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Chapter42
Milla
Isat at my dad’s bedside. The only sounds within the room were the beeping monitors that proved his heart was still alive.I don’t know what I’d have done if he’d died. Especially after what I’d learned.
He’d been caught in the crossfire when I was pulled from that disgusting warehouse and dragged to safety. He’d taken multiple bullets to his body. One that had me rocking back and forth in panic over the last few days was the round that had pierced his lung and caused internal bleeding, leading to emergency surgery.
Thankfully, he’d pulled out of the critical category, but he still wasn’t out of the woods. A long healing journey was ahead of him; I was committed to being here for him throughout. He’d dipped in and out of consciousness, which was expected, but selfishly I wanted him to wake, to be able to talk, to confirm he was here, and I wasn’t in some lucid dream used as a coping mechanism.
Hours later I was woken up from a slumber by a coughing sound. I shot up ignoring the tinge of discomfort in my neck where I’d slept awkwardly, heading straight to my dad whose eyes were open.Alive. Clear. He was really here.
The machine was going wild as I reached him, and I carefully fed the straw to his lips. He took down some liquid and nurses bounced in faffing around him, checking the monitors and his chart. I stepped back letting them do what they did best as he answered questions clearly, his voice scratchy instead of its usual tone but that was to be expected. His eyes never left me. My dad, I’d never stopped needing him, not really.
As the nurses filtered out, I approached his side and sat down in the chair I’d spent many hours in over the last few days, grabbed his hand and squeezed it.You’re here, you’re here. His clenched back in mine.
“Hi sweetheart.”
“You nearly died,” I choked out.
“Can’t get rid of me that easily,” he joked. I rolled my eyes.
Heavy moments of silence passed between us as we locked eyes. This man…
“I thought…”
“I know,” his voice turned serious, “And I understand why you thought I was involved in that when you weren’t given the other side of the story.” He levelled me with a glare. “You know I infiltrated them, right?”
I nodded, he let out a heavy sigh of relief that relaxed his entire being.
Nobody was to blame except for the Mayor and his son and those willingly in business with them. The Owls, and everything Chris explained about that situation, was another thing I’d pushed to the back of my mind, to think about at a better time. There was way too much to decode and my brain couldn’t handle the onslaught of information.
“I’m sorry.” I looked into my dad’s eyes, mine bleeding with regret and truth. Regret for ever doubting him, believing he’d be involved in something so hideous.
“Youneverneed to apologise to me, andneverabout this. Understand?” His eyes flashed and he ground his teeth together, “If I knew…”He never knew I was involved. That was kept hidden from him.We’d all been played in our own ways.
“Dad—” I cut him off.
He gave me a pointed look and I stilled. “No, Milla! You listen to me right now. When you eventually, in many years to come, have children of your own you’ll understand that your life is nothing compared to theirs. You would happily stand beside, before, and behind them to guard their life, no matter the cost of your own. You and Delaney are all that matters to me, my flesh and blood. I would die a death by a thousand cuts a million times over if it gave either of you a chance of survival, no matter how small. So, you will never apologise for the actions of others. You will never bow your head in shame from what they have subjected you to. You’ve held the heaviness of it for so long by yourself, but youwilllean on me now to keep it held high. You need people around you to take the weight of that crown.”
“Heavy is the head that wears the crown,” I said, quoting the saying dad always recited to Delaney and me growing up. He’d always instilled self-confidence and a backbone in us, making us realise that even in a world full of men who believed they dominated, women were their equals and could be just, if not more, powerful.
“And what a queen you are.”
I blinked and internally psyched myself up.
“There’s something I need to confess.” I tugged my hands from his, sliding them under my thighs to stop them shaking. Damn, this was hard. “However, you’re laying up in there…” I trailed off. This was probably the worst timing.
“Go on,” he said.
“So…” I brought my hands out and gripped the sides of the chair. “You’re a granddaddy.” I grimaced.
The monitor recording his vitals beeped loudly. My head swung round as the line blipped up on the heart rate section.Shit.I was giving my dad a heart attack.
Only when the numbers fell slightly, he spoke, “Explain.”
I eyed the exit, wondering if I could make a run for it. Surely it would be easier than explaining.Grow up, Milla.Aggravated by my inner voice being reasonable, I rolled my lips together before just telling him it to him straight.
“I have a son, his name is Kai. And his father is Adam.” My hands flexed against the chair saying his name aloud. “He’s three years old.”
