Page 90 of Penn

Swallowing, I try to determine whether I can slip out of here without being noticed. As much as I dislike Stephen, I don’t want to watch him die.

“What’d he say to you, baby?” Penn asks me.

“Don’t say a word, Dixie,” Stephen orders.

“She don’t owe you shit, motherfucker,” Zep says. “Especially not any type of loyalty.”

“He wants me to leave with him. To Mexico or South America. And if I don’t agree, he’ll take Jeremy, and I’ll never see him again.”

Penn leans back, his arms crossed. “And how exactly do you expect to get there?”

“He has a bag with a million dollars in cash,” I say.

“Shut the fuck up, Dixie!”

A hand grips Stephen’s throat hard enough that he can’t breathe, and he claws at Penn’s arm. Capone and Pacino join us in the room, and I’m not sure how all of these men fit in the small hospital room. Capone’s face is calm, like usual, and Pacino’s scarred face twists into a satisfied grin.

Jeremy begins to fuss, and I do my best to calm myself. “Shh,” I whisper. “It’s okay, baby boy. You’re okay.”

“Put him down, Penn,” Capone says. “State troopers have business with Mr. Patterson, and we can’t have blood shed on the hospital floor before they can read him his rights.”

He begrudgingly releases Stephen, who collapses onto the floor, gasping for breath. “I told you to stay the hell away from her.”

“Let’s go, Patterson. You got people to answer to,” Capone says.

“I think we should’ve let him kill him. There’s a trash chute just down the hall,” Pacino says.

“You think I’m going anywhere with you?” Stephen spits out. “I’ll cause a scene. Get security involved.”

Laughing, Capone shakes his head. “Did we forget to mention that the cops are waiting downstairs for you?”

“I’ll tell them everything I know about you guys!”

“You’re going right to lockup,” Pacino says. “Between the Venom and us, we have quite a few connections on the inside.”

“You won’t have time to talk to anyone about anything,” Capone says.

He grabs him by the neck and leads him away, Pacino following behind. Penn turns around and grabs my shoulders. “Are you two okay?”

“We’re fine,” I say, breathing deeply.

“It’s finally over. You’ll never have to see him again.”

Nodding, I let him pull me into his arms. It’s kind of sad to think of Jeremy’s biological father being killed in jail, but after everything he’s done, and everyone he’s hurt, he deserves it. “Can we go home now?”

“Of course. Let’s go.”

Iwake up in the bedroom alone, and I look at the clock. It’s three in the morning. I just fed Jeremy an hour ago, but the bed next to me is empty. And cold.

Climbing out of bed, I walk into the nursery to find Penn on the rocking chair, shirtless, Princess curled up at his feet with her bandage, and Jeremy sleeping on his chest. I lean against the doorframe, crossing my arms, and just watch them for a few minutes.

“Hey,” Penn whispers. “He got a little fussy after you fed him, so I got up.”

“I would’ve gotten up,” I whisper back.

“I know, but you deserve your sleep. And I can do this part. Not so much when he’s hungry, but right now? I’m happy to do this.”

He stands and gently places Jeremy into the crib, and I walk over to look over the edge with Penn. Our boy barely moves as he settles into the mattress pad, and I lean against Penn.