Page 47 of Dark Seduction

V doesn’t answer, but the car speeds up as he barrels down the freeway towards the hospital. I rub soothing circles into Mack’s palm with my thumb, trying to keep her calm even as I can feel my heart pounding in my chest.

“Are you scared?” she whispers to me, her grip on my hand getting even tighter.

I don’t lie to her. “Terrified.”

She squeezes my hand once before she starts screaming again, the pain of the contraction clearly getting worse. V doesn’t look back at us, but I can see the way his knuckles are bone-white against the steering wheel.

I don’t know how long we take to get to the hospital, but it feels like forever. When we finally pull up to the entrance, V hops out, already yelling for help as he opens up the back door. Two nurses come rushing out, a gurney following closely behind. They help Mack onto it, wheeling her inside and out of sight.

I can only follow, my heart in my throat as I watch them take her away. A few minutes later, a nurse comes running from the direction they took Mack.

“She’s pushing. I need the dad with me right now.”

We both step forward. The nurse looks at us in confusion. “We’re both the dad,” I shrug.

The nurse shakes her head. “You know what? We can figure this all out later, but if you want to be there when your baby is born, you need to come with me now.” V and I look at each other before breaking out in a run behind the nurse. We stop outside the room. Mack is screaming on the other side of the door. The nurse hands us two paper gowns, head coverings, and shoves us inside.

“Father only,” the doctor positioned between Mack’s legs orders as we both enter, scrambling to gown up.

“Don’t ask,” the nurse replies.

V goes to the left and I to the right. Each taking her hand as she screams through a push. Her grip is like a vise around both of our hands.

The tension in the room is palpable as Mack grits her teeth, pushing with all her might. I can see the sweat pouring down her face as she bears down with each contraction. V and I are both there, trying to support her as much as possible.

“You’re doing amazing, baby,” I whisper to her, trying to keep her focused.

“I can’t do this,” she wails in response, tears streaming down her face.

“Yes, you can,” V encourages her, his grip on her hand never faltering.

The doctor looks up at us. “She’s crowning. Push, Mack, push!”

Mack screams again, pushing with everything she has left in her. Then, suddenly, a cry fills the room, cutting through the air like a knife. I feel a lump form in my throat as tears prick at my eyes.

“It’s a girl,” the doctor announces, holding her up for us to see. A coif of Mack’s raven black hair flattened on her tiny head. She cries within seconds.

Mack’s face is a mix of exhaustion and pure joy as she reaches out to take our daughter, tears streaming down her face. I wrap my arms around her as V leans down to place a gentle kiss on our son’s forehead.

“We did it,” Mack whispers, looking up at me.

“Yeah, we did,” I reply, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Welcome to the world.”

V leans over, taking my free hand. “Welcome to the family.”

The weight of the moment hits me like a ton of bricks as I look around at the three people that are now my entire world. We may have started everything in Mack.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” the doctor mutters as the nurse steps around me to take our daughter from Mack’s chest. “Baby B will be here right soon enough.”

“Baby B?” V and I say in unison, turning to Mack who, despite being exhausted, beams up at us.

“Surprise?”

The floor feels like it’s about to fall out from underneath me. Suddenly, I feel a wave of panic wash over me. Two babies? How are we going to handle two newborns at the same time? I look over at V, hoping for some kind of reassurance, but he looks just as shocked as I am.

“Two?” he whispers, his eyes flickering back and forth between Mack and the doctor.

“That’s what the ultrasound showed,” the doctor confirms, looking up from between Mack’s legs. “We have to move fast. She’s already crowning.”

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