  I get up and wince. Fuck, I think I screwed up my leg again. I half jog in through the sliding doors and see a nurse waving at us. I can’t get there fast enough. She leads us through more doors and down a hallway. I almost run into her as she stops at a room and holds a big curtain back. I nod quickly and enter. My girl looks so small in the bed, an I.V. stuck in her hand, an oxygen tube in her nose. I run over and stand by her, picking up her hand and kissing it. She doesn’t open her eyes.

  “We gave her a sedative to sleep and some pain medication. The I.V. is pumping a solution in her as she is extremely dehydrated.” The nurse says with a caring smile.

  I swallow hard and brush some hair away from my love’s face, tucking it behind her ear. She loves when I do that. “The baby,” I whisper. It was a statement, not a question.

  The nurse moves over to her other side, checking her pulse and I.V. She looks at me and smiles again. “The baby is just fine. Your brother-in law told us she was pregnant when you got here. We’re going to move her up to a room in a few minutes. It’s best we keep an eye on her tonight and continue the I.V.”

  I nod with my approval and quickly look over at Jesse. He’s sitting in a chair across the roo
m, arms on his knees, hands folded, almost like he’s praying. “I owe you, mate. I owe you so much,” I say with a shaky voice. Fuck, I’m going to cry. I never cry.

  He looks up at me, water in his eyes as well. “She’s my sis, I would do anything for her. But, you’re welcome.” He shows me his teeth with his wide smile and I can’t help but smile back. That’s my best friend and my almost brother in law. Couldn’t have asked for a better one.

  “You truly are a savior, aren’t you?” I smirk. We both start laughing.

  We wait around for another hour, me sitting next to her bed, holding and kissing her hand repeatedly. I never want to let go. Finally, they move her to a private room with me holding her hand alongside her bed, the entire way. Jesse went outside to call his dad and update him on everything.

  Once she is settled the nurse leaves the room, promising to bring me a coke. I don’t wait for her return as I climb into the bed, moving my love over gently. I laid her head on my shoulder and put her arm across my waist. This is where I need to be, with my sweet girl cuddled into me.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I open my eyes, the light streaming in through the blinds on the window. I look down at my girl and find her eyes open, staring at me. Thank fuck! I smile, half closing my eyes. I press my mouth against her forehead and just keep it there. “Fuck, you scared the shit out of me, girl.” I mouth to her skin.

  I feel her hand on my rough scruffy face and sigh. Opening my eyes, I look into hers, the gleam returning to them.

  “My sexy man.” She croaks. I smile and reach over her and grab the cup of water from the night stand. I bring the straw to her dry lips and she sucks from it greedily. She nods, and I pull the straw away and place the cup back on the table. “Thank you, darling,” she says much more clearly. She snuggles into my chest and rubs it through my t-shirt. “I missed this, touching you, smelling your unique smell. My sexy man.” She smiles up at me, her eyes lighting up a bit.

  I can’t help but hold her tighter. I look up to the ceiling and say a silent prayer. Thank you, God, for taking care of my girl. I lay my head on top of hers and take a deep breath. “Oh, my love. I’m so thankful you and our baby are ok. I—” I get choked up. “I couldn’t live without you, I couldn’t—” She places two fingers on my lips and leans up to kiss my chin.

  “I know.” She sniffs, tears forming. “I know, darling.” She removes her fingers and puts her hand over her stomach. My hand covers hers. Looking back up into my eyes, she smiles. “We’re ok, now. Now that we are together.”

  Our tender moment is interrupted by a nurse walking into the room. She smiles and shakes her head at us. “Ok, I let you have her all night. Up. It’s my turn,” she says directly at me. I smile and kiss my girl one last time and groan as I get out of the too small bed. I stretch my aching body and can hear all the cracking my bones are doing in protest.

  “Shane, do you have your pills? You need to take one. We both need to get well again, darling,” Allie says looking at me. The nurse turns to me quickly.

  “Do you need something? Who’s your doctor?” She asks in concern.

  I smirk. “They’re in my pocket. All I need right now is a shower and a coke.” I wink and head into the bathroom. I feel so much better after I get cleaned up but I gotta tell you, it hurts like fuck when the water beats down on a bump on your head. Shit! When I get back into the room, there is a glass full of ice and three coke’s sitting next to it on Allie’s hospital table and two plates of food. My stomach growl’s just looking at it. My love smiles at me as she digs into her plate and points at mine. She doesn’t have to tell me twice, I’m fucking starving. It takes a lot of energy beating up a motherfucker and rescuing my girl.

  I sit in the chair, pulling it up as close as I can get to her bed and start shoveling food in my pie-hole. I hear her giggle with her mouth full. That’s my girl!

  We spend the day, watching T.V. from her bed. The staff here has gotten used to me being in it. Allie sleeps on and off and so do I, from time to time. I’m jolted awake when several people come into the room. Jesse, Cassie, Tuck, and Paxton all come right on in and make themselves at home. I don’t move from the bed. I’m not getting away from my snuggling girl unless someone tries to kick me out. Good luck with that!

  Allie wakes up and falls into Paxton’s waiting arms but she stays right next to me, as close as she can get. Paxton is crying all over her and making Allie cry in the process. I don’t mind though, she needs her best friend too, but I’m not sharing her for very long. We all sit around talking until a doctor walks in and tells us we all need to leave so he can check Allie over to see if he can release her. Over my dead body, bucko. Everyone shuffles out and tells us they will see us over at our house. I get out of the bed and stand there, arms crossed looking at the doctor. He winks and tells me I can stay. Fucking right I can stay.

  He releases my girl finally and tells us she needs to keep drinking a lot of water and see her OBGYN, whatever the fuck that is, to check on the baby as soon as she can. She is wheeled out of the hospital to my waiting truck. How the hell did that get here?

  Tuck gets out of my truck and runs around the back and opens the back seat door. His arm goes out to wave us in like a gentleman. I laugh, pick up my girl and climb in. We make it home in record time with speed demon driving. Allie and I snuggle and kiss all the way. Fuck, I missed this! My eyes look up at the rearview mirror, my mouth still locked with my girls, and see Tuck roll his eyes. Fuck, not him too!

  I carry my girl into our house, her giggles a grateful reminder that she’s in my arms. I stop abruptly to see the whole gang in the entryway, yelling and cheering. Balloons are all over the place along with streamers and a big banner over the stairs saying ‘Welcome Home’. We have amazing friends and family. I do a double take seeing my ole man standing there. Shit! I forgot he was coming to town today.

  Tears threaten as the crowd disperses and my dad walks towards us. He gives us both a huge hug, probably squashing my girl but she doesn’t seem to mind. He takes a step back and wipes tears from his eyes. Shit! He’s gonna make me fucking cry.

  “Dad,” I say trying to clear my throat. “This is my girl, Allie.” I turn to her and kiss her face. “Love, this is my dad, Steven Barton,” I say proudly. She smiles and reaches out her hand to him.

  “Oh, no! You’re gonna be my daughter-in-law, I think I deserve another hug.” He gently hugs her and she giggles. Best sound in the fucking world.

  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

  Wow! Now I see where Shane gets his gorgeous looks. His dad is hot even for his age. You can tell he really takes care of himself and must work out. He has those dark brown eyes too that I love so much.

  It’s getting harder to keep my eyes open as we all sit around talking. Shane’s dad is a hoot, now I know where he gets his awesome sense of humor too. Lana has been talking my ear off about how my book is already in the top 100 in Romance on Amazon and how the cover reveal is set for tomorrow.

  I let out a rather un-lady like yawn and snuggle into Shane’s chest. “Ok, our friends and family. My girl needs some sleep, apparently,” Shane laughs. I can hear his laughter in his chest and my head moves up and down with it. “Please lock up when you leave and thank you all for doing this. I can’t—” I look up to see his eyes watering. Oh, my sexy man. “We can’t thank you enough for being here for us.” He looks at his dad and tells him that he is staying in the guest room and to make himself comfortable. Steven thanks him and lets him know he is going to go to the tattoo shop for a bit and hang out with the guys.

  Everyone comes by us on their way out, patting our shoulders and arms and telling us both to heal fast. I am so comfy against my man that I barely register them. I feel light as he lifts me and takes me upstairs. He removes my clothes and cuddles up behind me, his arm wrapping around my middle, his hand over my breast. I sigh. I’m home.

  Startled, I wake hearing shouts coming from downstairs. I look at the clock and it’s only 6:00 AM. What the hell?
I slowly get up, my legs unsteady, slip on my robe and head down the stairs. I look into the living room, from the bottom of the stairs, as the voices get louder.

  “What the fuck, Stiles? How the hell did that happen? I could have lost my girl AND my unborn child and you can stand there and tell me he got off?” I see Shane pacing the floor and waving his arms in the air. I cover my heart with my hand as it beats faster. He got off. Does that mean Paul is out of jail and out there somewhere? Or is he talking about the mad man that took me? My body starts shaking.

  Shane turns and stops dead in his tracks, looking into my eyes. He walks over to me. My body moves into him quickly, and my face buries into his chest.

  “Fix it Stiles! Find that mother fucker and get him on something, anything! Get his ass back in jail before he does something desperate!” He yells across the room.

  I hear movement and turn my head to see Stiles walking towards us. My hands grasp Shane’s t-shirt and hold on tight. “I’m sorry, Allie. We did all that we could but legally we just couldn’t keep Paul. His accomplice is being charged though. I’ve assigned an undercover police officer to your case. He is posted outside in an unmarked car and will be following you around. He’s a friend of mine.” He smiles sadly. “His name is Dirk and wants to get this guy as much as we do. I gave Shane his number, he’ll give it to you. You call him if ever you see or hear anything suspicious, ok?”

  I leave my man’s warm arms and give Stiles a hug. “I know you’re doing everything you can. I appreciate it.” I give him a smile and go back to my sexy man’s warm embrace.

  Once he leaves, Shane walks me into the kitchen keeping his arm around me. He picks me up and sets me on the counter next to the coffee pot. He starts my mocha latte, which he has perfected and his coffee. While we wait, he perches in between my legs, my ankles going around him and my feet push into his fine bottom bringing him even closer. My arms instinctively go around his neck, my hands in his long soft hair and our mouths connect. I feel so loved. I am the luckiest girl in the universe. I get to have this every day, for the rest of our lives.