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Before the rest of the family comes in and monopolises the day, I dig out my phone and call Leo’s secret phone.
It’s the only part of today I hate. My brother isn’t here to welcome his nephew into the world at my side. Mason’s face fills the screen when my call is answered, and I angle the phone so my son is all he can see.
“About time!” he cheers. “Congrats, brother. How’s Em doing? Is she okay?”
She leans in closer and smiles. “I’m fine, just tired and in a little pain.”
“You’re strong. Well done, darlin’.”
“Thanks.”
Making sure my son’s back on the screen, I say, “This is your uncle Mason. Brother, meet Thomas “Tommy” Jacob Simmons.”
“Good to meet you, kid.” He grins. “Does Grumps know you’re naming the baby after him?”
“Not yet. We were going to tell him when he meets him.”
Leo and Zach lean in close on either side of Mason. “Congrats, brother,” they say together.
“Thanks, you all good?” I ask.
“We’re better now. We’ll be celebrating with our limited supplies tonight,” Leo says.
“We’ll let you go. Mom will be dying to meet him,” Mason says, then frowns as he adds, “Thank you for calling me first, bro. I needed it.”
“You first, always. You know that.”
He ends the call, and I slide my phone back into my pocket. I worry for my brother. Not many people will notice the shift in him since he’s been locked up, but I do.
“Are you ready for my parents?” I ask Emma.
“Yes. Let’s not keep them waiting any longer.”
I pass our son back to her and take them both in—my family. A primal need to protect them ripples through me. No one will ever get close enough to hurt them…
The door slams open, and I hear a woman before I see anyone come around the corner.
Two gangfuckers are carrying a woman thrashing around, and it’s not until she’s dumped at the other end of the radiator that I see the woman is Aspen. What the fuck? How do they even have her?
One ties her wrists together and then fastens the zip-tie to the radiator pipe while the other tapes her ankles together.
I have to physically bite down on my tongue to stop myself from demanding answers that will only get me beat again. I can’t afford to get knocked out again, I need to stay conscious for Aspen. I don’t know how she ended up with these assholes, but for my brother, I’ll do what I can to protect her.
“We got you some company,” one asshole says before they both leave us.
One thing about my brother’s old lady is that she’s not a crier. Her lip is split, and her cheekbone is bruising. But not a single tear has fallen from her eye.
“You okay?” I ask her.
“I’m fine.” Though a slither of fear shines through her gaze of anger. “I’m glad to see you, though I thought they were handing you back to the club at midnight.”
“I overheard their call to Leo. They didn’t trust the club would leave town. How did they get you? How come you’re in town at all?”
“Mason asked me to come after they took you. We fought… I’m pregnant. I left, and these assholes ran me off the road, and you know the rest.”
“You’re pregnant?”
She nods and looks around. Her chest rises and falls rapidly, and to distract her, I say, “Mase and I vowed never to have kids. You can’t live free if you’re saddled down with responsibility.”
