Page 2 of Freed

I put William down for his nap, giving him a cup of water to suck on so he could pass out quickly. Then, I grabbed the things I needed to make Hayley a pallet on the bathroom floor. God knew she needed some rest.

After situating it, I helped her lie down, and then I covered her up, handing her a Ginger ale out of our mini fridge. “Try to sip on this, baby girl.”

“Are you leaving again today?” she quietly asked me, her eyes already sliding closed.

I ran my hand over her hair, hating that work always seemed to pull me away from her when she needed me the most. Days like today, I felt no better than Damien when they were together the first time. He’d treated her like shit and had destroyed her spirit.

I never wanted to be that for her.

“No, baby girl. You’ve got me the rest of the day,” I assured her.

She sighed, relaxing. “Lay with me?”

I quickly stripped out of my clothes and then laid beside her in my boxers, tugging her into my arms. Napping on the bathroom floor wasn’t exactly comfortable, especially since she had all the bedding beneath her to make her comfortable, but I didn’t complain.

I might complain about a lot of things, especially with how shitty life had been lately, but I’d never complain about something if it made her feel better.

Hayley was the center of my universe, and I’d do anything to make sure she was happy and well cared for.

Hence why I was risking my fucking neck to get us on the straight and narrow.

2

Miles

Ihated seeing Hayley like this. I knew it was partially my fault because I’d gotten her knocked up. When she wasn’t so damn sick, she was exhausted and slept all the time. And poor William just wanted his mom, but fuck, I couldn’t let him disturb her. Rest was hard for her to get anymore.

I blew out a soft breath and ran my hand down my face after I gently settled her into bed. She hadn’t gotten sick for a couple of hours and had remained asleep, so I’d decided to get both of us off the bathroom floor before William woke up needing one of us. But just in case, I had a trash can next to the bed for her to throw up in.

I’d taken her to the doctor, but hell, Hayley couldn’t even keep down the nausea medication the doctor prescribed her. She was losing weight extremely fast, so the doctor had her on mostly rest, no moving around unless it was absolutely necessary.

It was a struggle just keeping nutrients in her system.

My ears easily picked up the sound of William beginning to make sound from his room. After pressing my lips to the top of Hayley’s head, I quietly slipped from the room, shutting our bedroom door behind us so William wouldn’t disturb her.

“Daddy,” he mumbled. He was getting better at talking, now able to actually form words. His doctor said he was ahead of other kids his age. I had no doubt he’d be as smart as his dad had been. He was so much like Damien, it made my chest hurt sometimes.

“Hey, kiddo,” I said softly, leaning down to lift his chubby body onto my hip. “You want a snack?”

He rubbed his eyes and nodded his head. I pressed a kiss to his temple and walked over to the pantry, grabbing him a small pack of crackers. After warming him up some milk, I settled him on his mat on the living room floor and took a seat on the couch behind him so I could keep an eye on him.

Some days, I wondered if I was doing enough for them. Was I living up to the standard that Damien would want them to live? Was I giving them enough?

I had no idea how he seemed to do it so effortlessly. But then again, Damien had never had plans to pull out of this shit. This life was all he knew, and besides Hayley, it was all he’d ever wanted for himself. She was the only thing besides his empire that Damien would have killed over.

I’d always been attracted to Hayley, and then after Damien went to prison, I’d fallen in love with her. But as long as he was alive, she’d never loved anyone but him.

Their love had been toxic and destructive, but God, it had been fucking beautiful all at the same time. I’d never seen Damien that way with anyone before, but the way he had loved her . . . there were no words for it.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out, glancing down to see Quinn’s name. I quickly answered. “Yeah?”

“Everything’s taken care of,” he told me.

I was wondering why he wasn’t calling off a burner—probably hadn’t gotten another one yet since he’d used the other one earlier to let his boss know there were two guns missing.

“Thanks,” I told him. “Get on top of your shit,” I warned.

He snorted. “Heading to the store now, Miles. How’s Hayley?”

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