Page 19 of Dangerous Secrets

The next thing I know I’m in a car with two of my brothers leaning over me doting on me. Tony sits on one side, Micah on the other. Soren is driving. I blink my eyes open only to clamp them shut again as headlights flash in my face. I moan and try to move, but someone has their hands gripping my side hard.

“Move faster, Sor. She’s bad.” Tony pushes hair out of my face but I’m in and out of consciousness. Only when the car stops and they drag me out do I fully rouse. I cry out in pain, but they don’t stop.

“Get her up here,” Soren says, and I’m coherent enough to see a glowing blue sign with a white cross on it. They’ve brought me to the clinic, which is good. They’ll be able to stitch me up and give me blood too. It might be dangerous for the baby though, so I need to get the doc alone.

“Boys… please. I’m not dead yet. Just take it easy. It fucking hurts.” With my arms draped around Micah and Tony’s shoulders, I try to keep my feet under me. The doctor—Chip—greets us at the door and hurries us into the back where he has a room prepared. It’s so bright I squint against the light but let them guide me to the table in the center with even brighter lights shining down onto it. I feel hands on my clothing, working to pull it off, and I attempt to help only to have. My arms heaved over my head as my shirt is torn off.

“Fuck’s sake, Bee. Look at you.” Soren tosses my bloody shirt as he helps me onto the bed. There is so much blood caked to my side I can’t see what’s cut and what’s just stained, but the doctor clicks his tongue.

“We need sutures. Get back boys.”

Never in my life have I been injured like this. I’ve seen my share of cuts and bruises, but most of them were on my brothers’ bodies. The only thing I can say is that Rome was stronger than I thought, or maybe I just let my feelings for him make me weak. I was hesitant to strike, didn’t want to hurt him too badly.

I lie on the bed on my side in just my bra and panties as the doctor works, washing me then stabbing me with a needle as long as my fucking arm. At least the pain is gone as he stitches me up. Soren and Tony talk quietly, and I have no idea where Micah went but I don’t see him. I’m in a lot of pain still in other parts of my body too, which concerns me.

“Uh, guys can I speak to the doctor alone?” With the cramping I’m having, I fear the baby is hurting too, and I don’t want to lose it.

“What the hell happened? You never get hurt. You never get close enough to your target to get hurt. Was it Gusev?” Soren leans over me, brooding. His angry features are only communicating how he worries about me, nothing more, but they’re unnecessary.

“Please, Soren, it’s female stuff. I’m hurting. We can talk later.” For good measure I clutch my lower abdomen and he steps back. None of my brothers want to watch me get a pelvic exam, at least, I hope not. And I’m right. They back off and scowl at me, but they leave me alone.

“We’ll be back.” Tony smooths some hair out of my face before he follows, but then I’m alone with Chip.

“Everything okay? Where do you have pain?” His fingers palpate my hip and side. I roll to my back and try to relax. It isn’t like I haven’t seen a doctor before, or that I’m shy in my undergarments. I’m just nervous about my brothers finding out I’m pregnant. That will be a career killer immediately, and someone else will step in to kill Roman and his brothers. I can’t let that happen.

So I do the only thing I can think of. I bluff. “Can you reach my pants?” I wiggle my fingers as he bends to pick them up. They’re soaked in blood, but I manage to pull my knife out of the pocket slowly without him seeing. Then I grab his shirt and put the knife to his neck and stare him in the eye. I may not be stronger than Rome, but this guy is a joke.

“If you tell my brothers anything, I will kill you. Do you understand?”

His throat constricts, and he stares at my hand as he nods. Then I watch his Adam’s apple bob and he raises his hands in surrender. We’ve been here several times. He’s Mickey’s guy. Which means he’s used to shit like this anyway. It also means I need another threat to make sure my secrets are well guarded.

“Mickey either. Got it? I will gut you like the pig you are if anyone finds out.”

“Threats aren’t necessary, Bianca. You have doctor-patient privilege.” He takes a step back but leaves his hands in the air, and I keep the knife poised to act at any second. “What is it?”

The cramps are bad, bad enough I fear I may be losing the baby. I took that kick hard and the fall even harder and even though the amount of anxiety I have about this is irrational, I can’t stop it. I didn’t realize how much I want this baby until now.

“I’m pregnant, and I…” My eyes well up with tears. “I’m afraid.” My hand trembles with the knife in hand and I can barely see.

Chip takes my hand gently by the wrist and lowers it. “You don’t need that knife, hun. I’m not going to speak a word to anyone.” I feel the knife slip from my grip and he cautiously lays me back on the bed. “You need to stay lying down. I was going to give you a few units of blood, but I appreciate you telling me you are pregnant. We need to be even more careful now because blood transfusions can be dangerous to a fetus.”

I feel weak and vulnerable. I can’t lay here sobbing on a table, covered in blood, almost naked, with a stranger touching me. This isn’t L’ombra. This is a weak woman who is falling apart. It isn’t me.

“Please, help me. I don’t want to lose the baby. No one knows about it.” I am blubbering but I keep my voice as quiet as I can. I have no idea where my brothers are, but if they are within earshot, I’ll lose everything.

“Okay, take a deep breath. I’m going to get an ultrasound machine and I’ll send the guys away. I’m keeping you here overnight and there is nothing they can do.”

I snatch his wrist and hold it with every ounce of strength I have left. “They cannot know.”

“They won’t know a thing, Bianca. Remember, doctor-patient privilege.” He takes my hand from his wrist and walks away and I’m left shivering on the table while he’s gone. The room is much like any other exam room, but I have a feeling they don’t usually see stab victims like me here, let alone perform surgery like the one I just had. At least the pain at the laceration site is gone. Whatever he numbed me with really worked. I try to focus on things around me to keep my mind calm, but with the blood loss my eyes won’t really focus. I’m tired and I have to fight to stay awake.

When Chip returns he pushes a large machine. He also has a load of blankets and a gown draped over the machine, which he helps me into, then covers me to my waist. When I’m situated back on the bed, he plugs the machine in and stands at my side. “I need to start an IV. Since we can’t do blood, we will do a drip of saline. Your liver will definitely help pick up the slack, but you’ll feel weak for a few days. That’s okay, though because you’ll have to do light duty. No more chasing bad guys.” He smiles awkwardly and I can tell he isn’t very informed about what I do.

“So the baby?” I ask, still shivering. It’s cold as fuck in here, almost like it’s a morgue not a clinic.

“Let’s see the little guy.” Chip turns to the ultrasound machine and pushes buttons and I raise the gown up over my belly. I’m not really showing much, but I can feel the way my stomach is more firm than normal. He turns and with gloved hands presses on my stomach gently and I wince. “Does that hurt?”

“Yeah, like a bruise.”

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