Lonzo: Book 2 (Tycoon Series Book 2) (13 page)

You only have yourself to blame, her brain said.

You allowed yourself to fall. Now you’re in pieces.

He wasn’t finished with his hurtful tirade yet.

“I was right about you. I should have trusted my instincts. You thought that giving me your precious virginity would tip the scales in your favor. That I would be compelled into making you my wife. And now you want to pass off Bastian or Falcone’s bastard as mine!”

Each word he uttered was like a lance hitting her soul

He refused to acknowledge his own flesh and blood.

That was the last straw. She had had enough.

He had no right to involve the baby in his hatred.

He had no right to hurt her child before it was even born. She would never tolerate that.

She glared at him, her eyes flashing like a lioness defending her cub…a cub still lying defenseless in her womb.

If he didn’t want the baby, so be it.

She wouldn’t have him in her life.

“You listen to me, you asshole… you think too highly of yourself! I will never aspire to marry someone so rotten, so warped as you! As for me passing my child as yours…you’re greatly mistaken. That will never happen, Vitale. I can raise my kid without any help from you or anyone. At least my child will be spared from knowing the ugly truth—that he was fathered by a sub-human like you!” she said with a newly-found viciousness.

He was taken aback but he quickly recovered, his eyes condemning her.

She squared her shoulders and stared back at him.

“To think that I thought I fell in love with someone like you. Such a waste of emotion. You don’t deserve to be loved. Remember this well: I hate you. And I’ll continue hating you until my dying days,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “Now, get out. Get out!”

For a while, Lonzo stilled, like he was having an inner battle with himself. Then, without a word, he turned and went out, leaving her alone.

For several seconds, she found herself standing wearily, breathing heavily. She felt weak, her knees rubbery. She slumped at a nearby chair.

Her entire body trembled from their epic clash of wills.

Calm down, it’s not good for the baby, she told herself.

Then she felt it.

A sharp, searing pain.

She tried to stand up to reach for the phone, but she doubled over in agony. Something warm began to trickle along her thighs.

Did her water just broke? She wondered.

And when she looked down, she screamed at what she saw.

Oh my God, oh my God!

It was blood.

She was losing her baby.

No, no, no! Not her baby!

It was her last horrifying thought before she slumped on the floor and lost consciousness.

Lonzo was still debating with himself as he walked away from cottage.
A part of him felt he just made the biggest mistake of his life. Damn it! What if the baby was really his?

He stopped from walking, as he tried to clear his head.

Her belly looked really swollen, indicating that she was in the last stages of her pregnancy.

There was a time when he failed to use protection with her. In Paris. His heart began to race as he made several mental calculations. Nine months…give or take. That would mean that the baby was conceived in...Paris.

Dio...!

He made an about face, intending to go back when he heard her blood-curdling scream. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

Jordana!

Something happened to her.

Fuck!

He ran as fast as he could and kicked the door open. He found her lying on the floor, ashen-faced and unconscious.

Dio
,
what have I done?

He scooped her in his arms and carefully deposited her on the couch. Then he saw the blood on her thighs.

He tasted absolute fear in his mouth.

He was going to lose her.

No!

Adrenalin kicked in. He switched on his phone and dialed 999 to ask for an emergency dispatch.

“Hello? This is Lonzo Vitale. There’s been an emergency and I need an ambulance right away!”

The dispatcher on the line calmly asked him for additional information about Jordana—her name, address, general condition and their relationship.

“She’s my… girlfriend. Hurry up, please. She’s losing a lot of blood. She’s nine months pregnant with our baby—”

Never in his life had he ever felt so helpless as the idea of losing her began to loom.

No! He will never allow that to happen!

He had verbalized his thoughts without him knowing. He heard the dispatcher trying to calm him.

“Sir, please remain calm. The ambulance will be there shortly,” the dispatcher reassured him.

He had no choice but to sit out the minutes. Minutes which stretched like hours as he held Jordana’s clammy hand, whispering words in her ear.

Less than ten minutes passed when he heard the siren from the ambulance.

Four medics rushed inside the cottage carrying a gurney. They checked Jordana’s pulse and vitals before carefully securing her on the stretcher. They lifted and briskly moved her to the waiting ambulance. He wanted to jump inside but the paramedic stopped him.

“Sir, it will be best if you follow us from your car.”

“Why?” he asked, crazed with worry. “How is she? Is she going to be alright?”

“She has a very slow pulse at the moment and her vitals are not looking great. We’re trying to save your girlfriend and your baby’s life. Let us do our job, sir.”

He nodded reluctantly. He jumped inside the car and followed the ambulance.

He was overwhelmed. It felt like he was splitting at the seams. Mel. He had to tell Mel or else he would go completely mad from worry.

He quickly dialed Mel’s number and gave her a rundown of what happened.

Rocco’s wife screamed at him for a full five minutes.

“What did you do to her?!” she demanded, her voice anxious and furious at the same time.

“It was my fault. All of it. I was surprised when I saw she’s pregnant. We had a fight. I thought—”

“You thought she slept around and got knocked up by another man?! When you were the only man she ever slept with! You letch! You don’t deserve her!”

“I know,” he said softly, totally contrite.

“Where is she now?”

“I’m following the ambulance. They are taking her to the nearest hospital.”

Mel asked him for the name of the hospital, which he supplied earnestly.

“Listen to me, Vitale. I don’t care shit that you’re my husband’s best friend. If anything happens to her or the baby, you have me to answer for!” she shouted at him before disconnecting the call.

At the mention of the baby, Lonzo almost broke down. Because he knew in his heart that Jordana had been telling the truth all along.

The baby was his. And now, because of his conceit and supreme arrogance, he might lose them both.

Chapter Seven

When Lonzo arrived at the E.R.,
a team of doctors were already waiting to take over the EMTs and stabilize Jordana’s condition.

Hospital personnel prevented him from following the medical team as they wheeled Jordana into the operating theater. He was so crazed with fear at that point and made such a nuisance of himself that one of the doctors approached and asked him to get a grip on himself or he’d be asked to leave. That sobered him up.

Almost an hour passed before the same doctor went back to speak with him.

He stood up as the doctor approached.

“Mr. Vitale?”

“How is she?” he asked anxiously. “Is she okay?”

The doctor shook his head.

“There were complications,” the doc told him gravely.

It sounded like a death sentence to him.

“What complications?” he asked with dread.

“We’ve been trying to stop the bleeding but her blood pressure is very difficult to manage. We’ve already talked with her GP and we found out she has mild pre-eclampsia during the middle part of her pregnancy. For now, Mr. Vitale…we’re trying our best to prevent eclampsia.”

His knees almost gave way when he heard the prognosis. It took him a moment before he could respond.

“Do everything in your power to make her well, doctor. I don’t care about the cost…”

“Mr. Vitale…I have to be honest with you. Her chances are fifty-fifty. The baby, even less. We are still trying to bring her blood pressure down to normal levels. Once she’s reached that, then we’ll induce the baby’s delivery. But it’s critical that it normalizes in the next hour or so.”

“Do whatever is necessary.”

“As I said, both mother and baby are in critical condition. Both of them could die. Your girlfriend had lost a considerable amount of blood,” the doctor continued, but he ceased to listen.

He closed his eyes, his chest heavy. If the baby died, Jordana would hate him forever. The mere thought of losing her…
Dio, no!
He won’t be able to bear it!

“Save her first, if it comes to that. But try saving them both,” he replied with a heavy heart. It was the most difficult decision he had ever made in his life and he never wanted to be in this situation again. Ever.

He’d never felt so helpless in his life. If it was possible, he’d gladly trade places with Jordana. Better him than her. But he can’t.

Even with wealth at his disposal, there was absolutely nothing he could do but hope and pray for her and their child’s safety.

In the ensuing hours, that was what he did. He fervently prayed for deliverance.

It came three agonizing hours later, when the doctor came out of the operating room, carrying a pink bundle in his arms.

The doctor beamed as he approached.

“Say hello to your daughter, Mr. Vitale—” the doctor beamed as he placed his newborn child in his arms. “Congratulations.”

A daughter. He had a daughter!

Lonzo opened his mouth to speak but no words came out while he stared down at his firstborn. He gently touched the baby’s face and instantly felt a strong gush of emotion bubbling from deep within him. A huge lump formed in his throat as his eyes watered.

Rocco was right. Love was real, because for the second time in his life, he fell in love with a female.

His daughter slept soundly, blissfully unaware of his attention. He didn’t mind at all, as he looked at her in wonderment.

She was a miniature Jordana, her features exquisitely feminine; except for her chin, which she definitely got from him. Somehow, that made him proud. Without a doubt his little princess would put him into hoops; he’d be bashing a lot of heads by the time she reached her teens.

He held the baby against his chest, his arm supporting her tiny head while his hand stroked her petal-smooth rosy cheeks.

He knew people would think he was being a bit biased, but she really was the most beautiful baby he had ever seen. And she was his. He was now a father! He wanted to shout it from the rooftops.

But the feeling of joy was short-lived when he remembered Jordana.

His gaze shifted to the doctor.

“Doc—”

The doctor gave him an encouraging smile. “She’s almost stable, although we have to insist that she remain in our care for a week. She’s very weak from the delivery and from all that blood loss. But as far as her overall health is concerned, we’re very confident she will recover without lingering complications.”

The heavy pressure on his chest was finally lifted.

“Thank heavens for that,” he said as he cradled his daughter closer. “Can I see her?”

The doctor considered his request for a moment. “I think you may… but she’s unconscious. Anesthesia.”

“It doesn’t matter, I just want to see her.”

The doctor cleared his throat. “We also need to know if you and your girlfriend had thought of a name for the baby. Of course, if you wish to name the child after your girlfriend wakes up—”

“I’ll give her name now,” Lonzo quickly racked his brains for a suitable name. “Gianna. Gianna Vitale,” he supplied.

The doctor smiled. “That’s a very pretty name. Suits her.”

He lifted his eyes from his daughter. “I think so, too. I just hope her mother will like it.”

“I’m sure she will, Mr. Vitale,” the doctor told him reassuringly.

Dio
, he really hoped that when Jordana woke up, she’d be magnanimous enough to forgive him for all the hurt that he had caused her.

If only for the sake of their little Gianna.

Jordana drifted in and out of consciousness.
She was feverish and racked by chills for what seemed like...days. At one point, she thought she heard Lonzo’s voice, whispering a mixture of Italian and English words in her ear.