Page 42 of Storm and Tempest (Brand of Justice #13)

The guy behind him laid a heavy hand on his shoulder. “You’re going to sit there, and I’m going to wheel you in.”

Jax slumped back down. “No meds. Tell them I don’t want any narcotics.”

“You tell the doctor.”

They whisked him after Kenna, which was the only reason he allowed it. Not because he didn’t know if he’d have been able to walk. Inside the automatic doors, where the sounds of a hospital surrounded him on all sides, he kept his focus on her but felt as if she was slipping away again.

“Go faster,” Jax said. “I’m not leaving her.”

“You need to be seen by a doctor,” the guy said. “And so does she. That won’t happen if you object every second.”

“I’ll take the bay next to hers.”

He wheeled Jax through the opening in the curtain. Soon as they stopped, Jax jumped up and went to Kenna, pulling back the curtain between their bays so he could see her. The nurse looked over.

“I’ll stay out of the way,” Jax promised. “I won’t interfere. I just want to see her.”

The nurse looked at the doctor.

He pulled the stethoscope from his ears, winding it around his neck. “She needs warming blankets. I want a heart rate.”

The nurses tugged off her coat, leaving her in a thin white T-shirt and the same scrubs pants as him.

Jax said, “She’s pregnant.”

The doctor barely glanced at him. “Are you the father?”

“Yes.”

“How far along is she?”

Jax’s skin tingled. “I don’t know exactly. She was kidnapped, and I just got her back. A few months?”

The doctor frowned. “Stay back. Let us work.” He turned to the nurse. “Get an ultrasound machine.”

The nurse raced away.

“I don’t know what they did to her.” He swallowed. “Or what they gave her.” Tears rolled down his face.

“Sir?” the orderly who had pushed him in the wheelchair led Jax back to the bed. “I’ll leave the curtain open so you can see, but we need to let them treat her.”

The doctor said a bunch of stuff Jax didn’t know to the nurse beside Kenna’s bed, but he understood “tox screen.” Good . After all, they had no idea what Buzard put in her system.

“They should do that for me, too.” Jax shivered. “I don’t know what he gave me, but he said it was crazy addictive.”

“There will be a doctor in here soon.”

Jax nodded, his skin starting to prickle and itch.

“Jax!”

He reluctantly turned from watching them warm Kenna, hooking her up to monitors and an IV of saline, and spotted Ramon coming toward him. The guy had his arm in a sling. “You got out?”

Ramon nodded. “Amara had a couple of guys bring me in. But I had to wait thirty-six hours before we could move, and they cauterized my wound so I didn’t bleed out.”

Jax winced. “Ouch.” He looked back at Kenna.

“They took me to the mainland and called me a rideshare.” Ramon shifted to stand beside him. “Is she okay?”

“She’s going to be.”

She had to. After all, he had her back now. That meant it had to be God’s will that they were together again. Her. The baby. Jax.

More tears rolled down his cheeks. He scrubbed them away, and didn’t stop scratching his face.

“Whoa, Hermano . Ease up on that, okay?”

“I’ve gone through withdrawal before. I can do it again.” He sniffed, his hands by his sides making fists before he straightened his fingers. “I can do it.” He turned to Ramon. “Distract me.”

Ramon blinked. “Your pupils are huge. You okay?”

“Nothing a few hours of holding it in check won’t fix.” Which was part of why he needed a distraction.

“I’ve been trying to contact MSI, but I can’t seem to get through.”

“You have a phone?”

Ramon shook his head. “I borrowed one from the nurse’s station. Said I was calling my mother. Maizie never picked up.”

“Could be she was distracted with the fact we found Kenna, focused on the locator beacon, but let’s try again. Maybe Zeyla will pick up.” He needed a phone, or his watch. “If something is wrong, you can go there, right?”

“It would take hours to get back to Seattle from here.”

“I’ll call Preston,” Jax said. “I’m not leaving Kenna.”

Ramon clapped a hand on his shoulder. “You stay here. I’ll go try them all again.”

“Thanks.” He listened to Ramon’s footsteps and was about to go to Kenna again, so he could feel how much warmer she was now, but the doctor stepped in front of him. Jax moved to the side so the guy wasn’t blocking his view. “Excuse me.”

“Sit on the bed.”

Jax didn’t want to, but he perched on the edge. The doctor shined a light in his eyes until he winced.

The doctor blanched. “What did you take, and how long ago was it?”

“No idea, and no idea.”

“Tough to treat.”

Jax rubbed his arms. “I know how to do this. If I know anything at all, it’s how to do this.”

The doctor looked at Kenna. “Your wife?”

Jax nodded. “And my baby.”

“She’ll be asleep for a while. It’s the best scenario, giving her body the chance to return to normal levels. When she wakes up, are you going to be sober?”

“Yes, sir.” Jax shook. “My shoulder will hurt something fierce. But whatever I say, don’t give me anything.” He looked at the doctor. “Got it?”

“I’m going to run some tests. Call it a hunch, but you’re not the first person I’ve seen in the same state.”

He opened his mouth to reply but never got that far.

“Jax!”

Kenna was awake.