The Texan’s Bride(57)
“I’ll teach you to mess with other people’s lives. Nina’s a bitch stealing money out of my wallet for cigarettes. The house is a mess and when I say anything she spouts nonsense about her rights. Nonsense she got from you. She has no rights, you bitch,” he yelled, his face red. “I’m gonna teach you a lesson.”
Jessie kicked him in the shin and tried to get away, but he was too fast.
“Rosa!” Jessie screamed as Vernon drove a fist into her face. The blow knocked her to the floor and Vernon kicked her in the side with his shoe. “Rosa!” She held her hands over her stomach to protect her child, curling into a fetal position. “No, no, not my baby.”
He was about to drive a shoe into her face when Rosa came running. “Get away from her, you bastard!”
Vernon ran out the door and Rosa fell down beside her. “My niña, my niña. What happened?”
“Call Cadde,” she gasped, her stomach cramping. “Call the police.”
Felix came charging into the hallway with a gun, but it was too late.
CADDE WHISTLED AS HE DROVE down the highway. He hadn’t done that in ages. This afternoon he was going to buy the biggest tree he could find. This was going to be a Christmas they’d never forget.
His cell rang and he clicked on.
“Mr. Cadde, come home fast. Miss Jessie’s hurt bad.”
“What!”
“Just come home. I have to take care of Miss Jessie.”
What the hell? He weaved in and out of traffic, breaking the speed limit. An ambulance, siren blasting, passed him. He followed it all the way down the county road. As it turned into the Murdock house, Cadde’s stomach roiled with a sick feeling. Something was terribly wrong. Was Jessie having a miscarriage? Was she okay? Rosa had said Jessie was hurt. How could that be? He’d just talked to her.
The ambulance roared up to the house and Cadde was out of his truck, running for the opened front door before the ambulance could even stop. His heart lurched into his throat as he saw Jessie lying in a pool of blood. No, no, no! The right side of her face was black and blue. Oh, my God! Rosa cooed to her in Spanish and Cadde’s knees gave way and he fell down by her. “Jessie.”
“Cadde.” Her right hand clutched for him and he grabbed it.
“The baby,” she cried.
“What happened?” he asked in a voice he didn’t recognize.
“She said the man who beat her was Vernon Lynch,” Rosa replied. “If I hadn’t stopped him he would probably have killed her.”
What! They’d just talked about the man. Anger rose up in his chest.
The paramedics rushed in.
“She’s three months pregnant,” Cadde told them.
“Let’s get her to a hospital.” They put a C-collar on Jessie and loaded her onto a stretcher.
Jessie clutched his hand tighter. “Don’t leave me.”
“I won’t,” he told her. “I’m right here.”
He crawled into the ambulance with her, never letting go of her hand. A paramedic checked her vitals and Cadde covered her with a blanket, still holding on to her hand.
The paramedic examined her. “She’s going into premature labor. Hurry, Cal,” he shouted to the driver.
“Take a deep breath, Mrs. Hardin. Try to calm down.”
Cadde rested his face against hers. “Stay calm. I’m right here.”
“The baby,” she cried in a voice that squeezed his heart.
“Shh. We’ll be at the hospital soon.”
“I thought it was you. That’s why I opened the door.”
“Shh.”
Cadde knew it only took minutes but it felt like hours. Once they reached the emergency room things happened fast. They whisked her away to labor and delivery. He held her hand the whole way, trying not to look at the blood on the blanket. Please don’t let her lose the baby, he prayed as they rolled her into a room.
Dr. Barnes came in. “Cadde, would you like to step outside? We have to try and stop the labor and stabilize Jessie.”
“No,” Jessie yelled. “I want him here.”
The doctor nodded and Cadde rested his face against hers again. “I’m here.” The doctor and two nurses worked. Cadde averted his eyes, but not before he saw the bruises on her side. Oh, my God! The man must have kicked her. Son of a bitch! He gulped a breath and focused his concentration on Jessie. Their hands were locked on the bed and he saw how bloody they were. His chest contracted in pain.
He was aware of machines being pushed into the room. The nurse attached a monitor to Jessie’s stomach and his eyes swung to the machine. A heartbeat was visible on it. He looked at Dr. Barnes. “Is that…”