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“False labor.” She let out a long breath as it faded. “Damn. It keeps coming and going.”
“Like labor?”
She shot him an irritated glance. “Contractions are supposed to be consistent. This has been happening since yesterday. Sometimes I don’t feel anything for three or four hours.”
“We better head home,” Blade said and rose.
“I’ll say goodbye to Carmen and Aunt Isabel and then we can go,” she said.
Lyla walked slowly towards the kitchen and tried to ignore the ache in her belly. Carmen and Aunt Isabel were dancing in the kitchen while they prepared a casserole. After her talk with Blade, she was glad to see her family so carefree and happy. Lyla couldn’t believe how much Aunt Isabel had come out of her shell since Uncle Louie’s passing. The longer Aunt Isabel and Carmen spent together, the closer they became. Lyla wished she could have that type of relationship with her mother.
“Stay for dinner,” Aunt Isabel said.
“I’m not feeling that great and Gavin will be home soon.” Lyla kissed her aunt on the cheek and waited patiently as she stroked her belly.
“You’re going to be such a gorgeous girl,” Aunt Isabel cooed. “We can’t wait for you, Nora. You’re so loved.”
Lyla blinked back tears. Yes, her baby was going to be loved. Nora wouldn’t have Manny or Uncle Louie. Instead, she had Gavin, Blade and Marcus. It was an interesting mix, but they would dote on her.
“And I’m going to be the coolest aunt ever,” Carmen said to Lyla’s belly. “I’m going to teach you all the things your mother doesn’t want you to know.”
Lyla rolled her eyes and kissed Carmen on the cheek. “Thank you for today. It’s just what I needed.” Her breath caught as another pain came and went.
Lyla made her way to the door where Blade waited. He got into the driver’s seat while Jordy opened the back door for her and Beau. Lyla shifted restlessly on the seat and couldn’t find a comfortable position. If felt as if Nora was doing jumping jacks on her pelvis.
They drove out of Aunt Isabel’s neighborhood and emerged on the older side of town. It was rundown and not the safest area, but it wasn’t completely overrun by crime yet. Maybe Carmen and Aunt Isabel could move closer to her once the baby was born... She spotted a crew of gangsters standing on the corner and her stomach dipped. Blade painted the underworld in a way that made it so vivid that she could feel it pressing in around her. She knew what Gavin was capable of. She witnessed him beat that guard to death with such methodical precision that she knew it wasn’t his first time. The underworld needed a crime lord. One with a code and who could control the sick perverts and sadists.
Beau focused on her as if he could sense her inner turmoil. She let out a long breath and then gripped the door handle as a cramp gripped her uterus in a vice.
“Shit,” she hissed.
“What?”
She writhed on the seat. “C-can you pull over?”
“Why?”
“Pull over!” she shouted and put her hands over her belly, which was hard as a rock. “I need to walk. I think sitting is making the cramps worse.”
Blade pulled off the main road and followed a small side street to an empty field. Lyla groaned as she stepped out of the SUV and began to pace. The sun was beginning to set and the air was chilly. Beau bounded out of the SUV and nudged her with his nose.
“You okay?” Blade asked briskly.
The other SUVs parked and the guards got out to see what was going on.
“I’m just gonna walk around a little.” Beau whined in the back of his throat and stared up at her. “Go run.”
Beau hesitated.
“Go on,” she said.
Beau darted across the field, his legs a blur. Lyla rubbed her stomach and took a deep breath. They weren’t in the best part of town, but with her security, she wasn’t worried.
“You should go to the hospital and call Gavin,” Blade said.
“I have eight weeks left until my due date. It’s too early.”
“You could always have her early.”
