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A shuddered breath left him. “I thought I’d lost you,” he told me for the second time. His mouth found mine, the fear of what happened tonight, sliding between us.

“I’m fine,” I whispered against his lips.

“Are you? You were fucking stabbed, baby.” He blew out a slow breath and pulled away from me. He ran a hand through his dark hair, dropping it at his side. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” I shifted over, patting the empty space beside me. “Sit. Please.”

Cyrus sat, grabbing my hand and holding it tight in his.

“The last time I was in a hospital, I was alone. The staff was nothing but nice to me, but it wasn’t the same. I also...” I swallowed hard. “I haven’t been completely honest with you.”

His dark eyes locked with mine, staring into a part of me that had only ever belonged to him.

“Last time, they told me that I can’t have kids. I’m sorry for not telling you in the beginning but I didn’t want to lose you. I know I should have told you when we first started dating but I was scared. I didn’t want this to end. I liked you then and I love you now. I can’t...I didn’t want to lose you,” I repeated, my voice cracking. “I’m sorry.”

Cyrus wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight against him. “I love you, Ainsley. We don’t need to have kids to be together. We can look into adopting eventually, if that’s what you want to do but we don’t even have to do that. We can travel. I can get you a cat.”

“Two cats, so they’re not alone.”

He chuckled, kissing my cheek. “Two cats. I’ll get you fifty of them if that’s what you want.”

I laughed, wiping the tears from my cheeks that had unexpectedly fallen. “God, I love you.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, leaning his forehead against mine.

I blew out a slow breath. “I need to go home. I need to be with you.” I looked up at him then. “I’m scared this will happen again and they won’t stop until...”

Cyrus’s jaw clenched. “Don’t think about that.”

“How can you expect me not to? I was able to get out of that hell and the people who escaped are probably working their way through everyone who’s still alive.”

“I’m going to make a call.” Cyrus pulled his phone from his jacket, pressed a button on the screen and held the cell up to his ear before I could argue with him. “I need you and Locke to come to the hospital. Third floor. Room 308B.” His eyes locked with mine. “I’ll explain when you get here.” He disconnected the call and stood. “I’ll have Cheesy and Locke standing outside your door. Even if I’m here, they’ll be there as well.”

“Is Locke a prospect too?” I asked, still not used to the biker lingo but I appreciated the extra protection.

Cyrus gave me a small smile, but it never reached his eyes. “Yeah, pet. He is. His name is Jamie. He’s a good kid. Just like Cheesy. Even though I’m still not a fan of the fact that he knew you before I did.”

I snorted, rolling my eyes. “Trust me, baby, he doesn’t do it for me.”

“Oh?” Cyrus sat back on the edge of the bed, leaning his hand on the other side of me, caging me in. “And what exactly does it for you?”

My stomach tumbled at the sudden flirting between us. I appreciated the distraction, still unsure as to what the hell was going on but thankful for the gesture just the same.

I like my men big,I signed.

Cyrus grinned, opening his mouth to respond when much to my surprise, Jaron came into the room followed by Sammy.

Cyrus’s head whipped around. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m your president,” Jaron answered like it was the most obvious answer. “You should have called me.”

“Piper is due anytime,” Cyrus explained, rising from the bed. “I called Cheesy and Locke.” He nodded toward Sammy. “And Sam of course.”

Jaron stabbed a finger against Cyrus’s chest. “You should have called me too.”

“I’m sorry.” Cyrus looked down at me. “I just thought...”

“I get it.” Jaron nodded toward me. “How are you feeling?”