Page 79 of Ready or Not

She nods, turning back to me. “We’ll see you back here in a week if she doesn’t make her arrival by then. Work on your birthing plan if you haven’t. One of the pamphlets breaks down most of the decisions you could be asked to make. Other than that, call if you have any questions.”

I nod as Holt steps away from the door so she can leave.

“Wow,” I say, looking at Bishop upside down.

He grins a wide smile and leans over to give me a quick upside-down kiss. “It sounds like we better figure out how to install the car seat.”

Holy shit.

Life is about to change in a big way.

“Our daughter will probably be here before the month is out.” Cooper kisses my forehead, guiding us down the sidewalk that leads to the parking lot. His excitement is contagious.

I mean, I’ve always been excited, but the fear of giving birth is actually tiny compared to how nervous I am about messing something up. My heart aches as I think of my mom. It’s hard to swallow that she’ll never know my daughter and vice versa.

“It sounds like it,” I agree.

There’s a man with a giant bouquet of flowers in one hand and a box under his arm walking in our direction.

I give Cooper a gentle shove into the grass, so we can make room.

Only, the guy comes to a stop, turning to face us. “Vale Reed?”

My eyes dart to my alphas as I feel Cooper move. Before I can even blink, Cooper is aiming his gun at the man’s chest.

“Whoa, what the fuck, man?” the guy asks, stumbling backward.

“Who are you? And what is in the box?” Mercy asks, grabbing the flower arrangement. He hands it to Holt as Bishop steps around behind the guy.

“I deliver for Lucky in Love. We do flower arrangements and chocolates. What the fuck? A guy came in and said he had to miss his wife’s baby appointment because of work. He asked me to drop off the box with the flowers.” The man’s eyes are huge. “I don’t know what this is, but I want no part of it. Fuck this, no tip is worth having a gun shoved in my face.”

Mercy studies the box carefully. “Take Vale to the vehicle.”

Cooper nods, dragging me away.

“Place the box on the ground, carefully. Very fucking carefully,” Bishop commands. “Did you notice any vibration or ticking?”

“What the fuck?” the guy chokes out for the third time. “You think it’s a bomb?”

“If you’re worried about a bomb, then you should tell them to get away from it,” I hiss, fighting Cooper as he continues to pull me toward the vehicle. “We should call the police.”

“It’s highly unlikely it’s a bomb,” Cooper says. “He doesn’t want to hurt you. He wants you at his mercy. Still, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

My eyes widen.

Now is really not the time for this.

I’m already dilated.

The baby could be here at any time.

My heart races as anxiety pulses in my chest.

I’m so incredibly ready to be done with Andrew. I really wish he would fall right off the face of the planet.

“Are they going to call the cops?” I ask again.

“Nah, we handle this ourselves. It’s safer that way. If Andrew ends up on their radar, then…” He shrugs. “They might notice when he goes missing.”

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