Chapter Ten
Tyler Preston spent the next twenty-four hours in the hospital, at his – apparently very pregnant – girlfriend’s side.
Girlfriend. Yeah, that was what the nurse’s kept referring to her as, so in a way, he had just accepted it.
He’d had to accept that he was going to be a father, and that the grandfather of that unborn child had orchestrated the murder of his own father, so if he’d managed to accept all of that, then surely he could accept that he had a girlfriend.
Still, he’d never imagined he would be the type of guy to settle down and have a relationship but…this was Jamia. She was different from all the other girls he’d met. She was special. She was…well…she was the mother of his kid. Wow. Yeah. They were having a kid. He totally, one hundred per cent wasn’t ready for that, but after she’d been admitted to hospital with the gunshot wound to the shoulder, they’d done some routine tests and confirmed that her fears had been correct about her late period. Apparently their contraceptive methods hadn’t been entirely successful.
Still…if they could handle a showdown with a bunch of gangsters, surely they could handle a kid together.
Tyler reached out and held the spoonful of soup to her mouth insistently. “You really need to try and eat this.”
“But it’s disgusting,” she protested wearily, rolling her eyes.
“Look, as soon as we get out of here, I’ll get you some seriously awesome NYC food, I promise,” he smiled. “But for now, you’re just gonna have to cope with the hospital shit.”
She groaned and opened her mouth to accept the soup, then smiled and glanced him up and down. “Why don’t you come here and give me a snuggle?” She patted the bed beside her and scooted a bit to the side.
He went to the door of their private hospital room and shut it to block out the sounds coming from the hallway. As he walked back to the raised bed he cocked his eyebrow at her.
“Do you want some of this?” he asked, wiggling his hips in her direction.
She giggled at his antics. “Right now I just need you to hold me. The other can wait until you get me out of here.”
He laid down beside her and placed his hand on her flat stomach, rubbing lightly.
“When I heard that gunshot I was so frightened and then all the blood…Your dad was so angry at his guy for shooting you that the cops barely got him pulled off by the time they got there,” he whispered. “That guy could’ve killed you or this little guy, and I don’t know what I would do.”
“Oh, little guy, is it? It could be a girl.”
She ran her fingers slowly through his hair as he continued to stroke her belly. It was hard to believe that there was a little life growing inside her. She’d never thought about being with someone permanently, let alone having a child. Tyler was opening her world up in more ways than one.
“Boy or girl, I don’t care, babes. As long as you are both safe I’m a happy man. I can see that I’m going to have to get my shit together since I’ve got a girlfriend and a baby on the way. I guess it’s time for me to start acting like an adult and not just a playboy,” he said. He looked into her eyes hoping to see her approval.
“What are you going to do? You’re rich so you don’t really have to do anything. You can be a Mr. Mom,” she said with a laugh.
“I need to do something with myself. I need to prove myself to you, to my dad. He would’ve loved being a grandfather. He would want the business to go on and stay in the family. I’m gonna talk to Michael about it and ease myself into it gently,” he said. “I’m going to leave a legacy for this little one.”
“How is Michael? Is he ok? Did the cops get my dad?” she asked pushing herself into a sitting position and gasping in pain as her shoulder pulled.
“Take it easy, babes. Everything is fine. The cops had been keeping an eye on your dad for some of his more unsavory activities and it didn’t take them long to get there after your 911 call. There was so much ruckus after you got shot your dad forgot all about Michael. He’s coming back later to check and see how you’re doing.”
“That’s why I had to get away from my dad and his lifestyle. He corrupts everything he touches,” she said as tears began to fall from her eyes. She fell back on the bed grasping her injured shoulder.
“The police have him for kidnapping now, and that woman who was there was a dirty cop. She was in charge of my dad’s case and she’s in bed with Frank. The cops took her in too,” he said. “The whole ordeal is over now, thanks to you and Michael.”
“I’m just glad we got there in time. My father would not have hesitated to kill him if he didn’t get what he wanted,” she said.
“Well, you have a new best friend in Michael. The way you went charging in there and getting yourself shot. He’s not going to forget that you did that for him,” he said. He bent down to give her a gentle kiss and brush the hair back from her brow.
Two seconds later there was a sharp knock at the door.
“Come in!” called Tyler.
“Good afternoon,” announced the plump but muscular man in his forties who stepped into their small hospital room. “How are you doing Miss Morgan?”
“I’ve been better,” Jamia answered politely.
The man who had just walked in was wearing a suit, and Tyler had a good idea what this was about seeing as he had had a word with the local police department a couple of hours earlier, while Jamia had been unconscious having the bullet removed from her shoulder.
“In light of your intelligence, commitment and bravery over the course of this case, I’d like to talk to you about offering you a place at the police academy this coming September.”
Jamia gasped, smiled, and then looked at Tyler, then a sudden frown came over her features, at which, the man smiled again, and continued, “Mr. Preston here has also informed me of your happy news. Many congratulations. And, I can assure you, it won’t interfere with our offer of a place.”
He held out his hand for a shake.
Tyler looked at her proudly, then nodded in encouragement. “You can do it,” he whispered. “I believe in you. And I love you.”
“I love you too,” Jamia whispered back.
It was the first time they’d told one another, but it wouldn’t be the last.
Jamia reached out and shook the hand of the police commissioner. It was the start of a brand new life for the both of them…no wait, for all three of them!
His Prey
By: Cassidy Rowe