Page 73

Chapter Thirty-Seven
Ariella
I’d fallen asleep in the truck on the way home from the hospital.
I didn’t know how Jaxson had managed to stay awake.
The truck pulled to a soft halt, but it stirred me awake. “We home?” I yawned and rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
“Yes,” Jaxson said. He shut off the engine and climbed out, coming around to help me out and carry me through the front door.
My feet were bandaged and sore as hell from the chase through the forest, but I would survive. Besides, that was the least of my worries.
I was pregnant, and not only did I have to look after myself, now I had to think about the little boy or girl growing inside of me.
Crippling fear was an understatement of how I felt.
Jaxson carried me inside, sat me down on the sofa and shut off the alarm before he locked the house up. “Do you want to head right to bed, or are you hungry?”
I could barely keep my eyes open. “Sleep sounds wonderful. I can just crash on the couch.” I shifted to stretch out.
“Izzie will be up soon,” Jaxson reminded me. “How about I take you up to bed and tuck you in?”
“What about you?” I didn’t want to be away from him. I knew it was probably a combination of the hormones and the trauma of what I’d been through, but I was feeling incredibly needy.
I hated the way I felt, like I didn’t want ever to be alone again.
“I’m exhausted. I’ll climb into bed as soon as I let Declan know we’re home. Okay?”
* * *
“Your home,” Delphine said, a warm smile on her face. “I’m glad you’re okay. Your boyfriend’s friend told me what happened. Declan is it?”
My boyfriend.
I smiled faintly at my sister calling Jaxson that term. We hadn’t used labels.
“Yeah, sorry I missed you at the airport.”
Delphine waved her hand dismissively. “It’s not a big deal. I mean, with what you went through, don’t even think about it.” She scooted closer to me on the sofa. “Is it true that Ben was behind your abduction?”
I exhaled a heavy sigh. I wasn’t sure I was ready to talk about it, but it seemed Declan had looped her in on what he knew at the time.
I didn’t blame him. He had to tell her something, and it was better she knew the truth.
At least then she wouldn’t hate me for not showing up when I promised to give her a ride.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it,” Delphine said. She stood and headed to the kitchen. “I’m going to grab myself a cup of coffee. Do you want some?”
“I can’t,” I said. I had to watch everything that elevated my heart rate, even more so with the pregnancy.
“Oh, that’s right.” Delphine assumed it had been because of my health condition. She’d been blessed with great genes.
Not me.
We still hadn’t told anyone about the baby. I didn’t want to jinx it.
“I’m glad you flew here. It’s good to see you,” I said. Things still felt strained, but at least she was trying. I felt like I’d been the only one trying since Ben’s initial arrest over a year ago.