Page 79 of Redemption's Inferno

“Surprise!” Viggo said, his gaze slightly sheepish. “I know the timing probably could have been better for you, but the team leaves on a two-week road trip tomorrow so this was our only chance to do this for a while.”

“It’s okay.” Emilie handed the baby to her mother, and then turned to accept hugs, kisses and congratulations from everyone.

“Emilie.” Jamie waited until the end to hold out his hand and she put hers in it without hesitation. “My mother, Evelyn, my father, James, and my sister, Maddie—my brother couldn’t get off work this time but he’ll come to visit soon. Everyone, this is Emilie, the mother of my son and one of the most special people I’ve ever known.”

“Hello!” Evelyn hugged her tightly and soon Emilie was swept up in a sea of kisses, laughter and more hugging than she’d ever experienced in her life. Though she’d initially wanted to rest, now that she was surrounded by these people who meant so much to her, she couldn’t imagine changing a single thing.

“Excuse me, Chains?”

Chains turned to an attractive woman he recognized as the wife of one of the Sidewinders, but she wasn’t someone he knew well. “Hi.” He smiled though there was a question in his eyes.

She pulled a photograph out of her purse and handed it to him. “Do you remember me?”

He stared at the picture and for a moment didn’t know what he was looking at. He recognized himself and Shay, of course, but the other people in the picture and the location it was taken in were momentarily eluding him.

“You came to our base in Afghanistan—some sort of Intel exchange—and you joined us for a game of hoops.”

His eyes snapped to hers. “You’re Erin!” he said under his breath. “You’re…”

“Yes, I’m her.” She smiled. “I didn’t put the name Chains together with the Darryl Carruthers I met that day. Shay talked about you all the time.”

“Shay talked about you all the time,” he said softly.

She smiled.

“This happened in Afghanistan.” He ran tender fingers over the third-degree burns on her forearm that he’d heard covered most of the right side of her body.

She nodded. “Yes.”

“I’m sorry. Even sorrier about Shay.” He looked away. “I owe you one, though. Em told me it was you who figured out who Franny was, as well as who the traitor was.”

“I found out more than that,” she said, pulling some papers from her purse. “This is a classified report. I’m going to need you to read it and burn it.”

“Of course.” He nodded. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She paused, turning before going back to join her friends. “Technically, you owe me two,” she said, a twinkle in her blue eyes.

“Two?!” He shook his head. “I don’t bloody think so. You cheated.”

“I did not!” she huffed, folding her arms across her chest.

“Cheated.”

“Did. Not.” She narrowed her eyes and leaned forward, as though examining his shoulder. “How long until that pansy-ass wound heals?”

“Two weeks!”

“Four weeks!” Emilie interjected, scowling at both of them. “I have no idea what this is about, but whatever it is has to wait at least four weeks.”

“Fine.” Erin tossed her hair. “Four weeks. You pick the place. Rematch.”

“How are we going to rematch without the same players?” he grunted.

She looked around. “I see a whole room full of able-bodied men and women.”

“We’ll choose teams.”

“Fine.”

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