I must’ve passed out from all of my screaming, crying, and pounding on the walls. Yes, I know it’s highly unlikely that I’ll be able to break free of this cell, but if I’m going to be trapped here, I might as well make whoever’s listening on the other side as miserable as me.
Now that I’m awake again, I’m back at it. Refusing to give up on what little power I have left.
I’m banging away, hollering at the top of my lungs, when a loud voice comes over a speaker.
“Enough, you insolent child! I should just shoot you where you stand!” My body freezes at my father’s words, being that he’s not one to bluff. “I swear I should—.”
John’s words are cut off by the sound of a machine gun raining through the speaker, the terrifying sound filling the tiny box I’m in for two whole seconds before the audio goes dead.
Oh my god! What’s going on? Who else is out there?
Minutes that feel like hours go by when I hear a voice that has my knees buckling where I stand. Jason. He’s here.
“Hang in there, baby. We’re getting you out!” His soothing words come shooting through the speaker, and I swear, they’re almost as good as his embrace.
A river of tears and pent-up hurt is ripping out of me now. My whole life, I thought the two people who brought me into it did not want me, and only part of that was true. They didn’t want me, but they were not the ones responsible for my birth. No, those two threw me away like a piece of trash.
But here, on the other side of this wall, is this man who’s willing to risk life and limb to save me—to give me everything I need and more.
I’ll gladly endure whatever bullshit I lived ten times over if it meant that I could have this man hold me in his arms once more.
I’m irrevocably his, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life by his side if he’ll let me.
After what feels like an eternity, the same white wall slides back, revealing the plexiglass and darkness beyond it.
“Jason?”
“Yes, baby. I’m here. We’re just trying to get this—.” More bullets sound off and I hear Jason grunt out in pain. “Fucking hell. You just won’t die, will you?”
“Jason!” I’m screeching, pounding on the glass and refusing to believe that they’ve shot my man. That can’t be. I can’t have him so close, only for him to be ripped away at the last second. Life isn’t that cruel, is it?
“Jason! Answer me!” I need to hear his voice—hear that he’s okay—because I can’t see for shit through this damn wall of glass.
There’s a rustling on the other side before the speaker comes roaring back to life. “Miss Kournikova, it’s Armando.”
Oh god. “Where’s Jason? Armando! Where is he?!” I’m sobbing hysterically, knowing there could only be one reason Jason isn’t answering himself.
“He’s hurt, miss. But I’m getting you out and then getting us onto the chopper.”
“Save him! Leave me here if you have to but save him!” I’m crumpling to the ground, knowing that I’d willingly give my life for his if it meant he could go on living.
The panel in front of me is sliding open and revealing the carnage that lay just behind it. My father, or the man who’d been playing my father, is lying in a pool of his own blood, a thick angry red slash adorning his jugular.
“Miss, don’t look.” Armando is urging me forward as he picks Jason up from the ground, a torn piece of fabric tied tightly around his abdomen. “I need to get him topside while keeping pressure on his wound. Are you okay to walk?”
“God, yes. Please, can I help?”
“Just keep walking. You’ll need to keep your hands on him once we get in the air.”
I nod, walking ahead of them both, even though I have no clue where I’m going. Wow. John wasn’t kidding. This is one hell of a yacht.
I’m making it out onto the deck when I see the massive helicopter on its very own helipad. This is insane. Who has a helipad on a boat?! Apparently, my father, the notorious cartel leader.
Taking steps two at a time, I’m practically diving into the chopper, turning around as quickly as my feet have settled on its floor. “Quick, lay him down.”
Armando does as I ask, positioning him in front of me so I’m able to press down on the wound as he goes to fly us out of here.
“It’ll be a good hour before we’re on solid ground, miss.” His somber tone says it all. He isn’t sure if he’ll make it. But he has. He has to.
“Hang in there, Daddy. I need you. Your baby girl needs you.” I’m whispering onto his chest as my hands press down, praying with all that I have that he gets through this, because if he doesn’t, I don’t think I’ll survive it.
We’re at the beach house in Florida. It’s the first place they brought us to after we landed the chopper in Miami.
Thank god there was a more than capable medical team on the landing strip, or I don’t think Jason would’ve made it to the house.
Like a pack of guardian angels, they operated in the back of the transport vehicle, using steady hands and capable maneuvers that enabled them to keep my man on this side of the earthly plane.
It’s been twenty-four hours since the shooting that threatened to take Jason away, but thankfully, he’s stable now.
Stable enough for me to take a moment and use the bathroom. It’s been one hell of a day and I could surely use a splash of water to the face, at the very least.
I’ve just turned the water on when the phone in my pocket vibrates. With weary fingers, I pull it out and answer, praying that it isn’t any more bad news.
“Hello?”
“Hi, is this Mila Kournikova?” a cheery woman asks.
“Yes, this is her.”
“Great. This is Sandy from Dr. Pengraff’s office. Congratulations, Miss Kournikova.” She pauses, but I have no words. Not until I hear the rest of what she has to say. “The results of your pregnancy test came back as positive and the doctor wants you to come back in for some blood work. Just to make sure everything is going smoothly.”
I was right. I’m pregnant. Pregnant with Jason’s baby.
“Miss Kournikova? Are you there?” The woman, Sandy, pulls me back to the present.
“Yes. I’m sorry. Yes, I’m here.”
“Okay, did you still want to see Dr. Pengraff?”
I’m nodding for a good three seconds before I realize she can’t see me. “Yes, please.”
“Fantastic. We can fit you in next Thursday at three. Does that work for you?” There’s another pause and I realize that with everything that’s happened, I don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow, let alone next week.
“Um, I’m going to have to call you back to confirm. I’m not really sure of my schedule right now, but hopefully I’ll have a better picture of it soon.”
“Of course. But call us back as soon as possible. We want to make sure everything is progressing as it should.”
I swallow thickly, wondering if whatever those assholes shot me up with affected the little peanut. “Yes, definitely. I’ll be calling back soon.”
“Great. Speak to you then.” The all too cheery woman ends the line, giving me a second to breathe, but it isn’t even a minute later when there’s a knock at the door.
“Mila?” A deep masculine voice has my shoulders tensing. It’s Austin, my brother.
He and the rest of the Crown family flew in last night. All of them—including my best friend—were up in the air not even an hour after having received my call.
It wasn’t easy letting them in on what had transpired, but with how close they all are, I knew they’d want to know. And I wasn’t wrong.
Cracking the door open, a pair of vivid green eyes stare back at me and I now see that they’re much like my own. How had I missed it before? He and I may have different mothers, but we share the same father and that shows in the jade of our eyes and the slope of our nose.
“Austin? Is everything okay?”
“Yes, I just wanted to check in on you. You’ve been in there with Jason for a while and I haven’t had a chance to talk to you about things.” His eyes are narrowed and I can see that something is weighing heavily on him.
“You know you can always talk to me, right? Even in front of Jason.” I place my hand in his, needing to give us that connection.
“Yeah, I’m not sure I’m ready to be near him.” He scoffs. “I love my brother. Hell, I even came out here knowing what I do. But that doesn’t mean I’m not tearing him a new asshole as soon as he wakes up.”
I’m blinking up at him, confused. “I’m sorry. Did I miss something?”
Austin lets out a slow breath before he’s releasing my hand and leaning against the door frame. “Those fuckers knew. They knew this entire time who my father was and didn’t say a goddamn word to me.”
My mouth is hanging wide open. Holy hell. That’s one big secret to keep. “All of your brothers knew?”
Austin slowly shakes his head, his nostrils flaring. “Only Jason and Hunter.”
I’m nodding, wondering why in the world they would keep such a thing from Austin. “I’m sure there’s a good reason. They love you too much for there not to be.”
Austin chuckles sardonically. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s possible. We’re brothers. Even though we aren’t blood, and there shouldn’t be any secrets between us. I don’t care if the virgin Mary herself came down and asked for it herself.”
I roll in my lips and bite down, unsure of what to say. “I get it. I really do. Trust me. I’d been lied to my entire life, thinking that the two people who birthed me didn’t love me. Only for it to turn out that they didn’t birth me at all, and that I was only some discarded dirty secret.”
“Christ, Mila. I’m so sorry.” Austin’s hands fall to my shoulders and squeeze.
“It’s okay, brother. I’m not telling you this so you’ll feel bad for me. I’m telling you because I know what it feels like when you’re lied to.” He’s nodding, but I need him to really understand what I’m saying. “Look. Catherine and John lied to me my whole life, but the reasons they did it were selfish. I just don’t see that as being the case with Jason. He loves his family too much to do that to them—to you.”
Austin’s hands fall from my shoulder as he lets out a deep exhale. “Maybe you’re right, but I’m not ready to let it go. Regardless of their intention, it doesn’t change the fact that it was wrong.” He takes a step back into the hallway before continuing. “Anyway, I wanted to let you know that even if I’m not around Jason as much moving forward, I’ll always be here for you. I mean it, Mila.”
My chest warms at his words. “I’ve always wanted a big brother, and I can’t believe that I’m finally getting one.”
Austin chuckles. “Yeah. You not only have me, but I believe you’ve earned yourself the full panel of Crown brothers. Unfortunately for you, we’re protective as hell, so don’t expect to get a shit ton of freedom.”
I balk at my brother’s warning. “I guess you’ve never had a little sister, especially one who doesn’t deal well with authority.”
I’m walking past Austin and toward Jason’s room when I hear Anaya’s laughter. “Oh, I knew I liked her.”
“Shut it woman.” I turn back in time just to see Austin playfully slap his wife’s ass, her brow raising in defiance.
“Why don’t you make me?” Anaya’s words are the last thing I hear before I’m ducking back into Jason’s room.
And it looks like I’m just in time. The doctor must have slipped out while I was talking with Austin, finally giving me some alone time with my man.
Making my way to Jason’s side of the bed, I crawl onto it and press myself to his side. “Come back to me, please. I need you.” Taking his hand in mine, I bring his calloused palm to my abdomen and spill the news I’m dying to share. “We need you. You’re going to be a daddy. A real one. And I know you’ll be the best there is.”
“Baby.” Jason’s groggy voice has my eyes meeting his and I see so much love in them it threatens to make my heart burst. “A baby?”
He’s pressing his hand into me as tears spill down my face. “Yes, your baby.”
“Thank god.” A smile that stretches from ear to ear touches his face. “Now you can’t leave me. You’re stuck with me for life.”
I throw my head back and laugh. I can’t help it. “God. As if I’d ever willingly do that.”
Jason raises a brow. “You already did.”
He’s right. I did. But you can bet your ass I never will again. “I’m yours, Jason Crown. And there isn’t a soul on this earth that could pry me away.”
“There better not be. Or I’ll hunt them down and end them.” He’s narrowing his eyes on me as his big hands go to my hips, slowly maneuvering me on top of him.
I’m about to straddle him when the door opens, and Matt’s booming voice kills the mood.
“Oh no. You can’t go sticking your flinker in her. Not for another two weeks, at least. Doctor’s orders.”
“Flinker? What are you, five?” Jason retorts, the exchange making me giggle.
“I’m sorry, but he’s right. It’s just, your hands. On me. They made me forget what Dr. Zuniga had said.” I’m looking up at him bashfully, knowing that had his brother not come in, I’d probably be riding him right now—the action threatening to open up his bullet wound for the sake of our mutual release. “As much as I want to, it’s better that we behave… for now.”
“For now.” Jason repeats, his eyes roaming over me as he licks his lips. “Lord knows I won’t be able to keep my hands off you as soon as you start showing. My girl, pregnant with my baby.” The last bit is whispered, but it doesn’t miss Matt’s ears.
“Holy shit. Another Crown baby! This is cause for celebration.” He whirls around, sticking his head out into the hallway. “Everyone! Get in here! Jason and Mila have some news to share.”
My mouth is hanging wide open as one after another, all of the Crown family members pour into the master bedroom. Even Austin who looks like he’d rather be pissing fire than standing in this very room—and I fully empathize.
But despite all of that, he’s still here. They all are.
So even though this isn’t how I envisioned telling everyone, I wouldn’t want it any other way.
This family loves one another fiercely and that’s something I’d never dreamed would come true for me. Belonging to such a wonderful group of people, knowing that they all have my back, giving me unconditional love and support.
And as my best friend strolls in at the tail end and Jason squeezes my hand, I know that this is right where I’m supposed to be. Celebrating this auspicious moment with the ones I love.
With a nod from my soul mate, I look toward our family and friends. Letting them in on this wild ride that’s our life. “It’s true, everyone… We’re having a baby!”
