Broken (Otherworld 6)

"I heard that," Clay said.

Nick grinned. "Of course you did. And you can see it too, if you want. Maybe learn something."

Clay made a comment, and Nick turned to answer, but his gaze snagged on my stomach. A look passed through his eyes as if he still wasn't quite sure what it was, how it got there or, most important, what it would mean.

I grabbed Nick's hand and squeezed it. Our eyes met, and I smiled. He leaned down to kiss me again. I put my hands on his

stubble-covered cheeks.

"Couldn't find time to shave?" I teased.

"I'm growing a beard." He tilted his head and posed. "What do you think?"

"Sexy. The gray adds a nice touch of sophistication."

"Gray?" His hand shot to his cheek.

Behind me, Antonio laughed, then caught me up in a hug that did lift me off the ground. "You realize he's going to spend the rest of the day in front of the mirror looking for that gray?"

"I think it's sexy," I said.

Nick turned to Clay.

"No," Clay said. "You're not borrowing my razor. You grew it, you get rid of it."

"Troublemaker," Antonio murmured to me.

He kissed my cheek, then leaned back for a better look. The shortest member of the Pack, a couple of inches under my five feet ten, Antonio was also still the brawniest and most powerful. He and Nick had passed themselves off as brothers for as long as I'd known them. Nick had been born when Antonio was a teen, so--combined with a werewolf's slow aging, and Antonio's zeal for healthy living--it had been decades since they could have passed for father and son.

"You look more beautiful every time I see you," Antonio said. "Pregnancy suits you."

I made a face. "I'm huge. Getting bigger by the hour."

"You're pregnant. You're not supposed to be getting smaller." One arm still around me, Antonio turned to the others. "So, I hear you have a little adventure for us."

Theories

I SLID INTO THE BACKSEAT BESIDE NICK. CLAY SQUEEZED IN on my other side.

"Hey, Jer?" I said as we shifted around and fished for our seat belts. "Remember when you replaced the Explorer and I suggested buying the model with the third-row seat? Really would have been a good idea."

"That's why I offered to sit back there," Jeremy said from the passenger seat.

"And how would that help? I'm not any wider than you. All my extra load is up front." I bumped Nick's hip. "You've got another couple more inches. Shove over."

"This is fine." Nick put his arm around me. "Nice and cozy."

I swatted him away. "Move."

"Settle down and buckle up, kids, so I can drive," Antonio said, looking in the rearview mirror. He glanced over at Jeremy. "Maybe we should finish raising this generation before we start another one."

Jeremy shook his head.

"I didn't want to bring this up in the terminal," Antonio said as he turned out of the parking building. "But does this have something to do with your problem?"

He handed Jeremy a folded sheet of paper. Jeremy read it, face expressionless. When he lowered and refolded it, I undid my belt and reached through the opening between the front seats. Jeremy hesitated, then handed it to me.

"They gave us that when we got off the plane," Antonio said.