Everyone laughed, and some of the tension eased.
"I didn't plan anything either." Carmine looked down at our joined hands and swallowed. "I've spent my whole life feeling like I was alone. Even when I was surrounded by people, I was alone on the inside. And then you showed up and wouldn't let me be alone anymore.” He sniffed back a tear and smiled. “So I promise to let you in, to trust you, and to build a family with you, even though I have no idea what I'm doing." His voice cracked on the last word.
I pulled him closer. "We'll figure it out together."
"Yeah. Together."
EPILOGUE
CARMINE
I was calm. I was collected. I was not in any pain.
I was calm. I was collected. I was not in any pain.
I repeated the mantra over and over, murmuring the words to myself as I sat on the floor of my bedroom. I sat on an overstuffed pillow with my legs in front of me, bare feet touching one another. There were candles burning around me as I enjoyed my new meditation.
Traveling back and forth between coasts was easy enough, up until I hit six months pregnant. Then traveling became difficult, doing jobs became difficult. More and more I was letting my mate take on the difficult tasks. Sure, I still got to kill people, but only after my mate had caught them and practically delivered them to me on a platter. It really took the fun out of it.
It wasn’t worth the risk of me personally tracking down dangerous people. It wasn’t as if I could chase anyone right now. Then again, I was still faster than a lot of people. I kept in good shape during my pregnancy. The belly was in the way, of course,so doing some things was still dangerous. I wasn’t risking my child’s life by doing anything dangerous, though.
I couldn't wait for our child to be born. As soon as I was healed, I was gonna go out on a job—a quick one. I didn't imagine that I would want to leave my child right away, but just one little tiny job, something where there was a bit of a chase.
Then I’d return to my baby and my mate.
A contraction rippled through my lower back, and I hissed in a breath. I breathed through it, checking the timer I had set.
"I am calm. I am collected. I am not in any pain."
These were just the early stages. I wasn’t in real labor yet. I had time. Plenty of time.
A knock at the door didn't surprise me. I kept my eyes closed, my breathing even.
"Come in," I said without raising my voice at all. Despite the hecticness of my job and the life that I lived, Dom and I kept ourselves calm throughout the pregnancy. I made sure that I remained as stress-free as possible. Which was why I’d taken up yoga and meditation.
Joey, Felik, and Connor all walked into the room.
"Will you please let us take you to the hospital room? It's all ready. The doctor is already here," Joey asked. As if the doctor wasn’t always here. Andro kept them on staff all the time now that the kids were bigger and they were getting into their own troubles.
Theo had broken his arm at the trampoline park that Andro purchased. After that experience with the regular emergencyroom, he decided that the house would have a doctor or two on site at all times.
"I'm fine," I said. “We have time.”
Of course, the very astute omegas, who had become some of my closest friends in the last few months, noticed this morning that I was in the early stages of labor. Being that it was my first child, these early stages would take a very long time. That had been ten hours ago.
"Did you call Dom and let him know?" Felik asked.
"He's arriving as we speak," I said. At least, I hoped he was. He said he was getting on a plane last I spoke to him. I didn’t tell him that I was in labor. He would have tried to rush home, and there was no rushing planes. He would get here when he got here, and until then, I could hold on.
Dom had been sent on a mission to the west coast. I’d spent the evening on the phone with him while he tracked down our mark and took him out. We stopped short of having him wear a body cam that I could watch the whole time he was away.
I wanted him here with me. I hated that he wasn’t here with me. His job was important and so was mine, it just so happened that right now my job was growing this baby.
As if letting their impatience known, my baby kicked solidly against my bladder. I hissed in pain.
"All right, we're escorting you to the hospital room. Don't make me carry you." Joey reached his hand out.
I stared at it, unmoving.
