Page 70 of Cautious

“Shh… calm down. He’s in surgery now. We’re just waiting for news.”

“June?” I ask fearfully.

He smiles a soft, relieved smile at me. “She is out of surgery and awake. She is, in a word, pissed.” He chuckles. “Banner and Felix are with her.”

I flop back, relieved, my hand moving to cover my belly. “The baby?” I ask, my eyes locked on his.

“Baby?” he questions with wild eyes before turning to Kellen.

“I’ll grab a doctor,” Kellen shouts, hurrying out of the room.

Turning back to look at me, Blake lifts a shaky hand and places it over my stomach, covering my hand beneath his. “You’re giving me a son?” he asks, his voice filled with awe.

“Or a daughter.” I feel it’s prudent to point that out.

“Oh fuck no. A little girl with your hair and copper eyes? She’ll have me wrapped around her little finger.” He smiles before it quickly morphs into a frown. “I’ll need to buy another gun. The guys will too. No dickhead will try dating my daughter if they have to pass through me and her favorite uncles to do so.”

“I think you might be jumping the gun a little. She is barely the size of a peach right now.”

He presses his lips to my forehead before moving down to kiss my belly. “Hello, Peaches. I’m your daddy.”

I choke back a lump in my throat, running my fingers through his hair, wishing I had a camera so I could capture this moment and stare at it forever.

“I want ten,” he tells me, making me laugh lightly.

“Maybe we could just work on this one first, Bundy,” I answer, trying to sit up again, grimacing as my arm throbs.

“Careful, Callie, you were nicked with a bullet. Nothing major, but your arm will likely hurt like a son of a bitch for a little while.”

I nod, remembering the slice of pain as I slammed the door to the panic room shut.

I look up when the door to my room opens, smiling as Kellen walks back in with a blonde nurse about my age.

“Hey, Miss Ward, how are you feeling?” she asks cheerfully, checking something on my chart.

“A little stiff but not too bad. I just found out I’m pregnant, and I’m worried about the baby,” I tell her fearfully.

“Okay, sweetie, I’ll let the doctor know and get an ultrasound machine. But try not to worry. Babies are surprisingly well protected in there.” She pats my arm before heading off to find the machine.

I look over at Kellen and smile. “You okay?” I ask.

He smiles, a dimple popping in his cheek as he approaches the bed. “I didn’t want to intrude on your moment.” He gives Blake a playful shove before leaning to give me a hug. “Congratulations, mama,” he whispers in my ear before kissing my forehead.

“Hey, asshole, keep your lips off my woman!” Blake pouts playfully.

“I call dibs on baby duty.”

“Wait, what?” I look between him and Blake, who is rolling his eyes.

“Why does our baby need protection? Oh my god. Christian got away, didn’t he?” I begin to panic, but Blake grabs my face with both hands, touching the tip of his nose to mine.

“Christian can’t hurt you anymore, honey, I swear it. He’s gone. Nobody is going to hurt our baby.”

I suck in a shaky breath and feel my muscles start to relax. “Okay, good. I’m sorry, I’m a mess,” I whisper, looking at Kellen over Blake’s shoulder.

“Nothing to be sorry about, Callie. It was my fault. I didn’t think,” Kellen apologizes, looking guilty.

Blake pulls back and sits on the bed beside me with his hand in one of mine.

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