"I know your secret," the stranger said in a menacing tone. "You can't bury the past."

"Go f.u.c.k yourself."

Lily's head flinched back with confusion. What the h.e.l.l was going on? Feeling overheated and dizzy, she held on to Guillermo.

"Adam," Guillermo shouted, his voice alert with concern.

Guillermo continued to speak in Portuguese. Whatever he said caught Adam's attention and he rushed to her side, face pale. He scanned the rest of her body then met her gaze. Feeling a little warm, which Lily attributed to the effect he had on her, she smiled.

"I was right, you do speak Portuguese," she said, turning to Adam and flinched at the sharp pain in her stomach. Something was wrong. "Adam."

Everything stopped and nothing made sense. She followed his gaze to the brown stain on her inner thigh. Blood. But she couldn't tell where it was coming from. Something sharp jabbed into her side and Lily tried to adjust herself but the pain...oh, the pain.

"Oh," Lily said. Paralyzed with shock, the world circled around as her body fell so fast that all she could see was a blur.

Chapter Twenty.

"Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."

Winnie the Pooh Lily's consciousness came back with a start. Loud sounds rushed into her ears. She scanned her surroundings through blurry eyes and immediately spotted the ambulance, and the black Dodge Charger police car responsible for the deafening sound. Uniformed men and one woman stood talking, exchanging notes. She steadied her breath and tried to calm the panic stirring inside.

Not too far away, Adam's brooding figure caught her attention.

Tension oozed off his broad shoulders. He stood there...frozen. And then the man responsible for her fall spoke. The distance between her and them was too great for Lily to hear their words.

Things got a little out of control from there. Adam hurled himself toward the man and gave him a sharp round punch to the chin, knocking the other man to the ground with a loud cracking noise. Adam took another step forward, crowding over the sagged figure, ready to inflict more punishment suited for the situation.

"s.h.i.t!" Lily heard someone shout as the policemen, the male EMT and Guillermo rushed toward the two men. The female EMT was quick by her side.

Lily gasped. "Adam," she called. Still weak and disoriented, she tried to come to her feet only to realize she was belted to the stretcher. One of her arms had been heavily bandaged to protect the cut she acquired from the fall. She exhaled and rested her elbows on the gurney to support her weight.

Guillermo placed a hand on Adam's shoulder and tried to pull him away. With a hard shrug, he pushed his friend's hand off. Lily watched the rapid rise and fall of Adam's chest, his body vibrating with anger and ready to kill.

"You can't beat him up," Guillermo said. "Then he will win and the police will be on your a.s.s."

"Get off my a.s.s!" he said without looking at his friend. He grabbed the man's collar and dragged him to his feet, their faces inches apart. "You hurt her, you f.u.c.king a.s.shole. I should beat the s.h.i.t out of you." His voice came out cracked and loud.

The man snorted, unfazed by the threat. "Go ahead," he challenged, and spat a mouthful of blood on the pavement.

"Adam," she called out again, pleading for him to come to her, her voice trembling.

His body tensed. She held her breath. After a second or two, his head turned in her direction. Lily's eyes fixated on his face, and her heart broke into a thousand pieces at the distress of emotion that greeted her.

After what seemed to be an eternity, he sucked in a breath, exhaled, shoved the man off, and let his hands fall to his side as the energy escaped him. He took two small steps back and hurried to her side.

"Hey." A faint smile touched his lips. He entwined his fingers with hers, and gave her hand a little squeeze for rea.s.surance.

"The baby," she said, giving life to the tangible fear creeping inside of her.

Someone cleared their throat. Lily looked up at the two EMTs approaching them. A pretty brunette and a muscular man with short cropped black hair came to stand by her side. Both looked to be in their early thirties. They nodded at Adam with an air of familiarity.

"We have a call into the hospital," the man spoke in a calm voice. "I'm Gus and this is Mary." He introduced himself and his partner. "We are going to take some notes and check your vital signs. Feeling okay?" he asked in a gentle tone.

"The baby," she repeated. "Is the baby okay?"

The man known as Gus smiled warmly at her. "We are going to take you to the hospital. They will do a fetal ultrasound." He glanced at Adam. "We need to take a look at your hand."

Adam absently rubbed a hand over his knuckles. "I'm fine."

Gus nodded. "We still need to doc.u.ment everything." He glanced at the two police officers now talking to the intruder. "The police are here for a report and in case you want to press charges."

"We have to take your blood pressure." The pretty brunette smiled down at her then focused on Adam. "You have to let go of her hand for a sec, Adam."

He obliged and stepped back. Mary placed the cuff of the monitor around Lily's arm as two uniformed men approached them and shook Adam's hand.

"Is Liliana going to be okay?" Adam asked. His voice was rough and strained.

Gus nodded.

Adam glanced back at her. "And the baby?"

"I don't have that answer," Gus answered in a controlled voice.

"You can press charges if you want." One of the police officers advised.

Adam nodded and dragged his hand over his face. He glanced at the man standing next to the police car. "No charges. Let's just file the incident."

"You're sure?" One of the cops asked.

Adam nodded again.

"150 over 90," Mary said over her shoulder as Gus jotted down the number.

Gus lowered himself to Lily's side. "That's above normal." His eyes limped with sympathy. He smiled at her and squeezed her shoulder. "All right, we're going to take you to the hospital now. Adam, meet us there."

"I'm not leaving her side. I'm riding with you," Adam responded.

Neither Gus nor Mary argued.

Lily could only describe the ride to the hospital as ordered chaos. Even with the seatbelt around her, she felt every sharp turn. At one point, Gus took a corner too fast, sending equipment flying while Mary sat by her side, looking unaffected and writing down notes. Adam continued to hold her hand. With the other hand, he stroked her bangs away from her face.

"It's going to be all right Liliana, no matter what."

She nodded. The words were comforting but couldn't stop the tears from coming. His thumb stroked her cheek and brushed the tears away.

By the time they pulled up, the hospital seemed to know what to expect. Staff were mobilized and standing by. Adam stayed behind to talk to Gus and Mary. A nurse around Lily's age approached her with a friendly smile. "Hi, I'm Gwen," she said, introducing herself. "We are going to take you into a room and I'll be back to get some information." She glanced at the papers in her hand. "Do we need to contact the father of your baby?"

"I'm the father," Adam's approaching voice announced.

Lily noticed a brief look of surprise on the woman's face, but it was quickly masked. She had the feeling the two knew each other on a more intimate level at some point.

Great. Just what she needed. A close encounter with one of Adam's pretty ex-lovers, while she looked like she had been dragged by a caveman.

"You're going in for an ultrasound in a little bit. Hang in there," Gwen said with a warm smile before Lily was rolled away to a private area in the emergency room, and transferred to a hospital bed.

"How many weeks are you?" Gwen asked. She drew the curtain hanging from a track on the ceiling closed for privacy.

"Seven," she answered.

Adam slumped into a chair.

"Your blood pressure is high. We are going to weigh you in, check it again and test your urine for protein."

Lily let out a nervous chuckle. "I'm fine. I fell. I'm fine."

But Gwen was already shaking her head. "These are important for detecting preeclampsia, which could be very dangerous to you and the baby." She glanced at Adam then back at Lily. "I'll get some reading material for you and give you a few minutes to change into the hospital gown. We need the open side facing front." She handed Adam the gown and slipped out of the room.

Adam was quick by her side. He tore open the plastic and pulled out the gown. His hands covered hers as she fumbled to undo her jeans.

"Let me do this," he advised. His voice was quiet and controlled.

With one swooping motion, he removed her shirt, leaving her in her bra. He paused. Through hooded lids, he took a cursory glance at her rising chest.

"G.o.d, Liliana," he groaned.

He swore softly. Then his fingers unsnapped her jeans and helped her slip out of them. His gaze rested on the brown spot on the jeans for a brief second then folded them neatly and put them out of view.

"I'm still bleeding," she acknowledged. "I need something to put on."

He nodded, understanding her request. "I'll tell Gwen."

"We're coming in for some tests," the nurse announced and entered in the tight s.p.a.ce.

A horde of people followed and rushed into the room. An IV was inserted in her arm. Nurses and a.s.sistants buzzed around her, asking questions, poking her arm for blood, checking temperature, and blood pressure.

Once they were alone, Adam leaned forward and buried his face in his hands. Lily took a deep breath. Realizing Adam was probably experiencing the same level of fear as she was, she exhaled, inhaled again. Her head swam with thoughts.

What if the baby failed to survive the fall?

What would become of her and Adam?

She'd done the unimaginable and went down that slippery road from l.u.s.t to love.

Even as Lily tried not to let the reason for their growing closeness occupy her mind, the reality of the situation was, without a baby, Adam would have never opened himself to her or to the possibility of them.

Their dating was a result of her pregnancy.

Big mistake.

"You look like s.h.i.t," she said, trying to defuse the tension in the room.

He looked at her and chuckled. "So do you."

She laughed and turned her head to the television hung in the corner of the room. "Thanks."

"But still beautiful, Liliana. You will always be that to me." His voice warred with emotion.

Her heart stumbled before finding its rhythm once again. Tears threatened to spill, but she swallowed them back. This man, so dark and mysterious, had managed to capture her soul, and made her forget her heart was ever broken or that he could easily crush it again.

After announcing their presence, two men drew the curtain. "Time for the ultrasound," one said. He glanced at Adam. "You can come or wait..."

Adam rose to his feet. "I'm coming."

The distance to the exam room seemed endless. Adam walked by her side. Not a word was spoken. Fear weighed heavily in the air between them. Besides the squeaking sound of the wheeling bed and footsteps echoing on the checkered linoleum floor, it was so quiet Lily could hear her heart banging against her chest.

A door propped open and her bed was pushed inside next to the electronic machine with odd wires leading from it. She looked around. Cold. Sterile. Basic.

The technician greeted them and explained the process of the ultrasound. Lily nodded with understanding. She'd already gone through that about a week ago. Adam came to stand by her shoulder, reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. Then the cold object was inserted between her thighs.

She winced, shut her eyes and let the tears flow.

The room screamed in silence, creating an overwhelming sense of emptiness.

Then Lily heard the steady sound waves beeping from the monitor.

Her eyes snapped opened and peeked at the sound waves on the screen used to create an image of their unborn baby. She looked at Adam. A frown creased his brow. Lily smiled. She saw the confusion in his eyes as he glanced over her to look at the technician.

"What's that sound?" he asked.

"That's the heartbeat. Strong little guy," the technician said and smiled at them.

Tears welled behind Lily's eyes once more. A feeling of relief soothed her body. She looked at Adam again. He drew a deep breath through his nose, releasing all the tension inside of him. He leaned in and kissed her forehead, then took hungry possession of her mouth, his tongue dipping in, kissing her with a pa.s.sion, which took her breath away.

She was drowning in the pa.s.sion until Adam pulled away. Dazed, she looked at him. He now had a smirk on his face.

The technician cleared her throat. "Sorry, I have to take a few more pictures." She looked at Lily. "I need you to be calm."

Oh, right. And that meant no kissing Adam.

About one hour later, the curtain drew open again, the doctor along with Gwen entered. Adam stood up and the two men shook hands.

"Good to see you again," the doctor said to Adam. "Forrest called. I told him everything is okay." He turned to Lily. "Liliana, my name is Peter."