Page 27

CHAPTER 12

Lana woke up from her nap to the sound of her own moaning. A sharp pain gripped her stomach, forcing her to sit up with a gasp as she wrapped her arms protectively around her swollen belly. Okay, that definitely wasn't the usual cramp she had been experiencing on and off. Closing her eyes, she took a few deep breaths, waiting for the pain to ease. When it finally did, she glanced around the bedroom, thankful Sid wasn't there to witness it.

The man had been driving her absolutely insane for weeks, hovering over her as if she were made of glass. She loved him more than anything, but if he asked her one more time if she was feeling okay, she might actually strangle him.

Lana shifted against the pillows, trying to get comfortable. She still had two weeks until her due date, and while she knew babies didn't exactly follow a schedule, she'd been counting on having a little more time. Dawn had mentioned false labor, which was hopefully what she'd just experienced. The last thing she wanted was Sid going into full-blown panic mode over a cramp. The man was already one nervous breakdown away from wrapping her in bubble wrap.

Resting her hand against her stomach, she smiled when the baby moved. “You and I need to have a little talk, sister,” she whispered. “Your daddy is already driving me crazy, so let's not give him another reason to lose his mind.”

Her smile disappeared when another pain tightened across her belly, spreading into her lower back. Lana gripped the blankets, breathing carefully until the uncomfortable pressure finally released.

“Oh, shit.” She glanced toward the clock, wishing she'd paid attention to the time when the first one hit.

Maybe she should call Sid. Then again, the thought of having him burst into the bedroom demanding to know what was wrong wasn't particularly appealing. She could already picture him barking orders at everyone within hearing distance while she tried to convince him she wasn't dying.

A sudden, sharper pain put an end to that thought.

“Son of a bitch!” Lana bent forward, one hand braced against the mattress while the other pressed against her stomach. Whatever this was, it was getting stronger, and she was beginning to seriously doubt the whole false labor theory.

She reached for her phone, only to knock it off the nightstand. “Dammit!”

Lana stared at the phone lying on the floor. Under normal circumstances, picking it up wouldn't have been a problem. Unfortunately, there was currently a small human inside her who seemed determined to make even the simplest task impossible.

“Sid!” she called out, trying to sound as normal as possible so she wouldn't freak him out. With his superb vampire hearing, he should have heard her. After a few minutes of him not showing up, she cursed as another cramp began tightening her stomach. “SID!”

Once the pain finally eased, she climbed out of bed and headed toward the door, determined to find her husband and cuss him out. She didn't get far before it opened, just as a sudden gush of warm fluid splashed onto their bedroom floor.

“Sorry, I was just finishing dinner and didn't want it to—” Sid stopped, his eyes dropping from her face to the puddle spreading across the floor. His expression changed so quickly that Lana almost laughed, despite the pain.

“Oh, fuck no!” Sid looked at her in horror. “You're not due for another two weeks! Tell your daughter to get her little ass back up there!”

“What do you mean, fuck no? And she's your daughter too, so you tell her!” Lana snapped, knowing this was it. She was having her baby, and there wasn't a damn thing she could do to stop it. The realization hit her hard, and for the first time, fear began to creep in. “Sid, I don't think I'm ready for this.”

“Hey.” Sid rushed toward her, nearly slipping in the puddle on the floor before wrapping his arms around her. “You're the calm one, remember? I'm the crazy one. And you're more than ready for this. You're the baddest bitch I know.”

Despite everything, Lana felt a tear slip down her cheek as a smile tugged at her lips. Leave it to Sid to make her feel better by calling her a bitch.

“I am a pretty bad bitch.” Her smile quickly disappeared as another contraction gripped her stomach. Crying out, she clung to Sid while he held her against him, somehow managing to send a text with his free hand. “Why in the hell did I agree to have her naturally? Oh, my God! It's going to get worse, isn't it?”

Sid hesitated, which was all the answer she needed. Carefully picking her up, he headed out of their bedroom, holding her close against his chest. “Well, I do know it gets bad enough that Pam threatened to pull my balls out through my throat.”

Lana slowly lifted her head to glare at him. “Sid, I swear to God, if you're trying to make me feel better, you're doing a really shitty job.”

“Just saying, babe.” Sid glanced down at her with a nervous grin.

Lana rested her head against Sid’s shoulder as he hurried toward the SUV, holding her carefully in his arms. Once he had her settled in the passenger seat, he rushed around to the driver's side, climbed in, and started the engine. Instead of pulling away, he grabbed his phone, his frown deepening as he stared at the screen.

“What’s wrong?” Lana tried her best to keep the panic out of her voice, but another contraction was already threatening. “Did you get ahold of Dawn?”

“I texted her, but she hasn't answered yet.” Sid pulled out, putting the phone to his ear as he headed toward the main road.

“Hey, you at the compound?” Sid didn't bother with a greeting. “Is Dawn there?”

“Put it on speakerphone.” Lana gritted her teeth as another contraction hit, her hand gripping the door handle. This one wasn’t as intense, thank God.

Sid quickly did as she asked, just as Slade's voice came through. “No, what's going on? Is it Lana?”

“Yes, it's Lana!” She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to breathe through the pain. “And I want drugs. I want them now! I can't do this without drugs!”