Read Online Blake, Abby - Sweet Captivation [A Bride for Eight Brothers 2] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever) by Abby Blake - Free Book Online

let him down.
    He closed his eyes as he tried to figure out what the hell to do next.
    “Bryce?” He had no memory of dozing off, but he woke to the sound of Mikayla’s soft voice.
    “I’m here, honey.”
    “I lost the baby.” She said it with such anguish that he wanted to rage at the world for the unfairness. Mikayla was an amazing woman, and she deserved far better than what the universe had dished out.
    “I know, honey. It’s okay. It wasn’t your fault.” She didn’t look convinced. “The doctor explained it very clearly to me. The egg was in the wrong place. It wasn’t your fault. Nothing you did or didn’t do would’ve changed the outcome.” She shook her head as tears filled her eyes once more. “It wasn’t your fault,” he repeated.
    She cried harder, and he held her hand, wishing he could hold her close, but figuring that with the surgery it wasn’t really comfortable for her. The fact that she was married to his brothers didn’t seem all that important at the moment.
    “It is,” she said as she tried to get her crying under control. “It is my fault. I–I blamed Brock’s accident on the baby. If I hadn’t gotten pregnant, he wouldn’t have been working alone, and Lachlan wouldn’t be risking his life trying to rescue Brock. But I didn’t mean it. I wanted my b–baby.” A sob tore from her throat, and he stood up trying to get closer.
    “I know you didn’t mean it. Mikayla, look at me.” When she finally raised her red, watery eyes to his gaze, he said, “This isn’t your fault. Even if you thought that way, it didn’t change anything. The doctor said this was always going to happen. Ectopic pregnancies don’t survive.” He wanted to tell her what the doctor had said about how it would never have grown to be a baby, but it probably wasn’t something Mikayla needed to hear. Her baby had been real, losing it had been painful, and recovering from the experience emotionally would take time.
    She moved away from him, and his heart squeezed at what seemed to be a rejection. But then she asked him to lie on the bed and just hold her. He could do nothing but comply. He lifted his injured leg onto the edge of the mattress, taking care not to bump her, and then wrapped his arms around her upper body.
    Mikayla laid her head on his shoulder.
    “I’m sorry,” she whispered. Surprised by her strange words, he wished he could see her expression when he asked why.
    “I’m sorry for putting you through this when you’re already dealing with so many problems of your own.”
    He tried to keep his voice casual, but a strange knot had formed at the back of his throat and he had trouble forcing the words out. “Don’t worry about me.”
    “But I do worry about you,” she said quietly. “You’re not the man they think you are. It’s like you’re pretending to be that man, the one they all hate, but it’s not actually you.”
    He hugged her tighter, unable to speak at that moment. Not since the split with his brothers had anyone cared about him or his problems. Yet, this compassionate, caring woman who’d just lost so much could see him, the real person, not the criminal the rest saw, and for that he would be forever grateful. He’d told his brother he’d protect Mikayla with his life, and he’d meant it at the time, but now he knew the devastation his brothers would feel without her and realized he would protect them all. His life was worthless if he couldn’t protect the people he loved, and as soon as Matt got here, Bryce would go face his troubles head on. No way would he bring any more agony to this beautiful woman or the men she loved.

Chapter Six

    Matt rushed into the cabin desperate to see his wife. Silence greeted him, and he ran through the small area calling her name. When no one answered, anger boiled in his heart and mind. What the hell had Bryce done?
    A quick glance around the room suggested that the occupants had left in a hurry, and a more thorough search