The first sound Brittany heard when she opened her eyes was a snore, followed by the beeping of monitors. She tried to lift her head but pain shot through her and she groaned instead, her mouth dry and filled with the taste of medicine.
She frowned, wondering why she was hooked up to monitors and had an IV in her arm. Trey’s head rested near her legs and she realized he was the one who was snoring.
Wincing, she raised one hand, Bandages covered her other hand. Still she reached out and touched Trey’s head. “Trey?”
He bolted upright, blinking. His gaze focused on her and his eyes widened. The beginnings of a beard gave him a roguish air but exhaustion lined his strong features.
Smiling from ear-to-ear, he pushed the orange button on the remote control device next to her. “Brittany, my love.”
Standing, he kissed her lips, her eyes, her forehead, his wet cheeks rubbing against hers. The sight of his tears brought back the memories in stunning force.
“The baby?”
“Aw, Brit.” He leaned his head against her forehead. “Brit…”
She pressed her bandaged hand to her stomach and screamed, agony twisting through her.
Trey’s firm hold stilled her. “You’re going to aggravate your incision.”
She sobbed against his chest as a voice rang over the room’s intercom. “Is there a problem? The monitor is indicating Mrs. Wilson’s pulse is increasing.”
“Brittany has awakened.”
“We’ll send her nurse right in.”
“There was nothing that could be done for her,” Trey explained after the nurse closed the line. “Once you were stabilized, your labor was induced and a C-section performed.”
After all the pain in her life, this was the absolute worst. She felt empty and alone, the price of Karl’s revenge almost too much. Anguish and heartache stole everything else and bitter tears racked her.
Trey murmured comforting words, still holding her and placing tender kisses on her eyelids, forehead and lips.
“You’ll have other children. Lots of them.”
She didn’t want other children. She’d wanted her daughter. Trey’s baby.
A realization almost as devastating struck her. Trey would leave. He’d married her for their baby and had been ready to walk away from them before this nightmare began.
Resigned, Brittany fell back on the pillows and stared at the wall, her cries little more than whimpers. Bone-deep hopelessness carved out her soul, the desire to join her daughter filling her.
“You’ve been out a week, Brittany,” Trey told her in an anguished voice. “The worst goddamn week of my life.”
The nurse walked in and smiled, removing her stethoscope from around her neck and setting the earpiece in place. “Welcome back, Mrs. Wilson.”
Brittany didn’t respond, just laid there while the nurse checked her, drew some blood and gave her fresh fluids for her IVs. “I’ll return with pain meds and something to calm you.”
She still didn’t respond, not caring.
When the nurse completed her examination, Brittany realized she was alone. Trey had left. Placing her hand on her belly, Brittany sobbed all over again. Though she hadn’t purchased it, she’d chosen the outfit she’d intended to bring the baby home in. It was going to be cream-colored and would’ve matched the peignoir she wanted.
“Brittany?”
She recognized the husky voice as soon as her name was spoken. My God, she couldn’t escape this woman. First Sylvia had visited when Trey was in the hospital and now she was there to see Brittany.
“Go away, Sylvia,” Brittany sniffled, her eyes closed. “Trey isn’t here.”
“Trey is in the hallway, honey.”
“Then why are you in here?”
“Maybe because it’s my job. I’ve been your attending physician since you were admitted.”
Brittany’s eyes flew open. Sure enough Sylvia stood in scrubs, still oozing sex appeal. Placing Brittany’s chart on the rolling table, she flipped through the pages before setting it aside. She hovered, shining her small flashlight into Brittany’s watery eyes.
“Look up,” she directed.
Brittany did as instructed, wondering what the other woman could see through Brittany’s tears.
Sylvia sighed and sat in the chair. “How are you feeling?”
Brittany shrugged, unable to articulate her pain.
“If this situation is too awkward, I can always have another doctor care for you.”
“I was going to have Jennifer as my hairstylist,” she countered. “You haven’t prescribed an overdose for me so I suppose I’ll keep you. It doesn’t matter anyway.”
“Of course it matters. I made Trey the same offer but he was too inconsolable to make the decision. Bryson decided.”
“Trey was inconsolable?”
Shock entered Sylvia’s features. “About as heartbroken as you were when he’d been shot.”
“Trey and I are getting a divorce.”
“Even if that were true, which I doubt it is, he could still care enough to worry.” She stood and resumed her examination. “With the way he adores you, if you hadn’t made it, he would’ve gone to the morgue and pumped more bullets into his cousin.”
“K-Karl’s dead?”
Checking Brittany’s incision, Sylvia nodded, the scent of citrus not quite able to cover the lingering smell of cigarettes. “Quite. I’m sure Trey will tell all. From news reports he had no choice, although he has been reassigned to desk duty pending an investigation.”
Brittany wanted to feel remorse at hearing of Karl’s death but all she felt was relief and vindication.
“All right, young lady. Rest today. You’re getting out of bed tomorrow.”
Brittany cursed, remembering Trey’s pain when he had to walk the first time after his surgery.
Sylvia laughed, heading to the door. “Oh yeah, you’re Trey’s wife.”
✽ ✽ ✽
Through a haze of pain medicines and sedatives, Brittany greeted a steady flow of visitors—Bryson, Mrs. Wilson, who’d come in when she found out about Brittany, Spenser and Mitchell, Jennifer, Cedric, Officer Wekler and a host of other police officers who were friends of Trey.
By the time the drugs wore off and she could greet people with some intelligence, she and Trey were alone. Holding her hand, he kissed her.
“You killed him.”
Trey didn’t dissemble or pretend ignorance. “In the end he left me no choice. He went for my gun.” No remorse. No guilt. Just ruthless satisfaction. “He raped you, terrorized you and almost killed you.”
He’d done so much more and Brittany knew she’d never recover. “I intended to tell you on your next day off. I didn’t know where to begin. I had so many different thoughts going on in my head—”
“All of which were dead on. Do you remember Spenser asking you to hold on?”
“Vaguely.”
“She got Mitchell on the other end. He heard. At the same time Bryson came in and told me Karl asked to crash at the crib.” Trey rubbed his eyes. “Karl used a cell phone spying program to tap into your line.”
“He told you that?”
“No but the investigation has uncovered that.” Trey took a brush from the stand next to the bed, loosened her hair and began styling it. “We’ll talk about this some other time. After I finish my job as your lady’s maid, I’ll call the nurse for your medication.”
Brittany sighed at Trey’s ministrations, cherishing this moment with him when they had so few left together. “Sylvia said she would have me walk tomorrow.”
“She told me. She also told me she offered to pass your case to someone else.”
“Did you know she was a physician?” She wouldn’t comment on her discussion with Sylvia. Soon Trey would be free to pursue her.
“Fuck no, baby girl. A fucking leaf would’ve blown me over I was so damned shocked.”
He braided her hair into a single plait. “I didn’t know her last name until I was told Dr. Meadows would talk to me and she walked in.”
Tears slid down Brittany’s cheeks. Trey swiped them away with the pads of his fingers.
“Do you know how torn up I’ve been? The first twenty-four hours you were in very critical condition.” He stopped and shook his head. “Do you know what your death would’ve done to me? I’ve mourned the baby but losing you would’ve destroyed me. The pain I’ve been through this past week. Fuck, Brittany. I’d prefer to be beaten to a bloody pulp than to have to go through this ever again.”
So it would end between them even before she was discharged from the hospital. “I know you’re leaving me. Especially now since the baby is gone and we have no reason to be together.” Her emotions were wrung out and she decided it was a useless exercise to lie. “I love you. I’ll always love you but I understand better than you think. I know you’re fallible, subject to the same fear as everyone else.” Her speech wore her out and she just wanted to sink into oblivion. “I’ve survived a lot. I’ll survive the loss of our baby and our divorce too.”
Somehow she would. She was stronger than she gave herself credit for and she’d have to dig deep to overcome this latest tragedy.
Trey’s mouth slanted over hers and he laughed. “What the hell am I going to do with you? I’ve been an asshole and a motherfucker. Just what you called me. But I give in, baby girl. I love you with all my heart and soul. It almost took me losing you to realize I can’t live without you. I have loved you for a very long time and it doesn’t matter if we have a year, a decade or a century left to our lives, I don’t want to live it without you by my side.”
“Truly?”
“Truly, Brittany. You’re stuck with me for eternity.”