He knew that he was possibly putting her and the baby into danger by leaving the safehouse, but Ruby was right—the baby and Winter both needed to be in a hospital for the delivery. From what he had overheard, the doctors were planning on taking her in for an emergency C-section.
Ruby caught up with him, running down the hallway to where she had left him. “You’ll need to change if you want to be in the operating room with Winter for the delivery,” Ruby said.
“They’ll let me be in the room with her?” he asked. He had no clue how any of this worked. They really didn’t have time to take those parenting classes that they offered first-time parents while being hidden away in the cabin up north.
“Of course, but you’ll have to hurry. The baby’s heart rate dropped on our way in, and they’ll want to get him delivered quickly. Follow me,” Ruby ordered. She led the way back to a small cubicle and handed him a set of scrubs, explaining to him how to put them on. Ruby promised that she’d be back in a few minutes after she checked in with her boss to let him know what was going on. Jace stood in the changing area, tugging on scrubs with shaking hands, his mind locked on Winter. He was terrified but determined to be strong for her. He would be there when their son came into the world, just as he had promised Winter that he would be.
The door creaked open to the tiny room, and Jace barely glanced up from changing into scrubs, assuming it was a nurse coming in to fetch him, or even Ruby coming back for him. But the man who stepped inside wasn’t wearing hospital whites. He was wearing jeans and a leather cut, but Jace didn’t need to see the patch on the back to know who he was facing. The guy’s eyes were cold, his movements deliberate, and Jace could feel the anger radiating off him. Jace’s gut clenched a split second before the gun came out from the guy’s waistband. He wanted to tell the guy that now wasn’t the time for all of this. He wanted to insist that he wait until Jace could meet his son and make sure that his woman was safe—but it would have only been a waste of breath. The look in his eyes told Jace that he was determined to finish his mission, and he had a sick feeling that was going to involve him never seeing Winter or his newborn son again.
The biker pointed the gun at Jace’s gut, and he held out his hands, silently pleading for him to stop, but it was too late. The shot cracked through the room, deafening in the small space. Pain exploded in Jace’s chest, driving him back against the lockers with the force of the bullet entering his body. He gasped, clutching at the wound as though checking to make sure that it was really there. Blood already soaked through the thin fabricof the scrubs as he slumped to the tile floor. He knew that he should get up and go to Winter, but his will wasn’t as strong as the pain that consumed him.
The man didn’t say a word as he shoved the gun back into his waistband. He just stared for a moment, as if memorizing the sight of Jace lying on the floor. “Stay dead this time, asshole,” he grumbled as he turned and walked out of the cubicle, the door swinging shut behind him with quiet finality.
Jace lay on the floor, his breath ragged, and his vision blurring. He thought of Winter, who was probably lying on the operating table, scared out of her mind, fighting to bring their son into the world. He was missing it—all of it. He thought of the promise he’d made, the vow he’d repeated over and over—that they’d bring their son into the world together, and he wasn’t going to be able to keep his promise to her. Because now, he was bleeding out on the floor, alone, the sterile room echoing with the sound of his labored breaths.
He pressed his hand harder against the wound, fighting to stay conscious for as long as possible. He just needed to hold out until Ruby came back to get him as she promised. And all he kept telling himself was: Don’t let go. Not now. Not when she needs you. The fact of the matter was, he needed her more than she’d ever need him. She had quickly become his world, and now, he wasn’t going to be around anymore to tell her that. He wasn’t going to be able to help raise their son, or tell them both how much he loved them, and that thought gutted him.
Somewhere beyond the walls of the shitty little cubicle, Winter’s surgery was probably underway. Somewhere beyond the walls of his little prison, their son was about to take his first breath. And Jace knew that if he didn’t find a way to hold on, he might never see either of them again—and he couldn’t let that happen. He couldn’t break his promise to Winter—not now, after they had come so far together.
The world around him blurred in and out of consciousness as Jace fought to stay awake. Blood pooled beneath his body, hot and relentless, soaking through the thin scrubs. He tried to push himself upright, but his strength was gone. The pain was intense, but the pain of knowing that he was letting Winter and his son down was unbearable.
He was beginning to think that the outside world had ceased to exist. Ruby still wasn’t back, and he worried that something had gone wrong with the delivery. Why hadn’t she been back to get him yet? He was giving up hope when the door banged open, and Ruby stood frozen in the doorway, eyes widening at the sight of him slumped against the lockers.
“Oh my God!” she gasped, rushing forward. “Jace, what happened?” Her hands pressed against the wound, her voice sharp and commanding as she shouted for help. Within seconds, more staff poured into the tiny room, working as a team to lift him onto a gurney. The fluorescent lights streaked above him as they wheeled him down the hallway, voices overlapping as Ruby shouted instructions. “BP is dropping,” she said. He wanted to ask her what that meant exactly, but forming words seemed impossible.
“Prep the OR,” she ordered. “He’s losing too much blood.” Jace could hear in her voice that none of what she was saying was a good thing, but he also knew that if Banshee and Savage vouched for Ruby, then she had to be a good doctor. Jace drifted in and out of consciousness as the sound of Winter’s name echoed in his mind. He clung to it, even as darkness swallowed him whole. He just hoped like hell that Winter wouldn’t forgethim and would teach their son about him at some point—even if he was breaking his promise and leaving her alone.
When he tried to open his eyes again, the world seemed softer. No one was rushing around or shouting orders. No one was saying that he was losing too much blood, and a part of him worried if it was all just a dream—until he tried to move. The pain shot through him like a bolt of lightning, and his eyes finally shot open.
The sterile white walls of the hospital room blurred into focus, the steady beep of a monitor grounding him. His chest ached and felt bandaged too tightly. Jace winced in pain as he tried to sit up again, failing miserably. He had so many questions running through his mind, but the loudest was what had happened to Winter and their son.
And then he saw her—the answer to all his questions. Winter sat beside his bed in a wheelchair, her hair pulled back, her face pale but glowing with exhaustion and something fiercer—joy. In her arms, swaddled in a blanket, was their son. They were too perfect sitting there staring back at him. He blinked, half expecting them both to disappear when he reopened his eyes, but they didn’t.
Jace’s breath caught as he tried to speak, but his throat was dry, his voice a rasp. “Winter,” he croaked.
Her eyes filled with tears as she leaned closer, carefully shifting the baby so Jace could see him better. “You’ve been out for almost a week,” she whispered. “I was so worried that I lost you.”
“I was worried that you lost me, too,” he admitted. “I’m so sorry that I left you. I didn’t want to.”
“That wasn’t something that you could help, Jace,” she reminded. “Rebel told me how she found you in the room where you were changing to come in to the baby and me. You couldn’t have known that the Dead Rabbits were going to find you there.”
“No, but I should have been more cautious. I should have had Savage here to watch our six. I let you and our son down,” he insisted.
“You did no such thing. You’re here, and we made it. He’s here. He’s safe, and so are you, Jace,” she said.
Jace’s gaze locked on the tiny face, the soft rise and fall of the baby’s chest. His heart clenched, and he felt completely overwhelmed. “Our son,” he murmured, reaching weakly for her hand.
Winter pressed her fingers into his, steady and strong. “You almost left us,” she said, her voice trembling but resolute. “But you didn’t. You fought your way back to us both, Jace. You kept your promise to me.”
Jace swallowed hard, his eyes never leaving theirs. “I promised you that we’d do everything together, Winter. But I missed his birth.”
Winter leaned forward, pressing her forehead to his. “You’re here for the most important part, though. You’re here to help me raise him. And now you can keep that promise to me that we’ll do everything together—including changing his diapers.” She made a face, and he couldn’t help his chuckle. Jace moaned and grabbed his side when just that simple movement shot a pain through his side.
The baby stirred, a soft sound escaping his lips, and Jace felt something inside him settle. The war wasn’t over, the danger wasn’t gone—but at that moment, with Winter and their son beside him, he knew he had survived for a reason. Jace shifted against the pillows, wincing as the bandages pulled tight across his side. The monitors beeped steadily, but his eyes kept dartingtoward the door, toward the sterile hallway beyond. If he had been asleep for the better part of the week, then that would have given the Dead Rabbits plenty of time to come looking for him. Why hadn’t they finished the job, though? Maybe Savage and Bolt had kept them safe, but he couldn’t ask them to do so forever.
“We can’t stay here,” he muttered, voice low but urgent. “Hospitals aren’t safe, and the Rabbits are probably looking for me. Too many people know I’m alive, and too many eyes have seen us. If the Rabbits find out we’re here?—”
Winter cut him off, her hand tightening around his. She sat in the wheelchair; their son nestled against her chest. “Jace,” she said firmly, “we are safe.” He knew that she was trying to comfort him by making him pretty promises, but he knew the score—they might never be safe again.
