Stone Cold Cowboy(109)
“Beck,” Trigger corrected her. “Thank you for keeping my secret. You saved my life.”
She placed her hand over Rory’s heart. “Rory saved us.”
An SUV skidded to a halt at the edge of the clearing. Agent Cooke jumped out, went to the back of the vehicle, and pulled Torres out of the backseat and stared at them.
Sadie smiled. “Beck, turn around.”
Beck turned and sighed, hanging his head, his eyes closed.
“It’s over,” Sadie whispered. “You’re out.”
Rory loved her so damn much for keeping Beck’s secret and understanding all the man couldn’t say to her but needed her to understand. Beck had reached out to her in a silent plea to let his brother know he needed to get out. She saw that need inside him. Recognized it because she’d been looking for a way out of this futile situation with her brother. The depth of emotion hidden behind the wall Rory felt around Beck and all he kept hidden behind his closed eyes told him how much Beck needed this to be over. The look he leveled on Sadie conveyed a depth of emotion Rory didn’t understand.
Sadie did. She reached out and took Beck’s hand in hers and held it tight. “You can go home now, Beck. Caden is waiting for you.”
“I’ll never forget what you did, laying yourself over me like that. If he’d managed to plunge that knife into my—”
“Stop. It’s over, Beck. Go home.”
Caden walked up behind Beck and planted his hand on Beck’s shoulder. “She’s right, little brother, it’s done. We got him.”
Sadie pressed her good arm on the grass and leaned forward. Rory helped her to sit up. She immediately touched her hand to her too pale face, rolled to her side, and heaved, gagging, but nothing came up. She curled in on herself and held her stomach. “Rory,” she begged. “Something’s wrong.”
Rory reached for her, but she went limp in his hands. “No. No. We need an ambulance.”
“Chopper is just past the trees in the field,” Caden said, kneeling beside Sadie. “What’s wrong?”
“She’s pregnant.”
The shocked and distraught look that crossed Beck’s face matched the worry engulfing Rory’s system that she might have saved Trigger, but Rory might have lost her and their baby.
The helicopter ride to the hospital nearly sent Rory into a tailspin. Sadie remained groggy, but not truly conscious. He didn’t want to think the worst.
The minute the chopper touched down on the hospital helipad, doctors and nurses whisked Sadie away. He’d been relegated to sitting in the waiting room answering questions for the DEA agent Caden sent to take his statement. He’d put the agent off long enough to call Bell and beg her to haul ass down here to check on Sadie. He didn’t trust anyone else.
“Mr. Kendrick, Dr. Bowden asked me to come get you. Your girlfriend is waiting for you down here.” The nurse held out her arm to indicate the hallway that led into the emergency room. Rory stood and followed her, his stomach tied in knots, his heart barely beating. The closer he got to her, the less he was able to breathe through the one thought that refused to leave his mind. If they lost the baby, he’d lose her. She’d never forgive him for not protecting her and their child.
“Right in here.” The nurse slid the glass door open.
Rory stepped into the room and pushed the curtain aside. Sadie sat up in the bed in front of him, an IV line running into her arm. She didn’t smile, just stared at him, tears gathering in her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. The sadness he saw in her wrenched his gut, sucked the breath right out of him, and stopped his heart.
“No,” he whispered, shaking his head, not wanting to believe that he’d lost everything.
The anguish and despair that flooded his eyes and filled his whole face broke Sadie’s heart. Tears glistened in his eyes. She’d been so happy to see him, but still so overwhelmed at all that happened. “Honey, no, I’m fine. The baby is fine.”
The relief that swept over him and rocked his big body told her how much he wanted this baby. Their baby.
He pressed his hand to his forehead above his eye and sighed so heavily she felt it all the way across the room.
“The baby is fine,” Bell assured him.
Rory startled like he hadn’t even seen Bell standing by the counters, writing in her chart.
Sadie held out her arms. Rory rushed her and hugged her close. He kissed her half a dozen times and held her face, staring into her eyes.
“You’re okay? You’re sure?”
“I’m fine.” She held his wrists, her grip tight. She needed to hold on to him.
“But when I came in, the look in your eyes.”