He turned and hurried down the hall. “Move out of the way!”
“Virgil!” Melody tried blocking him while talking on the phone. “He’s carrying her through the bar. What do we do?”
“I’m driving,” Virgil called out as he rounded a pool table.
“I’ll drive,” she insisted. “Everyone’s seen how you drive.”
“Fine. I’m sure she’d love nothing more than having me in the back seat with my head between her legs to catch the baby.”
“You’re drunk.”
“I’m depressed,” he grunted. “There’s a difference. I know my limit, and I haven’t crossed it.”
“Get out of the way!” Calvin shouted. “Make room, motherfuckers!”
Catcher zipped ahead of us and snarled at everyone in our path.
Meanwhile, Virgil was straining so much I thought he might give birth instead. “So glad I started lifting weights.Soglad I started lifting.”
“Put me down! I can wait here until Milly comes.” I clutched his neck, afraid he would drop me.
“It’s a bar, Joy. You don’t want a baby coming into the world around these knuckleheads. Besides that, some of them might get attached. They just love babies.”
Virgil wasn’t making sense. None of this was making sense.
“I’ll call Milly,” Melody shouted before smacking into someone.
Several men blocked the door. Hamish—our surly neighbor with the ridiculously styled mustache—was dead center.
“You won’t find Milly at home,” he said, arms folded. His local accent and textured voice made him sound like the new sheriff in town. All he lacked was a gold star pinned to his chest.
Melody stared at her phone. “She’s not answering.”
A smile crawled up Hamish’s face. “That’s because she’s gone down to San Antonio. She visits her sister for her birthday every year. That’s why we don’t rely on her anymore.” He tipped his head to the side and stared at my belly. “We have midwives in my pack. I’m guessing by the panicked looks on your faces that you don’t have anything like that.” When he leaned in closer, Catcher growled. “I could use a pretty bitch in my pack. Word on the street is you don’t have a mate.”
“Back the hell up or else,” Virgil warned him.
Hamish arched an eyebrow at him. “If you want to swing at me, son, I’ll take it up later with the Council.”
Virgil arched back and tightened his grip. “Only chickenshits involve the Council.”
Hamish narrowed his eyes at him before directing his attention at me. “Do you really belong with these stooges? A single mother needs a strong pack. Come home with me and I’ve got experienced midwives who’ll hold your hand through the entire thing.” He wound a lock of my hair around his finger. “What if something goes wrong?”
“Don’t you say that to her!” Melody snapped.
“You need a protective mate,” he continued, “and I’ve got plenty of strong packmates to pick from. My new beta’s single, and I think you two already know each other. Would you like that?”
Melody scoffed. “I think I’m going to throw up.”
He turned a sharp eye toward her. “I would too if I were mated to that loser of yours.”
At the sound of laughter, Melody lunged, but one of Hamish’s men caught her around the waist.
Hamish walked behind me. “Last chance. I’ve got more wealth, more land, and a larger pack to protect you. Offers like these come once in a lifetime.”
I twisted my head around to see him. “Tell your men to get out of our way.”
He jerked his chin, signaling his packmates to move.
