Page 24 of Kade

They both turned to gawk at Angel, who blinked blearily at them. She let out a little cough and tried to sit up, but Kade pushed her back down.

“Easy,moye serdste.” He pushed the nurse’s call button. “You need to lie back.”

Angel winced when her eyes met the overhead light. Where was she, and who was pregnant? She’d overhead them talking about it when she woke up. Maybe Lily? Nikoli had said “our girl.”

She looked around and realized she was in a hospital room, hooked up to an IV machine. What the hell?

“Did you need something, Mr. Kincaid?”

Angel followed the sound of the voice to the doorway. A young woman, blonde and blue eyed, stood there in scrubs. Very pretty.

“She’s awake.”

The nurse smiled and hurried over. “Good to see you finally awake and alert, Mrs. Kincaid. I’m Marcy, your nurse for now. I’m just going to check your vitals.” She shone a light in Angel’s eyes, earning her the most hateful look she could muster up. “I’m sorry, but you have a nasty concussion, and I have to keep an eye on you. Checking your pupils is a part of that.”

Angel waited impatiently as the nurse did her thing. Her head was spinning on top of a beast of a headache. What she needed was some ibuprofen and to know why the hell she was in the hospital.

“Vitals are all good. Your blood pressure is a little high, but that could be due to the headache I’m sure you have. I’ll get you some acetaminophen for that…”

“I’d rather have some Motrin if you have it.” Tylenol was useless for headaches. At least for her.

“That is not a good idea, Mrs. Kincaid. Ibuprofen is bad for the baby.”

“Baby?”

“You didn’t tell her?” The nurse looked to Kade, who shook his head. “Well, that means I get to tell you the good news. You’re pregnant.”

“What?” Angel could only stare at her, dumbfounded. Pregnant?

“We found it when we ran your labs earlier.” The nurse gave her another warm smile. “We generally don’t give ibuprofen to pregnant women. It can double the risk of miscarriage. You’re going to have to make do with acetaminophen.”

A baby. Another little nugget. Her hand went to her abdomen. Pregnant. Everything disappeared—the nurse, Kade, Nikoli. The word “pregnant” bounced like a volleyball between her ears. Could it really be true? Fear replaced the joy as soon as thoughts of her last nugget invaded her happiness. What if she couldn’t protect this one either? Surely, God wouldn’t give her a child just to take him from her again.Please, do not put me through that pain again, dear Lord. Please.

“Do you have an OB yet?” Nurse Marcy asked, checking the IV.

She took several deep breaths, trying to center herself and calm her nerves. “Uhhh…no.” Her voice came out shaky, but the nurse just patted her hand.

“We have several excellent ones on staff. I’ll make sure to get you a list before they release you tomorrow. Everything looks good, and I’ll be back in a few minutes with some pain meds.”

When the nurse left, Angel turned to stare at her husband, confused. “What is going on?”

“You don’t remember what happened earlier?” Kade got her a cup of water and helped her to sit up. Not a good idea. Her head swam. She closed her eyes to block out the spinning walls.

“No. I remember going to the bank, then the bar. The contractor wasn’t there. He never showed. His boss came over to do the walkthrough and…” She saw Jim walking through the doors, handing her…handing her something…an envelope.

She gasped and sat straight up, ignoring the dizziness. “Oh, God. Kade. The pictures. There were pictures.”

“Easy,moye serdste. I know all about the pictures. Lay back and rest, sweetheart. You’re safe.”

“Youaresafe,sestra. I swear it.”

Viktor’s voice startled her. “Viktor?”

“He’s on speakerphone.” Nik took hold of her other hand. “No one is getting near you or our new niece or nephew. Even if I have to fly you to Russia.”

“Russia? Why would I go to Russia?”

“It’s not a bad idea,” Viktor agreed. “She could stay with Mama and Papa, surrounded by the military. The cartel wouldn’t dare try to get to her there.”

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