When his blood trickled onto her skin, she went limp.
“I thought you would.”
He shook his head in disbelief, his eyes misting with desire. Clamping her body to his, he rammed his mouth against hers. The sudden burning intensity terrified and thrilled her, making it impossible to think.
Then the excruciating pain erupted in her stomach. Without warning, the room was spinning, then went black.
SUNDAY
JAKE
4:00 A.M. The club was emptying. Energy radiated through the bar as the dim lights dispersed the darkness. Jake’s mental exhaustion was debilitating, making him anxious to get away from the madness of the night. They were closing down when Marty and Tia approached. He straightened up, becoming defensive as he stared at them.
Tia's lips attempted to form a smile, her eyes unwavering from his face. The moment of truth had arrived. Not wanting to make a scene, Jake pulled her to the side. “You should leave, Tia—”
She cut him off. “—Why?”
With a deep, labored breath, he avoided her eyes and whispered, “I can't be with you anymore.”
At first Tia stood in motionless disbelief. Then her eyes began to blaze. “Because of her?”
“It's just not working. Don’t make a big deal about it.” He lowered his head, looking around discreetly.
“It is a big deal Jake! You're not even giving me a chance. I can make you forget her,” she pleaded, taking hold of his arm with both hands.
He shook himself free, struggling to stay in control. “No, no Tia, you can't. I know about the photo.”
“That was a joke, Jake—”
“—Joke? It's over! It's never gonna happen—just leave!”
Without thinking, he shoved her, the impact knocking her off balance into a couple of departing patrons. In an instant, his expression changed from infuriated to shock and regret.
Jake shrugged at Ben, unable to respond to his inquiring look. By that time Tia had pulled herself together and was headed in their direction, Marty trailing behind her.
“Shit,” Jake muttered. Once she was back at his side, he looked down at her, feigning concern. “Sorry about that.” He wanted to smile, but his face was numb.
She tried the innocent, doe-eyed trick, her face tilted up towards him. He made a quick decision to ignore her and kept packing up. As Ben turned away to take care of his business, Marty didn't blink.
Five minutes later, he charged out the door and waited outside for Ben. They were halfway down the block with Tia on their tail, when Jake stopped dead in his tracks.
Fuck trying to protect her precious ego! It’s not working.
“Tia. I need you to back off. It's over. Make it easy.”
As soon as Marty came into view, he detected her pleasure. Tia stood expressionless, which Jake misconstrued as acceptance, until her hand lashed out at his face. Although she was tall in her heels, he still towered over her and effortlessly caught her wrist in midair. Totally aggravated by now, he held onto her forearm for a minute.
“Big mistake, Tia. Don’t try that again.” With a final glance at Marty, he dropped her arm and trotted off to his car.
“Asshole!” Tia’s scream echoed through the cold air as he started his truck.
LOGAN/KRISTEN
Logan didn't have a chance to take care of his wounded hand before he rushed Kristen to Coral Beach Medical Center. It wasn't until the admitting woman mentioned their visit a few months earlier that it registered: they were becoming regular visitors. Not that he gave a damn, it wasn't their business, but for a few minutes he was paranoid that Kristen would tell them the truth. Trying not to be too conspicuous, he listened carefully as she told her the pains came from too much exercise. In a sense, it was true. They had quite a workout, and it was her choice. Filled with relief, he suddenly found himself more concerned about Kristen's blackout and pains than his own injury, but decided to let them treat it anyway. It was time to resign himself to the fact that it was destined to be a long night. In preparation for what lay ahead, he brought back two cups of coffee from the vending machine and slumped down next to Kristen.
By now his hand throbbed so terribly it forced him to reflect on this disastrous hormone raging thing. And she said I was the unstable nut job!
As if aware of his thoughts, she glanced up at him, then let the grogginess take over. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
“I thought you wanted coffee?” He grinned, listening to her grumbled response.
Apparently her pains had subsided, because she wasn't moaning or complaining anymore. Maybe it was the tension. He was glad he hadn't provoked it this time. If only she would calm down and not worry about what he did to stay satisfied while she was in her fragile state, maybe they wouldn’t constantly be running to the hospital.
They brought a wheelchair out and took them to examining rooms.
Some of the staff recognized them. If he wasn't so frustrated and exhausted, it would've been embarrassing. After they took Kristen’s vitals and set her up in a bed, one of the nurses kept busy snooping around nearby while they waited for the doctor.
Kristen propped herself against the pillow, watching him with increasing sadness. “Does your hand hurt?”
After looking down at it he cringed. “I forgot about it.” He pulled the chair next to the bed to lay his head in her lap. “Why didn't you just ask me if she called? I'm not hiding anything from you.”
She shrugged.
“Am I really so scary?” He glanced up with a sullen expression.
Her lips fixed in a pout just as the doctor bounded in. It was the same one as last time, overworked, annoyed, and not at all surprised to see them. Logan scowled, sitting up.
“So, Kristen, I heard you fainted and had some stomach pains. It says you are about seven months pregnant, is that correct?”
“I think so,” Kristen looked at Logan. He gave her a stupefied look and lowered his head.
The doctor appeared disinterested. “I'm going to examine you. Do you want him to stay?”
Narrowing her eyes, Kristen contemplated the unexpected question, then agreed halfheartedly. Logan pushed his hair back, let out an uncomfortable sound and slid his chair away, stopping when he felt safe enough.
Not in the mood for small talk, the doctor immediately began touching Kristen’s stomach. “Does this hurt?”
Kristen was too nervous to respond.
After an in-depth examination, and confirmation of a heartbeat, the doctor concluded she needed an ultrasound in addition to the bloodwork, just to be sure. So far it didn't seem serious. Relieved, Kristen gasped, glancing at Logan, who was nodding off.
“Let's take a look at your hand.” The doctor touched Logan's arm.
Kristen watched in amusement as he jumped, became flustered, then lamely obeyed her request.
The doctor grimaced. “Well it’s a good thing you came in. It's infected. What happened?”
Kristen tensed. For an instant his eyes met hers, then narrowed to slits. Turning back to the doctor, he grinned, then gave her a sheepish shrug. “I hurt it.”
“You hurt it?” The doctor rolled her eyes. “Well, let's clean it up and give you some antibiotics, ok?”