Page 116 of Slayin Villain
The hours crawled.
I tried not to obsess.I tried not to pace.I tried not to text him.
But then, just after midnight, he came home.I was half-asleep on the couch when he sat beside me, his hand warm and heavy on my thigh.
“She had the baby,” he said softly.
I stared at him.“Is it yours?”
His eyes searched mine.“We don’t know yet.Doc took blood.We’ll know in a week.”
A week.
I nodded slowly.“How is she?”
“Ember?She’s… tired.Scared.Baby’s healthy though.Little girl.”
Somehow, that made it worse.A little girl.One who might be his.
I turned away and said nothing.He didn’t try to stop me.
Later that week, I was in the kitchen with Cece and my mom when my water broke.Yes, mama was at Royal Road, waiting for me to pop.It wasn’t ideal, but my mom was determined to be a grandma even if it meant mixing with the bikers.
It was dramatic, of course it was.One second I was laughing at Cece’s joke about Villain pretending to baby-proof the clubhouse with duct tape, and the next second, I gasped and dropped my glass of juice all over the floor.
Cece caught me before I could panic.“Breathe.You’re okay.You’re okay, Rach.”
My mama stood frozen, hands flying to her mouth.“Oh my Lord, it’s time!Where’s Villain?!”
He came flying in five seconds later, shirt half-buttoned and panic written all over his face.“I’m here!I’m here!”
“I swear to God, if you pass out,” Cece muttered as she shoved him toward the car.
I screamed.Twelve hours of labor worth of screams.
And pushed.
And swore at Villain six different ways from Sunday while he held my hand and didn’t let go, not once.
“I hate you,” I told him.
“I love you,” he replied.
“Don’t touch me.”
“Never gonna stop.”
And then… I heard it.
That cry.
That perfect, angry, gasping cry that cracked something wide open inside me.
Our baby.
They placed her on my chest, and I couldn’t stop crying.
“Hi, baby girl,” I whispered.“I’m your mama.”
