Baby did a third bump, and then a fourth. Her nose now numb, along with the back of her throat and her tongue. Her heart beat against her chest wall, ready to jump right through the skin. She heard her pulse thumping in her ears. Sweat beads formed on her brow.

Baby opened her eyes in time to see the tiles on the ceiling start move. The room began to spin right before she hit the bathroom floor.

***

“Baby, dammit. Can you hear me?”

Baby Jade’s head fell backwards as if it weighed five hundred pounds. She tried to pick it up to make out where she was, but her eyes only rolled. Something wet touched her face, and she heard the voice again.

“Shit, Baby. Talk to me!”

Her body shook and it took her a minute to realize someone was shaking her shoulders. She tried to speak, but it only came out as a mumbled grunt.

“Fuck!”

Air swept her face as her body bounced in midair. She couldn’t make out what was happening. She heard loud voices, but couldn’t make out who was talking. There was yelling and screaming. Should she be scared? Or maybe angry? It didn’t matter. She couldn’t feel anything anyway.

Something heavy draped over her body. She was already sweating and it was made worse when she was met with hot, thick moisture. Outside.

It’s finally happening. I’m dying.

Her body shifted a few times before coming to rest. She heard a slam, and then a quick rush of speed made her head spin. Her stomach churned and she tried to swallow before throwing up. Something touched her face. No, it was a someone. Fingertips stroked her face, smoothing back the matted hair stuck to her forehead. Her breathing was shallow, but with each small inhale, she caught the smallest hint of a memorable scent.

Musk.

Lucky.

Shifting again, her body was back in the air. Voices. Loud banging, more voices. Movement.

Baby let out a long garbled scream. The freezing water stung her hypersensitive skin, causing her body to thrash around against the bathtub.

“She be movin’ ’round. Dat a good t’ing.”

The voice was different but familiar.

“Yeah, help hold her down. She was out cold for a while. The water should help shock her body into fighting.”

“You sound like you know what you be talkin’ ’bout. Why’s dat?”

No answer.

The room went quiet, with the exception of the running water and the deep groans coming from Baby Jade.

Finally, she quit fighting and collapsed into the tub. After hearing cabinets slam, she felt arms slip under her body and scoop her up. She drew in a deep breath, smelling the scent she had come to crave. She buried her head, trying to inhale more. The arms cradling her body tightened, pulling her into a warm embrace before placing her onto a bed.

Baby pried open her eyes but only for a moment. It was all she needed. Lucky’s chocolate eyes were the last thing she saw before drifting off to sleep.

Chapter Twenty

Lucky

Lucky sat on the edge of the bed listening to Baby Jade’s shallow breathing. His own pulse slowing down for the first time since finding her unconscious on the bathroom floor of the club. As he tried to get her to come to, her body convulsed and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. His first thought was to get her to the hospital, but he quickly changed his mind.

Slade made it clear that if the police got involved, he would make sure Baby wouldn’t be able to talk. Lucky normally wouldn’t put up with that kind of shit, but, of course, the son of a bitch decided to flex his muscle while Baby’s limp body lay unconscious in his arms.

That bastard would get his in the end.

Right now, she was his top priority. He pressed his hand to her chest one more time to check her breathing, and then covered her with a sheet. Walking through the apartment, he noticed the way she had let it go over the last few weeks. It was a pigsty. Beer bottles and paper cups littered the tables. Ashtrays full of cigarette butts confirmed that she hadn’t been alone since Baby didn’t smoke. The exercise equipment was now being used as a clothes rack. Dirty laundry collected in corners and the trash bin was overflowing. The kitchen sink remained empty, but that was only because Baby probably hadn’t eaten since everything went down.

Ma’Linn walked around with a trash bag making a sweep through the living room. She stopped when Lucky came into the room and propped her hand on her plump hip, shaking her head. “Dis bad. I had no idea jus’ how bad, but she in deep.”

“Yeah, me either.”

“I can’t be goin’ t’rough dis ’gain. Not wit’ her. My boy keep me crazy enough. I can’t watch my baby girl end up da same way.” Tears formed in the corner of her sunken eyes.

Lucky hated to see the old woman going through such a hard time. It was clear she loved Baby as if she were her own. Apparently, she was easy to love. He wouldn’t be getting himself mixed up in this kind of shit if he hadn’t already fallen in love with her.

The two of them spent the next couple of hours cleaning the apartment. Ma’Linn gathered all the dirty clothes and offered to take them and bring them back with some breakfast since it was almost daylight.

Lucky carried the clothes next door and walked Ma’Linn home, making sure she locked up behind her. He checked his phone and found four missed calls from his mother and nothing from the club. That pissed him off. No one bothered to check on Baby to see if she was still alive.

After putting on a pot of coffee, Lucky settled onto the bed next to her as she slept. The peaceful look on her face was beyond deceiving. This girl was tortured. He wanted to whisk her away. He needed to show her what it looked like to have someone love her. To put her first. To have someone want the best for her, without expecting something in return. She deserved better.

He checked on Baby every hour. She was in and out of consciousness; only awake long enough to throw up. Lucky cleaned up after her, and carried her back and forth to the bathroom.

His feelings scared the hell out of him. It was all new for Lucky. There was a time when he thought he knew what love was, but it wasn’t until Baby came into his life that he figured out he was clueless. A part of him had loved Carrie, but he realized he had only been in the relationship to piss off his parents. Now, with Baby, everything was different. He would give up anything to be with her. The anger he had been harboring all these years seemed so insignificant when it came to being with Baby.

The hatred he had for Carrie and the pain of losing his child would never go away, but the love he had for Baby was more than enough to help him move forward. He wanted a life with her, a future he never saw coming. He didn’t know how, but Lucky was going to make it happen. He was going to save her from her demons.

Chapter Twenty-One

Baby Jade

The hot room left Baby sweltering. Her body molded to the sheets with sweat. She peeled open her heavy eyelids and peered around the room, relieved to find that she was in her own bed. It felt like someone beat her in the head with a hammer. Tossing back the sheet, she was shocked to find she was wearing nothing but a thong.

Planting her feet on the floor, Baby attempted to stand. Her legs trembled under her weight, but she managed to shuffle down the hall to the bathroom. The tightness in her chest worsened by the nausea. Working up the courage, Baby glanced in the mirror above the sink. Her matted hair resembled a rat’s nest. Makeup smeared her gaunt face, revealing her weight loss over the last couple of weeks. The dark skin around her puffy eyes was creased and wrinkled. Surveying her body, she counted the bruises, not to mention the huge bump on the back of her head that throbbed to the rhythm of her rapid pulse.