Marked By The Devil (Devil's Riders 5)

Instead, there was a teeny tiny chance that I might surprise him.

I put the test on the countertop and washed my hands. Then I got busy. I straightened the living room and walked deliberately into the kitchen, as far from the master bathroom as I could get.

I didn’t hover, even though I wanted to. I wanted to stare at the little strip and will a baby into existence. I made myself wait five whole minutes, just to be sure. I even made myself a cup of dandelion root tea. It was good for your kidneys, and I loved the ‘almost coffee but not quite’ taste.

I walked slowly into the bathroom, then glanced at the mirror. There was a guarded hope in my eyes that worried me. I mustn’t put too much stock on this one moment. Just because it was my last test. Even if it was negative, it wasn’t the end of the world. It didn’t mean we would never have another child. Adopting was a worthy endeavor, after all.

I inhaled and let my eyes slide to the countertop. I froze, not breathing for a moment. It was something I had only seen once before. After endless pink strips, there was something different.

It was a little blue plus sign.

Unless the test was wrong, or expired or something, the impossible had happened.

After all these years, it had really happened.

I was pregnant.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Donahue

I stared at my phone, feeling panic mounting inside me.

Come home now.

Please.

The texts from Sally were uncharacteristically vague. She also never really asked for help, not even when she’d been in danger. I knew her scumbag ex was not around. I had tabs on his every move, thanks to one of my cousin Mac’s friends who was a private investigator. The guy even had his own hacker on staff.

It wasn’t cheap but it was worth it.

My Sally was worth it.

Besides, after the working-over he got, he wasn’t much of a threat. The guy didn’t strut around anymore. He limped. And he wasn’t nearly as pretty as he used to be. I hoped that made it harder for him to get close to women. In fact, the PI I hired had actually notified a few women about his past on my behalf. I didn’t want that bastard hurting anyone else. Ever.

He was out of the picture for good. She was safe in this town for sure, with a couple of hundred unofficial bodyguards roaming the roads. And anyway, she said she was home.

So the cryptic message was . . . well, I had no idea what to make of it. If she wanted to fool around, she would have sent me a sexy picture. I loved it when she sent me sexy pictures. If she got news about her career, she would just tell me. Her singing and songwriting were taking off these days in unexpected ways, with collaborations across genres and state lines. She was even laying tracks for a big producer in LA, though she did her recording from her own studio in our house. She was a hard worker and so talented it blew my mind. If she wasn’t already mine, a lesser man would have been intimidated.

But the truth was that I couldn’t be prouder.

So then . . . could it be my mom or sister needing help? No, she would tell me so I could rally the forces. We had club guys from every walk of life. We even had a doctor. And the Untouchables had their own preacher. The guy was badass and rode like the devil himself, but his faith in God was strong and true. We were on good terms with the Untouchables and used him for lots of stuff, like weddings and funerals.

So yeah, I was worried when I hopped on my motorcycle and rode home at top speed. I nearly lost it on a hard turn. I was lucky I didn’t skin my hip as it grazed the road before I righted myself. Didn’t matter. My woman needed me.

She’d even said ‘please.’

I half expected to see smoke or a downed tree when I parked and ran toward the house. I threw the door open and ran through the house until I found her.

There she was, calmly sipping a cup of herbal tea in the kitchen and reading a book.

I stared at her, blinking. My heart was racing as I tried to catch my breath. She was safe. She wasn’t even . . . upset.

Or naked.

No. My wife looked . . . blissfully happy?

“Are you alright?”

She nodded.

“Yes, sweetheart, I’m fine. I’m sorry if I scared you.”

“Well, what is it?”

“It’s good news.”

“Another tour date? Something about the record?”

She shook her head slowly, walking toward me one step at a time.

“Better.”

“You want my rock-hard body to give you indescribable pleasure?”

“Better.”

I opened and shut my mouth like a fish. My heart was finally starting to slow but I still had no damn idea what she was hinting at.