Kestrel (Hart Briothers #3) (27 page)

When she says that, I drop the pants I’m holding and
howl with laughter. “Sweetheart, I may be many things, but sex god isn’t one of
them.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” she says with a smirk and
a wink. Then she disappears in the bathroom. A few minutes later she comes out
and asks, “You remember that time we had sex without a condom?”

“Yeah. Why?” I’m putting on my shoes and I look at her.
Her face is about as gray as her eyes.

“How long ago was that?”

I have to stop and think. “I don’t really remember.
Why?”

“I just thought of something. I haven’t had my period in
a while.”

As casual as I can, I say, “Oh, yeah. Since when?”

She scrunches her eyes shut and then says, “Maybe five
or six weeks.” Then she groans. I’m by her side right away, holding her.

“Hey, it’s okay.”

“No, I never keep track because I don’t have to. At
least I didn’t until you. And I’m way smarter than that. What the hell is wrong
with me?”

Hugging her, I pat her hair. “
Shh
.
Carter, it’s okay. Everything is okay. You don’t even know how late you are.”

“I know, but I do know I’m late.”

“True, but you don’t know if you’re usually late or not,
by your own admission. Listen, tomorrow, we’ll go get a test and you can check.
But let’s not even worry about this now. It was only one time. And remember,
you jumped around afterward. You most likely jiggled everything right out of
you.”

She half smiles at my feeble attempt at humor. But the
honest truth is I don’t care if she’s pregnant. If she is, we’ll do the right
thing. If she’s not, she’s not. So I tell her.

“If you’re worried about my feelings regarding this, I
don’t care if you’re pregnant. If you are, we’ll have a baby. If you’re not,
then you’re not. I love you and I have your back. Clear?”

“You don’t care?”

“Maybe that’s a poor choice of words. I
do
care.
In fact, I would be thrilled. What I’m saying here is that I am by your side,
no matter what. So don’t worry, angel. I will do the right thing for you. And
not because I
have
to, but because I love you.” Then I kiss her lovely
face.

Her arms wrap around me and she says, “You always say
the right things. Always.”

“I only say what’s in my heart. Now get in the shower.
I’m going to the house to make coffee. And please, sweetheart, don’t worry.
This is Christmas and I want it to be the best one you’ve had since Ells was
here.”

“Okay. No worries.”

I watch her as she walks to the bathroom and I’m feeling
better that her mood is lifted. Now I have to go and see if anyone is up. When
I get to the kitchen, coffee is on and Kolson is up.

“Sorry,” I say. “We slept a little later than expected.
Damn that champagne.”

“I know. Another day of it, too.”

“Would you and Gabby be interested in a run between
brunch and dinner?” I ask.

“Hell yeah. We’d love that.”

“Good. That’ll help with the champagne slugs too.”

Soon the kitchen is a hive. Mom is chatting, Gabby is
scurrying around, and Carter is pulling stuff out of everywhere putting
together our meal.

“I’m moving to the den, where it’s more peaceful,” I
announce.

“Thank you,” Carter says. “More room for the cook!” She
laughs.

The women stay behind in the kitchen while my brother
joins me. Brunch is another feast and later we go for a run, leaving my mom
behind to take a nap.

Carter leads the pack, touring us all over downtown
Charleston, including the battery, Colonial Lake, White Point Gardens, Rainbow
Row and then we circle back home. Kolson and Gabby love it. They see some of
the old Charleston architecture as Carter leads us around old churches, homes,
and even past graveyards with tombstones dating back to the 1700’s.

“This is the coolest run I’ve ever been on,” Gabby
declares. “Kolson, we need a house down here.”

“I would agree,” Kolson says. “Besides, I’ll be coming
down a lot for business so it would only make sense.”

When we get home, I go and grab a change of clothing,
along with Carter’s gift, and meet her in the carriage house. We shower together
and when we’re dressed, she starts to head to the door.

“Wait a minute. There’s something I want to give you.” I
pull out the box and hand it to her. It’s not hard to figure out that it’s
jewelry. But I hope she likes it. “Merry Christmas, angel.”

“Thank you.” She takes the box, unwraps,
then
opens it. It’s a gold chain with a diamond teardrop
hanging within a gold circle on it. It’s not fancy but its simplicity makes it
elegant; I hope she thinks so.

Her hand instantly reaches for her throat. She does this
a lot when something moves her. It’s a hit so I smile.

“It’s perfect.”

“Can I tell you why I got this?”

“Please.”

“Because I want your last tears over Ells’ room to be
shed. Today, I want us to start our new beginning together.
On
this Christmas.
And this teardrop represents the beginning and the end. From
now on, I want all your tears to be happy ones. You are my circle too, angel.
My beginning and end. And I want us to be forever.”

Her body slams into mine like a bulldozer. Arms and legs
wrap tightly around me; there really isn’t a beginning or an end to either of
us. Then her mouth seeks mine and she kisses me, breathes her life into me, stamps
her soul onto mine, and I know I’m forever hers.

Chapter Twenty-One

Carter

The necklace. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful or
had anything that represented such meaning as this. I will never take it off
again, as long as I live.

“Kestrel, this is the most perfect thing ever.” My
fingers dance over it. The diamond is magnificent. I don’t have any idea how
large it is, nor do I care. What I love most is what he said to me. “I never
would’ve stopped crying if you hadn’t come into my life.”

He smiles and touches his lips to my nose. “I guess we
need to get back.”

“But I need to give you my gifts. Granted, they’re
nothing like this.”

“I will love anything from you.”

I go and pull out my gifts for him. They are all a bunch
of nonsensical things, except for one. He opens the first and it’s a
Lamborghini key chain. He laughs as he dangles it in the air.

“I know you don’t need a key, but I thought it was
cool.”

“It is cool and I love it.”

Then he unwraps a Lamborghini baseball cap. He holds it
up and says, “I’ve wanted one of these and never got around to buying one.”

“Are you just saying that?”

“You ought to know me better than that by now. I never
just say things.”

I still look at him skeptically. But then I smile.

The next gift is a wrought iron pineapple. He looks at
it oddly and I laugh. “It’s the gift of hospitality. I needed to gift it to you
for your new home.”

He nods, but I think he’s still a bit clueless over it.
Guess it’s a southern thing for me.

Then I hand him a thick embossed envelope. He opens it
and it’s for a weekend for two at the Sanctuary resort at Kiawah.

I hold up my hands saying, “I was really at a loss.
Seems you have everything. So I thought this would be fun.”

A giant smile spreads across his face. Using the
envelope for emphasis, he says, “This is fabulous. I love it. Thank you very
much.” He kisses me. “I can already see us. Champagne, strawberries, naked all
weekend.”

“My thoughts exactly!”

“When do you want to go?”

“Kestrel, it’s your gift, your choice.”

I nod. “Let’s get my family out of here and then we’ll
decide.”

I wrap myself around him again, kissing him. “Mmm. Too
bad it’s not just the two of us. We could spend Christmas in bed.”

He takes one of my arms and places a hand over his dick.
“This is me. And if you don’t stop, we’ll have to rectify this situation.”

“So, what’s the problem with that?”

“Time. And a brother that will not let you forget it.”

“Oh. That.”

“Yes. That.”

“Okay.
Kestrel, thank you for the
necklace.
I’ll never take it off. And thank you for making it private.
I’m glad you didn’t give it to me in front of your family.”

“Never. I wouldn’t share that type of thing with them.
Only sweaters and handbags.”

“Ha! I love sweaters and handbags.”

He rolls his eyes. “Come.”

He takes my hand and off we go. I love this man. Damn,
do I love this
man.

***

Our Christmas is filled with laughter and love. It’s the
first time I’ve felt like this in over four years, and I couldn’t wipe the
smile off my face if I tried. The rest of the Harts exchange gifts and there
are some fun ones tossed in for jokes. Kolson gives Kestrel a huge cookbook,
Gabby gives him an iron, and then they give him a printout of a listing for
local people interested in house work, i.e., maids. It’s all done with such a
flourish, by the time they finish, I’m holding my sides and my face hurts so
bad from laughing.

“Okay. I get the point. I know I’m helpless,” Kestrel
says, his hands in the air.

Then Gabby throws a big, beautifully wrapped box at him.
Inside are several pairs of his favorite pants from his personal tailor in New
York.

I raise my brows.

Gabby notices and says, “Oh, I see he didn’t tell you.
Kestrel is very fastidious about his clothing. Mainly his pants and suits. He refuses
to wear ready-made.
Even designer brands.
Nothing off the rack for him.
He has to have them made.”

My head swivels to him and he’s staring at me with a
smirk on his face. “I confess.”

“What’s wrong with off the rack stuff?” I ask curiously.

He shrugs and says, “They make my ass look too big.”

For a moment I think he’s serious and I say, “You’re
kidding.”

He turns around so his ass is facing me and asks, “What
do you think?”

By now my face is hotter than an oven in the middle of
summer. I decide, what the hell, and I go with it. “Personally, I don’t think
your ass could possibly look any better than this.” I stand and smack it as
hard as I can and then run for the kitchen.

Gabby and Kolson bust out laughing. Kestrel tears after me
laughing, too. He finally catches up with me.

“You didn’t warn me about your persnicketiness. You’re
totally high maintenance,” I say.

“Oh, yeah. But don’t worry. I’ll be easy on the eyes.”

“Ha! You already are.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Kestrel

The meal is divine. Carter has prepared the tenderloin
to perfection and the lobster tails are delicious. Once again, Kolson doesn’t
take a breath. I worry about that guy. I’m sitting at the head of the table
with Carter to my right and Kolson to my left. Gabby is next to Kolson and Mom
is next to Carter. We are all chatting amiably (with the exception of Kolson
because he’s too busy eating) when I hear a popping noise that interrupts
conversation. The dining room is in the front of the house and the windows
instantly shatter, along with everything else around us. Instinct has me
grabbing Carter’s arm and pulling her to the floor. I scream Kolson’s name and
Gabby’s too. Then I crawl toward Mom, who still sits in her chair. When I get
to her, I shove the chair over so it hits the floor.

“Call 911. Anyone call 911!” I yell.

Glass and other debris are everywhere. It pierces the
palms of my hands and knees as I crawl. The gunfire still spits so I have to
stay low. I hear Kolson on his cell, yelling at the 911 dispatcher that we are
under fire.

“Stay under the table,” I yell. I pull Mom under there
too, but then I notice she’s been hit. “Shit!” Blood seeps from her side. Not
spurting out, like you see in the movies, but it’s coming out in a steady flow.
“Mom’s hit. Is anyone else?”

“Yeah.”

It’s Carter. She’s holding her shoulder. I can see blood
coming out between her fingers.

“Fuck! Anyone else?”

Kolson is still on the phone, yelling. “Hurry. We have
people wounded in here!”

Gabby is strangely silent.

“Gabby?”

Nothing.

The gunfire has stopped.

“Kolson, check Gabby.”

“No.”

“Do it!”

He’s frozen so I crawl over to her and she’s deathly
pale. She’s been hit in the side, like Mom. I get up and run to the kitchen to
grab towels. Bringing as many as I can find, I hand some to Kolson and tell him
to find Gabby’s wound and put compression on it. Then I give some to Carter so
she can hold them on her wounds. Turning to Mom, I don’t like what I see. She’s
bleeding profusely now. I find the hole in her. But there are several and I
don’t think I can cover them all. Jesus Christ, how did this happen? Who did
this?

“Mom, hold on.” I do the best I can with the towels and
Carter gets up.

“Where are you going?”

“Upstairs to get more towels for her.”

She comes back, her good arm dragging a blanket. Using
that, I wrap it around Mom as tight as I can and we wait. It seems like
forever, as I’m sure it always does, but the police and EMS arrive. After they
do, I find I’ve also been hit. Grazed really.
In the arm.
They take us off to the hospital and when we arrive, they ask questions.

Of course it could be mob related. After all, we did
turn in all that evidence a year ago. But all those people are now in prison,
awaiting trial. Maybe it’s their flunkies. Who knows? But I want to find out
who tried to kill my family.

Mom and Gabby are critical. They’re both in surgery now.
Kolson is still frozen in shock. Carter is going to be fine. She will have
surgery to have the bullet removed. My mind racing with what happened, I come
to a decision. Carter needs to be away from this … from me. She can’t be placed
in this type of danger any more. She could have died … fucking died today
because of me. I will not let that happen. As soon as she’s better, I’ll buy
her a new place to live and assign her a bodyguard for protection. Then I’ll
leave so she won’t have to worry about getting gunned down again. Sometimes you
do things you hate for the people you love and this will be one of those things.

Numbness pervades every molecule of me. I touch Kolson’s
shoulder and when he looks at me, grief gushes from his eyes.

With a firmness I don’t feel, I grab his arms and say,
“Don’t you dare lose hope. You can’t possibly lose hope now.”

His voice is weak with despair as he answers, “But did
you see her? Did you see her? There was no life left in her.”

“That isn’t true, dammit. If it were, they wouldn’t be
in there digging a bullet out of her. Now you need to pull your shit together,
Kol
, because Gabby needs you now, more than ever.”

“You really think she has a chance?”

“Yes! But it’s not what I think that’s important. It’s
what the medical staff thinks and it’s what
you
think!”

“And Mom?”

This is where I shake my head. “Mom’s another story,
Kol
.” My voice cracks. “You heard what the doctors said.
Her chances are so slim.”

“I was so focused on Gabriella, I couldn’t take it all
in.”

“Kolson, we need to call Kade and let him know
something.”

“Yeah.”

A nurse approaches us and asks for me. “You can see Dr. Drayton
now.”

Turning to Kolson I ask, “Will you be okay by yourself?”

“Yes. Go.”

The nurse escorts me and on the way she asks how my arm
is. I refused treatment when we got here. “You need to have it looked at by a
physician, Mr. Hart.”

“I will. After all this mess is finished.”

We enter a room and Carter is sitting up in bed. Her
eyes are glazed from pain medication, I guess. She gives me a loopy smile.

“Hey.” I move to her side and kiss her cheek. “How’s the
shoulder?”

“Okay for now. They want to get it out tonight.”

“Good.”

“No! I want to be with you.”

“No. I’m fine. You need to get well, angel.”

“Kestrel, what happened?”

“We don’t know. The police are investigating, but maybe
something to do with the mob. I’ve called the HTS security team and they’re going
to get someone to look into it if the police come up empty handed.”

“Gabby and Sylvia?”

“Still in surgery. I’ll let you know as soon as we hear
something. But I want you to get your shoulder taken care of before any other
damage occurs.”

Her arm is in an immobilizer and she has IV’s in the
other. She uses that hand to scratch her nose. She’s still bloody from the attack.

I glance around the room and find a cloth. There’s a
sink next to the bed so I wet the cloth and then gently wipe the dried blood off
her face and arms. I’m sure it’s everywhere, but getting rid of this bit makes
me feel better.

Sitting next to her, I touch her cheek and say, “I don’t
know how you manage it, but you’re even beautiful here.”

“And I have a big time buzz going with the pain meds
they gave me. So you better watch out, buster.” Then her eyes get as big as the
moon and she says, “You’re bleeding!”

“No worries, angel, it’s just a scrape. I’ll have them
check it out after Mom and Gabby get out of surgery. I have a few other things
that need tending first.”

“Oh, baby. Come here and let me kiss it and make it
better.”

She really is loopy. Leaning toward her so she can reach
my arm, I watch her press her lip to my sleeve. I’m hoping she doesn’t get
blood on her mouth.

“There. All better?”

“Yep. Thanks, sweetheart.”

“I’m so sleepy.”

“Then I think you should probably take a nap. I’ll wake
you before your surgery.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” I kiss her cheek and moments later she’s
snoring like a trooper. How such a delicate looking thing like her can produce
such a monstrous noise boggles the mind, but she does. I allow myself the
pleasure of watching her for a few minutes, and then head back to Kolson to see
if there’s any news. On the way I call Kade to tell him the horrible news. Then
I tell him he needs to come. Next I call the pilot on standby. But I forget
that it’s Christmas and that we don’t have one on standby today. I call Kade
back to tell him he’ll have to fly commercial.

Kolson doesn’t have news yet on Gabby. I fill him in on
Kade’s status. This is going to be a long night. Hours pass. We sit. Finally,
one surgeon comes to tell us our mother made it through, but she is in critical
condition. Her situation is very grave and he is not very hopeful. Less than a
half hour later, another surgeon comes to tell us that Gabby is doing as well
as can be expected. They found three bullets in her, two of which entered her
lungs and one that nicked her liver. But the good news is they removed them all
and if everything goes as they hope it will, she will be fine. She lost a lot
of blood and there was significant trauma, but she pulled through okay. Now
it’s sit and wait.

I make another call to Kade to see what time he’s
supposed to arrive.

“I can’t get out until the morning. There aren’t any
flights available. Will you keep me posted on things? I’m booked for the first
thing out so I’ll be there by noon, since there aren’t any direct flights,” he
informs me.

“Okay. I’ll call if anything comes up. I’d say we’d send
a jet, but it’s still faster if you fly commercial.”

Now I need to tell Carter about Mom, so I go back to her
room. She’s still asleep and I don’t want to disturb her. While I’m there, the
nurse comes in and says they’re going to take her to surgery now.

“Now?” I ask.

“Oh, yes. They want to get that bullet out. The surgeon
that did your mother will do Dr. Drayton’s surgery.”

“I see.”

I wake Carter up. She’s groggy but understands what I tell
her. She knows the doctor’s name when I mention it. He’s a thoracic trauma
surgeon.

“The bullet must be lodged in my chest if he’s doing the
surgery. I thought it was in my shoulder.”

Almost on cue, the surgeon walks in and introduces
himself. He already knows me, so he only nods in my direction. The bullet is
indeed sitting in her chest wall. He says it should be cut and dry. An in-and-out
type of thing. This whole thing leaves me very unsettled. A bullet in someone’s
chest is never a simple matter. But then I’m not the doctor, he is.

Soon they wheel Carter away, and I’m left there standing
alone, feeling very uneasy. Again, I find myself in the surgery waiting room.
Kolson is gone. I can only assume he’s with Gabby. I dig in my pocket for my
phone and when I find it, it’s covered in blood. Fuck. How did this day … this
perfect day … end up so damn tragic?

The chain of events rolls through my head, and I jump to
my feet and run to the ICU where my mom is. What if she doesn’t make it? I have
to see her. When I get there, she has more tubes attached to her than I can
count. I stare at her through the window. The ventilator pushes air in and out
of her lungs and I can see her chest move up and down accordingly. A nurse
touches my arm and for the first time in weeks, I flinch.

“I didn’t mean to startle you, Mr. Hart. I was going to
tell you that you could go in if you want.”

I’m so choked with emotion, I can’t answer. Like a
zombie, I walk into the unit and the medical team opens up an area to allow me
in. They are adjusting things on her. Medicines and such, I suppose.

“Can she hear me?” I ask.

“We don’t really know for sure, but we always tell
family members that it’s good to talk to the patient. Maybe they can hear, even
subconsciously.”

“Mom, it’s Kestrel. Hang in there and fight. You need to
give it your all now. You’re strong and I know you can do this. Hell, you put
up with the Dragon for all those years. This should be a walk in the park in
comparison. Don’t give up, whatever you do. I love you, Mom.” And that’s all I
can eke out before I crack. Falling to my knees, I rest my head on the side of
her bed and cry. It’s the first time I’ve cried since I can remember. Maybe
since I was locked in that fucking cage. I don’t know. All I know is I don’t
want my mother to die. Not here like this. Not when she’s happy for the first
time in her life. The world is falling apart around me—spinning wildly
out of control and I want it to stop.

But it doesn’t. It worsens.
Every
machine, device, what have you, in that tiny room starts to beep, setting off
an alarm of urgency throughout the ICU.
Medical personnel storm the
unit, shoving me out of the way. They don’t have to tell me what’s happening.
I’m not stupid. I stubbornly hope as I watch them through the glass, using
those paddles, seeing her body jolt as the electrical current charges through
her. But the line on the monitor doesn’t waver from its steady insistence on
remaining flat. They repeat the process and I see them pumping other kinds of
medicine into her IV line. More juice to the paddles and she seizes then
collapses back on the bed, a limp form of lifeless flesh and bones. The line
refuses to budge. The team is persistent; I’ll give them that. I feel separated
from my body as I watch the scene unfold. And I wonder if Mom is floating
somewhere, detached from her body, seeing this as I am. It takes me a few
minutes to notice that silence has enveloped the room. My hands are stretched
out upon the glass window, my face pressed against it. I can see the little area
of steam my breath has left behind. Two nurses are in there shutting all the
equipment down and then I hear a man clearing his throat behind me.