Surrender to a Donovan (Kimani Romance) (14 page)

Briana still cried, which meant she was alive and she was safe. Lights flashed, blue and red. A siren sounded. Police, he thought. Then he coughed.

“Tate,” her name fell from his lips before everything around him went black.

Chapter 21

T
ate sat in a different chair now. It wasn’t as comfortable as the one she’d been in all night, and the surroundings weren’t as warm, but she didn’t dare move. Nobody could get her out of this room. Nor could they convince her to let the hospital bassinet, which was too small for Briana, out of her sight. She was staying right here where she could see her baby. She could reach out and touch her, feel her pulse and know that she was still alive.

Sean had been rushed into surgery before she’d arrived at the hospital early this morning. They said he’d lost a lot of blood, that the bullet had entered through his back and was stuck somewhere in his chest. Briana had been rushed to the pediatric unit, where she was being checked out for smoke inhalation.

Lyra and Regan walked with her to the pediatric unit, one on either side of her. As she’d waited to see Briana, all sorts of scenarios had run through her mind. There was a fire and talk of some woman named Sabine being there and an unknown man who had died. Tate wanted to take comfort in the fact that Briana was alive, which was a tremendous blessing, considering all that had gone on. Still, her legs shook and her hands trembled when she finally walked into the room.

Briana had a tiny tube up her nose, but she was sitting up, a light yellow hospital gown with clowns all over it hanging from her shoulder. She had smudges on her cheeks and her eyes looked red, but as Tate drew closer her precious baby lifted her small arms up in the air to her. Tate rushed forward and scooped her up in her arms. Tears poured from Tate’s eyes as she held Briana in her arms and felt the beat of Briana’s heartbeat against her chest. Joy had soared through her with a gush of breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

* * *

Regan and Lyra both hugged Briana, and they all stood around her cooing and kissing for what seemed like forever.

Then, as if on cue, a cloud passed over the early morning sun. The room grew darker, colder, and Tate gasped, “Sean.”

It had taken some convincing and the Donovan name being tossed around—Tate was sure—for the pediatric doctors to allow her to take Briana to another floor of the hospital. They called upstairs ahead of time so the trauma unit would not be alarmed by seeing her with the bassinet and baby in tow.

For an endless amount of time they’d sat in the waiting room. Waiting.

Dion had been treated for smoke inhalation as well. He and the man that had allegedly kidnapped Briana had gotten into a fight and crashed right into Devlin and his men as they had entered the house. It had taken a few minutes to untangle the men and discover that Sean wasn’t there. By the time the discovery was made, they all smelled smoke. And only seconds later they heard the gunshot. By that time the house had filled with smoke and they couldn’t get to Sean. They’d run out of the front of the house to keep from being engulfed in the flames and smoke, when Devlin heard the call of one of his men at the back of the house, where Sean had made his getaway.

They’d found him lying on the grass, blood pouring from his back, Briana on her knees beside him crying.

“He made it through the surgery, and we were able to remove the bullet,” the doctor said the moment he walked through the swinging double doors.

“He’ll be in recovery for another couple of hours, then we’ll move him to a room.”

“I have to see him,” Tate said.

She’d been standing behind the Donovans, letting his parents and his brother be the first to get the news. But she couldn’t remain quiet, and her feet shifted from side to side as her hand stayed on the bassinet.

“Can I see him now?” she asked anxiously.

Janean Donovan moved through the family members to come to Tate’s side. Tate wondered nervously what she would say.

“Yes, she needs to see him,” she said, putting an arm around Tate. “He’ll want to know that Briana is safe.”

Tate didn’t know what to say, but she found herself doing something she never thought she’d do—leaning into Janean’s embrace for strength.

She’d decided after Patrick that she’d never lean on anyone again. That she and Briana were in this life alone. And then she’d come to Miami and found this family, who had welcomed her with open arms. She didn’t know what to say to express how grateful she was and figured it probably wasn’t the time to go into all her revelations about relationships.

Instead, when the doctor nodded his head, Tate pushed the bassinet ahead of her through the double doors. Down a long corridor she traveled with the doctor right beside her.

“This is highly unusual. Children aren’t even allowed in the trauma ward, let alone back here in intensive care. But I know this has been a trying night for everyone. Still, you have to make this quick. When he’s moved to his room, I’ll make sure you and the baby can stay in there with him.”

He was a nice-looking guy, with his honey-blond hair that curled around his ears and clear blue eyes. What was nicer was the tone of his voice, the soft baritone that reassured her the more he spoke.

“Thank you very much,” she said when they came to a room at the end of the hall.

The doctor opened the door for her and she walked in with the bassinet. She stopped at the end of the bed and simply stared down at Sean, who was surrounded by machines and white sheets. His chest was bare but for the bright white bandages, and his hands were still at his sides.

“Sean.” She said his name so quietly she didn’t think he’d even hear her. She’d barely heard herself.

But his eyes opened. They closed languidly, then opened again.

“Tate.”

Her name was a whisper on his lips, a gravelly sound that she barely recognized. She went to him then, lifting his hand in hers.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I brought this into your life. I wish it were me. I swear I wish it were me instead of you.”

She lifted his fingers to hers and kissed them.

“Briana,” he whispered next.

“She’s fine.” Tate moved back to the bassinet and lifted Briana out.

She was asleep, and her head fell instantly against Tate’s shoulder. But when Tate got closer to Sean he lifted his hand to touch Briana. She leaned close to him to make it easier. His fingers rubbed the baby’s back, over her mussed hair.

“You saved her,” Tate told him. “You carried her right out of that house away from the kidnappers and the fire.”

Tears poured down her cheeks as she spoke. “I owe you everything, Sean. Everything. How can I ever repay you for saving my baby?”

Sean now touched the side of her face and Briana’s at the same time. He’d winced when he moved the left arm across his body and she’d almost pulled away from him. But his gaze held her still.

“Marry me,” he said earnestly.

He’d become blurry through her tears and his voice was raspy to her ears, but it was still Sean. She’d know his touch anywhere, this feeling that always seemed to settle over her when he was around. All of it was familiar and it was comforting. It was everything Tate had ever wanted. So her answer was no surprise.

“Yes,” she said, nodding her head enthusiastically. “Yes. I’ll marry you.”

* * *

Sean had quickly slipped off to a deep sleep, and Tate wondered if he’d even remember his question when he awoke.

She decided that it didn’t matter. She’d be here regardless.

When he’d been moved to his private room and his family had filed in to see him, they’d all been ecstatic that he was going to recover. But the pain medications had still kept him asleep.

Janean had offered to take Briana home since she was technically discharged from the hospital now, but Tate wouldn’t let her. She just wasn’t ready to be apart from her so soon. Janean understood and promised to return later with a change of clothes for both her and Briana.

Now it was early afternoon and Briana was up. One of the nurses had been nice enough to get her one of the leftover patient lunches. Briana wasn’t a fan of the food but managed to get at least some of the tuna down. She’d eaten all of the peaches and drank the milk. Now she sat in the bassinet playing with the blankets.

There was a knock at the door.

“Hi,” Devlin said, peeking his head inside.

“Hi,” she replied, giving him a slight smile. She owed him a lot and had thanked him last night.

“He’s still not awake?” Devlin asked, coming all the way into the room and stopping at the end of the bed.

“He comes and goes. The painkillers are really strong,” she told him.

Devlin nodded and continued to watch Sean.

Here was a complex man, Tate thought as she continued to stare at Devlin. He was tall—not as tall as Sean’s six feet, four inches—but still tall enough to tower over her. And he was broad—his body was solid and muscled everywhere, from the veins that bulged in his neck to the thick sculpted shape of his thighs. He wore pants that looked like parachutes that were tucked into his black steel-toed boots. His shirt almost seemed too small as it molded against his iron-man chest. When she looked at him she instantly thought wrestling star or bodybuilder.

Until she looked at his face.

He had dark brown skin, like tree bark, and even darker eyes framed by lashes that were thick and long and probably the envy of every woman who’d ever seen them. But it was his eyes that said so much more than any other aspect of his body. He wasn’t happy.

For a second Tate wondered if people could look at her like this months ago and say the same thing about her. If this man’s unhappiness cloaked him like a shield, she figured hers probably had, too. She wondered how she appeared now. Was there a glow of happiness surrounding her instead? Lord, she prayed so.

“You always stare at people in hospitals like that?”

The sound of Sean’s voice yanked Tate from her thoughts and she looked to the bed to see that he was fully awake. He didn’t look as groggy as he had earlier.

“Only when dudes act like pansies, laying in bed like they’re really injured,” Devlin replied with a hearty chuckle. “How you feeling?”

“I feel like I was shot,” Sean said.

Tate smiled. His voice didn’t sound as raspy as it had before. When she’d asked the nurse, they’d explained that during surgery he’d been intubated and that could cause sore and raspy throats.

“You feel like hearing what’s been going down since you decided to jump in front of that bullet?”

“Only if you’re going to tell me they put Sabine’s crazy ass in jail.”

“Something like that.”

Briana began making noises, lifting her arms toward Sean. She’d been wanting to get on that bed with him all day, but Tate wouldn’t let her. To keep her quiet so they could all hear what Devlin had to say, she picked her up and sat her in her lap. That was a mistake. Briana wanted Sean and she wasn’t letting up this time, probably because she could see that he was awake.

“Come here, pretty girl,” he said, lifting one of his arms for her.

“Are you sure? I know you’re still in pain,” she said.

He shook his head. “I want to hold her.”

Gingerly she placed Briana on the bed and watched as Sean lifted her little fingers to his lips for a kiss.

“Hey, cutie,” Sean said, letting Briana touch his face, his nose, his lips.

“You can continue, Devlin,” he said without looking at the man.

“Did you know your ex-husband had a sister?” he asked her.

Tate shook her head. “No. He didn’t talk about his family much.”

“Sabine Ravenell is his sister. It looks like she took care of him when she was riding high on the porn circuit. Put him through college because their parents were too poor to do so. When he completed college she was on the downswing and probably used a guilt trip to get him to make her some money.”

“Wait a minute. Are you saying that the money he stole from my grandfather went to his sister?” Tate asked.

“That’s how she bought Onyx Publications,” Sean answered. “He was the investor in her new business venture.”

“And he’s been continuing with the fraud, even after the FBI got wind of what he was doing,” Devlin told them.

Tate was astounded. “How could that be? When I talked to those agents they seemed positive they had enough information to charge and convict Patrick.”

Devlin was shaking his head. “Their star witness backed out.”

“Marsha,” she said with a sigh. He’d probably bought her something to keep her quiet.

“Yeah, but he made a dent in a dozen retirement funds in Daytona just before showing up here. So I think they’ve got enough on him now. Not to mention the conspiracy-to-kidnapping and breaking-and-entering charges here. I think he’s going to be locked away for a long time.”

“What about Sabine?” Sean asked.

Devlin folded his arms across his chest. “Conspiracy to kidnap, assault, attempted murder. She’s going to do some time as well.”

“Good.”

“Yeah, now you all can live happily ever after,” Devlin said with a smirk that was probably as close as the man came to a smile.

Chapter 22

2 Months Later

T
he best thing about their new house was the large backyard with plush green grass, mature palm trees and colorful sprays of begonias and blue daze.

Tate had told him the names of the flowers, but all Sean knew was that he loved the way the colors brightened the large space, adding a touch of whimsy to the area. They’d been here a week and he’d already purchased a swing set and sandbox for Briana. They had a grill and deck furniture sitting beneath the alcove designed for entertaining. In the garage, both their cars were parked. In one of the four bedrooms, the walls were freshly painted the lightest shade of yellow, waiting patiently for Briana’s new furniture to be delivered.

In the early morning hours of this Saturday morning Tate had already been up with Briana. Tate had been in a cleaning frenzy since they’d moved in and had decided to take the week off from work. He’d told her they could hire someone to clean the house, but she’d insisted on doing it herself. Sean was inclined to give her what she wanted.

That went for both Tate and Briana. If they asked for the moon he’d swing a lasso and pull it right out of the sky for them. That’s how much he loved them.

After a quick shower he followed the noise down the hall to the room that was going to be a guest room but right now housed a lot of boxes and furniture Tate had picked up from her apartment. He stood in the doorway a few moments, just taking in the sight. Briana wore a pink-and-white polka-dot top with a ruffled bottom that capped her chubby little thighs. Her feet were bare as they slapped across the wood floor. She moved faster and faster every day, Sean thought as she raced across the room to tackle another empty box. Tate looked over her shoulder to make sure Briana hadn’t hurt herself. She was very protective now and kept Briana in her sight at all times. They’d even found a new day care with the help of Sean’s mother.

The new day care worked out well for Janean because it was owned by the daughter of the co-chair of one of Janean’s committees. This meant Janean was allowed to drop in whenever she wanted and to take Briana for a couple hours a day after she’d checked with Sean and Tate. His mother was absolutely in love with that little girl, and Sean couldn’t blame her.

A loud crashing sound pulled Sean from his thoughts, and he crossed the room quickly to help Tate with the boxes that had fallen onto the extra car seat in the corner.

“Damn it, it’s broken,” Tate said when Sean had pulled the boxes, which had been filled with books, to the side.

“Baby, we have new car seats. One in my car, one in yours and one at the day care. Even my mother has a car seat. It’s okay if this one is broken.”

Tate was lifting the seat, checking the belt and back frame.

“She can’t even fit in that one anymore. It’s an infant seat.”

“I know,” she said with a frown. “But it was a baby shower gift. The girls at the job I was at gave it to me. I figured I’d use it again someday, maybe.”

She was wearing sweat pants and a tank top, and her hair was pulled up high on her head, wayward tendrils falling around her face. She looked so fresh and so pretty even after unpacking boxes.

He touched her shoulders, massaged them gently. “When we have our next baby, I’ll buy us another car seat. Hell, you’ll probably have a baby shower at work and my mother will no doubt orchestrate a huge production. We might end up with four more car seats.” He chuckled at that thought because it was closer to the truth than Tate probably knew.

She laughed, too. “Yeah, I’m probably being silly. I’ll just put this down with the trash pile.”

But as she said that, her fingers slipped behind the backing of the seat.

“What’s this?” she asked, pulling it out.

It was an envelope.

“Maybe a piece of mail that fell while you were packing,” Sean suggested as he picked up more of the books that had fallen out of the boxes.

Tate shook her head. “No. It’s not addressed.”

She ripped the envelope open and looked inside. Her gasp alerted Sean, and he moved in closer. “What is it?”

Tate pulled something out of the envelope. “It’s a key.”

* * *

“I can’t believe I forgot about the safe deposit box,” Tate said that night after dinner.

Sean had cooked hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill, and Dion and Lyra had come over to join them.

“Do you remember what’s in the box?” Dion asked just before emptying his bottle of beer.

“I didn’t have anything of value except for the life insurance policies I took out just before I had Briana. That’s the last time I went to the box,” Tate said, sitting back in her chair and loving the feel of the cool night breeze on her cheeks.

“Was Patrick’s name on the box as well?” Lyra asked.

She had just announced last week that she was pregnant. She looked absolutely stunning with her sun-tinted complexion and lovely hazel eyes.

Tate nodded. “Yeah, it was.”

“You should go take a look,” Dion suggested.

Sean reached across the table to take her hand. “I agree. We should go to Maryland and find out what’s in this box. Sabine asked specifically for a key. This must be what they were looking for.”

That was all the more reason Tate didn’t want to be bothered with it at all. She wanted to put that chapter of her life behind her. She didn’t want any parts of Patrick Dennison—none except her little girl.

But something told her she wasn’t completely finished with him yet.