Page 64 of How to Rescue Your Surprise Baby

“Status?” Duke barked.

Mav reached out with his hearing, past everyone’s thundering heartbeats and breathing.

“No one’s attacked us, if that’s what you’re asking,” came Hilly-Billy’s voice from one of the nearby closets.

“We’re so fine, we could start reading pickup lines,” Hadley added. “Estie’s unharmed.”

All of them breathed out a collective sigh of relief.

Telos rushed forward, flinging open the closet door. “Estie! My precious sweetheart!”

He scooped her out of Hilly-Billy’s arms, cradling her against his bloody chest. She giggled and kicked, then grabbed a piece of unidentified flesh off Telos and stuffed it up his nose.

Telos made a disgusted sound. But he still grinned with so much pride, he was almost hard to look at. “Aww! Such a perfect baby girl.”

Mav couldn’t tear his eyes away. Something about Telos—the savagery of all that blood on him, next to his bright smile and the baby in his arms—it made him so different from the people Mav had tried and failed to court.

It was a good sort of different. Like maybe this was what Mav was meant to have.

“What the hell just happened?” Ace asked.

“They attacked us out of nowhere.” Raptor went to the broken windows, peering out suspiciously.

“Do you think that was a random attack? Or are we being watched?” Mav asked, joining Raptor at the windows. He scanned their surroundings and squinted at every car in the parking lot, trying to find anyone suspicious.

“Could be either. We’ll be on guard, just in case.” Duke nodded at the bodies on the floor. “And we’ll have to call this in to the local authorities.”

“Where’s Blade when you need him?” Crush sighed. “It’s so much easier when we’re fighting off bad guys in Cartfalls. Where we, you know, have an in with the police.”

Duke pulled out his phone. “I’ll see if Blade knows anyone here.”

They stalked around the perimeter of the suite, checking for more threats. When a police cleanup crew showed up and no one else attacked, Mav went to stand next to Telos.

Telos had wiped the blood off his chest, and he was feeding Estie again. Mav stared shamelessly. It warmed his soul to see Telos caring for his baby; it made his instincts rumble to know that Telos had Mav’s child in his belly right now. Telos would care for their child the same way.

“Mine,” Mav growled, covering Telos’ abdomen with his hand.

Telos jerked, his gaze flying up to meet Mav’s. “You sure you want to do this here?”

“Why not?”

“Because literally everyone is watching,” Telos hissed.

When Mav looked around, he found all their teammates and butlers staring at them. He shrugged. “So?”

“Don’t—Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” Something flashed through Telos’ eyes. Wariness. Uncertainty.

“I’m going to help take care of our baby,” Mav said. “Don’t doubt that.”

Telos worked his jaw, his cheeks turning the faintest shade of pink. He was hiding something else—but what?

Mav ran through the last few moments in his mind.

Mine,he’d said to Telos.

Oh.

He stroked Telos’ abdomen lightly. It was firm, muscled, tensing and relaxing under his touch. Mav wanted to know what it would look like, swelling with their child. “Everything else is none of their business,” he said loudly. “I have every right to check on my baby.”

---