Renewed Faith (CSA Case Files 3 / Military Romance) (19 page)

“We’ll be there in thirty minutes,” Kevin exclaimed, standing up quickly while disconnecting the call and shoving it into his front pocket. He was wearing a ribbed navy blue shirt and he pushed the sleeves up to his elbows. “Emily’s in labor. We’ll swing by the club and post a note on the door that all activities are cancelled tonight.”

“What? No, we can’t do that,” Elle argued, standing up herself. Why would he even suggest such a thing? “There’s no reason to cancel. This is why Jax and Connor hired me. To manage the club so they can live their lives. Drop me off and then go be with your friends.”

Within seconds, Kevin had taken the mug out of her hands and placed it on the table. Before she could say another word, he was cradling her face within his hands. He hadn’t touched her all afternoon and she’d let herself relax, but this heated contact stopped her in her tracks. The indecision she’d been feeling came back full force.

“
You
are included in these friendships, city girl,” Kevin murmured, looking into her eyes intently. Had his hands not held her face, she knew her head would have shaken in denial. “Didn’t you spend time with Lauren today? You enjoyed it, that much I could see. Don’t you think she’d like a friend to sit with her? This is about Jax and Emily sharing a moment with the people they care about. That includes you. We’re done with the doubts that float inside that indecisive mind of yours. Now get your ass moving and grab our jackets while I take care of the fire.”

Kevin quickly kissed her before taking away his hands and moving toward the fire. He leaned down, his shirt pulling against his wide muscular back. Maybe she had entered some mystic portal when she’d been back at her apartment. The more she was around him the more she wanted to believe that this was the start of something new.

Doubts did float through Elle’s mind pretty much every second of the day. They weren’t easy to get rid of, but at the accelerated rate her life had taken lately, she felt she was entitled to them. It wasn’t until Kevin threw a glance over his shoulder, his gray eyes pinning her with the fact she hadn’t moved as he’d requested, that she slowly turned toward the foyer to grab their coats. Regardless that he seemed so confident in what was about to take place, Elle still had time to change his mind on the trip home.

*   *   *   *

The calls over the loudspeaker, the beeps and noises that came from various rooms, the drone of the television in the background and the low murmur of the people in the waiting room seemed to blend together for a disordered ambiance. Elle had gotten used the antiseptic smell, although it still hung in the air. What she wasn’t accustomed to was the various different conversations that everyone seemed to be following but her.

“Don’t let it overwhelm you,” Lauren said, leaning back in her chair. “You should know by seeing us in the club that we’re one big unrelated dysfunctional happy family.”

“It’s not that I don’t think it’s a nice gesture,” Elle contended, sweeping her gaze over the room. It had come to her attention early on that there were two or three more waiting rooms, allowing Jax and Emily’s family and friends to more or less take over this one. Honestly, it wasn’t like these men and women would have given anyone a choice. “But I would have thought that only family should be here.”

“Like I said, we are family.”

Kevin had basically stayed by her side with the exception of taking a couple of phone calls regarding what she assumed was the case. Elle knew there was something more going on than what she was privy to, especially since he went to great lengths to avoid the subject today. She had seen him speak with Crest a few times as well. She would ask Kevin again for an update when he took her home.

Lauren yawned, covering her mouth with the palm of her hand. Elle glanced at the large black and white clock on the wall above the coffee stand and noticed it was going on midnight. They’d been here for hours. She could only imagine the exhaustion that Emily and Jax were feeling right now.

“Um, may I have your attention?”

The faltering feminine voice came from the doorway and all eyes swung that way. Elle recognized her from Emily and Jax’s wedding. The older woman’s name was Beatrice and she was Emily’s aunt. From the stricken expression on her face and the unshed tears in her eyes, she wasn’t here to present the news everyone had been waiting on. The air caught in Elle’s throat and she swallowed hard. Lauren shot to her feet and was standing beside Connor within seconds. The team members gathered around.

Kevin was off to the side, pinning his gray stare to her, and holding his hand out with his palm facing upward. He wanted her to join them. Elle slowly nodded, her selfish plight of trying to understand her lot in life suddenly placed on the back burner.

“Emily…Emily had some trouble during the delivery.” Beatrice placed a hand over her mouth, as if trying to come to terms with her own words. After a few seconds, her trembling fingers finally lowered and she delivered the boom. “They have her in surgery right now. Jax is with the baby, who is a healthy seven pound, four ounce boy. Once he’s made sure that Derrick Connor Christensen is settled, I’ll take over so that he can concentrate on Emily.”

Murmurs went around, questions went unanswered, and it was obvious that no one was leaving anytime soon. Connor had a stunned expression on his face and it was apparent he hadn’t known the name that Jax and Emily had chosen. Crest closed the distance to where Beatrice stood and enfolded her into his arms. He whispered something and then turned her over to Roger Dallen, her boyfriend, who was waiting in the wings.

“Where is Jax?” Connor asked after having cleared his throat. “This floor?”

“The surgery is taking place on the fifth floor. It wouldn’t surprise me if Jax isn’t already there.” Beatrice patted Roger’s hand as he rubbed her shoulder. “I’ll make sure that Derrick is taken care of, but I think it best for all of you to go on up. Jax will need you.”

Connor and Lauren were the first to maneuver themselves out of the crowd, quickly making their way out of the room. Ethan and Jessie held back, gathering up the coats and gloves that had been left behind. Crest and Taryn went deep into a conversation and the only one who wasn’t present was Lach, apparently on his way and due at any moment. Kevin’s grip was firm and Elle instinctively tightened her fingers around his.

“I can stay here and wait for Lach if you like,” Elle said, offering to be the one left behind. “I overheard Ethan say that Lach was on his way.”

“Ethan will have texted him by now.” Kevin pulled her with him to where their jackets were lying over a chair in the corner. He tucked both coats over his right arm, all the while keeping his left hand secured in hers. “I’m sure he’ll meet up with us on the fifth floor.”

Elle remained silent as they followed the rest of the group out into the hallway and to where the elevator was located. The stress and worry that laced everyone’s features hit home the fear they felt at losing one of their own. She wasn’t privy to a lot of Emily’s history, but Elle was aware that Jax and Emily had fought long and hard to be together. To be torn apart by what was supposed to have been the most joyous moment of their lives seemed truly unfair.

Within moments they were on the fifth floor, Jessie waving to everyone from down the hall. She and Ethan must have already located the waiting room and more importantly, Jax. Crest veered off to the nurse’s station located on the right hand side of the hall and was now speaking with one of the personnel on staff. Events unfolded and by the time all was said and done, the entire group had been allowed to use a private room while waiting for news.

Kevin finally released her hand and threw their coats onto another chair before making his way over to Jax. Elle had never seen her boss look so…terrified. Jax always carried himself in a very self-assured manner that never seemed to waver. Except now. Seeing a shadow in the doorway, Elle noticed that Lach’s large frame was crossing the threshold.

Lach’s dark eyes took in everyone’s whereabouts and it wasn’t until he saw Elle that he moved. Coming to stand beside her, he crossed his sizeable arms across his black leather jacket. Even his gloved hands seemed oversized, although she’d personally witnessed him play in the club and it never ceased to amaze her the gentleness that resided within.

“Ethan texted me what happened.” Lach didn’t speak unless it was direct and to the point. He wasn’t one for idle chitchat. “Do we know what went wrong?”

“Not yet,” Elle responded, feeling a little out of place. She shifted her stance and grabbed onto her locket to give herself something to do. “We just came up to this floor ourselves. Connor, Ethan, and Kevin are finding out now. I just don’t want to crowd him.”

Elle could feel Lach’s gaze on her, as if he knew the real reason that she was holding herself back, but she wasn’t so sure that he’d be right. Everything she’d experienced in the last couple of weeks had altered the way she viewed life. Her life. Right now, any other introspection would have to wait.

“Coffee?”

Elle’s lips lifted into a half smile. He really wasn’t a man of words, was he? She glanced at Lauren, looking helplessly on as Connor and the men tried to comfort their friend. Ethan and Taryn stood nearby as well while Crest and Jessie were near the door. The man’s face seemed to be made of stone until Jessie reached out, placing a hand on his arm. The intimate moment caused a softening of his features as he looked down at the petite woman. Elle hadn’t realized there was something between the two of them. As if it hadn’t happened at all, Crest pulled away and leaned against the doorjamb, crossing his arms and staring out into the hallway as if protecting them from unseen forces.

“Make that two?” Elle nodded toward Lauren.

“There’s hope for you after all,” Lach muttered under his breath.

Elle knew it was intentional, although his actual implication could mean several different things. The group knew that she and Kevin were…dating? Is that the term she should use? Again, this wasn’t the time nor place to contemplate her life when another hung in the balance. Elle didn’t reply to Lach’s comment and made her way over to Lauren, hesitantly reaching out her hand. The redhead smiled in appreciation and took hold of Elle’s fingers, both settling in to wait for news.

Chapter Seventeen

K
evin sat next to Jax, whose elbows were resting on his knees. His head hung low as he struggled with the fact that his wife was in surgery fighting for her life. It was every man’s nightmare.

Connor sat on the opposite side of his best friend, while the rest of the crew gave Jax some breathing space. Kevin had forged a friendship with Jax over the course of their professional life within CSA and wanted to provide him with the support that Kevin knew came from only family. As Jax didn’t have any blood relatives around or that he laid claim to, they would have to do.

“Did they tell you anything when they took Emily in for surgery?” Connor asked, keeping his focus solely on his friend. “She’s a fighter, Jax. Look at how hard she fought for the two of you.”

“Everything was going fine,” Jax whispered, his torment hitched to every word that he expelled. “Emily was doing great. Then all of a sudden, her grip on mine just went slack. The machines started to go off, the nurses were trying to push me out of the way, and—fuck—”

Jax pinched the bridge of his nose, his features showing the emotional agony he was going through. When he managed to regain some of his composure, he looked directly at the door as if expecting the surgeon to be standing there. The only one near the doorway was Crest.

“She has the best doctors on staff,” Kevin offered, knowing every bit of information helped. Reassurance was half the battle in sustaining hope. “You and Emily did all the research and you know this. Whatever went wrong, they’ll fix. You have to believe that.”

“I heard someone mention a blood clot.” Jax’s voice sounded far away, as if he was back in that delivery room. Kevin didn’t doubt that’s where his mind was. “Crying. I heard crying and there Derrick was, perfectly healthy and wanting to be held. Emily doesn’t even know.”

Jax’s sentences seemed to be random, but Kevin knew they made sense to Jax. That’s all that was needed. He looked over to see that Elle had taken up residence near Lauren, who seemed to be in shock. This was a jolt to all of them, but Kevin refused to believe this could end any other way than Emily making a full recovery and leaving this hospital with Derrick in her arms.