“Yeah, I remember them. They said they do computer work.”
I laughed. “Yeah, they do. What they forgot to tell you is they’re two of less than a dozen elite hackers and programmers in the world. They work for the damn government.” Her mouth dropped open in shock. “That means they can find shit even if Outlaw can’t. We’ll get that history. When we do find him, we won’t be asking for his medical history. We’ll be torturing the fuck out of him before he dies.”
“Donovan, you can’t. I know I said I wouldn’t care if you did, but what if someone finds out? You’ll go to jail. If someone else helps, they’ll go too. I can’t have that on my conscience. Isn’t there a way to have him sent to prison?”
I looked at her intently. Was she really worried about jail or was she not willing to see him dead? If it was the last one, then I’d have to be sure to never tell her I did it. There was no way I would let him continue to walk the earth and be a threat to her or Hope. “Is it really you’re worried we’ll get caught, or do you not like the idea of me killing someone?”
She wiggled around until she was facing me. The movement of her ass on my lap had me hardening, even though this wasn’t the time or place for that. “I couldn’t care less if he was dead or not, Donovan. I only worry about you and your brothers. Todd is nothing but a sperm donor for Hope. She’ll never know him if I have any say in it. He’s useless.”
“Do you think you’ll ever tell her the truth about him and how she was conceived?”
“I don’t know. I’ll have to see how it goes. If it becomes important she knows it, then probably.”
“I hope you don’t have to do it. She never needs to feel like there’s something wrong with her. You know some people would think because of how she was conceived she was somehow less than them.”
“I’ll make damn sure I raise her to know her worth.”
“You mean, we’ll raise her. I love both of you. End my misery and tell me you’re mine again,” I whispered against her lips. She lifted her hands and threaded them into my hair and drew me closer. Our lips met and fireworks went off. It had been almost a week since I’d held her and tasted her. I hungrily kissed her until we were both breathless and had to break away to take a breath.
She smiled at me. “Did that answer your question?”
“Why don’t you kiss me one more time, so I can be sure?” She laughed and gave me another kiss. We spent the next fifteen minutes kissing, whispering, and holding each other. I had my woman and daughter back. Life was good again, or as good as it could be until our daughter was cured.
?????
Two days later, I finally convinced Ilara to leave the hospital. She had spent so much time there, even with me staying too, that she was scaring me. She was pale, and she’d lost weight. Her face was drawn and she couldn’t eat. She said that when she got really stressed it happened. I thought of all the times she’d gone hungry when she was homeless. I never wanted her to do that again.
It was Zara and me together who convinced her if she didn’t go home and rest, she wouldn’t be there for Hope when she needed her most. The chemo was starting to make her a little nauseated. She had thrown up a few times. She was more tired and I could tell she wasn’t as happy as usual.
Zara had arranged for herself, Jessica, Devyn, and Jocelyn to take shifts to stay with Hope. Ilara objected, telling them they had small babies to take care of and Thanksgiving was in a couple of days. They told her to leave or else. She gave them a ton of things to call her about before I hustled her out to my bike. She’d never been on it before and I wanted a chance to have her riding behind me. We’d talked about it and she admitted she was curious to ride a bike. Today was the day. It was the beginning of my relaxation plan for her.
When I walked her up to my bike, she looked at me wide-eyed. “Donovan, I can’t ride this. I need to learn what to do and then maybe we can ride around the compound first.”
I shook my head as I took the helmet I’d brought her and put it on her. I tightened the strap as I talked. “The best way to learn is to do it. It’s simple. Try to relax. Hold on to me tight, but not with a death grip. When I lean into a curve, you lean with me. Don’t lean more or less than me. Keep your feet on these pegs.” I pointed them out to her. “That’s so you don’t accidentally burn yourself on the pipes. They get hot from the engine. There’s a back rest, so you’re not going to fall. That’s all there is to it. Come on, it’ll be relaxing. Give it a try,” I cajoled.
Finally, she sighed and nodded. I got on first then had her swing up behind me. I ran through the rules one more time, then started the engine. I revved the motor. She gave a squeal. I knew she was feeling the vibrations between her legs. I planned to get her wet on this ride. I started off slow and then after the first mile, I sped up. Soon we were riding through town and outside the city limits. She had her head thrown back and her eyes closed with a smile on her lips when I checked on her in the mirror.
I rode around for over an hour before going home. I didn’t want to overdo it on her first ride. She’d be stiff and a little sore. When we pulled into the compound, I took her straight to our house. I wanted her to rest, which meant soaking in the tub, sleeping, letting me pamper her and feed her.
She was a little shaky when I helped her get off the bike. She laughed. “Is this what sailors feel like after getting off a ship on dry land?”
“I don’t know, babe. I was in the Army. We humped our asses everywhere. How did you like your first ride?”
“I loved it! It was so relaxing. Thank you for talking me into it. It was much easier than I thought. I can’t wait to go again.”
I took her hand and led her inside. I didn’t stop until I had her upstairs. When we walked into our bedroom, I took her to the bathroom.
“What’re you doing, Donovan?”
“I’m going to run you a bath. You soak in here as long as you like. When you’re done, I’ve got a surprise for you.”
“A surprise? What kind of surprise? I don’t need anything.”
“Trust me, you’ll want this. Come on, get your fine ass in there.” I watched as she took off her clothes. She wasn’t trying to be sexy about it, but I was still ensnared by her. I bit back a groan as she stood there naked. She’d lost a little weight, and it made her breasts seem bigger. I ached to be inside her, but that wasn’t what this was about. It was about making her relax and reenergizing her.
I held her hand as she got into the tub. I handed her a bath fizz ball. She looked at it like she had no idea what to do. Zara had given it to me and explained what it was for. “Drop it in the water. Watch what it does. It scents the water and moisturizes your skin. Try it.” She dropped it and then laughed when it began to fizz like crazy.
I dropped a kiss on her mouth. “I’ll be back.”