Her pregnancy is partially why I’m willing to play nice for now. I can’t afford for anything to happen to her, and I won’t let our kid grow up without all of us. But each moment without her is a slice down a vein-I’m bleeding out.
“This is the appointment she could find out what she’s having,” August shares. “Our baby is the size of an avocado.”
“Or a grenade,” I offer, and he chortles.
August shakes his head. “Only you’d think of weapons to compare the size of our baby in utero.”
Shrugging, I retort, “You can have your fruit basket-I’ll have my weapon arsenal.” My words give me an idea. “I think I’m going to start assembling one, so once they’re old enough, we can teach them how to use everything.”
I wait for the rebuff, but it never comes. August hums in agreement. “I like it-even more if we have a girl. She needs to be badass and fully capable of protecting herself.”
“Will you two idiots focus? We’re almost in,” Liam commands from the comms in our ears.
Tsking, I taunt, “Aww, are you still salty you didn’t get to come? Don’t worry, Liamon bear. You can teach them to hack into any asshole that dares to fuck with them.”
He growls, and I swear I can picture the sneer on his face.
“You’re coming up to a door on the left,” he states, ignoring my jibes. “Punch in 722091.”
August punches in the numbers, then the red light on the door flips green, and the lock clicks.
“Now take the stairs up four flights,” Liam instructs.
As we climb the stairs, I begin to worry.
Will our being here put her in more danger? Are we being selfish for wanting to be here for her appointments?
“Are you sure Sam doesn’t know where we are?” I inquire, voicing my concern.
Liam sighs. “Yes, for the hundredth time. Rowan is distracting her.”
Poor guy.
He always seems to draw the short straw, having to take one for the team when it comes to Samantha
-still better him than me.
“How exactly is he distracting her?” Wy asks.
“He took her shopping,” Liam answers, and August and I groan.
I wouldn’t have volunteered to do that for any amount of money.
“Unlucky bastard,” August murmurs, and I nod in agreement.
We climb the last flight of stairs and come to another locked door.
“I don’t know if I should be annoyed or glad that Dr. Jaffri is taking Emma’s safety seriously. How many goddamn security measures do we have to go through? We’re going to miss the whole damn appointment at this rate,” I whisper shout.
I hear Liam’s fingers flying over his keyboard. “Quit your whining. There are not nearly enough measures in place. Once you two leave there, I’m going to work with Teagan and the Jacobis to fortify their security. It was far too easy to bypass all their systems.”
The lock disengages as he gives us our next round of instructions. Emma is on the tenth floor behind three security layers, which doesn’t include her personal guards outside her exam room. My nostrils flare at the memory of how Reign touched her.
I hope that’s not his jerking hand because he won’t have it much longer.
Then, there are also six armed men positioned at the entrance of Dr. Jaffri’s office and four more in the waiting room.
“Okay, the vents you’re looking for should be coming up on your left. Unscrew the bottom two screws. This will allow you to crawl through without any suspicion,” Liam instructs.
August pulls tools from his pocket and then opens the vent. We both silently discuss which one will climb in first before he squats down for me to stand on his shoulders.
“What the hell have you been eating, Karl-bricks?”
Liam bursts into laughter in our ears as August pushes up, and I slide in head first, leaving my legs out for August to use as leverage.
Once we’re both successfully in, we army crawl.
“What room is she in again?” I ask after what feels like hours.
“Shhh. You fuckheads need to be quiet. I’ll let you know when to stop,” Liam reprimands.
Rolling my eyes, I continue in silence, mainly because he’s right. We know the entire building has been emptied for this visit, but Emma’s security detail is also stationed on other floors and could hear us.
Reign might not be as stupid as I thought-he’s still a dead man.
I hear her before Liam can even say anything. My heart thumps out of my chest at being in such close proximity to her. Inhaling, I can faintly pick up her scent. She’s wearing something soft and floral.
“Everything has been fine,” Emma says. I miss her doctor’s first question but catch the next one as I move into position for August and me to both be able to see.
Dr. Jaffri sits on a stool by a computer, facing Emma. “Your lab work came back, and it looks like your calcium and iron levels are running a bit low, as well as your vitamin D. Have you been taking your prenatal vitamins and getting enough rest?”
“Yes to the vitamins. No to the sleep. Some nights I’m just restless, and others, I’m knocked out,” Emma replies, chewing on her plump bottom lip, and I have to fight a groan and pray my dick behaves.
The doctor’s hand swirls on a device that I didn’t notice in her hands. “How many nights would you say you’ve been restless in the last week?”
“Three,” she and August answer at the same time.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.