Unchain My Heart(48)

I glared at Harrison as I followed the nurse through the double doors. He was seething with anger, his fists clamped, clenching his teeth.

Through gritted teeth, I warned him. “You’d better be praying that Jade and the baby are okay, otherwise I’m ripping you apart with my bare hands.”

Deep lines etched the old man’s face as he stepped between his son and me.

Harrison snarled, contempt on his face, his large frame shaking as his mother held on to him to restrain him. Her eyes were wide and frightened.

This was war.

Neither one of us was going to back down.





Chapter Thirty-Six — Ryder


My heart squeezed with an ache I’d never felt in my adult life. Lying against the white linen, Jade looked paler than ever. She was hooked up to all kinds of bags filled with fluids hanging around her bed. Jade looked like an angel, her hair spread out around her face, giving her an ethereal presence. I didn’t remember the beds being this big when Cobra was in hospital.

Thank God she was alive and breathing. I rushed to her side, eager to touch her, ensuring she was real. I brushed a strand of blond curls from her face before leaning down and whispering her name. “Princess. My angel. I'm here.”

Her eyes fluttered open—wide, round, quickly filling with tears, which spilt over the brim and ran down her cheeks. “The baby—Peanut—she’s . . . gone.”

Jesus Christ. Peanut. No!

A lump in my throat made me swallow hard. “She . . . she’s gone?” Realization dawned that Peanut had been a girl. My baby girl was gone. How was it possible? Only this morning I’d kissed Jade’s belly before leaving and Peanut had been fine. How the fuck did this happen?

I grabbed both Jade’s hands and squeezed hard. “It's okay, Princess, it's okay,” I soothed. My heart ripped to shreds as I tried to reassure her. Tears streamed down my cheeks, but I didn’t give a fuck.

I shrugged off my jacket and kicked off my boots and climbed onto the bed. I pulled Jade into my arms and just held her. Our tears melted into one another’s as I kissed her cheeks and her eyelids, wanting so badly to take her pain away. But nothing I could do could bring Peanut back. It was so final.

“Ryder, I . . . I’m so sorry,” she sobbed, her anguish wracking her whole body.

“Hush, my angel, hush. It's not your fault.” My hands were on either side of her face, and I stared into her eyes and deep into her soul. Peanut was gone, but we still had one another. There was something to be grateful for in spite of this tragedy. Life had taught me that no matter how bad things got, there was always an upside.

I kissed her lips, gently, tasting the salt of our mingled tears. If anything, I loved her even more. Tucking her under my arm, her head on my chest, I let her cry, kissing her hair and rubbing her back. It was cathartic; we needed to mourn our loss together before we could face the world again.

Later, I'd get the details of how this came about. Later, I would deal with the cause. But now, it was time to grieve.

“Ryder?” Her voice was small, hardly above a whisper.

“Yes, babe?”

“Will you still want me now . . . now that Peanut is gone?” Her voice hitched and I heard the uncertainty in it. How could she even doubt for one second that this would change my love for her?

Holding her chin, I wiped the tears from her face with my thumb. She raised her eyes to mine. I nearly drowned in her sorrow. Fuck, I hated how helpless I felt to change it. With a gruff voice I answered her, staring deep into those pools of blue. “I love you, babe. To the moon and back. Always and forever. I want you, more, if that’s even possible. This doesn’t change anything. I know it hurts now, but . . . we still have one another. That’s all that counts, Princess. You and me.”

“The Biker and his Princess,” we said in unison. We’d said it so many times before that it was becoming our mantra. In spite of her sadness, she was trying her best to put on a brave face for my sake. Fuck, my heart couldn’t take it. I wanted to protect her with every fiber in my being, save her this pain and agony.

“Yes,” I croaked, swallowing hard at the lump in my throat that was threatening to overwhelm me. “You and me, babe. We’ll show the fucking world we belong together. Nothing is going to tear us apart. Do you hear me?”

A shuddering sigh left her body. She stared at me for a long moment, gently brushing away the tears I hadn’t even realized were still flowing down my own cheeks unchecked.

“I love you, Ryder Knox. I love that you can be so damn badass, but when it counts, you have a heart of pure gold. I believe you. We will show the world.”

I nodded, love filling me and gluing the cracks of my broken heart together. I’d never realized just how much I'd wanted this baby with Jade. Sure, it wasn’t planned, but the idea had grown on me. I was eager to be a daddy with Jade by my side. “This tragedy will only make our love stronger, Princess.”