Hell Bound (Seventh Level Book 2) (7 page)

He smothered a laugh. Although he knew now wasn’t the time, he couldn’t resist. “You lost your panties there once.”

Once again, he thought the drugs in her system had won out, but when she did finally speak, it was so faint he knew it was only a matter of time before they pulled her under. “I lost my heart in a parking lot, and I can’t get it back. I hate you for that.”

Dropping his forehead to the bed, he sucked in a deep breath. It felt like someone was sitting on his chest and stealing the oxygen from the room. He hated himself enough for the both of them, but hearing the words from her mouth was like having his heart carved out. It was one thing to think she hated him. It was another to know. Stumbling to his feet, he dropped the bar on the bed and boxed her in with his arms. Leaning in, he pressed his lips to the side of her mouth that wasn’t split open. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he couldn’t hold back any longer. “I will make this right. I swear I will.” He could tell she was sleeping by the sound of her breathing, but it didn’t make his words any less true. If he never did anything else, he would find a way to make everything up to her.

* * * * *

She smelled his cologne before she opened her eyes. As much as she wanted to believe it was part of a dream she couldn’t shake, she knew he was there. She could practically hear his heart beating. That was how powerful Wade Collins’ presence was. After a moment of sheer panic, she decided she could no longer ignore him. If nothing else, she would eventually have to pee.

He was staring at her. She knew as much without having to look. A quick peek confirmed her suspicions. He was every bit as intense as she remembered. “Why are you here?” Honestly, she’d not meant for her words to come out sounding as spiteful as they did, but she wasn’t feeling especially cordial.

“Where else would I be?”

Her brain hurt. She couldn’t decide if it was due to her injuries or his asinine question. “In my experience?” she asked, knowing she didn’t need to expound her list of experience for him. He’d been everywhere but where she needed him.

“Fair enough.”

Those two words sent her blood pressure through the roof. She was in pain and fairly certain she looked like shit. The word “fair” rolling off his tongue, left her feeling downright murderous. “No judge would convict me,” she muttered under her breath. She made a feeble attempt to sit up, but a sharp pain shot up her arm and she gasped against it. Jumping to his feet, Wade shoved pillows under various parts of her body in attempt to ease her. The look of concern on his face gave her something to concentrate on besides the rebellion of her body. “Seriously, why are you here?” she asked through clenched teeth as she tried to breathe past the pain.

A shadow passed over his eyes. “You don’t remember?” She shook her head since she didn’t think she’d be able to speak again. “Do you at least remember why you are here?”

The pain subsided into a dull ache and she let her breath out slowly. “Yes. Some guy tried to steal my purse.” As she said the words, hazy memories beat at the edge of her mind. “You saved me,” she said absently, picturing the crazed look on his face when he’d appeared out of nowhere during the attack. Everything had gone black, but there were other moments as well. She’d been in and out, but he’d been there each time she’d opened her eyes.

Raised voices outside the door pulled Morgan out her own thoughts and Wade straightened away from her. They both stared at the wooden surface in confusion, and when it flew open, Morgan’s heart dropped. Kathy stormed inside with a squirming Cole in her arms followed closely by a tall man with wide shoulders and mocha skin. They both looked pissed.

“Wade,” Kathy huffed as she looked pointedly at him. “You need to tell your pit bull to back the eff off.” Kathy’s attempt to curb her potty mouth while holding Cole made Morgan smile. A move she immediately regretted when it pulled at the cuts on her face.

“Nice to see you too, Kathy, and Mark is doing his job. I told him not to allow anyone in here.”

Her brows drew together in a thunderous scowl. “How is keeping this baby away from his momma part of his job?” Morgan could see it happening like a wreck. She was powerless to stop it. Wade’s eyes moved to Cole’s face and she could practically feel the calculation going on his head. In the end, it didn’t matter how the math worked out, Kathy cleared everything up. “Just because you suck as a parent, doesn’t give you the right to keep Cole from the one person who didn’t skip out on him.”

It was hard to say who was the most shocked in the room. Wade’s guard was eyeing every corner of the room as if seeking a way out while Kathy appeared satisfied. That part didn’t surprise Morgan. Her friend had always been vocal on her belief Wade should have kept Cole in grand style, but never did Morgan dream she would betray her like this. Wade slowly turned his gaze from Cole to Morgan. She felt sick. She’d never, ever wanted him to know. The burning need to look away from the hurt in his eyes ate at her gut, but she held her ground. It all came down to what she could live with, and what she couldn’t.

“Is my duck!” Cole called out and threw himself forward in Kathy’s arms. Holding a bright yellow rubber duck in one sticky hand, Cole tried reaching for Morgan with the other. With one arm in a cast, she couldn’t take him into her arms the way she wanted to. Mark intervened by plucking Cole from Kathy’s arms. The guard almost seemed relieved to have something to do other than standing in the center of their awkwardness. Pulling the bar up on her bed with one hand, he planted the toddler on her good side so he couldn’t get away. Morgan’s eyes filled with tears as she met the man’s sweet brown gaze. “Thank you,” she mouthed, unable to push the actual words past her swollen throat. He nodded before stepping away. Catching sight of her tears, Kathy seemed to realize she’d screwed up. “I’m so sorry, Morgan. I shouldn’t have said anything. I was just so pissed to see him sitting here after all this time.” She turned on Wade. “You have a lot of nerve showing up after all you’ve done.”

“Get out.” Morgan’s words sounded deadly even to her own ears. Kathy looked as if Morgan had slapped her, but she didn’t leave. “Let me take Cole with me. You can’t take care of him while you’re stuck in here.”

“Get out,” Morgan growled again, and Mark intervened by steering Kathy from the room. She shot several desperate glances over her shoulder as she left but she didn’t make any further attempt to stay.

Wade was watching Cole as if he’d withdrawn inside of himself. It was familiar ground for Morgan. He lived in a fortress no one could breach and it was a life she didn’t want for her son. There was no hell in comparison to loving him. Mark spoke up, dragging her attention away from Wade.

“Miss Bradley, you aren’t in any condition to care for a child right now. Is there anyone else I can call to come help you?”

Even though she knew he was right, her pride would not allow her to back down. “Thank you for your concern, but we’ve been just fine on our own up until this point. We’ll muddle our way through this on our own too. Now, if y’all don’t mind, I’d appreciate it if y’all would leave.”

Mark shook his head. “No ma’am. I won’t abandon you like this.”

Another tear rolled down her cheek and she brushed at it with her shoulder. She needed to pull herself together for Cole’s sake.

“I got duck,” he said, holding up the toy he never went anywhere without. The sound of his voice seemed to pull Wade from his stupor. Cole held the duck out to him. “See.”

Wade brushed the tip of his finger over the duck’s head as if he was petting him. “I see.” His voice was so tender Morgan’s chest shuttered as she took her next breath. She was going to fall apart in the next fifteen minutes if he didn’t go away.

Without meeting her eyes, Wade stood. “I’ll call my lawyer first thing in the morning. There’s no need for this to become a media circus.”

She felt the rejection all the way to her soul. Even seeing the reason in his words did nothing to ease the effect they had on her heart. All she’d ever known from Wade was betrayal. The pain stole her voice and she could only nod mutely.

“You should stay here,” he said to Mark as he headed for the door. “I know this is not in your job description, but if anyone catches wind of this they’ll be all over this room.”

Mark clapped him on the shoulder. “You couldn’t pry me away.” With a short nod of assent, Wade left without a backward glance.

“Duck! Duck! Duck!” Cole chanted at the top of his lungs, unwilling to be ignored. A horrible sound escaped Morgan’s lips. One coming from deep inside of her that she couldn’t control. Mark reached for Cole, and she didn’t try to stop him. She was incapable. Tears she’d kept locked inside for years came without warning, and her body shook with the violence of it. For the first time in Cole’s life and throughout every hardship she’d faced alone, she was genuinely powerless to care for him.

Not only was she hospitalized, in pain, and with a broken arm, it was as if something inside of her snapped. She didn’t know how long she cried but Mark sat by her side playing with Cole until it passed. In the end, she was left feeling empty.

After a few minutes, Mark cleared his throat uncomfortably. “You know,” he said slowly, sounding as if he expected her to snap at him. “I’ve been with Wade for a little while now, and I find it hard to believe he would have turned his back on you if he’d been given the chance.”

She gestured helplessly unable to find the words to explain her reasons. “At first, it was about me,” she admitted. “I couldn’t stand the thought of the light leaving his eyes. Wade and music aren’t two separate things. Without it, Wade is not whole and keeping him here with me would’ve been the same as slowly killing him in the most painful way possible. Then Cole was born.” She swallowed against the memory of the first time she’d set eyes on her new baby. “I loved him so much from the very first second, the thought of him struggling….” She stopped unable to finish. There were no words for what it was like to love Wade. He gave only enough of himself to make a person want more and then they were left dying inside from his neglect when he withdrew into himself. “You heard him. He’s calling his lawyer in the morning. What do I tell Cole now? At least before Wade knew, I could take the fall and pray my love proved I had a good reason for my choices, but now there’s nothing but the ugly truth his father did not want him. How do I explain such a thing?”

At some point, Cole had fallen asleep in Mark’s lap and he stared down at the child lost in his own thoughts. “Your son is lucky to have you,” he said quietly, taking her by surprise. “Not every child gets a parent who loves them and keeps them safe.”

*

Even as Wade’s feet carried him from the room, he knew he wouldn’t make it far. The sound of Morgan’s heartache coming through the door made it impossible for him to move any farther away than the other side. Of all the times he’d made her cry, he’d never heard her sound as broken as she did right then. It was no wonder she hated him. With the door separating them, he could allow himself to fall apart. He couldn’t let her see him at his weakest point. Pressing his forehead against the cool wood, he listened to every one of her tears fall. They were his punishment. There had been a moment when he’d wanted to call Kathy a liar, but he knew it was true. Cole was his son. It had been his eyes and smile looking at him from a child’s face. He couldn’t deny him even if he wanted to. Morgan had his child. The tie binding them together was more than he expected, but he’d not wanted this. He’d never, ever wanted this. Someone raised by monsters should never attempt to raise a child of their own. Black memories threatened to crush his skull and he fought against them. Instead, he called a picture of Cole’s face to mind. He could never hurt him. He wasn’t his father.

“You’re going to be so much more fun than I first suspected.”

At the words, Wade spun to find a blonde woman wearing a nurse’s uniform standing behind him. There was no way it was standard issue. It looked more like something someone would wear to a Halloween party. The white shirt stretched tight across half-concealed breasts and the matching skirt ended right below the globes of her ass. When he didn’t say a word, her bright red lips stretched into a sinister smile.

“I knew I was looking especially delicious today, but I never expected to leave you speechless. How…satisfying.”

Wade shook his head in disbelief over her outrageousness. “I’m sorry. Do I know you?”

Her smile never faltered. “Just like a man. A girl gives you the entire world and then you pretend not to know her when it comes time to pay.”

Of all the nights to run into a crazy chick, Wade did not have the patience for it tonight. However, something about her nagged at the back of his mind until the memory of a Nashville motel flooded his brain. His brows drew together in a frown.

“I see it’s all coming back to you now.” Her eyes slid down his body, stopping at his crotch, before moving back to his face. She licked her lips leaving him cold.

“It’s a long way from Nashville to Dallas,” he said in hopes of pointing out her crazy. She reached for him but he sidestepped her hands. “Oh no. There will be none of that.” He wished now he had more security with him.

She released a mock sigh. “Faithful men are so boring, but you need to remember we have a deal. You got your fame and soon you’ll need to pay up.”

“Is that Wade Collins?”

The sound of his name caused him to turn and he groaned when he spotted the group of teenagers headed in his direction. The fact he’d been spotted in Parkland Memorial Hospital would be all over social media sites in less than five minutes. Pasting a fake smile on his face, he accepted the sharpie that appeared in front of him and signed various slips of paper before posing for pictures. Cell phone cameras were the bane of his existence. Thankfully, in the flurry of introductions the fake nurse quietly disappeared. She was a problem he would need to deal with right away. He couldn’t risk anything happening to his son.