Page 10 of Little Deer
Fuzzy images filter in my mind, of the man who told me he’d get me out of there. Carrying me out of there. Trying to tell him about my milk…
Wait, my milk. I can’t feed Soren. I can’t pass on whatever they gave me to him. No, I can’t. But he can’t starve and he clearly isn’t willing to take the bottle. Fuck. What am I going to do? I don’t have my saved milk supply here. Or, did I have any left? My brain hurts as I try to remember, and a small whimper escapes me at the pressure in my head.
The sound gets an instant reaction from one of the men. His head turns quickly, and his hazel eyes collide with mine. Relief fills his eyes as he turns and walks toward me, which has the others stopping and looking at me too. “Bella,” the man croons softly as he sits down on the edge of the bed. “You’re safe.” He turns his head and jerks it to one of the men in the group. He’s older, with an observant air about him. He moves quickly to the other side of me, even as Kida rushes forward, relief clear on her face.
“Lucy,” she breathes, trying to rock Soren in her arms to quiet him. “Oh, thank God,” she breathes out on a half sob.
“S-S-Sor-r-en,” I stammer out, my throat dry and voice weak and husky.
“He’s fine,” she promises me, stepping around the man still sitting on the bed beside me. I can’t remember his name, and I’m not sure how to feel about him watching me so closely. She angles Soren toward me. “The doctor wants to check you before you hold him, to make sure you’re good.” She glares at thedoctor. “If you hurt her, I will kill you along with the others, do you understand me?”
“I like her,” one of the other women says, and my gaze shifts to her quickly. She’s beautiful, and she’s the one with the dog at her side. A dog that leaves her side with slow and purposeful steps to walk toward the end of the bed, following the doctor with a direct, warning gaze. As if he’s trying to echo Kida’s statement. “Hades,” the woman admonishes, but the dog only stops a few feet away from the doctor, and sits on his haunches. The doctor shifts uneasily.
“I need everyone out so I can examine the patient,” the doctor says stiffly. “Including the dog,” he adds with a pointed look at the woman.
“I’m not leaving,” Kida declares vehemently. Soren lets out an angry sound and Kida groans. “I’m sorry, chiquito,” she soothes, rocking him in her arms. She murmurs a string of words in Spanish that I can’t quite hear, but it only settles Soren slightly.
“We’ll leave,” the final woman offers, nodding at her and the final man in the room. She steps forward so I can see her, and again I’m struck with how beautiful and exotic she looks. She has kind, dark eyes, and she gently reaches down to pat my arm. “I’m Sofia, Lucy, and I can promise that you’re safe here. The other woman with the dog is named Rori, and she’s going to stay here to make sure you’re comfortable. If you’re uncomfortable, you just let her know and Hades will assist, yes?” I stare at her, unsure how to take that. Then she looks at the man sitting and says something in rapid Italian. The man answers and shakes his head firmly.
I glance at the woman, Rori, but she clearly doesn’t know what they’re saying either when her gaze connects with mine. She gives a small shrug. “Get used to it. I spend most of my time not understanding a word between some of them.”
“We’ll have to start doing the same,” Kida replies in Spanish. Rori smirks and agrees right back, making Kida stare at her in shock. A small smile kicks at my lips.
“All of you need to get out so I can examine my patient,” the doctor suddenly snaps, making everyone go quiet, including Soren.
The man on the bed’s face goes hard, as does Rori, Kida, and Sofia's. “Don’t overstep yourself, doctor,” Sofia suddenly warns him darkly.
The doctor looks like he wants to argue, but wisely he keeps it to himself. “I apologize, but my only concern is for my patient,” he states stiffly. “While I understand that all of you are concerned, her comfort is most important. Which is why she may not want all of you here.”
“The people here are staying for a reason, doctor,” Sofia reminds him. “Rori is here to ensure that she is comfortable, along with her sister and son. If she doesn’t wish Massimo to be here?—”
“I’m not leaving,” Massimo states firmly.
“Then he will leave,” Sofia finishes, giving him a steely look. “Is that understood, Massimo?”
He huffs but nods.
“Soren,” I breathe out, weakly holding out my arms for my son.
“I need to examine you first, Ms. Taylor,” the doctor reminds me. “Then you can hold your son.”
“I want my son,” I rasp out. “Now.”
“Ms. Taylor…”
“Now,” I snap with as much force as I can muster. I need my son. I need to make sure he’s okay. I watch as the man, Massimo, reaches for Soren and slips him out of Kida’s arms so smoothly that at first I don’t think she even realizes he’s done it. She snarls at him, but he ignores her, even as terror freezes myheart. What’s he doing with him? No, why is he touching him? My heart races, but then he smiles at me as he places him into my waiting arms.
I snatch Soren close, holding him tight as tears spill down my cheeks, relief filling me. Soren’s angry cries quiet to small hiccups of sound as he burrows against my chest. I lower my mouth to kiss his head, trying not to sob. Thank God, he’s okay. I knew Kida would keep him safe, but the fear of still possibly losing him is almost too much to even think about now.
“He just needed his mama,” Massimo remarks softly, and I lift my head to look at him. He has a soft smile on his face as he looks at me.
“Thank you,” I whisper, looking at him. And I hope he knows I mean it for more than just this moment. It’s for getting me out of there and getting Soren and Kida back to me.
“Of course,dolcezza,” he replies warmly. “I promised you would be safe here, and I’m going to keep that promise. Including in that your sister and son.” He glances at Kida. “Even if she does like to throw things at me and my brother.” There’s a light teasing in his tone, and when I look at Kida, she narrows her eyes, but some of the hostility is gone.
“Tell me you wouldn’t do the same if two men came in and told you that you were mafia,” she scoffs. “All while you’re holding an infant. I mean, what, you just expected me to welcome you with open arms?”
“That would have been a hell of a lot better,” the final man says drily.
