Uncharted (Unexpected Book 3) (37 page)

Matthew and I arrive at AJ’s room, where my entire family gathers. Mason, Gabe, and Chris discuss something in the corner of the room while Pria talks with AJ. Arthur Bradley and his wife lean against the wall, both watching everyone. There’s an old lady sitting on a plastic chair. I recognize her as Mason’s grandmother.

“Are we late for the party?” I break the whispers around the room.

“You made it.” AJ blows out some air. “My C-section is happening soon; they’re taking me away in ten minutes. Where have you been?”

They called us—woke us up—thirty minutes ago. As the doctor decided it was best to perform a C-section than medicating AJ for three weeks to stop the contractions.

“Preparing to make a big entrance, babe.” Matthew walks over to her bed and slides Pria to the side. “It’s triplet time, people; everyone out.”

“You’re kidding?” Pria frowns.

“He’s not, Pria. We do need a few moments with her.” I look at AJ to confirm; she nods and looks to Mason.

“We’ll be outside, Nine.” Mason ushers everyone out. One by one, they step toward AJ’s bed, mumble some words I can’t hear, and leave.

The last ones are my parents who fuss over my sister. “Everything is going to work out, baby girl.” Gabe hugs her one more time and steps aside.

“I know, Daddy.”

“I love you, sweetheart.” Chris hugs her close. “Remember what we talked about”

They both step outside the room. Mason gifts us with one of those glares that makes me want to run away, but leaves too.

“Riding on your bike without a helmet?” AJ’s chiding tone is not what I expected. “Drunk in the cemetery. What have you been doing? You promised. All these years you’ve been acting like a suicidal jerk.”

“Who told you? That husband of yours?” She nods. “This will sound like a weak response, but I stopped all that shit.”

“You were in jail yesterday. That’s not stopping.” Matthew’s smirk and her angry pout drag a chuckle out of me. “This isn’t funny, and why was I never informed about this kid?”

“AJ, it was years ago, and for your information, I was trying to fix the mess I made. Now, can we concentrate on you for now?” She nods. “Or is this you trying to push away your own worries by focusing on mine?” AJ delivers another nod. “Baby, you’re going to be fine. Matthew and I will be here to protect you, like we always do. We’ll protect the baby too.”

“Nothing is going to happen, Ainsy,” Matthew reassures her. “Even the cockroach is still around.” He points at me. “If you heard about all his stunts, you’d believe me, but I won’t list them today—or ever. I like my face the way it is.”

AJ laughs, the moisture in her eyes gone. I hate hospitals, and having her here isn’t ideal, but this is what she wants.

“While I’m recovering, can you keep an eye on the baby?”

“Hell yes,” Matthew and I respond at the same time.

“Time’s up, Nine.” Mason steps in and AJ closes her eyes for one second and nods.

My sister is usually so strong. It’s so hard to see her feeling unsure, nervous.

“You’ll be fine, AJ. You can’t leave us. Don’t leave me.” I hug her tight. “I love you, baby.”

She hugs me back without a word, tears streaming down her cheeks.

I pace back and forth while waiting for some news, any news about my sister. When a group of nurses come into the waiting room, my stomach drops to the floor. Matthew’s eyes widen and we both rush to where they stop to talk to our parents. Holding hands, we wait for them to speak.

“They’re ready, one next to each other,” one of the nurses informs my parents. “The wing is closed and the equipment is set. We need to have the list of visitors.”

“That’s adorable,” Pria comments at our hand-holding. Matthew and I release each other’s hands. “AJ’s fine. Usually a C-section takes longer than ten minutes. They have to prep her for surgery and…give it an hour. She’ll be fine.”

When the nurses finish talking with our parents, we find out that they had splurged their money and rented two suites. One where they created a NICU for the baby, and the other next to it will be my sister’s room. A request they made when AJ announced her pregnancy. It was almost ready last week when my sister began with the contractions, and they put the last touches on them during the night.

“You two are full of drama,” Gabe tells us the moment the nurses leave. “I don’t think I’ll survive this display four more times.”

“She’s really having more?” Chris nods responding my question. “Someone has to stop her.”

“AJ’s had a healthy pregnancy; maybe you should stop worrying about her and start thinking about fixing
your
future.” Chris paces back and forth then stops in front of me. “I told you to leave that kid alone. He isn’t yours. That woman created the perfect storm, Jacob.”

“Father, don’t talk about Norah like that.” I raise my voice, what happened years ago is in the past. Why bring it back. “She’s dead.”

“She should’ve told you about it when she met you.” Chris matches my voice. “The woman knew better. You were a kid. She was almost ten years older than you—she was twenty-nine when you met her. After she died, Gabe and I spoke to her ex-husband, the man she freed once she realized she was going to die.”

What the fuck?

“I’m not going to talk about this.” I get in his face.

“Stop being that stupid kid. Grow up and listen for once to what I’ve been trying to tell you all these years.” The angry expression in Chris’ eyes is something I have rarely seen. His face is a crimson color that scares me. “Norah’s condition was diagnosed two years after her son was born. She wanted her husband to move on, and that’s why they divorced. She never had full custody, son. She wasn’t well enough. The guy is happy, has a new family, while you, the kid trapped in the storm, is still mourning for something he never really had.”

“She didn’t love you the way you think, son.” He tries to touch my shoulder but I take a step backward. “You were that last fantasy she had, and I’m sure you made her happy. I bet she had no idea that you’d be loyal to a fault. Find closure, kid. Start by fixing the mess you created last night.”

Why? Why did she want me, then? Why did she introduce me to Hunter if he would never be mine anyway? I can’t do this now. I need to focus on my sister. But, fuck I hate these feelings.

Leaning against the doorway I wait for some news. Any news. It’s been an hour and no one has updated us. My lawyer and I have been emailing back and forth about my plight. He wants me to surrender all my electronics to the authorities so they can verify that I don’t possess any child pornography, along with the letters Norah left to Hunter. He agreed mediation is the best way to handle the case.

Matthew rises from his seat, and I turn my attention toward the hallway and watch Mason walk toward us with a stupid grin.

“How are they?” I speed my pace to meet him half way. “Do we have a girl or a boy?”

“My girls are doing great.” He smirks. “Our little girl has to stay in the incubator until she’s strong enough, but if she’s anything like her mom, I think she’ll be out soon.”

“People, we have a princess,” I say out loud while hugging him. “Congratulations, Mase, you’re a dad. That’s fucking scary. My best friend is a father. I’m an uncle. When can we meet her? You guys got a name yet?”

“Yes, but Nine is the one who wants to reveal the name.”

Resigned, my parents step out of the waiting room and join us. Mason explains how the most beautiful girl in the world was born only minutes ago, and that my sister is recovering and the doctor didn’t have to use any of the blood we donated.

“Can we meet our granddaughter?” Gabe asks hopeful. “We have to head to the airport to pick up my parents, but I want to see her before we leave.”

Mason asks us to follow him, and during the trip toward the wing where they’ll stay, he tells my parents about the security. The list of visitors and other details I don’t pay attention to because we reach a room with a wall and glass door. There’re two couches, a rocking chair, and a plastic crib graces the middle of the room. A nurse touches the monitors and scribbles on the pad. When she lifts her gaze and spots us, she lifts her index finger and rushes outside.

“We recommend only a couple of visitors at a time.” She looks at the group, then points at a shelf. “Please wear our sterilized and disposable scrubs. Next door there’ll be always a nurse or two on duty. If you have any questions, please feel free to let us know.”

Mason and my parents grab the scrub shirt, a mask, and the hat before entering the room. The rest of us wait outside. MJ and I stare at the incubator through the glass, hoping we can see more than the plastic crib with two holes on it.

“Do you think they named her Christina?” Matthew’s question makes me wonder if they called her Gabrielle. “I should call dibs on that name if she didn’t use it.” And that is where I feel the knife to my heart the most.

“I’m heading home,” I tell Matthew, because I can’t name my child anything. Little Gabrielle will never happen, despite what I told Twinkle ten years ago. “I have to shower, prepare a bag to stay overnight. Do you want me to bring you something?”

“I’ll stick around until you come back.” Matthew’s face goes into his pensive stare and then nods. “Yeah, bring me a bag too. I can shower here and take a nap. We’ll figure our schedule later. Mind if I take the night duty, and you stay during the day?”

“What if I have to go to see my lawyer?” I remind him about my current situation with the law.

“Tell me a day before you make an appointment.” He checks his watch. “Hurry up, Mrs. Princess should be out soon.”

“We should call her Mrs. Queen now.” I point toward the little beauty in the crib. “That’s our new princess.” I smirk, knowing my sister is going to hate us both for calling her Queen. MJ high fives me and shares the internal joy of finding ways to torture AJ. “Remember, we can no longer call her bitch or use foul language in front of the baby.”

“Grace Janine Aiko,” Matthew tells me over the phone. “I’m with AJ, while Mason is in the other room with his baby, holding her. Something about being a kangaroo parent or…I didn’t pay attention to the nurse. When are you coming over?”

“When the police finish going through my shit.”

As I arrived home, my lawyer, Mason’s people, and the police, were waiting outside my door. Pria worked her magic. Now I get why she was on the phone while we waited for news about AJ. She helped put together an entire team assigned to search through my browsing history, and my hard drive. Another team is going through my office shit at Decker Records. Everything I own has been touched by these super teams. There’s not much to find. The only pictures I have are the ones my sister snuck in a few years ago—framed family portraits that include the entire Colthurst clan.

“Call us if you need us, Jacob. We love you.”

Donovan, my lawyer, stands next to me and another officer, who is making sure neither one of us tamper with the evidence. I hand the officer my phone, because even as they have already audited it, they don’t want me to access any other computer with a remote app.

“What happens after this, Donovan?”

“It depends, Decker.” He lowers his voice and takes a couple of steps closer to me. “As long as I can get you out of this pedophile shit, everything else is easier to navigate. Your first hearing is the day after tomorrow, unless I can convince Stinson not to press charges. My team is working to find the best way to defend you.”

I rub my face, wondering if I should contact Stinson. But I resist because it’ll violate the restraining order, and bring even more trouble to my family. The minutes pass, the hours, and I wait for the inquisition to end. Donovan has been on and off the phone, taking most of those calls outside the house.

“Decker.” Donovan enters the house tapping his phone. “I need those letters, and any other documentation you have as proof that she asked you on her deathbed to look after her son.”

“It’s a list. Nothing more than a list of promises.” I point toward the stairs. “Everything is inside my safe. Do I have to provide that too?”

“Yes, if you do what I say, chances are I can get it down to where you will just have to do some community service.” He pauses and looks around. “I recommend you to stay away from trouble—and from Stinson.”

Karl Kowalski, one of Mason’s best friends, approaches us. The teams are gathering around the foyer carrying their equipment. No one speaks about what they found or didn’t find while searching my belongings. I rub the nape of my neck, waiting for someone to absolve me, to give me a sign that everything will be all right. However, nothing is happening. I narrow my eyes at Karl, but he ignores me.

“You can now have access to your phone, sir.” One of the officers hands it to me. “Thank you for your cooperation.”

The parade of people leaves my home, not uttering one word. Donovan shakes my hand and leaves too. I clasp my hands over my head confused where to go from here and if I have anything to worry about.

My landline number rings, and the caller ID reads unknown number. “Yeah?”

“I think they bugged your phone,” I hear from the other side of the line. “If I were you, I’d change it. They found your sex tapes and the toys.”

“Kowalski?” I hear him roar with laughter. “You fucking ass.”

“God, I wish I could see your face, moron.” He continues laughing at my expense. “Look, I know shit about the law, but from what I heard in the elevator your case will be easy. Stay away from trouble. We used valuable favors because of your little stunt.”

“Thank you, Karl, for everything.”