Free Devious Little Lies by Erin Ashley Tanner Page A

want to hold our son as much as you do.”
    “It’s going to be over before you know it, love.”
    “And when it is I want a push present out of this world.”
    “A push present? What the fuck is that?” Tony asked raising a brow.
    “When a woman has a baby, her husband is supposed to give her some lavish gift as a thank you for all of the pain and agony she suffered through to give him a child.”
    “What do you want? A new car? Some jewels?”
    “Surprise me.”
    Tony started to say something but was cut off by the sound of the monitors beeping. Rena glanced at the one closest to her. The green lines that had been bouncing up and down the whole time she’d been hooked up were now suddenly flat lining.
    “Tony?”
    A nurse barged into the room. She took one look at the monitor and stepped outside, hollering down the hallway. Rena looked at Tony and fear started to creep slowly into her heart.
    “Calm down, Rena,” he said trying to soothe her.
    She sat up straighter in the bed and then nearly folded in half as a contraction one hundred times the force of all the others she’d experienced hit her. A scream erupted from her throat.
    “Somebody get the fuck in here!” Tony yelled, rising from his seat beside her.
    A nurse ran into the room, followed by her doctor. He took his stethoscope and pressed it to her stomach listening. A frown formed on his face. The nurse was on the other side of Rena taking her vitals. Rena tasted fear, heavy and acidic in her mouth before she screamed as another massive contraction tore through her body.
    Dr. Rhimes yelled at the nurse. “Tell them to get the OR prepped now. Not a minute to lose.”
    The nurse ran from the room and Tony grabbed the doctor.
    “What the fuck is going on? Somebody talk to us.”
    “The baby’s heartbeat is gone. We need to do an emergency Caesarian.”
    Tony’s eyes flew to hers, but Rena’s face was frozen. Dr. Rhimes patted Tony on the shoulder and raced from the room. Tony dropped to the seat beside her bed and reached for her.
    “We can’t lose him,” she whispered.
    “We won’t.”
    He said it with such conviction that she believed it. Nothing was going to happen to their son. The machines had to be malfunctioning and if they weren’t, the doctor would get the baby out in time to save him. They had to.
    But less than twenty minutes later there was no need for a C-section. Rena gave birth and Tony’s howls of grief were enough to peel the paint from the walls. Umbilical cord wrapped around his neck four times, and too deprived of oxygen, their son was dead. His face was blue when he came out. CPR was a futile effort. Dr. Rhimes held their lost little boy in his arms.
    “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
    “Why did this happen? How?” Rena asked through broken sobs.
    Her son looked so perfect lying in Dr. Rhimes’s arms. Dark hair like both his parents, with her unique coloring. He was an angel. An angel, God had decided to take back to heaven.
    “He kept moving and every time he did the cord wrapped tighter around his neck until it cut off his oxygen,” Dr. Rhimes explained.
    “But why? Why did this happen to my baby?”
    Rena could barely see through the tears as the doctor shook his head before wrapping their son up in a blanket and covering his face.
    “Only God knows.”
    His voice, barely a whisper sent her into hysterics and she turned away, curling up into a ball unable to face Tony or the world. Giving in to her grief, she let it wash over her like a tsunami wrecking everything in its path. From somewhere deep inside she heard Tony and Dr. Rhimes speaking. They were making arrangements for the baby.
    “My priest. He’s going to be baptized before…before…”
    Tony broke down again and she tuned him out as she sank further into despair. Her cries filled the room and she clutched her chest, unable to understand how a God that had given so much could take away an innocent child. Tearing at her face, she was suddenly