Page 51 of Unraveling Connections

“I’m assuming that because you double-checked with me whether Jonah and Dominic were still here, Jynx asked you to keep it between us?” Trick asks.

I shake my head, “No, but she didn’t say I could talk to them about it, so I didn’t want to say anything in front of them. Plus, they won’t be able to be involved anyway. If Jynx needs us, then it’s really dangerous, and both the guys and Lyric have made it known how they feel about that.”

“Yes, you are right. To be honest, I wouldn’t want them involved, as you have said it is likely that it is going to be really dangerous, I would hate for something to happen to them with Lyric being so close to giving birth,” Rafe says, his features sinking into a frown.

Jensen’s eyebrows crease together as he says, “I think women who are really stressed when they are pregnant can go into early labour.”

We all look at him curiously, but it is Luc who asks, “How do you know that?”

My eyebrows climb as Jensen’s cheeks turn slightly pink and he says, “I got curious when Lyric first got pregnant and did some research, plus Ezra kept asking me questions and expecting me to know the answer, I figured I’d read up so when he messaged me panicking and asking some obscure thing, I’dhave the answer immediately and avoid the multiple texts that happened when I didn’t reply straight away.”

“I had no idea you were doing that for him,” I mutter softly, my heart melting at how utterly fucking sweet it is for him to do that.

“Lucien’s been messaging me and asking things about savings and shit,” Rafe adds; he looks at Jensen, “I actually told him to talk to you about the best financial investments.”

Atlas grins, “Creed was asking me all sorts of shit the last time we sparred; I ended up telling him I had no idea. We spent one session on the internet searching for the best stroller.” His eyes widen, “There are so fucking many.”

I listen to the guys start talking about baby things, and my heart beats harder, and my fucking ovaries practically explode. It does something to me, there is no fucking doubt about that, and I just for a moment let myself imagine what it would be like to have a baby with them, the thought making me smile and feel such a rush of emotion that I immediately need girl back up.

Me:Please be awake. Your men have been asking my men about baby stuff, and now they are all discussing it, and my ovaries are telling me to get pregnant even though now is not the right time, and I am nowhere near ready yet. I am only twenty-one, and I know some people have babies then, but I'm not ready.

Lyric:Whoa, calm the fuck down, my beautiful bestie. None of them are asking you to have a baby with them; none of them are even asking you to have a conversation; they are just talking.

Me:Shit, you are right. I had a bit of an overreaction then, thank you for being awake.

Lyric:Yes, you did. I think it is hilarious that you have managed to have a role reversal, and you are the one that is freaking out.

Me:Yeah, yeah. I am abandoning you now. Send pictures of Ezra’s creations to the group chat.

Lyric:On it, I only just woke up. Honestly, he tried bless him, he has no idea what any of them are. He literally gave me this one piece and said, ‘it’s a thingamabob.’ That was it.

I can’t help but laugh aloud, and Cash looks at me curiously, so I explain, “Lyric’s telling me about Ezra’s things he’s made her.”

He grins. “If she sends you any pictures, I want to see them.”

“Of course,” I agree, like I had no intention of not showing him because, to be honest, I was always going to show them.

He pulls my chair closer to him, and tucks me under his arm, his cheek resting on the top of my head. We both listen to the guy's animated conversation about all the different kinds of cribs, while I wonder if I have stepped into an alternate reality.

“Are you okay?” he asks me quietly, “You went a bit quiet.”

I nod against his chest, “Yeah, I’m good. You guys are amazing.”

“We are,” he agrees seriously, before I feel him smile against my head, he kisses me once on the top of my head, and then continues, “it’s because of you. We wouldn’t be who we are if it weren’t for you.”

“I love you,” I reply.

“I love you, too, Il Mio Cuore,” he replies.

“Guys, shouldn’t we make some sort of plan for if Jynx calls us?” Luc asks.

“Shit, yeah. We got a bit off track then, which seems to be happening a lot recently,” Trick replies, amused. “We should all pack a go bag specifically for if we need to go to Jynx’s place, Jensen and Ever need to take theirs with them when they go to do surviellence. I will work on what we tell Mr R if she needs us before we have sorted this job out. I'm pretty much just going to tell him what is going to happen, not ask for permission. He caneither accept or not, but it won’t change the fact that we will be unavailable for however long Jynx and the guys need us.”

“I think that’s probably the best way to handle it,” Cash agrees, his arms still around me. “He knows that we always put family first, so even if we didn’t give him a reason why we were going to be unavailable, he’s not stupid; he’ll know that it’s because one of our family members needs us.”

“That’s true, do you think I should tell him straight off that Jynx needs us so we’re requesting an indefinite leave of absence until it’s sorted, or do I just leave Jynx out of it entirely?” Trick asks, looking around at all of us.

It is something that I love about him, he is our leader and at the end of the day he does make the final decision, but he will always ask our opinion and listen to us when we voice it.

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