Marriage by Bargain - Book 2

Chapter Nine

Zandre

I was extremely peeved that no one had called me when Lia went into labor. I was especially mad at Xanaia since I had thought we were getting to a point in our relationship where she knew she could talk to me, clearly I was mistaken. She eventually called me and I made my way to the hospital immediately, but I was the last to arrive. Lia's parents were here but Damian's family wouldn't be there until the babies were already born. I couldn't help but feel slightly left out of their special bond although my jealousy wasn't justified seeing that they'd known each other for years and Damian was included by default since he was the father. When I got to the hospital I was met with an anxious Kimberly and an even more anxious Naia. The minute Xanaia saw me she threw herself into my arms causing a rush of warmth to course through my body. I really couldn't help the way she made me feel, all previous thoughts of negativity fled my mind as I held the woman I wanted to build a life with. I sighed deeply and nuzzled her hair, wanting to soak up her intoxicating scent. Once I felt we had sufficiently greeted each other I pulled back and looked at her.

"How is she?" I asked as I stroked her face in an attempt to calm her.

"She's been in labor for about an hour, the nurses don't think it will be a particularly long wait," she said as she rested her head on my chest.

I could tell she was worrying about her friend, childbirth was a risky business with or without modern technology. I sat down and invited Naia to sit on my lap but she opted to pace the waiting room and bite her nails, occasionally harassing a woman; who I later gathered was one of Lia's nurses, to ask how Lia was doing. The woman was fast losing patience with her, she even started running past before Naia could intercept her. To avert a disaster I forcibly pinned Naia on my lap until she gave up and settled into my embrace. It was going to be a long enough wait so we went ahead and got comfortable.

We were dozing lightly when the sound of approaching feet jolted me awake. Standing before us was the nurse Naia had been provoking only this time her sour expression was replaced with a bright smile.

"The new mother is asking for you all," she said quietly so she wouldn't startle the sleeping women awake.

I glanced up at the clock on the wall and saw that it was it was almost 3am, Lia had been in labor for a total of about nine hours. I nudged Naia awake and woke Kimberly, they both eyed me sleepily and gruffly asked if I had heard anything new.

"Lia is asking for us," I mentioned gently, both women were immediately alert.

Naia sprung from my lap and bolted past the nurse to Lia's room, leaving Kimberly and I to trail behind her. When we entered the room Naia was already holding one of the babies in her arms, Kimberly immediately went and accosted the other one. I couldn't help but admit that it was a good look on her. Maybe I could give her a child of her own in a few years. The thought brought a smile to my face which only grew wider as I watched her interact with the little baby. She soon became aware that I was watching her and came over to me. She adjusted him in her arms and tipped him slightly upwards so I could see his little scrunched face. I was surprised by the sudden conflicting emotions I felt as I looked at the infant. On one hand I wanted to hold him so badly but on the other he was so small I was terrified I would break him. Luckily the arrival of Damian's family saved me from having to make a decision. His parents, grandparents and brother came bustling into room making it suddenly a tight fit. Naia and Kimberly returned the infants to their parents so their relatives could meet them. I opened the door and allowed them to exit before me. I was about to step out when it occurred to me that I didn't know their names. Closing the door, I made my way back over to Lia's beside while she watched Damian's family interact with her children.

"What are their names?" I asked her softly, pulling her attention away from the babies.

She smiled warmly and looked up at me.

"Our first born is Damiano Nicoli Luca Costa Giordano and his younger brother is Matteo Deangelo Nari Costa Giordano," she told me with pride.

I scratched my head at the length of those names, I wasn't surprised I mean they were Italian after all. I chuckled, "I'll call them Nick and Matt, congratulations Lia," I said placing a kiss on her forehead before leaving the room.

I went back to the waiting area expecting to find Naia and Kim chatting or something, instead I found Kim all alone sleeping on her side across a few of the hard plastic chairs. It immediately bothered me that Naia wasn't there with her. I took out my cell phone and dialed her number. I heard her very distinct happy tree friends ring tone coming from where Kim was lying. My heart rate spiked immediately as I realized she didn't have her phone with her which made it impossible for me to contact her. My mind cleared for a moment and I noticed that Kim didn't budge despite the annoying ringing and the vigorous vibrating of Naia's phone, the alarm bells in my head were going haywire by now. I approached Kim carefully and pressed my fingers to her neck, praying I'd find a pulse. I released a breath of relief when I found the faint but steady pulse. I turned her over carefully and found the side of her head just above her ear matted with blood that was still wet and a small dart like syringe stuck in her neck. Whoever did this had moved quickly and professionally because they hadn't even been alone for five minutes. My heart clenched painfully as I realized without a doubt that I wouldn't be finding Naia in this hospital tonight. I raised an alarm causing a few nurses to rush over to me, I explained what I could gather as quickly as possible while taking long strides to Lia's room. I was in so much shock and going out of my mind with worry. The blood rushing in my ears was too loud for me to formulate a way to break this news delicately. The minute I burst into the room everyone looked at me and the men could immediately tell something was wrong.

"Someone's taken her," I said gravely, my calm demeanor belying the ache in my chest.

In the back of my mind I heard Lia's distressed gasp as she realized I was talking about Naia. I couldn't focus on that though because for the first time in a long time I felt fear. Fear for the safety of the woman I loved.