Page 59 of Sniper

“Holy….” Doc rasps, and I whisper, “Please tell me that’s my heartbeat with my baby’s?”

He clears his throat and says, “You know it’s not, Rory….”

I nod. I do know it. I’m a vet nurse in training; ultrasounds aren’t that much different between human and animal.

More tears fall as I look at the screen and see not one but two babies.

Two.

Twins….

Everything in me bubbles up. My past, my present, my future.

How can I bring these two innocent babies into the world when I’m still drowning in my trauma despite the sessions with Emily?

I sniffle. They deserve better than me.

Doc moves the wand around and supplies, “They’re not identical twins, and you are fourteen weeks and three days, to be exact.”

Oh my….

I see an arm move on one baby, then the leg of the other, and Doc takes the measurements. Eternal love fills me, making me sob again as I realize I love them, just like I love Autumn.

Oh God, what was I thinking!

“Doc….” I whisper, full of guilt, and he looks at me. My tears fall, and I beg, “Call Theo, please….”

He furrows his brows before his eyes widen. I’m not sure what he sees, but he grabs his phone and presses a number before putting it away, confusing me.

He smiles, seeing my confusion, and admits, “Number five sends an SOS text to him. I’m number six. Tech’s doing.”

I nod and look at the monitor again. It feels like hours, but it’s only minutes before Theo rushes into the medical room. His eyes go from me to the monitor, and then to Doc, and there is pure panic in his gaze. I know I should console him because he thinks something is wrong, but seriously, this is his fault….

Twins…twins!

“You absolute tool!” I snap, causing his gaze to dart to me, and Doc to chuckle. I shriek, “Not only did you purposely impregnate me, but now, because of you, not only do I have to push one baby out, but two! Flipping two, Theo!”

His eyes widen, his mouth open a little as his eyes go to the monitor, and he whispers, “Fuck….”

I mimic him, “Yeah, fuck.”

Doc laughs, wiping the gel off my belly, and then helping me sit up as I look at a frozen Theo. His face has gone pale, and I snort because, yeah, at least it’s not just me scared shitless right now.

Autumn was hard enough, and she was only one baby; this is two babies!

He blinks a few times, and I look down, my eyes going to my bump, which is covered by a T-shirt—Theo’s black shirt, to be precise.

My eyes tear up, and I know I have to tell him the truth, especially if what Breaker has said is true and I’m on missing posters. It’s easy running with Autumn, but I can’t run with three kids, and I don’t want to. I’ve made a home here with Theo, even if he is still on my shit list.

Taking a deep breath, I whisper, “A man I thought was a friend, a man who was a cousin to two men I saw as big brothers, raped me.” The room tenses, but I don’t look up as my tears fall, even when I hear movement. Through a throat choked with emotion, I continue, “He’s part of the Huntsmen MC, an MC I grew up around. Their prez, Steel, is like an uncle to me.”

I look up and see both Doc and Theo standing at the end of the bed, faces stoic, fists tightening, knuckles white. I finish it. “I was seventeen, a virgin, and he raped me, then held me captive, using my body day in and day out, however he pleased.”

Bile rises; I’m telling the love of my life about my past. He’s going to be disgusted. Panic slams into me. My tears fall hard, and I make eye contact with the ones I love, but their eyes shine back at me full of rage and anguish, and I utter the words I know he’s praying he won’t hear, words I know he’s been thinking for a few months now, words that pain me to say out loud.

“Autumn was conceived through rape….”

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