CHAPTER
I wince at the soreness in my shoulder, trying to figure out where I am. Blinking my eyes open, I take in the fancy equipment in the room and surmise I’m in the hospital. I grimace but remembering Jack shooting me, I’m grateful to be alive. But is my baby?
My good hand goes to my belly where I feel the bulge of life still inside. Thank God. This baby means everything to me. He and Axel. The two men in my life.
Seeing Jack with Axel and the gun, I couldn’t have stopped my scream. I’d been so happy and excited that everything was working out to plan. I had caught an early flight and then chartered a cab to take me to his office. Walking in on Jack holding a good in his hand, the thought racing through my mind then was that he was going to hurt Axel. Feeling helpless
I’m disappointed Axel isn’t with me in the hospital room. Unless. Panic seizes me. What if I am alive but after shooting me, he had gone after Axel next? Oh God, no I couldn’t lose him. We have too much to say to each other. We have a baby to raise.
My heart gripped with fear, I’m relieved when the door to the room open and Axel walks in. My eyes quickly scan him for injuries but he’s fine. He has a half-full bottle of water in one hand and looks haggard, unkempt for the first time since I’d met him. His hair is tousled and his blue shirt has the first couple of buttons undone. A bright red stain is on the sleeve of his shirt which I suspect is my blood. He’s not wearing the matching jacket to his pants and his tie is nowhere to be seen.
Our eyes meet and he stills for a moment surprised to find me awake.
“Joyce!” he cries and hurried over to my bed. “Oh thank God. I was worried sick baby.”
“Are you okay” I ask him, licking my dry lips.
“Am I okay? You’re the one who was shot.”
“I gathered,” I reply, shifting my bandaged shoulder and feeling the discomfort of pain. “What happened? I just felt the bullet go through my arm and I don’t remember anything.”
“Oh baby, I was stupid,” he professes. “I’m so sorry. I should have listened to you. I should have never met with Jack. I’m sorry for walking out on you when you fell and I’m sorry for not stopping you from leaving. I’ve been a jerk, Joyce and I’m so sorry. If something worse had happened to you or the baby, I wouldn’t know how to forgive myself.”
He brushes the hair from my forehead and I reach out to capture his hand with mine, linking our fingers. “It’s not your fault Axel. There’s no one to blame. I’ve made mistakes too. I dare say we’ll be making a lot more mistakes in the future but I should never have left. That’s not the way to work out whatever problem we have.”
Before we could say anything else a female doctor in her forties wearing a white lab coat walks into the room. She has a stethoscope hanging from her neck. She smiles seeing me, her gray eyes giving her a friendly look.
“Mrs. Ash, you’ve regained consciousness!” she announces. “And not a moment too soon. You’re husband has been giving my staff hell that we’re not doing our job properly.”
“Axel,” I scold and he looks properly chagrined.
“I didn’t mean anything by it Dr. Spence,” he murmurs as the doctor starts to check my vitals. “I was just worried, that’s all.”
She continues to ask me questions about how I feel and my arm before making notation on a chart that is then replaced on the small table at the foot of the bed. It is a doctor’s notepad so doctors can note the time of their evaluation and their general impression of their check-up.
“Your shoulders will be sore for a few weeks,” Dr. Spence informs me. “You had an exit wound so we just had to get out the fractured remains of bone and the pieces of material from the bullet. It may feel sore but move your hand about a bit so you’re hand doesn’t become stiff.”
“Okay,” I agree. “And the baby?”
“The baby wasn’t affected by the incident,” she explains. “Although an obstetrician will be by to organize a scan of the fetus to ensure there is no lasting impact but my estimate is that you’ll both be fine and will be discharged in a few days.”
“Days?” I ask in alarm. Despite the soreness of my arm, I am not feeling anyway different and would have liked to hear that I would be discharged tomorrow.
“We have to ensure an infection doesn’t set in before we discharge you,” Dr. Spence replies. “Then we’ll have to talk to you about taking care of the wound when you leave the hospital.”
“Okay, I understand,” I tell her.
“Good. Now I’ll leave you two alone. Also, the other male that was rushed here as well, the one who died. Do either of you know anyone who can identify him at the hospital’s morgue?”
My eyes widen at her words. Jack was dead?
“I’ll do it,” Axel volunteers and the nurse nods and leaves.
“Jack is dead?” I turn to question Axel. “How?”
“I shot him,” he answers. “I couldn’t afford the chance for him to shoot you again so I did what I had to. I told you Joyce. I don’t take kindly to anyone threatening you.”
“Oh my Axel.”
I pull him in for a hug and his arms go around my body to hug me, mindful not to disturb my shoulder. I feel him shudder against me. It couldn’t be easy to have killed someone. Especially someone you were close to at one point. I can’t imagine what he must be going through.
“He hurt you, Joyce,” he says with a tone choked with tears. “I was so scared when I saw him point the gun at you and when he pulled the trigger, I wanted to kill him. I wanted to hurt him so badly for shooting you.”
“Shh. It’s okay.”
“We were talking and everything went fine at first,” he continues. “But then he lost it as he usually does. I think something was wrong with him in the head. Maybe I should have paid him more mind. Maybe if I had gotten him help instead of just removing myself from our business agreement then he would have turned out better but I was selfish. I was just thinking about not wanting to be associated with him and have it ruin my business.”
“Oh Axel, you’re the least selfish person that I know,” I refute his claim. “I refuse to believe you didn’t try at one point or another to talk him out of his madness. He chose the path he took.”
“Maybe you’re write,” he sniffs. “I love you so much Joyce. I can’t stand the thought of anything happening to you. I wouldn’t want to live without you. From the very moment I saw you, I didn’t know then what it was, but I knew I had to have you.”
“I love you too Axel.” My arms tighten around him comfortingly. “And I’ll never walk out on you ever again. From now on, it’s you and me and soon this baby I’m carrying and we’ll make it work. Whatever we face we will make it work because our love is real babe.”
“I wish he’d found himself someone like you,” he whispers. “Someone who loved him despite his flaws. You make me want to be a better man, Joyce.”
“You know what,” he continues. “In the end, he apologized. I don’t know if he meant it but he says he never truly wanted to hurt us. In that moment, he reminded me- he reminded me of the way we used to be before all the bitterness.”
I feel Axel’s tears wetting my shoulder and my heart goes out to him. I hold him as he cries and feel humbled by this side of him. The side which isn’t professing to be macho and like he could deal with the world alone with no help from anyone. In that moment, with him relying on me for comfort, I’d never loved him more.