Sean sucked in a breath.
“Say something! I dare you to say something! Are you going to cry and play games with me this time too?” A sharp smack echoed from behind the door. He’d hit her.
Fuck!
He stood up and grabbed the door handle.
Please say something, baby. Please say something
. He had to know she was still alive.
“Y-You’re never going to take my baby from me! Sean’s more of man than you could ever be. He loves us, and I’m not letting you kill this little one like you did Caroline!”
Sean tightened his grip on the handle, waiting for his brain to process what he’d just heard.
She’s pregnant? God, she’s pregnant. Abigail’s carrying my child—our child
. Sean flung the door open and let his mind go blank as he ran inside. The adrenaline rush was just like that first moment of contact in the ring. All was silent and clear. Hit the fucking man or hit the fucking mat.
He swung and heard knuckle hit bone. Justin was taller than him, but he had the dickhead beat in size and strength. Stunned, Justin stumbled back and hit the wall. Sean didn’t give him a second to recover and pounced on him. One to the body, one to the temple, one to the gut…roll the shoulder. One to the body, one to the temple, one to the gut…roll the shoulder.
He vaguely heard Abigail’s scream in the background as he continued the assault. When he finally stopped to take a breath, Justin was slumped on the floor, not moving. The tissue around his eyes had already started swelling, and the blood pouring from his nose ran like a river over his cracked lips. Sean heaved breaths in and out, waiting for the bastard to wake up. “Come on! Wake up, you cocksucker! I got some more!” Sean slapped Justin across his lifeless face. “Wake up!”
A soft touch on his shoulder made him turn. Abigail jumped back when he started to stand up. “I-I called the police.” She clutched the phone in her shaking hand. “I dialed 911. I-I dialed it, and the lady said they were sending a car.”
“Baby.” Sean tugged her into his arms and squeezed so tight she caught her breath.
“I’m—I’m okay. He just hit me a little. I think he was going to shoot me.”
Sean pulled back. “What?”
Abigail pointed to the floor at the edge of the bed. “He had a gun.” A .22 caliber pistol lay on the floor. “When you hit him, it fell out of his hand.”
Sean wanted to puke. The thing could’ve hit the ground and gone off. She could’ve been shot. “Goddamn it!”
“It’s okay. We’re going to be okay.” She rested her palms on her stomach. “We’re going to be okay.”
A gurgling sound came from behind Sean. He turned around just as Justin began waking up. “Go check on Penelope. Don’t touch her. She’s hurt, and she might bite you.” Abigail hesitated and started to reach out for him. “Now! I want you out of here before he wakes all the way up. Go!”
Waiting until he heard her talk to Penelope, he kicked Justin in the side. “You motherfucker, you think you’re going to take her from me? I’ll fucking kill you first.”
Justin spread his split lips to reveal a bloody smile. “Y-You th-think y-you got h-her? You…you and that bastard baby sh-she’s got in h-her belly?”
“Let’s go, motherfucker. The police are going to be so glad to see you.” Sean shoved Justin over. Justin grunted but didn’t protest. How could he? Sean knew the signs, had them himself back in the day. Possible broken rib, concussion, broken forearm. The guy was in bad shape, and Sean was happy to have served him a dish of
fuck you.
Sean tugged on Justin’s arms, adding a dislocated shoulder to the list. He stood Justin up. Taking the brunt of the weight, he walked Justin into the living room. “Go back into the kitchen,” he said to Abigail, who was huddled by the front door. “Grab the duct tape.”
Abigail shuffled her feet and ran into the kitchen to search through the junk drawer. Sean turned to keep Justin from kicking Penelope, and Justin pulled his shoulder away, freeing himself from Sean’s hold. Sean grabbed Justin’s shirt just as he reared back and headbutted Sean on the forehead. Sean stumbled back against the table, stunned. Justin took the opportunity and stumbled to the bedroom.
Sean regained his senses and rushed into the bedroom. A shot rang out, and he froze. A hot flash of pain radiated up his arm and into his shoulder. The asshole had shot him in the arm. Adrenaline took over, and Sean rushed him against the bed and slapped the gun out of Justin’s grip.
Sean looked over at the doorway to the bedroom. Abigail stood with a knife in her hand. “I didn’t…I didn’t know what to do. Are you…are you, oh my God, Sean! You’ve been shot. Oh no! Oh no!” she screamed and dropped the knife on the floor.
Sean held his bleeding arm to his side and hurried to get Abigail out of the bedroom and away from Justin. They ran back into the living room. Sean shoved Abigail behind the couch and started back for the bedroom to grab the gun when he saw Justin scramble out of the bedroom, wielding the knife Abigail had dropped.
“She’s not worth your blood, tough guy. She’s a whore.”
“You motherfucker!” Sean yelled and lunged for Justin. As they rolled on the ground, Abigail rushed past them, into the bedroom.
Justin swung at him, and Sean struggled with his good arm to defend himself. The next thing he knew, a loud bang rang out in the small apartment, and Justin fell on top of him.
“He was going to hurt you,” Abigail said. She timidly laid the gun on the coffee table. “I-I h-had to do it.”
Sean pushed Justin’s lifeless body to the side and ran to Abigail. “I know, baby.” He coaxed her, pulling her against his chest so she couldn’t see the body on the floor. “I know. You’re so brave.”
“Did he hurt you? Oh, Sean, he was going to kill you.”
“Shh, I know. I know. It’s all right. Everything’s all right now.”
Two men dressed in blue and a man dressed in street clothes rushed inside the apartment. All the men had their guns drawn and were yelling instructions at Sean and Abigail to get back and get down on the ground.
Sean hid Abigail’s face against his chest. “That’s the guy you’re looking for.” He nodded at Justin’s body.
The plainclothes officer knelt to feel for a pulse on Justin’s neck. “Coroner needs to be called.”
One of the officers kept his gun aimed at Sean and Abigail while he spoke into the receiver pinned at his shoulder. “Send an ambulance. One down and one…” He looked over at Sean. “One wounded.”
The other officer pointed at Sean. “Your arm, sir. Have you been shot?”
Sean took a deep breath and twisted his arm to look at his bicep. “Yeah. I think it grazed me.”
The first officer lowered his gun. “The ambulance is on its way.”
“I-I did it, officers. I shot Justin,” Abigail said as she pulled out of Sean’s embrace. “I’ll answer all your questions.”
Sean gritted his teeth, making his jaw ache. He shrugged off the burning pain in his arm and sat Abigail down on the couch. He got a blanket from the bedroom to wrap Penelope in. Not knowing what else to do, he made an ice pack and strapped it to her injured hip. The cold always made him feel better when he’d been beaten to a pulp. He’d make arrangements with Ron to get her to the nearest animal hospital.
Abigail told the police officer she’d kept the strange e-mails and phone messages Justin had left. She also agreed to have her medical records pulled for further evidence against Justin. Sean sat on the couch, holding her in his arms as she relayed the events of the afternoon. He fought the urge to snatch her up and hide her away in the bedroom. The whole event was a blur of punches and kicks. The more she talked, the more he wanted to hold her, thank her for protecting their unborn child.
He was going to be a father. That was all that mattered now. His family was safe and always would be.
I’m going to be a dad.
“Let’s get you two down to the station and get the paperwork done on this. Mr.…?”
“Drennan, Sean Drennan.”
“Mr. Drennan, the ambulance is here. Let’s get you to Regional Hospital. We can go over some questions there.”
* * * *
After several hours in the emergency room, where Eric was on duty to fix Sean’s arm, the officers got the answers to their questions. They reassured both Abigail and Sean it looked like self-defense, but they’d be in touch to get the evidence filed and the information lined out for the case.
Sean sat in the hospital bed with his arm bandaged and the soft
beep, beep
of his vital signs going off in the background.
“Eric said I can go home but insisted we go to his house. He said he can monitor my wound there. Are you okay with going there?”
“I’ll go anywhere with you, Sean.”
He smiled and cupped her soft cheek in his hand. “Come here.” She curled up beside him on the bed. He kissed her on top of her head. “I’m going to be a dad.”
“Are you mad?” she asked.
“Oh, baby. Shocked, yes. Mad? Hell no. You’re amazing. You’ve given me the best present. I get to be a dad. I’ll admit I don’t know the first thing about how to do that, but I’ll figure it out along the way.”
She wiped her tear-soaked cheek on his shirt. “But you have school and work and the center. How are you going to be able to handle this?”
He smiled. She thought all that other stuff would matter after this news? “Nothing is more important than my family. You and the mutt, and now our son or daughter are my top priority. The other stuff can be juggled. Were you afraid to tell me?”
She looked up at him. Damn, she had been. “I didn’t want you to feel trapped.”
Trapped?
“This is the best news I’ve ever heard. I’m going to be a dad. What in the world could be better than that?”
“Oh, Sean.” She wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him against her. “I wanted to hear you say that. I really needed you to be happy about this.”
He pressed another kiss on her forehead, trailed his lips down over her wet cheek to slip his tongue between her lips. Her soft mouth gave in easily, letting him deepen the kiss. “I know you are my angel. You were sent to me from heaven. God must have known I would need you. I’ve been a total bastard most of my life, but he showed me mercy. He gave me
you
.”
“And you gave me this precious life inside me. I love you, Sean.”
“I love you too, baby.”
Abigail rubbed her belly where their baby was safe and sound. “I guess this means we’re going to need a bigger place.”
“We’ll start looking tomorrow. I have to check my account, but we should be able to have some sort of down payment within a couple of months. We can stay with Eric until then.”
He felt her little hand tug on his shirt. “I can use some of my savings too.”
“I told you, I’ll take care of my family. You save that for baby stuff. Do you think it’s a boy or a girl? I heard if you can’t sleep at night then it’s a boy…or maybe a girl. I forget.” He looked over just in time to catch her pretty smile. “Well, I don’t care which it is. Either way, he or she is going to play baseball. I always wanted to play baseball but never got to. Maybe she’ll want to dance or play the guitar. Did I ever tell you I taught myself how to play the guitar?”
“No. You’re full of surprises, Mr. Drennan.”
“Um,” he said, “about the Mr. Drennan thing. How about the Mrs. Drennan thing?”
He loved the way she smiled. “Mrs. Drennan?”
“Yes, how about you get a name too?”
“Sean, are you asking me to marry you?”
God, his palms were wet, and his heart felt like it could crack in half. The thudding in his head hurt, and thank God he was in bed, because his knees felt like they would to give out. Yeah, he was proposing. “Yes.”
She slung her arms around his neck. “Yes! Yes! I’ll marry you!”
He hugged her soft waist. “God, I love you. Thank you. Thank you.”
Abigail grabbed his cheeks, pulling his lips against her own. “Thank
you
, for saving my life, for giving me this precious life inside me, for loving me when I didn’t think anyone could. I love you so much.”
Sean dipped his head to slide his tongue across her soft lips. He’d never get enough of worshiping her gorgeous mouth. “Anytime, baby. Anytime.”
Epilogue
Abigail finished scooping the rest of the low-fat ice cream into the bowl. She filled the other bowl with chocolate caramel crunch for Sean. He’d know the difference in a heartbeat if she’d sneak him some of her low-fat ice cream into his bowl. The man still had a sweet tooth that could rival the Hershey factory.
She carried the two bowls into the living room of their new home. The boxes were barely unpacked; Caden’s nursery still had gift bags in the bottom of his closet. Her sisters had come to Savannah to throw her a baby shower and sent a thousand outfits after they’d gone home. Jenny had even sent a tiny wet suit!
Sean had been a bit overwhelmed when her family came to Savannah after receiving the news of the attack, but when they came to see the baby he’d been much better prepared for the open arms and welcoming affection. Where he was tentative and suspicious before, he opened his arms and welcomed her siblings and parents with cheerful hospitality.
“He’s still awake,” he said and shifted Caden in his arms so he could take the bowl of ice cream. “Thank you, baby. That’s just what I needed. You didn’t give me any of that low-fat stuff, did you?”
She smiled. “No, I gave you the good stuff.”
He juggled a cooing Caden and took a bite of ice cream. “I have two more portfolios for you to go through before the end of the week. We’re going to have to find some serious tax write-offs. How would you feel about an anonymous donation to the center?”
“I think that’s a great idea. Do you want me to take him so you can eat?”
He shuffled his baby boy up onto his naked chest. “Nope, he’s fine where he is. The fight’s coming on. Penelope!” The very pregnant dog waddled into the front room. “Sorry, girl, but the fight’s getting ready to start. She has a vet appointment in the morning. I’ll take her before I go to the gym. Lie down.” Penelope turned a few times in the bed Sean had put next to the couch, trying to find a comfortable position to get her swollen belly into. Once satisfied, she laid her head down and started chewing on a leftover bone.