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“It was my job,” I muttered, looking around. “How long have I been here?”
“Three days. Dakota found you floating away from the vehicle. By the time he got you to shore, you weren’t breathing. He had to do CPR.”
“That’s why my chest hurts,” I muttered, looking about the room. I needed to get out of here. I couldn’t be around him right now. I needed to think long and hard about him. I needed to make damn sure this was the life I wanted. I could love him until I couldn’t breathe, but living with him and what he did was something altogether different. Then there was York to consider. I didn’t want my son anywhere around the death and destruction that followed Montana. The thought of something happening to my son was more than I could handle. I wanted my baby. I needed to see for myself he was safe. “When can I leave?”
Montana quirked his head. “Baby, you’ve been through a major trauma. Your heart wasn’t beating. You drowned and damn near died.”
“But I didn’t. As you said, your brother saved me. Now, I want to leave,” I said stubbornly, refusing to back down.
“Baby, you need to rest.”
“No, I need to get the fuck out of this place. I want my son.”
Montana flinched.
His eyes narrowed. “You mean you want the fuck away from me?”
“Take that however you want. I want to leave now.”
Montana got to his feet, anger radiating off him in waves.
I didn’t give a damn if he was upset, pissed or ready to blow. If he thought for one second, I would be okay with what happened, he was sorely mistaken. My life was about helping people. Not killing them. The amount of danger that surrounded him was suffocating. I knew that now. Danger would surround me and my son for the rest of our lives if I stayed with him. That was no way to live, and I refused to live like that.
My son deserved a peaceful, happy life. He wouldn’t have that with Montana. He would grow up looking over his shoulder, wondering if today was the day he would die.
“Fine,” he growled. “You win. You want me gone? I’m gone.”
Saying nothing more, Montana stormed out of my room, slamming the door behind him.
Sitting there, I watched him leave as I felt a pang of guilt, but quickly suppressed it. I knew I made the right decision. It was for the best for everyone concerned. He would eventually realize that and move on, and so would I.
“Tess!” Tia shouted, slamming my bedroom door open. “It’s been two months. Enough of this shit! Get your ass out of that bed now.”
“Go away, Tia,” I groaned, covering my head with a pillow.
After being discharged from the hospital, Tia was there to take me home. Only it wasn’t to Stone House.
Montana never came back after he left my room in the hospital. Not that I expected him to. While I was thankful for the peace, I wasn’t really alone. In some way, I knew he would ensure that York and I would be safe. Just like I knew there was a brother watching the apartment from across the street. Though he gave me space, he assigned a brother to watch over York at all times. Well, that’s what the brother said, but I knew he was under orders to protect me, too.
Pissed at first, I refused to leave the apartment for days, but in the end, I gave in and forgot about the brother. Everywhere I went, he was there, like some shadow lurking in the background, waiting.
I still hadn’t found a position in a hospital. After my last rejection, I gave up and applied to other venues. Though I’ve sent out my resume to several clinics in the city, none have responded.
Well technically, I had one offer. Charleston Memorial Hospital in West Virginia still wanted me on their staff. I was seriously considering it until legal papers arrived, stating that York Devlin Stone was to stay in the city while I shared joint custody with Montana until my son reached the age of eighteen. I knew Montana wouldn’t just let me leave, and he made damn sure I stayed right where I was. With no job prospects, my options were dwindling fast.
“I mean it, Tess,” Tia huffed. “You’ve been in this bed for weeks. Enough is enough.”
“Where is York?” I asked from behind the pillow.
“Virginia picked him up this morning.”
Throwing the pillow to the side, I growled, “Today was my day.”
“Not my problem. You weren’t awake so I let Virginia take him.”
“That was not part of the arrangement!”
Tia scoffed.
