Her scream turns into a deep growl of pain just as the baby slips out in a gush of liquid, and a loud cry rips through the atmosphere. Tears pour down my cheeks as I quickly wrap the towel around him, picking him up and placing him in Amy’s arms.
“Well done, honey.” I can’t stop the tears. “He’s stunning.” Leaning back on my butt, lights begin flashing around the dimly lit room and I look out the window just as a shadow passes it. Getting up off the floor, Joker is instantly at my back as I reach for the doorknob, yank it open, and step out into the fresh dewy night. I look from left to right but see no one.
“You okay?” Joker asks from behind me, his lip curled, ready for battle.
“Yeah,” I mutter. “Yeah. It doesn’t matter.” I watch as the medics come out of the ambulance and hurry toward the room, clutching their gear.
“She’s in there.” I step away, letting them inside. They walk in and, within seconds, have her and the baby on a gurney. As she wheels past, I kiss her on the forehead. “We’ll come and see you both tomorrow.”
She nods. It’s as though a light shines around her now. “Thank you so much, Millie.”
I smile, and just like that, they’re gone in a whoosh.
“Shit,” I say to Joker, walking back inside the apartment to clean up for her. The last thing she’ll want to do is clean when she comes home.
“Shit is right.” Joker closes the door behind him. “I need to call Raze.”
I roll my eyes. “I’ll do it. He’s probably gonna”—I fling my hands in the air—“flip out.” Dialing Raze’s number, I see Joker take a seat on the sofa and I click my fingers. “Hey! Get up and clean.”
“Where the fuck are you?” Raze snaps after the first ring.
“I’ll explain when I get home. We won’t be long.”
“No, explain this shit now. Fuck, Millie, I was about to put a fucking Code Red on your head.”
My mouth closes. What the hell is a Code Red?
“Okay, I’ll ignore that for now. Amy went into labor, and she called me to take her to the hospital. Only when we got here, she was ready to push.”
Silence. “And you couldn’t tell me this, why?”
“Well,” I say, thinking over his question. “I can’t remember why I didn’t want to tell you, but I will.”
“I’ll be there soon.”
“Raze, you don’t need to come here. We won’t be long.”
“I said I’ll be there soon, and Millie?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t ever fucking do that again.”
Hanging up my phone, I turn to Joker, who is still sitting on the couch. “He’s mad.”
Joker laughs, standing and walking toward me with a smile on his face. “Pumpkin? He could be fucking raging angry, but if there’s one person he will never take it out on, it’s his queen.”
I smile weakly. “Thanks.”
He walks around me and begins picking up the towels, throwing them in a laundry basket.
“Joker?” I ask, turning to face him. He pauses, towel in midair.
“Yeah?”
“What’s your real name?”
He stops, a sly smile spreading across his cheeks. “How do you know it’s not Joker?”
“Because.” That’s all I’ve got.
“What if my parents were just creative with names?”
“Humor me.” I smile at him.
He chuckles, turning back around to pick up the pillows. “Promise not to laugh?”
“Why would I laugh?”
“Promise me you won’t laugh!” he repeats, this time with a tickle of a smirk on his lips.
“Fine, I promise.”
“It’s Jonny D.”
“Why would I laugh at that?” Rolling my eyes, I walk toward him and pick up the warm bowl of water.
“Because people usually do.”
I shrug, walking the bowl to the bathroom. “Nothing wrong with Jonny. I prefer it to Joker.” Bright headlights illuminate the room and I drop the empty plastic bowl to the floor. “Here goes.”
The door swings open and Raze instantly finds me. “You!” He points. “Get in the fucking car.”
“Um, no, Raze. I’m going to clean up for Amy, so she doesn’t have to do it when she gets out of the hospital. With Miles’ baby!”
His chest rises and falls. “Millie,” he repeats calmly, “get in the fucking car right now.” He points to Joker. “You stay right the fuck there.”
“Wait a minute!” I walk toward Raze. “It’s not his fault!” The door to the room is still open, so I don’t want to cause a huge scene, considering it’s almost midnight. “I took his phone so he couldn’t call you.”
Raze looks like he’s counting in his head, practicing his calm breathing. “How the fuck did she manage to take your phone, Joke?”
“Well, Raze, since you asked so nicely, your wonderful lady here fucking pulled up on me.”
Raze’s eye twitches. “You what?” I roll my eyes. “Millie! Stop fucking cleaning. I’ll call someone to come and do it. You’re fucking pregnant too, so get your fucking ass in the car now!”
“Fine!” I huff, dropping the towel to the floor and storming toward the door. Walking out into the inky night, I pause, a slither of chills running up my spine. The wind gusts through my hair, and a familiar feel to the breeze seeps into my pores. In a second, my head snaps to the left, ignoring the line of doors, and track down to the end of the dark walkway. I squint my eyes, and when I make out the lining of a sleek black limo hidden in the dark shadows, my shoulders square and my hackles rise.
“Raze?” I whisper urgently, but the limo pulls away slowly until it’s gone.
“What?” He walks up behind me, the mountain of a man he is instantly soothing my racing heart.
“There was a car.”
“What?” he repeats, walking to the side of me and following my eyes to where the limo was. “Where?”
“There.” I point. “It was a black limo. Pulled off slow, so it didn’t care that I saw it.”
His eyebrows draw together. “Do you remember anything else about it?”
I shake my head. “No. It was just a black limo. But what would one be doing in this neck of the woods?”
“Joke? Let’s go. You drive the Range Rover.” Raze hooks his arm around my neck and leads me toward the Ferrari. He pops open my door and guides me into my seat before rounding the front and slipping into the driver’s seat. Roaring it to life, we skid out of the parking lot and Raze drops it into second, redlining down the road.
“Raze? What are you doing?”
“Someone was watching you, someone I don’t know. I need to know who the fuck that someone is.”
“Shit,” I whisper, gripping onto the door handle.
“What?” he bites out, and I flinch.
“Earlier tonight, right after Amy had the baby, there was this shadow or something that passed the window. I blew it off after I checked outside, but now that I think about it, it was strange. It could be nothing.”
“It wasn’t nothing,” he growls.
“Raze, you can’t catch them.”
“What? I’m not trying to chase them, Millie. You think I’d pull that shit with you in the car?” He looks to me, the fast passing of all the highway lights flashing across his beautiful face and chiseled jaw. “No. The fucking answer to that is no.”
He looks back to the road and drops it into fourth. “I’m taking you home.”
“Do you know who it could be?”
He flexes his jaw. “Yeah, I have an idea.”
“Care to share?”
He pauses, and just when I think he’s not going to say anything, he opens his mouth.
“THE ARMY WAS JUST ONE branch off a very large tree trunk.”
I narrow my eyes. “What do you mean?”
He exhales. “There are seven Army bases around the globe. One for every continent.” He shifts into third and floors it. “I run the base in South America too thoug
h. They go under us.”
My eyes shut, overwhelmed by this new information, and terrified. This organization is a lot more than I ever thought.
“Is this new development, or have you always known this?”
“Oh, this is old information.”
“So this trunk,” I quote with my fingers. “Who is that?”
He breathes evenly, but I can feel his anger radiating off him. “The Syndicate.”
“The Syndicate,” I repeat under my breath. “Just when I thought The Army was one little undercover, sick organization, you tell me there’s a big mama bear. One that fucking roars?”
He laughs. “Yeah, babe. It’s why I never wanted to step into Kurr’s shoes. Never wanted to be a part of this shit.”
“So walk!” I yell, turning my body toward him.
“I can’t just fucking walk, Millie. This is bigger than even me.”
“Fuck.” I slump into my chair. “So what the hell were they doing outside Amy’s apartment?”
His jaw clenches again, and he squeezes the steering wheel. “Don’t know.”
But even as he says those words, I have a feeling he knows. He knows more than what he’s telling me, and that makes me edgy, because Raze hardly ever keeps shit from me if I ask. If he doesn’t want to tell me something, or if he can’t, that’s exactly what he would say. He’d never lie. This, however, is a plain lie, and it… hurts.
“Well, take me home then so you can”—I gesture with my hands—“sort your shit out.”
I SLAM THE CAR DOOR, fishing my phone out of my pocket. After dropping Millie off at home, I drove down the darkest alley I could find on this side of Vegas, and dialed.
“Well, well, w—”
“The fuck are you playing at?” I cut him off.
“What? What am I playing at? Where are you? Are you far?” he asks.
“You wanna come here now? Hmm? ‘Cause it’s highly likely I’ll knock you the fuck out.”
“Yeah, yeah. Where are you?”
I give him the details and hang up, putting my phone in my pocket. Leaning against the car, I wait for a while. Ten minutes pass, and he still hasn’t shown. Twenty minutes later, headlights shine down the alleyway and I stand from where I was leaning. The car stops, and I watch as he gets out of the back. His dark shadow stands in front of the headlights.
“The fuck took you so long?” I grunt.
“Well, it takes you at least twenty minutes to calm the fuck down. I don’t feel like getting blood on my suit tonight, Raze.” He steps forward and his face comes into view.
“Yeah?” I mutter, “My fuze is a little shorter these days. Get in my fucking car. We need to talk.”
“About…?”
“Get in the fucking car.” I point toward the passenger door and he rolls his eyes, slipping out a few swear words.
I get into the driver’s seat and turn to face him. “Was that you tonight?”
“Tonight? I mean… I was at, and in, a lot of places tonight, Raze.” He grins at me.
“Don’t try to be charming with me. I will clip your fucking jaw.”
“Yeah.” He laughs. “Yeah, it was me. Why?”
“Why?” I raise my eyebrows. “And just who the fuck do you think you are, walking around? We had a fucking deal. Why the fuck are you out in public, in Vegas, and a fucking foot away from Millie?”
“Wait a minute. How the fuck is this my fault? I didn’t sign up for this shit either!”
I close my eyes and start counting to ten. “None of us fucking signed up for this.”
“I wanna see her.”
“Who? Amy? No.”
He looks at me, his dark eyes boring into mine. “You and I both know I don’t mean Amy.”
“Raze!” I yell down the hallway. After no reply, I roll my eyes and push off the floor, where I am attempting to pack my hospital bag. Walking down the stairs, clutching my lower back, I pull open the bedroom door and walk down the hallway. Joker walks out of his room, eating potato chips. I narrow my eyes at him. “Where’s your God?”
He sucks his finger and grins at me. “Hmmm? Oh, I don’t know. Church?”
I roll my eyes again and make my way downstairs. Pulling my handbag off the table beside the front door, I take out my phone and dial him. No answer. Which is not like him at all. Looking at my sister’s name, I walk into the kitchen, dialing her instead.
“Hi!” Melissa says breathlessly.
“What were you just doing?” I ask, pulling out the kitchen stool and taking a seat.
“Um. Nothing. What do you want anyway? You never call me.”
“Thanks,” I reply blandly. “I have something I need to tell you.”
“Oh?” She giggles in the background. “What’s that?”
“Can you not.”
“Not… what? Love my man?”
“Gross.”
“Okay, okay, sorry.” A door shuts. “Okay! What’s up?”
“I’m pregnant.”
“What!” she screeches. “How? What? When? What the fuck?”
“Calm down.” I massage my temples. “By getting fucked five ways from Sunday, almost five months ago, here, possibly while being shackled to Raze’s bed.”
“Jesus!”
“I’m happy, Melissa.”
“Is this why you did a runner for all those months and wouldn’t let me see you?”
“Basically. I just… I’m sorry for not telling you, but I couldn’t risk you knowing. If by any chance Raze got his hands on you, he would know if you were lying and keeping something from him. I couldn’t risk it.”
“No, no, I totally get it. Shit,” she whispers. “I’m going to be an aunty?” I can hear her voice hitch up with excitement.
I exhale a defeated breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Yes.”
“Eeeek! This is amazing! I’ll be up there tomorrow!”
“Melissa, wait!”
“No, Millie! Shut up. Shit is about to change. No more running off and not facing your crap. I will be up there tomorrow, and I want Raze there too.”
I sigh, leaning back on my stool. “Okay. See you tomorrow.” Then she hangs up, and I place my phone onto the breakfast bar, my hands coming up to my face. “Shit.” I love my sister, but she can be over the top at times, and I’m still unsure how she’s going to react to Raze. She can be unpredictable, to say the least.
The front door opens, and I wrap my silk robe around myself, tying the front and shuffling off the stool.
“Hey.” I smile at Raze as he walks in, closing the door behind himself.
Removing his tie, he throws it onto the side table and walks toward me. “Hey. We need to talk.”
“What, right now?”
He looks down to my stomach, thinking over something before bringing his eyes back up to mine. Smiling, he brushes me off. “Naw, it can wait.”
“Bu—”
He scoops me into his arms and cradles me into his chest. I wrap my arm around his neck and lean my head on his shoulder. “You need to stop walking up and down these stairs, baby.”
I giggle, pulling away enough to find him being completely serious. “How am I supposed to get to the fridge if I can’t come downstairs?”
He smirks. “Is that all you love me for?” He mocks being hurt as we land on the top step and he walks us down the hallway. “My food?”
I shrug slowly, smirking. “Eeeehhhh….”
His face dives into my neck as he kicks the door closed behind us. “I’ll fucking show you food.”
I laugh, throwing my head back and clutching my belly. “Don’t make me laugh!”
“What?” He looks at me worriedly. “Why?”
“Because I might pee!”
His face relaxes, and it’s the first time since he found out we’re having a baby that I understand how he’s acting. He’s being protective over me being pregnant. He’s always been protective over me, but with this pregnancy… this is the first time he’s shown interest in it.
THE NEXT MORNING, I’M MAKING waffles in the kitchen, when Joker walks in with a piece of toast hanging out of his mouth. “You going to see Amy?”
I clench the waffle maker down. “This morning. Wanna come?”
He shrugs. “Yeah, I’ll come.”
Raze walks in after working out, coming straight to me and dropping a sloppy kiss down on my lips. “Where you going?”
“To the hospital.” I pull my waffles out and watch as his back tenses, reaching into the fridge and taking out a bottled water. “You want to come?”
He takes a drink, shaking his head. “I got shit to handle. You need to rest though. You shouldn’t be on your feet.”
I take a large bite. “It’s Miles’ baby, Raze. The last part of him I—we—have left. Why are you pushing this away?”
“I’m not pushing it away.”
“You are.”
“Oh dear,” Joker says, grinning from the other side of the room. “Mommy and Daddy are fighting again.”
“I’m not fucking pushing anything away. You want me to come? Fine, I’ll fucking come.”
“Thanks, baby!” I yell, as he walks up the stairs. He mutters something under his breath and Joker laughs, his arms crossing in front of him. I walk to the cupboard, taking out the maple syrup, and then pull open the freezer to get the large tub of Ben & Jerry’s out.
“Ice cream for breakfast?” Joker chuckles. “Really?”
I scoop large spoonfuls of it onto my waffles while watching him with a bored expression. “Yes,” I hiss, squeezing ample amounts of maple syrup on top.
“That’s just….” Joker shakes his head. “Raze!” he yells at the top of his lungs. “Your woman has lost the plot! She’s eating ice cream for breakfast!”
Taking an overly large bite, I moan in approval. “Mmm, so good!”
“That is disgusting. You know your man is the most athletically built human I have seen, right? He will not approve of that shit.”
“He is, yes, but I’m not, and I think that’s clear. And anyway, asshole, I’m pregnant.”
“See?” Joker walks toward me. “That’s the problem with you pregnant women. You think all is okay because you’re pregnant, but then after you have the baby, you moan about your weight.”