Page 34 of Deadliest Throne

“Getting to what?” I huff in annoyance. “Someone spit it out.”

“Come on, Dove.” Travis holds his hands out and pulls me to my feet. “We’re going shopping.”

HUNTER WASN’T KIDDING when he said they found a way for me to safely shop. I love these men so fucking much it hurts, and I’m trying really hard not to cry like a little bitch right now.

But they shut down the whole baby store for me. Hell, the whole mall. The parking lot is empty when normally it's packed on a Monday.

The only people here are Andy, the guys, myself, and one employee who's being heavily watched over by a crew member.

Speaking of the crew members, there has to be at least fifty on guard around the building right now.

“You are crazy.” I laugh, pure excitement filling me as we grab carts. “But I fucking love it.”

“Yeah you do.” Hunter grins, swooping in to kiss me hard before slapping my ass and grabbing a cart. “Let’s fill these fuckers!” He takes off running down the aisle with the cart.

Travis and Taylor grab a cart of their own. Travis takes Andrew, who is strapped to his chest in a baby carrier, over to the toy aisle.

I smile as I turn to look up at Link. “So, what's my limit?”

Link looks down at me with a raised brow like my question is stupid. “There is no limit.”

"Right." I nod. "You own the town. How do I keep forgetting this?" The fact that these guys are stupidly rich still blows my mind. But I don't care about the money. I don't care about all the things I could have if all I did was ask. Because if I don't need it, I don't want it.

But for Baby Bird, I want to give her everything. We all damn well know that Andrew is downright spoiled and this little one won't be any different.

“Hey, Stalker Boy!” I call out to Q. He looks over his shoulder, shaking his head but grins at me nonetheless.

“Yeah, baby?”

“Come.” I open my arms, and he swoops in to hug me, kissing the top of my head. “Shop with me.”

He tucks me under his arm, and I sigh, leaning into his touch. Andy takes off, joining in on Hunter's shenanigans.

“How are you doing?” I ask him. I feel like everything has been about me and the babies these days. I want my men to know I’m there for them too.

“I’m doing fine, baby.” He kisses the top of my head before reaching for a cute little Teddy bear and tossing it into the cart.

“Q.” I turn to him, crossing my arms with a look on my face that tells him I don’t believe him. He’s been oddly quiet lately, and I don’t like it.

He licks his lips, hesitating to say anything. If it was one of the other guys, it would take a hell of a lot more to get any sort of vulnerability to show but with Quinton, one of the things I love about him is that even though he’s a killer too, he’s still a fucking sweetheart. That man knows how to love and love hard.

“I’m worried. We all are. It’s hard not to be. Every day, we wake up and wonder if he’s going to choose today to make his move. But I’m also worried about Andrew. I know the doctors said that there's been no long term damaging effects, but what if they missed something? What if he develops something.”

He’s not saying anything I haven’t thought of already. I’ve spent countless hours staring at my baby boy, wondering what his future is going to look like. If his birth mother left any scars on him that we can’t see just yet. “I know.” I wrap my arms around him, burying my face into his chest. “The best we can do is keep going for check-ups. And until the doctors tell us otherwise, we have to try not to worry about things that haven’t happened yet or may never happen at all.”

He holds me tight. “I know, but it’s hard.”

It is. And I’m sure we’re not the only ones who've thought about this.

“How is she?” I ask him, knowing that he’s checked in on his sister. At the very least had someone do it for him. Quinton has a heart of gold, and his family means something to him.

“Not good,” he answers, his tone low. “She’s still alive. But at this point, it’s for how long? Will the next time she uses be the last?”

“I’m sorry.” I might hate her for what she did to my baby boy. But she’s still my man’s sister. And he loves her, even if he doesn’t like her.

“Don’t be. You’ve done nothing but be fucking amazing.” He pulls back so that he can look me in the eyes. He brings his hands up and cups my face. “You are everything, Raven. You are the light, the sun, the moon, and the fucking stars. I don’t know what I did to deserve you. But for you to take my nephew and love him like he’s yours...” His jaw tightens as my eyes water. He’s holding back his own tears. “I fucking love you and your big heart. You’re perfect, Raven. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for loving Andrew.”

I give him a watery smile, my heart beating a little faster as a few tears slip free. “You make it easy to love you, Stalker Boy.” He chuckles, tilting his head back. “And I couldn’t imagine a world where that little boy isn’t mine.”

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