Page 368 of The Black Trilogy

“Well, somebody should really be with her. Does she have any other family?”

“Yes.” Thank goodness. “Her brother and parents are on their way.” Sloane had arranged everything. The Takedas were in the air right now.

“Well, that’s great. Do they have far to come?”

“Uh, from Japan.”

“I hate to tell you this, missy, but the baby won’t wait for them to arrive all the way from there.”

Oh, shiznits. Right, I could do this. Childbirth was supposed to be a natural, beautiful thing, wasn’t it? I thought back to when Carmen’s son was born. Afterwards, she’d told Nate if he ever got her pregnant again, she was going to castrate him. Maybe not so beautiful, then.

Akari started panting, and the nurse reached out to hold her hand. She screamed and batted the woman away then grabbed mine instead. Oh, this was horrible. And Black had abandoned me, the big coward.

The midwife peered under the sheet covering Akari’s bottom half and muttered something about dilation. With my free hand, I got my phone out and checked the calendar. My last contraceptive shot was a month ago. I’d be good for another eight weeks. No way was I ever going through this.

Akari shrieked again as another contraction came, and I dropped my phone. The doctor dashed through the door, ran around the bed, and trod on it. Little bits of screen scattered across the floor. Rats.

The midwife encouraged Akari to push, and she nearly broke all the bones in my hand. Would it be frowned upon if I asked for some painkillers?

Akari relaxed enough for me to wriggle free, and I moved my fingers, checking they still worked. The contractions must have been coming thick and fast because then she grabbed my arm instead, cutting off all circulation. The scream that followed probably reached Tokyo, and my ears were still ringing long after she shut her mouth.

There was a flurry of activity from the medical staff. Akari’s face went a disturbing shade of purple, and then I heard crying. Was it over? Please say it was over.

The midwife held up a gunk-covered baby, which was bawling its eyes out. “It’s a beautiful baby boy.”

Thank goodness for that. I wouldn’t have cared if it was a baby Frankenstein as long as I could get out of there.

The midwife wrapped him in a towel and placed him in Akari’s arms, and she gazed at him with love-filled eyes. It was kind of cute, I guess, but my heartbeat still hadn’t calmed down. I needed a drink. Gin, preferably, but water would have to do. After muttering a hasty, “Congratulations,” I made a swift exit and found Black leaning against the wall outside.

“You’re a git.” I thumped him in the chest as I walked past.

“Yeah, sorry about that. What are those marks on your arm?”

“Bruises. From Akari’s fingers. That’s what happens when you sit next to a woman in labour.”

“So you saw the baby being born?”

“No, I closed my eyes for the gruesome part. And let me tell you now, I am never, ever putting myself through that.”

A twinge of regret crossed his face, but only for a second and then it was gone. Well, it was his own fault he’d missed the birth. He should have manned up and gone in there.

“Good. Yes, that’s good. Trying to find a replacement for you while you took maternity leave would be impossible.”

“I’m one of a kind, all right.”

Seconds later, reinforcements arrived in the form of Mack, Nate, Carmen, Nick, and Dan.

“Did we miss it? Did we miss it?” Carmen squealed.

“Yes. The baby came a few minutes ago.”

“Is it a boy or a girl?”

“A boy. He’s really tiny.”

“Sweet! Bradley’s gone out to buy a nursery, by the way.”

“Where’s he planning to put that?”

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