Page 60 of Angel's Kiss

“Duncan, can I ask you a favor?”

“What do you need, sis?”

“Please don't allow Daddy to see the pictures or videos.”

“I won't allow him near it, okay.” I lean back and whisper a thank you.

I had hoped that would release some of the pressure in my chest and my head would stop hurting. My heart is pounding so hard I can feel it, and the fuzziness is getting worse. I have to blink several times to see things clearly.

“Angel, are you okay?” Joshua is talking to me and I turn to look at him, but everything is in slow motion.

“I don't feel so good. My head hurts and my vision is fuzzy.” The fuzziness is getting thicker, and my head and chest are pounding in rhythm now. “I love you, Joshua,” I whisper as I my body tightens and starts shaking. I’m falling over and can’t control myself. I hear voices, but I can’t acknowledge them. Not like this. Not now.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Joshua

Did she just say that? Oh God, she passed out! Her body goes instantly ramrod straight. With all the reading I’ve been doing, I know what is going to happen next.

“Ian, pull her legs up onto your lap. Duncan, hospital now.” Her scream rips through the vehicle, and I watch in horror as her limbs start shaking, the seizure tearing her apart. I have her turned on her side and her teeth clamp down, barely missing her tongue. My whole world crumbles at my feet. I know from my research it'll only last a minute or two, but it feels like a lifetime. When she finally stops, she doesn't come to. She's laying on my lap, unconscious, this isn't right.

I can't lose them this way.

“Hurry, Duncan, something isn't right!” I yell.

I know both her and the baby didn't breathe during the seizure. I reach down to my daughter and pray they are both okay. I lean down to Ana’s ear. “Don't leave me, Angel, I love you too, wake up.”

She was doing so well. It feels like my world has stopped, I need her to live through this. I need them both, but I know if something happens to her, I won't survive it this time. I knew in the last week she wasn't feeling well and hoped she would tell me. When she confessed at the doctor's office about the headaches, I almost collapsed. I know that is a symptom of the blood pressure issues getting worse. I promised not to keep her out of it, but maybe I was telling her too much.

I lean my head down and whisper in her ear again. “I love you, sweet Angel. Please come back to me. I need you. I want to marry you and have more babies with you, please don't leave me.” I feel the tears in my eyes and know something is seriously wrong when they hit her face and she doesn't even flinch.

Duncan is driving like a crazy man, and Maya is yelling into her phone. I look over to Ian and see his eyes locked on us. He suffers from his own demons, but I know he cares for Ana too. She’s like a sister to him. None of us will survive losing her. We pull into the emergency parking bay with tires squealing. Duncan jumps out and starts yelling.

“Help! Help my sister!”

“What can I do?” a nurse says as she runs up to the Rover. I've jumped out and have Ana in my arms. Ian is rounding the back of the vehicle to come help me.

“My girl is thirty-six weeks pregnant. She has blood pressure issues and is being treated by Dr. Parker. She just had a seizure and passed out after complaining about a headache,” I say as I carry Ana to a gurney that medical personnel are dragging out into the bay.

I feel her body tighten again in my arms as I lay her onto the gurney. Nurses push up and roll her to the side as a second seizure takes over her body. I almost drop to my knees there and beg everyone to save her.

Ian and Duncan flank the gurney as I hold onto the pillow they’ve wedged between the bars and her so she wouldn’t hit the bars. Maya is bringing up the rear, watching behind us and on the phone with Timothy.

“Are you family, sir?”

“Yes. I'm her husband,” I say, not caring if it’s true or not. I won't allow her out of my sight.

“Okay, come on.” I follow the nurse and others back into the room where they start hooking Ana up and getting a monitor on the baby. They are trying to push me back, but I won't let go of her hand now that the second seizure has ended. I won't lose her again. I notice Duncan, Ian, and Maya aren't in the room.

“Page Dr. Parker, baby is in distress. Get the husband out. We need to prep her for an emergency C-section,” a doctor says as a tech takes scissors to her new dress.

I start shaking my head, no… No, I won't leave her.

A nurse walks up to me, and before she can say anything, I interrupt her. “I'm not leaving them, you hear me.”

Dr. Parker walks in and takes a look at me, then walks over to Ana and starts giving orders to the other nurses and doctors.

“Dr. Parker, mother's heart rate is dropping,” a nurse says. My legs are locked, this can't be happening. I watch a nurse remove her necklace and bracelet.