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Boa’s eyes reflecting Mamba’s pain.
“You rest,” Mamba whispered. “You’ll see, everything’s going to be fine.”
He said the words to himself as much as to Mandy. She had to be fine because he didn’t know what he’d do if she wasn’t.
Mamba didn’t know how long he knelt on their bathroom floor until the sound of footsteps and a firm hand on his arm pulled him away from Mandy.
Paramedics swarmed the bathroom spitting out words and orders he didn’t understand. They immediately started an IV on Mandy, then attended to the baby, cutting the cord, and making sure the placenta was delivered. They wrapped the baby in what looked like a thermal blanket and continued to clean up Mandy, then loaded her onto a stretcher. Mamba watched it all powerless and numb as they collected everything to ready them for transport.
One of the paramedics turned to him. “The baby’s doing fine and breathing on her own. We’re taking them to University Medical.” Then he turned back to the stretcher as they strapped Mandy in and prepared to lower her down the stairs.
Python, Joker and Cobra met him at the bottom of the stairs. “We’ll take care of everything here,” Cobra said. “You take care of your family.”
He jerked his head in a nod, then followed behind the stretcher out of the house and into the ambulance. He slid into the narrow bench seat in the ambulance and his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and swiped at the message.
Marita: I told you what would happen if you fucked with my business. You took something from me, so I took something from you.
Mamba squeezed the phone in his fist surprised it didn’t disintegrate under the pressure.
He drew in some deep breaths. There’d be plenty of time for revenge, but now Mandy needed him. He gently cupped her tiny hand between his. The chill of her skin sent an ice-cold spike down his spine. Her shallow breathing barely showed in her chest. The paramedics continued to take her vitals and inject her IV with meds, but Mamba’s gaze stayed glued to Mandy’s face.
He made crazy deals with any higher power who would listen to him. He’d never drink again, never smoke again. He even promised to sell his Harley and everything he owned if his beautiful woman would come back to him.
All the shit he’d done in his life and finally he got his act together enough to have a woman like Mandy, and their child, but he’d managed to screw that up too. His need to prove something to himself put them all in danger and now there might be no turning back.
The ambulance finally rumbled into the emergency room bay and again Mamba was shuffled to the side as the hospital staff took over with more questions and jargon he didn’t understand. He was told to wait in the emergency waiting room, but he hated being that far away from his new family.
* * *
Mamba losttrack of time as he alternated between pacing, driving the emergency room receptionist crazy, and smoking his way through a pack of Marlboros. He’d just crushed his cigarette butt into the raised ashtray a few feet away from the hospital entrance when Harley pipes rumbled into the parking lot.
Cobra and Joker cut their engines, then headed his way. They did the usual fist bump back slap thing and Cobra’s face sobered. “You hear anything yet?”
“She’s in surgery. Doctor said it was called placenta something.” Mamba ran his hand over his jaw. “Some shit about the placenta ripping away from the uterine wall. He said it happens after a bad fall. Don’t have to be a fuckin’ genius to figure out how that happened.” Mamba slammed his hand against the brick wall of the hospital.
“Boa said they chased her up the stairs.” Python lit up a smoke. “He feels like shit.”
“Wasn’t his fault—I already talked to him. They were waiting for an opportunity, then they ambushed the pizza guy and forced their way in. After our call to him, Boa probably thought everything was under control. Even with getting clocked in the head he managed to take one guy out and cold cock the other one.”
Cobra shot a look over his shoulder. “Cashed in some favors at Metro, and they’re calling it a home invasion.”
Leave it to Cobra to work his magic with the cops.
“How’s the baby?” Python asked.
Mamba shrugged. “Haven’t been able to see her yet. They’re still running a shit load of tests, but the doctor says she gonna be fine. Luckily, it’s not so bad to go three weeks early. This placenta thing is worse for the mother because of the internal bleeding.”
They stayed silent taking in Mamba’s words, then Cobra leaned in. “Did you say, she?” Then he elbowed Python. “Can you see this big fucker with a little girl?”
“No.” Python spit out around a laugh. “How much you wanna bet he has her hitting the speed bag by the times she’s five?”
“Ohhhh, shit.” Cobra shook his head. “This is gonna be priceless.”
“Shut the fuck up. She’s gonna be my little princess and if any scrounging lowlife comes sniffing around, I’ll knock him into next week.”
“You mean if she hooks up with someone like you.”
“Very fuckin’ funny.” Mamba flipped Python off.
