“Jade told me that you asked her to marry you. I wish I could congratulate you under happier circumstances. Oh, Ryder, I'm so worried—”
I held both of her trembling hands in mine, rubbing her knuckles with my thumbs, trying to replace the icy coldness in hers with some of my body heat. She smiled at me through her tears and my heart went out to her. I pulled her into a hug and she rested her forehead on my shoulder. I rubbed her back as she let quiet sobs rip through her.
“It's going to be okay,” I said, not sure why in fuck I’d say something like that when my own heart was gripped by an iron fist that squeezed the fuck out of it. Scared couldn’t begin to cover how I felt in that moment.
How I miss Marianne. She would know the right things to say. Sylvia reminded me so much of her that it shook something inside me that I'd thought I'd forgotten.
After a while she settled down and her breathing calmed too. “Thank you,” she whispered as she pulled away to blow her nose. A lump in my throat prevented me from speaking, so I just nodded and got up to give her space. I paced the room, a caged lion, wringing my hands together. If I got hold of fucking Summers now, I'd make him pay for the pain he had caused Jade. And Peanut. It didn’t matter that he was her brother—he’d caused her harm. In my book, that was just not done. Fuck, I’d never do that to my brothers at the club.
A man came through the doors. My hopes of it being a doctor were smashed when I noticed he was wearing an expensive suit. He brushed past me and went straight to Sylvia. He knelt down in front of her, a stern expression on his face, taking both her hands into his and kissing them.
“What happened? I’m confused. You said Jade was bleeding and she may lose the baby? What baby? I didn’t even know our baby was pregnant. Who’s the fucker that got her knocked up?” His voice was hard, anger and concern mixed into it.
I stepped forward. “That would be me. Jade is having my baby. If she doesn’t lose it, thanks to your son.”
I thought he’d get whiplash the way his head jerked up and he stared at me. It was as if he hadn’t seen me there at all and was noticing me for the first time. He stood up, glowering at me. “And who the fuck are you?” he spat out, the disdain clear on his face.
Sylvia pushed to her feet and placed a hand on his arm, trying to calm him down. “Owen, this is Ryder, honey. Jade’s boyfriend.”
His eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he stared me down. “Boyfriend? You have got to be kidding me. My daughter would never . . . never associate with—”
“Someone like me? Is that what you think? You’re wrong. Jade is my woman. And we made a baby. We are together. A family.”
“Over my dead fucking body.” The voice behind me was filled with hatred. Harrison Summers. The fucker had the audacity to show up here.
I swung around, ready to take a punch at him if he moved an inch closer.
Owen held up his hands. “Boys. Hang on—this is not the time for this conversation. Let’s first find out what’s happening with Jade. Right now that’s the most important thing.”
“Let’s hope nature takes its course and rids Jade of the bastard child,” Harrison sneered, glaring at me, “before I kill you.”
I lost it. Completely. Fuck, if I was going down, I was taking him out too. I stormed down on him, my shoulder knocking him over. He lay on the ground, staring up at me with so much hatred. I knew he’d kill me if he could.
“Ryder, no!” Sylvia screamed just as I was about to punch him. It caught me off-guard. Summers kicked my knee and brought me to the ground too. Stars whirled around my head as he punched me on the jaw. Vaguely aware of someone standing over us, I jabbed Summers in the ribs.
“Hey. Knock it off. This is a goddamn hospital.” A woman roared. Both our heads jerked up. A portly woman dressed in scrubs, her hands on her hips, glared down at us as if we were naughty kids fighting in a playground.
Rubbing at my jaw, I got up off the floor. “Do you have any news about Jade?” I asked, hoping to God she’d take me to see my woman. “I‘m the father —”
“Ryder?” she asked, her surprise evident in her expression. Why the fuck did people always react like that?
“Yes. Her boyfriend,” I said, ensuring Jade’s family heard me loud and clear. No way in hell was I backing down now.
“Come with me,” she said, her face deadpan. “She’s calling for you.”
“Wait. What about us? We’re her parents. How is she?” the old man called out. The nurse turned to him. “She’s still in shock. She asked that only Ryder be admitted to see her when he arrived. Nobody else.” She didn’t apologize or even look sorry when Sylvia burst in to tears.