Monsters' Gift (Crude Hill High #2) - Sam Crescent Page 0,83

but nothing to this extent.

He had two broken legs, a broken arm, cracked ribs; I thought I heard a ruptured spleen, internal bleeding, and two bruised eyes. I saw when he opened at least one. I understood the pain in them.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey. I bet you thought I was still a traitor, huh?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No, I didn’t.” I moved toward the bed. “May I?” I asked, pointing at the chair. I’d been tempted to sit on the bed, but I knew if I moved it, I’d only cause him pain, and I couldn’t do that to him.

“Be my guest, I wouldn’t stop you.”

“If you don’t want me here, tell me to leave.”

“Emily, you hated me, not the other way around. I don’t have a crush on you, nor do I want to get into your pants, but you know that.”

I laughed. “They showed me what was happening to you. I’m so sorry I couldn’t help.”

“It’s fine. I’ve always been told I need a beatdown. Just didn’t expect to explode with candy.” He winced.

“You don’t have to move.” I put my hand on top of his. “I’m so sorry.”

“Emily, your men gave me the job to protect you. I know to many it would be seen as a babysitting job, but over the years, I knew how important you were. I wasn’t given a job that I saw as less. I was given the ultimate job. I take your protection seriously and the fact I…” He stopped and his jaw clenched.

“Drake, you didn’t cause this. None of this was your fault.”

“But I shouldn’t have answered that fucking call.”

I started to cry. My emotions were going to get crazy for the next nine months. “Hindsight is a beautiful thing, isn’t it? It makes us question ourselves all the time, but we can’t stop what happened. There’s no way to change it. We can only learn from our mistakes.” I stroked my thumb back and forth across his knuckles. “Thank you so much for being loyal to my men. For giving them a chance, for being there for them. They don’t have anyone like you, and for that, you have all of my trust. I have faith in you, Drake. Thank you so much.”

“I don’t cry.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll cry for the both of us,” she said.

He looked at me. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

“I’m pregnant. The doctors took a blood test. I’m going to be a mom and my men are going to be dads.”

“I’ll feel sorry if it’s a girl,” he said.

I burst out laughing and he groaned.

“Enough,” she said. “We have to stop talking now. Enough is enough.”

For the next ten minutes, I sat with him, listening to the machines beep around him. A nurse came in to check on him, and Drake’s pain took him to sleep.

I stayed with him, not wanting him to leave him alone.

Time passed until Gael, Vadik, Caleb, and River entered the room. None of us spoke. Drake was still fast asleep.

“You know, I thought you were crazy hiring him,” I said.

“We all did,” River said.

I glanced toward my men. They were all staring right back at me. “He’s loyal to you guys. We’ve got to take care of him. Make sure he’s safe and protected. We can’t let anything else happen to him.” I needed to make it up to him so he knew I trusted him. I didn’t know if Drake even cared about my thoughts, but I felt the need to make it right.

“Drake will always have a job, Emily. Always,” Caleb said.

“Good.” I laughed. “I don’t think I’ll be fixing him up with a girl anytime soon.” I was so not a matchmaker. My body had started to heal, but still, all I wanted to do was get out of here. I hated hospitals. “Can we go?” I asked.

Gael came to me, helping me up.

“It’s time for us to go home,” Caleb said.

I stilled, looking at the door then at my men. Home. It was such an innocent word, and yet, it was entirely what I needed to hear.

****

Vadik

One week later

We found the perfect spot for the ashes.

All six of us, me, Gael, River, Caleb, Emily, and Ashley, we carried the urn into the deepest part of the words on the edge of Crude Hill. We were dressed in sweats and shirts. It was cold and dirty.

I held on to Emily as she kept on slipping over.

When we’d gotten home from the hospital, she didn’t