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“Do you want in on our conversation, sir?” Liliana asks. I wince, knowing what’s coming.

“Sure. What’s the topic?”

“Romance as a teen mom,” I grumble. “I think I’ve had more than enough to survive a lifetime.”

“That’s not romance,” Emil snorts. “Those boys la cagaron. They shat the bed, Noor. One day, someone will come into your life who adores you and your baby and you’ll never look back. It’ll be like a bad dream.”

“Not everyone deserves another chance to fix things,” Jared says. “We fucked things up badly with Rachelle, but we still work at giving her the best life possible, Noor.”

“I almost shot them all,” Emil shrugs, nudging Jared out of the way to take his place. “Your assholes were given multiple warnings, mija. They can continue to think you’re dead. You deserve a life without stress.”

I know they’re all right. The night of the chase, I knew the Devils were trying to protect me. I even thought they might come around to the idea of Little Beam, but too much has happened. I took my escape and I can’t look back.

I hiss as another contraction hits me, and Emil moves his arm to my waist as I sway through the pain. Lili continues to rub my back, and the flow of pedestrian traffic moves around us.

“Have they all been like this?” Emil whispers.

“Si, señor,” Lili responds. “You’re doing so good, Noor. In and out.”

I nod as I drift through the contraction, unable to stay present during the rougher parts of it.

“We can walk,” I rasp, my heart pounding once I’m through it. “The cars aren’t far.”

“I’ll bring it around,” Elijah says. “I’ll tell Nacio to get the SUV.”

I nod as Elijah jogs away, leaving them to figure it out. Even if the devils are out of my life, I’m not alone. My family reminds me at every turn why I don’t need them.

Hell, I don’t know if I’ll ever date again. My track record isn’t pretty, and I never want to bring someone into Little Beam’s life that’ll hurt him.

“Give yourself some credit, Noor,” Emil says. “You just sold two of your paintings this month. One went for five thousand dollars. I also promise none of us bought them.”

I wrinkle my nose at him before smiling, knowing he’s changing the subject.

“I don’t charge my family for my paintings,” I state, knowing it’ll get under his skin.

“¡Y porque no! We can all afford it,” he complains.

“She gave me a sketch of the girls for my birthday,” Liliana says. I did it from a photo I took of them playing. “Noor will get around whatever you tell her, Mr. Emil. It’s a losing battle.”

“Her sketch was really good,” my grandfather mutters. “I’m simply saying, you’re talented, mija. I am very proud of you.”

“Thank you. Oh. Ow.”

We’re at the curb waiting for Elijah and I close my eyes as I ride out the wave of pain hitting me. This feels like it was closer to the last one.

Theo confirms my thoughts as soon as I open my eyes, his eyes on his watch.

“Let’s get you food, a shower, and a nap,” he decides. “You’re going to want to sleep through as much of this as possible. We’ll sing happy birthday right after lunch.”

I don’t want to make any decisions at the moment, which leads to me nodding as Elijah rolls to a stop in front of us. Nacio is behind him, and we all get into the cars without further discussion. The rental isn’t very far from here, which is a very good thing.

Sitting is very uncomfortable, and there’s a deep pressure pushing on my back.

“Would I be crazy if I asked someone to take a rolling pin to my back?” I mumble, double checking my seat belt.

“A rolling pin?” Emil asks, confused from the front seat.

“Yes,” I sigh. “My back hurts. I’ll be fine as soon as I stand up. It’s worse in the car.”