Page 28 of The Devil's Demise

“Come in!” she calls. “Saved by the knock,” she whispers at me, biting her lower lip, her eyes still dancing with a smile.

“Daddy can always torture you later,” I say just as Jade and Enzo come strolling in.

“Ugh!” she groans before slipping on a grin as they stride up to us.

“Hey, guys!” Jade greets as she leans over to kiss Raquel hello, and Enzo clasps his palm to mine. “We just got here,” he explains. “Everyone is already downstairs I see.”

“Yeah, they got here a little bit ago,” Raquel answers. “You guys know you may be here a while, right?”

“We don’t care.” Enzo stands behind Jade as she takes a spot on the chair beside the bed. “Wouldn’t miss my nephew being born.”

“Aww . . .” Raquel teases, slanting her head to the side. “You think if he sees you before your other brothers, he’ll like you the most, don’t you?”

He jerks his head back. “Shit, am I that obvious?”

The girls laugh, the conversation continuing while my mind is elsewhere. I can’t stop thinking about something happening to her or our baby. It’s fucking eating me alive.

“Dante?” Enzo calls. “Where the hell did you go?”

I run my free hand past my face. “Sorry.” I release a heavy breath, holding Raquel closer.

“How about we go get some coffee and bring the ladies back a cup?”

“Great idea!” Raquel practically jumps to her feet with excitement. “Please take him. And if you got some whiskey stashed somewhere, get him that too.”

“Woman, I’m not getting drunk while my son is born.” I chuckle.

“Of course.” She waves a hand, glancing over at me. “I’m only kidding ... sort of.” She gives Jade a wide-eyed look on that last part, and Jade tries to strangle a laugh.

“I’m on it, sister-in-law.” He walks around to me, throwing a palm on my shoulder. “Come on, bro. Wife wants you to chill out.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I reluctantly rise, not wanting to leave her alone. I cup her face and kiss her forehead. “I love you, baby. Call me if you need me. I won’t be gone long.”

“I’ll be fine. My BP has been great. See?” She points to the monitor beside her.

“Okay.” But it’s like my mind won’t let me believe everything will be okay.

With a long look at her, my brother leading the way out, I leave the room and close the door behind me.

As soon as we’re out, I breathe in long and deep, dragging air through my nose.

“Damn, man,” Enzo whispers. “You’re really bent out of shape.”

“Yeah, I can’t stop the shit going through my head,” I tell him as we enter the elevator, pressing the button for the lobby.

The back of my head meets the wall with a thud. “This preeclampsia has made me scared. I’ve been reading up on it.”

“Bro, if you read anything about anything on the internet, you’re going to think you’re dying from a fucking paper cut.”

I shake my head. “Nah, this is different. I don’t get scared of a lot, man, but her BP was so bad when we got here, even the doc went white. They thought they would have to do a C-section, but then it stabilized with whatever they gave her.”

The elevator arrives and I follow him out, marching toward the waiting area where Dom and Matteo wait along with their wives.

Enzo stops short before we reach them and faces me. “You gotta believe everything will be all right. If you’re too busy stuck in the worst-case scenario, you’ll never live in the moment.”

I nod, not sure what else to do or say.

“You’re having a son, bro. A Cavaleri. He’s gonna be alright. Mom and Pop are gonna make sure of that. You know it.”

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