“Cash—” she gasped. “Something’s wrong.” She doubled over, moaning through clenched teeth.
“What?” he asked, wrapping an arm protectively around her.
“I’m cramping—bad,” she hissed. “It hurts. This doesn’t feel right.”
A sharp cry ripped out her throat.
“Fuck,” Cash breathed, catching her. “Jas, just breathe. Look at me, baby. Breathe.”
“It hurts so bad,” she whimpered. “Mama!”
Behind us, I heard Slim and Jelani shouting at everyone to clear the backyard.
Jas’ mom, Vera, rushed over, coughing. “I’m here, Jazzy. Sydney said the EMTs are on the way.”
Monica dashed toward the house to get Jasmine’s bag.
Cash cradled Jasmine in his arms, rocking slightly. “Hold on, baby. Help’s coming.”
Nairobi was in the passenger seat before I had the driver’s door fully open, both of us still running on adrenaline. I was glad I parked on the street—made it easier to pull out and fall in behind the ambulance.
Neither of us said anything for the first few minutes. I was breaking more than a few traffic laws trying to keep up.
“You okay?” I asked, keeping my eyes on the road.
“No.” She let out a long breath. “This is so fucked up. Whoever that was, it’s clear they weren’t trying to kill anyone, but Jasmine…”
I knew we were both thinking the same thing. Giving birth was already a huge risk on its own. Add in the stress of what just happened, and there was no telling what we were gonna be dealing with at the hospital.
“She’s gonna be fine,” I said.
I was trying to convince both of us. The sinking feeling in my gut already told me the Order was behind this.
Jasmine’s cries echoed down the hall as her gurney was wheeled into a room.
The waiting area was tense as fuck—quiet in a way you could tell that everyone was barely holding their shit together. Cash sat forward, elbows on his knees, with Ms. Sydney and Jasmine’s mother on either side of him. Both women’s mouths moved silently in prayer whileJasmine’s father paced the hall with clenched fists and a hard expression on his face.
Monica texted that Drea and the rest were clearing the house. Slim also stayed behind with some of our guys to make sure no one was finna double back. A few folks had scrapes and bruises, but miraculously nobody was hurt and there wasn’t too much damage to the house.
A doctor finally came out. “She’s stable,” she said as she pulled her mask down. “The stress triggered early labor. We tried slowing it down, but she’s already four centimeters. It looks like the baby’s coming tonight. We’re moving her to Labor and Delivery.”
Cash nodded and stood. “Y’all head up. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Ms. Sydney gave his shoulder a squeeze before she headed towards the elevators with Jasmine’s parents.
Cash turned to Jelani once the elevator doors closed.
“Stolen plates,” Jelani said. “Cameras ain’t show shit. It’s like they disappeared into thin air.”
Cash nodded like Jelani wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t know. He rubbed his beard, eyes shifting until they landed on Nairobi.
“Figured as much,” he said quietly. “What I don’t know is why.”
Nairobi’s brow furrowed. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Why the fuck would the Order hit my family?”
“We don’t know if it was them,” she said, but it sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than him.
