Zoe appears in the media room doorway with a confused look. I’ve laid down the law plenty of times that there’s no yelling from room to room. Now I’m doing it myself, so of course she’s wondering what the hell’s going on.
“Let me talk to the cop, Laurelyn.”
Zoe’s brows shoot up, and she walks in to stand next to me.
I tap the mute button. “Get dressed, baby. We’re going to Boston.”
After a moment, there’s a male voice. “This is Sergeant Melton.”
I unmute the phone. “Yeah, this is Connor McCann, a friend of Scott Patrick’s. Sounds like his wife is in labor and needs to go to the hospitalnow. If you need a statement from her, take it at the hospital, or better still, in a few days, when she’s recovered from giving birth.”
Zoe turns and bolts from the room to get ready.
“In labor?” the cop scoffs. “She didn’t say.”
“Yeah, well, I’m saying it.”
After a beat where he’s probably looking her up and down, he sighs. “We’ll get someone to transport her.”
“Good. Give her back her phone.”
“Hey,” Laurelyn says, her voice strained but calm. “I heard. Thank you, C.”
“No problem. Text me the name of the hospital. I’ll bring Zoe to you before I do anything else.”
“Scott might need a lawyer. He really?—”
“Don’t worry about Trick.”
If Trick’s been arrested for killing a gunman, it means the cops aren’t treating it like a righteous shooting. In that case, the less said within their earshot, the better.
Not that I want Laurelyn to worry about that, and neither would Trick.
“I don’t really want to leave without him,” she says.
“Trick is fine, Laurelyn. I guarantee it. The only thing that will cause him to lose his cool is if anything happens to you or his new son.”
“You’re right. I just hate to. He would never leave us behind… especially at a moment when we should be together.” She makes a small sound of discomfort that causes me to grimace. “But it’s safer for the baby if I go to the hospital, so I will. If you see him before I do, C, tell him we’re okay.”
“I will,” I say, hoping that I’ll be telling him the truth.
Ending the call, I meet Zoe at the front door. After I usher her to the Rover and get us on the road, I call our big gun lawyers and tell them to get their asses to Boston. After what happened with Rachel three months ago, the last thing I want is for Trick to be detained longer than necessary while Laurelyn is in the middle of having his kid.
LAUREL
The thingI adore about Zoe is that she has a lot of experience promoting calm during stressful moments.
When she arrives, I’m dilated to nine centimeters. She drops her coat on the couch and stalks straight to me and takes my hand.
“We hit traffic,” she whispers, pushing the hair back from my face.
“It’s okay,” I say between breaths. “I want to wait for Scott, but I don’t think I can. This is so much faster than the last time.”
“All good,” Zoe says soothingly. “Just listen to your body.”
Pain radiates through me, and I feel the urge to push. “It’s time. Right now.”
“All good.” Zoe turns and signals the nurse. “The baby’s coming. If you need to call someone, please do.”
