Chapter Twenty
Lucky
Lucky sat on the edge of the bed listening to Baby Jade’s shallow breathing. His own pulse slowing down for the first time since finding her unconscious on the bathroom floor of the club. As he tried to get her to come to, her body convulsed and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. His first thought was to get her to the hospital, but he quickly changed his mind.
Slade made it clear that if the police got involved, he would make sure Baby wouldn’t be able to talk. Lucky normally wouldn’t put up with that kind of shit, but, of course, the son of a bitch decided to flex his muscle while Baby’s limp body lay unconscious in his arms.
That bastard would get his in the end.
Right now, she was his top priority. He pressed his hand to her chest one more time to check her breathing, and then covered her with a sheet. Walking through the apartment, he noticed the way she had let it go over the last few weeks. It was a pigsty. Beer bottles and paper cups littered the tables. Ashtrays full of cigarette butts confirmed that she hadn’t been alone since Baby didn’t smoke. The exercise equipment was now being used as a clothes rack. Dirty laundry collected in corners and the trash bin was overflowing. The kitchen sink remained empty, but that was only because Baby probably hadn’t eaten since everything went down.
Ma’Linn walked around with a trash bag making a sweep through the living room. She stopped when Lucky came into the room and propped her hand on her plump hip, shaking her head. “Dis bad. I had no idea jus’ how bad, but she in deep.”
“Yeah, me either.”
“I can’t be goin’ t’rough dis ’gain. Not wit’ her. My boy keep me crazy enough. I can’t watch my baby girl end up da same way.” Tears formed in the corner of her sunken eyes.
Lucky hated to see the old woman going through such a hard time. It was clear she loved Baby as if she were her own. Apparently, she was easy to love. He wouldn’t be getting himself mixed up in this kind of shit if he hadn’t already fallen in love with her.
The two of them spent the next couple of hours cleaning the apartment. Ma’Linn gathered all the dirty clothes and offered to take them and bring them back with some breakfast since it was almost daylight.
Lucky carried the clothes next door and walked Ma’Linn home, making sure she locked up behind her. He checked his phone and found four missed calls from his mother and nothing from the club. That pissed him off. No one bothered to check on Baby to see if she was still alive.
After putting on a pot of coffee, Lucky settled onto the bed next to her as she slept. The peaceful look on her face was beyond deceiving. This girl was tortured. He wanted to whisk her away. He needed to show her what it looked like to have someone love her. To put her first. To have someone want the best for her, without expecting something in return. She deserved better.
He checked on Baby every hour. She was in and out of consciousness; only awake long enough to throw up. Lucky cleaned up after her, and carried her back and forth to the bathroom.
His feelings scared the hell out of him. It was all new for Lucky. There was a time when he thought he knew what love was, but it wasn’t until Baby came into his life that he figured out he was clueless. A part of him had loved Carrie, but he realized he had only been in the relationship to piss off his parents. Now, with Baby, everything was different. He would give up anything to be with her. The anger he had been harboring all these years seemed so insignificant when it came to being with Baby.
The hatred he had for Carrie and the pain of losing his child would never go away, but the love he had for Baby was more than enough to help him move forward. He wanted a life with her, a future he never saw coming. He didn’t know how, but Lucky was going to make it happen. He was going to save her from her demons.
Chapter Twenty-One
Baby Jade
The hot room left Baby sweltering. Her body molded to the sheets with sweat. She peeled open her heavy eyelids and peered around the room, relieved to find that she was in her own bed. It felt like someone beat her in the head with a hammer. Tossing back the sheet, she was shocked to find she was wearing nothing but a thong.
Planting her feet on the floor, Baby attempted to stand. Her legs trembled under her weight, but she managed to shuffle down the hall to the bathroom. The tightness in her chest worsened by the nausea. Working up the courage, Baby glanced in the mirror above the sink. Her matted hair resembled a rat’s nest. Makeup smeared her gaunt face, revealing her weight loss over the last couple of weeks. The dark skin around her puffy eyes was creased and wrinkled. Surveying her body, she counted the bruises, not to mention the huge bump on the back of her head that throbbed to the rhythm of her rapid pulse.
The room appeared to be different. It was clean. Well, cleaner than it was. Something black tucked away in the corner caught her attention. She reached down and picked up the piece of lacey fabric. It was one of her teddies, and it looked like a wild animal had gotten ahold of it, ripped into pieces.
Baby splashed cold water on her face, sparking the memory of the bathtub and the freezing water. Her muscles ached, leaving her feeling as if she had been beaten with a baseball bat. Grabbing her silk robe off the hook behind the door, she wrapped it around herself, and then piled her hair on top of her head, clipping it in place.
Water. It was hard to swallow with the cottonmouth. Her cracked lips were dry and her throat was parched. She inched her way to the kitchen and noticed it had been cleaned as well. Peeking around the corner, Baby stopped dead when she found Lucky dozing on the couch. He sat upright with his boots kicked up on the coffee table. Both arms folded across his chest, and his head leaned back against the wall.
Confused, Baby stepped closer. She sucked in a huge puff of air and held her breath. What is he doing here? Lucky hated her. Damn, she wasn’t prepared to deal with shit. She tried to leave the room without waking him, but backed right into the side table and bumped the couch, sending Lucky’s head to the side.
He blinked a couple of times before spotting Baby. “You’re up.”
“Umm, yeah. What are you doing here?” She tried to move, but her bare feet were cemented in place.
“I’ve been here for two days. Do you remember anything?”
She shook her head slowly, staring at the floor, unable to take the look on his face.
His eyes were different, softer, and gentler. “Why don’t you sit down? Do you need something?”
Surprised by his concern, Baby moved to the couch and sat on the end opposite of Lucky.
“My mouth is dry. Maybe water?”
Before she finished the words, Lucky was up and moving around in the kitchen. He handed her a glass of warm tap water. “Sip slowly. You don’t want to get sick again.”
Baby glanced up. “Again?” That explained the sore throat.
Lucky nodded.
Tears welled in Baby’s green eyes. “I’m sorry.” The words came out in a whisper.
Lucky stooped to the floor, his hands on Baby’s knees. He peered up into her face. “Hey, you don’t have to be sorry. I should be apologizing to you. I bailed on you when you needed someone. I promised you I wouldn’t leave you, and I let you down.”
Tears streamed down Baby’s frail face. She took a small sip from the glass, allowing the water to soothe her throat. Her body craved the moisture, and the liquid tasted good, Baby took a second drink, and then a third, which proved to be too much. Her stomach pitched. She shot up from the couch and bolted toward the bathroom.