“You wanna talk about it?”
She yawned as she shook her head. “Can I sleep with you?”
I scooped her into my arms. “Of course, you can, princess. Come on. I’ll tuck you in right beside me.”
My fucking ex-wife was the one who had ruined all of this shit for us. She knew she was supposed to keep me up-to-date with the inner workings of her life for the sake of our daughter. But instead, she had hired a nanny who had been so incompetent when it came to our daughter’s asthma that she quit and dropped the poor girl on my doorstep while I was still at work.
My doorstep.
While no one was home.
And that didn’t strike my ex-wife as odd.
“Daddy?”
I tucked her beneath the covers. “Yes, princess?”
Wheeze.“It’s—it’s happen—ing again.”Wheeze!
I ripped the covers off her body and scooped her into my arms. Fuck the inhaler, she needed a goddamn hospital, and she needed it now. Without a shirt on and only one sock, I snatched up my cell phone, and I raced down the stairs before boogying out my front door. I dug through the glove box of my convertible and found her emergency inhaler and got her to take two deep lungfuls of it, but it didn’t alleviate shit. I tossed it to the floorboard and leaped clear over her, landing directly against the leather seats of my new car.
Then, I cranked up the engine and throttled it straight to the emergency room.
“I need help!” I exclaimed as I got out. I scooped my daughter out without opening the door before rushing into the ER. “Help! My daughter can’t breathe!”
Her lips were turning blue as a nurse came and took her out of my arms. Panic ensued around us as the nurse whistled for a doctor and located a gurney. I felt my heart leap into my chest. My sweet, precious little girl couldn’t stop crying or catch her breath. It didn’t take long for the hospital to admit her, and soon we were whisked away to a private hospital room far away from the prying eyes of the public.
“Mr. Lincoln?”
I spun around and found a woman in a white coat behind me. “Yes, Doctor?”
She handed me a sweater. “I found this in the lost-and-found. I think it’s around your size.”
I took it from her. “Thank you.”
“Mr. Lincoln?”
I whipped back around and found a nurse tending to my daughter. Asia was reaching for me. I excused myself and rushed to her side, taking her hand within my own and kissing her cute little knuckles.
Bulging horror radiated across her face, and it nailed me straight in my gut.
“It’s okay. You’re safe here, I swear,” I whispered.
The nurse was talking at me, but I didn’t hear much. I listened to the doctor rattling off what they’d do to my daughter, but I was only half paying attention. I had so many things I needed to fix. I needed to call Jorge and let him know that I wouldn’t be there in the morning to start the shooting of the commercial he had hired me to do. I had to get on the phone with my ex-wife and tell her where we were.
I also needed to talk with her about taking the reins with finding a nanny—a competent nanny who could handle the issues that came with our beautiful little girl.
Who’s going to watch her while I’m in Hollywood, meeting with that producer?
“Daddy?” Her voice sounded clearer, and it pulled me from the depths of my mind.
“Hey there, princess. How’re you feeling?”
She nodded softly, her voice hoarse. “Better. Tired.”
I stood and kissed her forehead. “Then, why don’t you get some rest for me.”
“You’re not leaving, right?”
