Page 86 of Ready or Not

Kate scoffs. “I hate it. That’s why I take the strongest suppressants money can buy. Unfortunately, with my babysitters watching my every move, I couldn’t meet my contact and…” She shrugs as her face twists into a grimace. “My heat came out of nowhere.”

“What made you abandon her apartment?” I ask Merryweather and Hargrove.

“I had a moment of weakness,” Kate says. “When I realized my heat was going to start, I broke down and told them everything.”

“We felt like it was best to get out of the city. You know how heats go. There’s no staying clear enough to do the job,” Hargrove says. “We packed up and hauled ass. We were going to come here, but there were a couple suspicious things that went down. We didn’t want to lead them here, in case we were followed, but we left the card, and it was the clearest hint possible under the circumstances.”

“I need the restroom.” Vale pushes herself up. Bishop and Holt help her stand, and Cooper shoves himself up to follow. “Wow, that doesn’t feel great.” She rubs her lower back, shuffling toward the bathroom just past the kitchen.

“Is she in labor?” Kate asks.

“No.” Holt’s head tilts, like he’s assessing the pain now filtering through the bond. “Maybe. She’s three centimeters dilated.” He looks between me and Bishop. “Do you feel that?”

Bishop nods. “It’s been on and off all day, but the contractions ramped up last night, and I wouldn’t be shocked if they do again tonight too.”

“Right.” Ranger’s nose wrinkles. “There’s still a rotting corpse, or possibly three, in my basement, based on how long I’ve been away. I’m considering burning the place to the ground to avoid the cleanup. My backup property is nearly an hour away.”

“You want to stay here?” I scoff.

“Well, now that you offered. You have the guest suite off the hallway near the front door. I don’t think you’ve stepped inside it within the last year. The maids are very thorough, though.” Ranger chuckles. “It has two bedrooms and its own bathroom. Also, think of how convenient it’ll be to have three men you genuinely trust watching the house or the hospital, depending on how things go tonight.”

“Do you sleep here when we don’t know about it?” Bishop growls, leaning forward.

“Don’t ask questions you don’t truly want the answer to,” Ranger says coolly.

“You can stay tonight,” I say, but I’m extremely distracted by how the bond radiates with Vale’s misery.

“Can the three of us have a room somewhere away from him?” Kate asks with a hopeful lilt to her tone.

“Not a chance,” Ranger says, giving her a disdainful look. “Those two might trust you, but I’m fully expecting you to run at the first chance you get. You have valuable information that can help us end a common enemy. After you’ve played your part, you’re free to go. Until then, I’ll be keeping my eyes on you at all times.”

Cooper and Vale head in our direction, and she’s got her arm looped through his. He looks at us, but whatever he’s trying to convey isn’t clear.

Kate hops up, aiming for Vale. They share a hug as I mentally prepare for all the things we absolutely need to get done tonight. It seems a real possibility that our daughter is planning her arrival as I sit here panicking about it.

“I already installed the car seat and took the vibrating bassinet out of the packaging,” Bishop says out of the corner of his mouth. “Also, I set up that weird oscillating seat thing. How much did that cost? It’s sturdy as hell, but I bet it cost a fortune.”

“Just under six hundred.” My lower back throbs, and it takes me several long seconds of breathing through the nausea that I’m hit with to realize…

That’s what a contraction feels like.

Bloody hell.

“I don’t feel good,” Vale says, several hours later.

“I know, love,” I assure her, wiping her hair away from her face. “Cooper is checking with Patrick now to see what we should do.” I specifically call them by their first names to avoid any confusion.

“Why aren’t they regular?” she grunts, gritting her teeth. “That stupid paper said to go to the hospital when they’re five minutes apart, but some are every three or four minutes, then six minutes, then four, then eight. Oh God, I hate this.”

“Is there anything I can get for you?” Holt asks, rubbing her lower back as Bishop paces the floor bare.

“Is her stomach tight?” Garza asks. “Like hard?”

“Yes,” I agree.

“Yeah,” Garza says. “Yes, they’re painful. We can feel them in the bond. How long? I don’t know. Maybe three hours now, but they’re not at even intervals.”

Vale exhales heavily, breathing easier now that the contraction has stopped.

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