Page 45 of Broken (Powertools: The Shields 4)

Laurel melted against him. “You’d be happy if I was pregnant? Really?”

“Of course.” Nolan kissed her forehead and Jace smiled at them both. “If that’s what you two wanted.”

“Maybe we should call it a night early.” Laurel reached for Jace’s hand while Nolan held hers.

Now everyone was paying attention. Ace’s thigh stiffened against Liam’s and Ruby gasped. “Wait, Laurel, you didn’t saynobody’spregnant. Jace’s lyric wasn’t metaphorical was it?”

Jace winced as he looked over at Kason. “Sorry I should have kept my mouth shut, but no one ever listens in this place.”

“We do when it’s good shit.” James grinned. “We are super spies, after all.”

Kason didn’t seem upset. Instead he beamed at Wren and Jordan, who were staring back with equally googly-eyed grins.

“Wren?” Sola asked, setting her cards face down on the table. Kennedy stared at her hands, trying to keep her features schooled when they all were aware of her tell. As their resident doctor, she would be the first to know.

Wow. Instead of looking at Wren, Liam flicked his gaze to Ruby and Ace to see what their reactions were to the news. They stared at each other, equally as sappy as Jordan and Kason. Did they want a family someday? Did he? That was about a thousand steps beyond where they were but he should ask them sometime.

Assuming they were planning on doing more than sleeping together.

Wren nodded. “I wanted to tell you the other day. But that’s when all hell broke loose and it didn’t feel like the right time. Jace only knew because he’s over every day practicing with Kason and I haven’t been feeling so great in the mornings.”

“Congratulations!” Laurel leaned in and wrapped Wren in a hug to which the rest of the Shields piled on. They offered their well wishes and chattered excitedly amongst themselves. A baby. That was going to be interesting. The kid would certainly have a lot of uncles and aunts to watch out for it.

Wren peeked at Jordan, who brushed a tear from the corner of her eye and told them all, “If it’s a boy, we’re going to name him after Johnny.”

The wind got sucked out of Liam’s chest. Jordan had lived his nightmare. He’d lost his and Wren’s partner in a mission gone wrong so many years ago. It had nearly wrecked them, until Kason had brought them back together.

Ace put his hand on Liam’s knee and squeezed. When Liam looked at his partner, Ruby was staring between them, frowning. Was she only now realizing what she’d gotten herself into?

“I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want that for yourself,” he said quietly so only Ace and Ruby could hear given the din of the rest of their team’s celebrations.

Ace grimaced but he nodded. “Having sat here and waited for Liam to come home the past several months, I know it’s not easy.”

Wait? What? Had Ace been worried too?

Liam hadn’t considered that was part of what had been driving Ace to return to the field so soon. Though he’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel better when he knew Ace had his back and he had Ace’s. They were damn good partners. In and out of bed.

He might have probed more, but right then Blakely—their practically resident tattoo artist, who was waiting for the Powertools to finish her shop and the secret tunnel beneath it—joined them, swinging her key fob around her index finger. “What’s the commotion for?”

“I’m pregnant,” Wren answered, her palm next to Jordan’s, which rode low on her still-flat belly.

“No kidding!” Blakely crossed to her and gave her a one-armed hug before doing the same to Jordan and Kason. “Congratulations.”

Their excitement lingered for a while, though when it died down, Blakely drew Knox over to the couch for the consultation she’d had scheduled with him. He was adding to the back piece he’d started after getting his life together and starting a new one with Kennedy and Marcus.

“Hey, guys, Ruby.” Blakely waved as she took out a sketchpad. “How’s it going?”

“Pretty damn good.” Ruby’s face transformed as she smiled.

“That’s what we like to hear.” Blakely pointed with her pen to Ace’s arm. “I see you got your cast off. How’s it looking?” He’d already talked to her about the possibility of covering up his scars someday.

“About as shitty as you said it probably would.” Ace grimaced. “I can see why you said you wouldn’t touch it for at least six more months.”

“Sorry.” Blakely crouched at their feet and took Ace’s arm in her hands. Ruby leaned closer as if she didn’t care for someone else touching her man so intimately. Liam knew how she felt.

Blakely turned it this way and that, then made some notes on her pad. “Yeah, it’s raw and you still have healing to do.”

Liam shot Ace a look that was mostly,See? What did I tell you?But also a little bit ofYou’re sure I didn’t hurt you last night, right?

---