“How long will you be gone?
“Only for one night, Jack can’t be away from here with all of this crazy Inferno shit happening.” She sighs. “Truth is, he doesn’t want to leave, but he needs this. We need this.”
“Is everything okay?”
“He doesn’t know it yet, but I’m going to keep him too busy to even think about what’s happening back here. Let’s just say I’m so desperate for some action he’ll be lucky if I let him up for air.”
I laugh at her candidness. I love Bronte. We click. I knew from the moment we met we were going to become good friends.
She adjusts Rhett in her arms. “I swear, if I don’t come back knocked up, then we’re doing it wrong.”
“Oh, you’re trying for another baby?”
“We’ve talked about it. But to be honest, right now, I’d just be happy for some cock…”
I almost choke on my water.
She gives me a wicked grin. “Oh, don’t look so shocked. I know I’m looking at a woman who’s been rolling between the sheets with her man all morning. You have that I’ve-had-multiple-orgasms-this-morning look about you.”
I can’t help but grin back at her. “Guilty as charged.”
She sighs and leans back against the table. “Jack’s been so preoccupied with what’s happening with the Inferno lately, I’m getting more action from my battery-operated husband than my actual husband. And when Jack does make it home, this little guy wants all the attention.” Rhett squirms in her arms. “I’m so ready to spend the next twenty-four hours naked with him, it’s ridiculous.”
“He’s inside with Doc right now. Maybe you should kick Doc out of his office and give him a prelude to your Boomtown plans on his desk.”
Her eyes flash with mischief, and she raises her eyebrows. “Good plan, but we’ve got an early check-in at the hotel, so I plan to be riding my husband in an incredibly sexy, secluded location within the hour. Although, if you see my car pulled over on the side of the road somewhere on the way out of town if the car is a-rockin’, then don’t come a-knockin’.” She straightens and kisses the top of Rhett’s head. “I’m going to hand this handsome boy over to his grandparents and then steal my husband away for a night of nakedness.” She gives me another mischievous smile and begins to walk away but stops. “Oh shoot, I forgot Rhett’s pacifier. Here, hold him for a sec.” She hands Rhett over to me and runs back to the car.
As Rhett plays with my charm bracelet, I watch his mama look for his pacifier in the back seat.
I love babies. Their tiny weight, their smell, the cute noises, and holding Rhett is a reminder that I’ll be holding my son in a matter of months. It’s surreal, exciting, and terrifying all at the same time.
“What do you think, Rhett baby, do you think I’ll be a good mama?”
Rhett just stares back at me like I asked him the formula for pi.
Hearing Bronte close the car door, I look up to see her start jogging back across the parking lot, her blonde hair trailing behind her as it gleams in the late morning sun.
That’s when all hell breaks loose.
A sudden explosion lights up the day behind her with a bright flash of white-hot heat and violent orange flames. The fierce fireball completely engulfs the van parked next to Bronte’s car and soars high into the sky like a tornado of fire.
Instinctively, I turn away from the blast, shielding little Rhett with my arms and body. I drop down behind the outdoor table and hug him tight. Thankfully, we’re too far away for the explosion or the pressure waves to reach us or his little ears, but I don’t know what debris might come hurtling toward us.
When the dust settles, I stand. Rhett starts crying, and I quickly check him to make sure he’s okay. He’s shaken and frightened by the noise but unharmed.
I look around, my brain scrambling to make sense of what’s just happened. Thick black smoke fills the air, bringing the stark tang of dynamite with it.
Someone tried blowing up the Kings of Mayhem.
Dolly is first out of the clubhouse, and I quickly hand Rhett to her before I run toward Bronte. I can’t see her because the curtain of smoke is thick, but as it clears, I find her lying unconscious only a few yards away.
Reaching her, I drop to my knees and set about assessing her. Blood is dripping from her nose, but she’s breathing and isn’t contorted or showing signs of massive bone trauma. But while the outside of her looks intact, internally, anything could be happening—pulmonary barotrauma, organ rupture, abdominal hemorrhaging, brain injury—the list is frightening.
Doc is the first person to reach us, and he immediately switches into his doctor mode. “Call an ambulance.”