Page 29 of Ready or Not
“Thank you. It made a stressful experience actually fun.”
He nods, helping lift my leg into the holder. “Five fingers too. Well, on the hand we could see. She didn’t like being disturbed.” He chuckles, moving to the other leg.
Mercy nuzzles his nose to mine.
“Okay, so, we’ll get this over with, and then I just need to grab some blood,” Dr. Garza says. “I am capable, but the nurses always have better luck.”
I snort, letting Mercy distract me with a light tease of a kiss. I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know why they’re suddenly taking blood, but my guys seem to know. I’m willing to give them enough trust to let them filter the details I don’t want to have to worry about.
Chapter Ten
Cooper
“You motherfucker. You just blew my vein,” I growl at my brother.
Patrick chuckles. “Oops. I guess I did.”
“And yet, you managed to get Vale’s blood on the first try.” I roll my eyes.
“Yes,” he agrees, jabbing me again quite fucking painfully. “You better pray she’s the forgiving type. I’ve never been more disappointed in you than I am at this very moment.” He sighs heavily. “Mom is going to be devastated that she missed out on so much. It’s her first grandchild.”
“There’s a lot at play, Patrick. It’s not like I would’ve dipped out if I had any fucking clue it was a possibility.” My eyes dart toward the hall where the others are waiting. “No matter what the test results say, that baby is mine. Do you understand?”
“I can’t tamper with medical results,” he says, pulling the now-full vial free.
“No, but you get that if it’s not mine…” I shudder at the thought. “That means, somehow, her stalker got to her. We already know he had access to her while she was sleeping. There were leftover vials of known date rape drugs in his apartment.”
“God,” Patrick whispers, glancing at the open door. “Does she know that?”
“No. Well, parts, but she’s trying to stay calm and focused on having a healthy baby. She’s trusting the team to handle the situation. We only give clients information once it’s been verified, and there’s a very good reason for that. There’s no point in putting her through hell or making her wonder and question everything if it’s not true.” I frown at my arm as he slaps a bandage over the wound. “Before her stalker convinced me he was her boyfriend, I was going to bring her home to meet the family. In this case, biology isn’t important.”
“Unless the baby comes out looking nothing like you, and she realizes you assholes kept it from her,” Patrick mutters.
“Just run the tests. I’m the only one who sees the results. Me or Mercer.” I shove myself out of my chair. “And keep everything to yourself. I’m fine with looking like the dick in this situation. The last thing Vale needs is Mom walking on eggshells. Her mom is dead. She’s really going to need that female support once she gives birth.”
Patrick exhales heavily but nods. “I’ll also bring Sarah over to meet her once things settle down.” His omega is sweet and very bubbly. She runs the flower shop across town.
“She could use some feminine energy around.”
“You’ve only got a few weeks to make her hate you significantly less,” Patrick says, writing on the vial. “You best get to it.”
“Yeah,” I agree.
Too bad it feels basically impossible.
All our phones vibrate with multiple messages from Ranger.
How convenient.
He put me in a group chat with a bunch of guys who hate me.
Mercy’s eyes meet mine. “My family will be in on Monday. The baby is growing quickly, and we need to grab some additional clothing items. Would you like to come with us?”
It’s nice that he’s offering, but I’m fairly sure it’s only because Ranger wants Vale in plain sight around town. He hasn’t had any luck tracking down Landis, and the next step of any mission is to lure the target out in public.
“That works,” Holt says, clapping Bishop on the back. “We’ve got some work to catch up on.”
Vale’s eyes get big as she glances between them. “Okay, but I think I can probably make do.”