And then it all came rushing back to her. Patrick loved her. He fought and beat death, itself, to come back to her. The baby is his. He would go to Revel and they would straighten everything out, and then he would come to her. He would come. Her warrior would come. Nana Fontenot said so. The Saints won. The Saints won. He has to. There it is. Hope. She has hope. She has something to live for. She has something to fight for.
The fear is back. The fight is back. This can’t happen. She needs to live, for the baby, for Patrick. Now that all was in perspective and love had stricken her heart with fear, she realized how much danger her life and love was in. And when Lucas began to unbutton his pants, she had to swallow the panic.
“I told O’Rourke what I was going to do with you. You ain’t no looker, but your tits are nice and I bet your pussy’s warm.”
Sometimes we have to play the hand we’re dealt.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
“Who’s going to stop me?”
By this time he had his cock out. It was small, but erect. Savannah almost laughed. Almost. She couldn’t believe she was going to say this – but here goes. . .
“My parents were lepers. I was born at the Carville Leprosarium.” She tilted her head to show him the spot on her neck. “I found this spot last night. Wanna risk it?” She watched his dick go limp. This time when he drew back to slap her – she looked at him defiantly and he lowered his hand.
“I wouldn’t touch yous to lih a ten foot pole.”
Savannah had to admit that some clouds did have silver linings. Maybe everything does happen for a reason.
“Do you actually think that Patrick is going to let you live? He’s outside right now with a gun. And I bet he has a bullet with your name on it.” The window directly behind him was covered by a curtain, but there was about a three inch gap right in the middle.
“Do you think he’ll come to rescue you, Leper?”
A moment of doubt shadowed her face. “He doesn’t know about the spot.” Why was she being honest with this guy? “But he does know about our baby.” At least she hoped he did. “How many more breaths do you think he’s going to let you take?”
Lucas drew back to hit her again – right before he dropped dead at her feet. The bullet had gone through the glass so quickly that he had hit the floor before she had heard the CRACK!
The door burst open and Patrick was there.
“Savannah? Are you all right, Baby?” He hugged her chair and all. She had to tell him.
“Stop, Patrick.”
He paid her no attention whatsoever. With great care, he untied her. “What did he do to you?” He was kissing her bruised cheek – kissing the corners of her eyes.
“He slapped me a few times, that’s all.”
Several others came into the room and Patrick led her around the still body that lay on the floor. Picking her up, he stepped over the bloody mass that used to be the back of Lucas’s head. She shouldn’t do it – but she couldn’t resist. Savannah laid her head on Patrick’s shoulder and just enjoyed being this close to him one final time.
When they reached his truck, he shifted her so he could open her door and he sat her down. They were far enough away from the others that he felt like he could talk. “Sava . . .” he began and then he stopped. Going to his knees, he laid his head down in her lap and that was when Savannah realized that Patrick was crying.
Placing her hand on the top of his head, she sought to comfort him. “Everything is okay, Patrick.” She soothed his hair and kissed him.
“I’m so sorry.”
“The baby is yours.”
“I know. I should have never jumped to conclusions. I should have listened.” He kissed her stomach. “You were keeping your promise to me. My child would have been my legacy.”
“Yes, you should havelistened,” she let out a small laugh despite her worry. “And I never slept with Revel, I never even thought about it. He’s in love with someone else and I’m in love with you.” At that her voice broke.
“You are my life, Savannah. You and our baby, I love him already.” Patrick gathered her close. “It was just the idea of another man taking what was mine – I couldn’t handle it.”
“Patrick, you need to not touch me so much.”
“What?” The surprise in his voice was evident. “Touching you is the greatest joy of my life.”
She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed. “I found a spot on my neck this morning. And most people are immune, but we know my folks were susceptible . . .” her voice trailed off.
“What are you talking about?”
She moved her hair and pointed. “I think I have Hansen’s. I have an appointment with a specialist in the morning.”
Patrick examined the spot.
Why wasn’t he more worried?
“Now, when do you think you would have been exposed to leprosy?”
“I don’t know. I visited Carville while you were gone.”
“It’s a museum, Savannah. There are no lepers there anymore.”
“I know,” she didn’t have answers.
“Come here, let me get you in the light and look at this spot.” He pulled her out into the sunshine. Savannah knew that Patrick had been trained, but she didn’t think he could make a diagnosis.
Patrick thought differently. “We should definitely get this looked at, but it’s not Hansen’s.” And he kissed the spot for good measure.
“Patrick! Don’t!” She fussed. And he kissed it again. And then he pulled her close and he devoured her mouth.
“I love you. I love you more than
