She smiled. “Practice. I’ve seen that look a zillion times.”
“That’s depressing.”
Lani’s smile was warm as she looked at the screen of grey shadows in front of her.
“Listen, if we all waited for better timing, then it would never happen.” She gave me an empathetic look. “I’ve seen that handsome man of yours. Seen the way he looks at you. The love in his eyes. I think those baby blues of his are going to sparkle even brighter when he finds out he is going to be a daddy.”
Love flared through me when I thought about Cade and our baby, and the tears welling in my eyes finally spilled down my cheek.
Our baby.
I looked at Lani. “Am I pregnant?”
She winked and hit another button on the ultrasound machine, and suddenly the whop whop whop of my baby’s heartbeat filled the little cubicle.
“That’s a big yes,” she said with a grin.
I felt both dazed and elated at the same time, mesmerized by the rhythmic thump filling my ears.
Our baby.
But then I thought of Mirabella and Jacob. And then Isaac, Freebird, Irish, and Tex, and my heart sank. This couldn’t have come at a worst time. The club was under attack and Cade was distracted. He didn’t need another thing to worry about.
“Here,” Lani said, handing me a print-out of the sonogram. Again, my heart flip-flopped and my spirits lifted when I saw the image on the paper. Nestled deep inside me, a new life was beginning to take shape.
Lani winked at me and gave me a reassuring smile. “I have a feeling everything is going to be just perfect. You and that honey of yours are going to make wonderful parents.”
I had no doubt Cade was going to be an incredible father.
But was now the right time to tell him?
I finished my shift three hours later and went home, mentally exhausted from the should I or shouldn’t I question pushing and pulling against my brain.
Running a bubble bath, I stripped off and sank into the warm water, breathing in the heady scent of soap as I tried to still my mind from all the chaos taking place inside.
Tonight I would tell Cade about the baby.
I had made up my mind.
He needed to know.
CADE
Bull called Chapel, and when he did, everyone was expected to attend, no matter how short the notice.
When everyone was settled, he filled them in on our meeting with Churchill and the assurance he gave us that it wasn’t related to any of the clubs he and the Southern Sons were affiliated with. But he left out Churchill’s warning about it being personal, because bringing it up would only lead to wild speculation. Distrust was already shimmering beneath the surface, and left to get out of hand, cracks would form within the ranks of the club and we could slowly break apart.
We couldn’t afford for brother to turn against brother.
But I knew that once chapel was over, Bull would turn his investigation inwards, and he would start looking into every King and their family.
Toward the end of chapel, we discussed Jacob’s funeral. Because of the FBI investigation surrounding Mirabella, Irish, and Isaac’s deaths, his body hadn’t been released. Mrs. Stephen’s was making funeral arrangements in the meantime. Jacob had spent his childhood bouncing between foster homes and didn’t have any other family, other than Mirabella and the club. With Mirabella gone, Mrs. Stephens was in charge of the arrangements. His coffin was already in Picasso’s shop.
Just as Bull called an end to chapel, his phone rang, and when the tone and subject of the conversation became obvious to everyone in the room, we all paid close attention. Finally Bull closed his phone and grinned.
“That was Viper up in Kansas. Said he and Barney got some intel from an informant. Said they knew about some scumbag claiming to have killed a couple of Kings down south, including an old lady. They got an address and paid him a visit.” Bull paused, and even though I couldn’t see through the sunglasses, I was could tell he was looking at his brothers gathered around the table. “Asshole got himself all beat up, courtesy of Viper and the B-man. Ended up confessing to the whole thing. Isaac. Irish. Mirabella.” He grinned and pounded his fist against the table. “Goddamn confessed to all of it.”
The room rumbled as the gathered men banged on the table, stomped their feet and cheered. But despite the celebratory vibe in the air, Bull warned us to keep our heads.
“Let’s not start pulling each others’ dicks,” he cautioned. “Until we know if this guy is legit, we’re still in lockdown.”
“What do you think, Bull? You think it sounds genuine?” Elias asked.
“Viper sounded confident. Said he knew details only the killer would know. But I won’t be convinced until I look the asshole in the eyes and ask him myself.” He turned to Elias, Cool Hand, and Grunt. “You three get an early night. We leave for Kansas first thing.”