Page 46 of Hawk on the Hunt

Ace couldn’t help but admire all three women: Phoebe for never complaining that he hadn’t brought her to a hospital, Lilly for practically learning a new-to-her medical discipline, and Olivia for being so willing to do whatever Lilly or Phoebe needed her to do.

Ace pressed a kiss on top of Phoebe’s head. “I love you, Phoebe, I love you so much.”

Again, Phoebe breathed rhythmically, while she leaned forward with the next contraction and pushed. This time, it looked more effortless than he’d observed before.

“I have the head,” Lilly said, smiling up at Phoebe. “Just another push, and your little boy will be out.”

Ace looked at Phoebe, and they locked eyes. Then she closed her eyes and pushed, her teeth clenched, her hand crushing his, while she gripped the gurney’s guardrail with the other. A woosh of air releasing from her lungs followed.

“He’s out!” Lilly cried out, and transferred the little bundle onto the soft cloth Olivia was holding out, crouched down next to Lilly. “Hold on, I’ve gotta clamp off the umbilical cord.”

While Lilly and Olivia did what they needed to do, Ace pressed his forehead to Phoebe’s. “You did it. I’m so proud of you, baby.”

The baby’s crying finally bounced off the walls, and he couldn’t remember ever having heard a more wonderful sound.

“We did it,” Phoebe said breathlessly, and he pressed a kiss to her lips.

“You did it.” Then he glanced at Lilly and Olivia. “And Lilly and Olivia. Thank you both so much.”

Both smiled, and finally, with the umbilical cord severed, Olivia laid the baby on Phoebe’s chest. “Say hello to your little baby boy. He’s perfect.”

Tears streamed down Phoebe’s face, and Ace felt his own eyes well up with tears. He stroked over his son’s head, feeling the dark fuzzy hair that felt as soft as down feathers. He was still full of blood and amniotic fluid, but it didn’t matter. He was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his life.

“Oh,” Phoebe marveled as she took his tiny hand. “He’s so perfect.”

“And he’s ours,” Ace said and pressed a kiss on Phoebe’s forehead.

“What will you name him?” Lilly asked.

“Henry,” Phoebe said, and looked at Ace with a smile.

Ace nodded. It had been Phoebe’s idea. “After my father.” So he would always remember the man who’d given him everything, and made this life possible.

26

“Can you disable it?” Yankee asked.

Fox didn’t look over his shoulder to where Yankee was watching Bancroft. Instead, he examined the mechanism of the bomb in the fireplace. He’d already removed the grill with the fake wood in front of it, so he could get better access to the explosive device.

“Not sure yet. It’s not exactly my field of expertise,” Fox confessed, even though he knew a few basic things about bombs.

“You probably know more than I do,” Yankee claimed.

Fox flipped him the bird without turning around. “Just keep an eye on Bancroft.”

“You’ve gotta let me go!” Bancroft cried out as if on cue. “None of you knows how to diffuse a bomb. That’s pretty obvious. So, we’ve gotta leave, before this damn thing goes off.”

“Yankee, tell him to shut it! I can’t hear myself think,” Fox said while he shone a tiny flashlight onto the bomb to figure out its mechanism. However, the bombmaker had been clever: he hadn’t left many wires exposed, and the ones that were, were all the same color: black. That fact pissed him off. Apparently, Polo had expected that somebody would try to diffuse the bomb, and left as few clues to its design as possible.

“You heard my buddy,” Yankee said with an icy undertone in his voice.

“Damn it,” Bancroft complained, his voice getting louder. “Don’t be so stupid! Nobody here has to die. Let’s get out of here.”

“Sit back down!” Yankee growled.

“I won’t.”

A thumping sound followed Bancroft’s refusal, and Fox cast a quick look over his shoulder. Bancroft cowered on the sofa holding his jaw. It appeared that Yankee had punched hard enough for Bancroft to land back on his ass.