“Seeing as nobody’s seen him in hundreds of years, and that he hasn’t returned for her yet, I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” Gabriel said.
“Yeah. And you know what? Even if Halo decides to show up tomorrow, we got your back,” Dante exclaimed. He thumped his chest in a brotherly gesture.
“I don’t care who this guy is, abandoning a baby is just the worst,” Raja growled. “I’m with you two. You’re better parents to Angel than he’ll ever be.”
Lorenzo nodded. “Agreed.”
Their praise warmed my heart. They were right—Angelwasour child, no matter who gave birth to her. I would fight tooth and nail to protect her, and never, ever give up on her. If Halo Fire-Eater wanted her back, he would have to pry her from my cold dead hands.
“So… What does this mean for us?” Ryu asked.
“I guess we keep doing what we’re doing,” I said with a shrug. “We raise our daughter and work on the second. There’s nothing else wecando.”
“Wait—work on the second?” Gabriel gasped, his eyes wide. “Are you two trying to conceive?”
The tension in the air disappeared as everyone sat up in excitement.
“There goes the secret, I guess,” Ryu said with a small laugh.
I waved him off. “Oh, whatever. It wasn’t a secret in the first place.”
Gabriel and Raja practically fell over themselves rushing to my side.
“This is so exciting!” Gabriel cried. “Have you tried? Are you pregnant already?”
“No,” I mumbled, suddenly shy from all the attention. “Well, we did try, but I didn’t get pregnant. The doctor said we should try on my heat coming up.”
Raja nodded. “That’s how I got pregnant. It’s practically a guarantee. You, uh, might want to get a babysitter for Angel in the meantime. You’re gonna have a hard time leaving your apartment, or doing anything that isn’t… You know.”
I scowled at him and rolled my eyes. “Listen, kid, I probably had my first heat before you were even born. I know how it works.”
Raja grinned. “Right. I forgot how old you are.”
I glared. “Call meoldone more time.”
“Anyways,” Gabriel said quickly, “if you need a babysitter, I’m totally open.”
“I thought you were done with kids,” Ryu remarked, smirking.
“I meant kids of my own, dummy,” Gabriel muttered. “Babysitting is different. Besides, Angel is—well, an angel. She never causes any trouble. Isn’t that right?”
He booped her nose, and she laughed. My heart tightened with affection for her.
“Seriously, though, you wouldn’t mind babysitting?” Ryu asked.
Both Raja and Gabriel nodded.
“We can trade off for a couple days,” Raja said. “When Gabriel’s sick of dealing with two babies plus Angel, we can take her.”
“That’s a huge help, you guys,” Ryu said. “Thank you.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Gabriel shooed us away. “Now go and get busy.”
Ryu and I smirked at each other, remembering Dr. Lynden’s comment. “It seems like a lot of people have been saying that to us lately.”
I sighed. “I guess I’m gonna have to close up the bar for the next few days…”
