Page 101 of Warlord’s Empire

“Fuck,” Shola breathed.

“Hey, this is supposed to be a joyful event,” Saskia said sarcastically. “Remember what the birth instructor said.”

“You fired your birth instructor for asking about baby’s the father.” Shola gripped the handle above the door as Halil took a corner way too fast.

“I got a bad vibe from her,” Saskia defended herself. “I didn’t know I’d need another one this soon. Before I fired her, do you remember what she said we’re supposed to do when my water breaks?”

“How can you not know?” Shola shouted at her. “Don’t you know how to use Google? If I was about to push out a watermelon, I’d have Googled it by now.”

“I’ve been busy!”

“Ladies!” Halil shouted, gaining their attention. “We’re about to hit the freeway and we have two in pursuit now, along with our guys. Put your seatbelts on.”

Saskia tried to push herself up so she could put her seatbelt on, but a sharp pain in her abdomen had her crying out and slumping back against the passenger door.

“What’s wrong?” Shola asked sharply. “You’re pale.”

The pain continued, gripping her with such intensity she couldn’t breathe let alone answer Shola’s question. The urge to push was strong, but she resisted as hard as she could. Now was not the time.

Unfortunately, the baby had a different plan.

The pain subsided, but the pressure continued. Saskia gasped for air, sucking it in so fast she got dizzy.

“Saskia, talk to me!” Shola said desperately. “Why are you crying? What’s wrong? Is it the baby?”

She looked as panicked as Saskia felt. “I… I think she’s coming.”

“She can’t!” Shola screeched, her wide eyes focused on Saskia while clinging to her weapon. “I need my gun hand.”

It was such an absurd thing to say that Saskia burst out laughing. “Me too,” she gasped, holding up her own gun.

“Give that to me.” Shola took the gun and holstered it at her hip. “I’ll call ahead and let Dr. Koba know we’re going to need her when we arrive.”

Saskia erupted into giggles again. “The brain doctor is going to deliver my baby.”

“I’ve alerted them to the situation. They’ll be ready for you,” Halil called back, swerving in and out of the lane, rocking Saskia and Shola back and forth.

“I don’t know if we’re going to make it.” Another contraction hit Saskia, but this time she knew what it was and knew what to do because, despite what she’s implied to Shola, Saskia had engaged with Google to learn about giving birth.

Gritting her teeth, she breathed through the contraction, concentrating on counting as the seconds ticked by. “55 seconds,” she said, then began counting again. When the next contraction hit, she added, “Two minutes apart.”

Shola’s eyes were wide. “We’re not going to make it.”

That’s what Saskia had already said, but the pain was too much for her to point out that she was right.

“We have to take your leggings and panties off,” Shola said.

As soon as the contraction let up, Saskia ordered, “Do it now, quickly.”

Shola stripped Saskia quickly and efficiently. It was incredibly weird being in the back of a car, naked from her waist down, wearing only a sweatshirt, but Saskia was beyond caring.

“Motherfucking son-of-a-bitch!” She gripped the driver’s headrest in one hand while yanking on the seatbelt behind her with the other. Pain razed through her, crippling her from mid-thigh all the way up. “Kurva! Do píči!” She screamed in Czech. “It hurts!”

“You’re doing great,” Shola said unconvincingly, patting Saskia’s foot. “Just breathe.”

“The birth lady told you to say that,” Saskia snapped accusingly. “And I hated that judgmental… aaaaaahhhhhhh!”

Shola flinched at the volume and Saskia was confident she got her point across about speaking nonsense to her while she was trying to birth an elephant.