Page 106 of The Good Girl

Nevaeh pulls back to look at him, wriggling until I put her down. I glare at Hannibal, who gives me a knowing smirk before he turns serious.

“She should see her OB/GYN.”

“Not sure that’s an option right now. I could force her, but I don’t think that’s the way to go here.”

He sighs and wipes his hand over his face. “Probably not.”

“How is she? Is the baby okay?” Nevaeh asks.

Hannibal looks at her with a soft expression before turning those eyes on me. I can read him clearly. He’s telling me I’ve got a good one here, not to fuck it up. I give him a nod because I’m well aware of what I have.

“We’re lucky we have an ultrasound.”

“Why do we have an ultrasound anyway?” Nevaeh questions with a frown.

“One of the old timers lost a bet, which resulted in them stealing one. Don’t ask.” Hannibal shakes his head. “Baby looks good. He’s not hugely active, but that’s mostly because he has little room left to maneuver. Obstetrics is not my area of expertise, but by all accounts he looks healthy, if a little small for his gestation.”

“He?”

“Oh yeah, it’s a boy. Lola already knows, apparently, but she hasn’t told Driller and wants it kept that way.”

“Not like I’m going to sit down with that motherfucker any time soon.”

“And Lola?”

Hannibal turns back to Nevaeh. “She was more than happy for me to check on the baby, but she wouldn’t let me give her a full exam. From what I could see, there are more bruises, both old and new, on her arms and chest, including what looked like a bite mark. She shut down any questions that weren’t baby-related. But if you’re asking me if I think Driller has made her his current punching bag, then the answer is yes.”

I wipe my hand over my face, wondering how it all came to this. “She came here to give us a warning. Told me that Khan and Driller are planning something.”

“Nothing we didn’t already know.”

“Midas asked me if she’s been sent here as a spy.”

“What do you think?”

I look at the door that hides Lola from us and shrug. “She’s done a lot of shit I wouldn’t have thought her capable of.”

“You think she took a beating so it would make us more sympathetic to her and let her through the gate?” Nevaeh looks at me in shock.

“Nothing would surprise me anymore. But Driller wouldn’t have given her a choice either way if that was the plan he and Khan had devised.”

“She cares about the baby. That much was obvious, and it’s not an act,” Hannibal states. “I don’t think there is much she wouldn’t do to protect him.”

“Like stab us all in the back.”

“Not sure, given her current state, she feels any loyalty to anyone in Raven Souls, but I’m with Hannibal. I don’t think she’d put her baby in danger if she could help it,” Nevaeh says.

“She’s in danger just being with Driller.”

“And would he let her go if she ran?”

I shut my mouth, which is an answer in itself. I look at Hannibal, knowing he can read the questions in my eyes.

“Fuck. Fine, I accept.”

“Accept what?” Nevaeh looks between us.

Hannibal is focused on me. “I’ll do it. But I’ll take her back with me and make her my old lady. Call it fucking spoils of war for all I care, but I might need her in the long run if I can’t get shit sorted out with Millie.”

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