Page 151 of Sin With Me
"Oh wait, I remember this." I put her on my lap and open her mouth but don't see anything. Then I stimulate her chest for a few seconds before flipping her into a head-down position and let gravity do its job.
Moments later, she starts crying.
"There we go, sweet girl." I clean the rest of her off, and then set her on Raven's chest with the blanket.
Raven cries and then mouths, "Thank you."
"You still need to deliver the placenta."
"What the hell is that?" Wesley asks.
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. "It's what is attached to the umbilical cord. It has to come out or Raven could hemorrhage."
"How does she do that?"
"It should come out naturally within a half hour after birth, otherwise I'll have to try to do it manually."
My mom told me a few horror stories, which I’m grateful for now.
"God, I hope not. You've been up my vagina enough for one day."
"Do you still feel contractions?"
"A little, yeah."
"That's good. It'll probably come on its own then."
I help Raven remove her shirt so she can do skin to skin. The baby's cries stop as soon as she feels her mama's warmth.
"She's so beautiful." I smile, looking at her.
Then I look at Wesley who's watching them. "I think it'd be smart to get her checked out by a doctor."
"No," he snaps.
"She needs medical care. Shots. A birth certificate. You can't actually think you can keep her off-grid?"
Wesley holds up his gun, facing it at me. "You've done what I brought you here for."
"Wes, no!" Raven pleads. "Don't hurt her. The baby and I will stay here with you. Let her go."
"So she can go tell the police? I don't think so."
"Put me back in the trunk and drop me off somewhere. I have no idea where we are, so I won't be able to tell the location'," I plead. "I won't say a word because I know if I do, Raven and the baby die."
He slowly lowers the gun. "It wouldn't just be them either. Jonah. Wilder. Your mom and sister."
My throat closes up at the mention of the people I love.
I nod in understanding. "I won't say anythin'. You have my word."
"Good. Because I'd hate for you to have to watch me kill your husband and then you next."
I know he's trying to get me to react, fall out of line so he can shove that gun in my face again, but it's not going to work.
"Understood," I say firmly.
We continue waiting for Raven's placenta to come out, and I breathe a sigh of relief that I didn't have to pull it out. Then we cut the cord.
