Page 165 of On the Double

Harper waited patiently at the kitchen table while I was freaking out, checking to make sure I had every last thing.

“Did you grab the diapers?”

“They have diapers in the hospital,” she said in a bored tone.

“What if they ran out?”

“They didn’t run out.”

“What about a blanket? Won’t the baby get cold?”

“Edu, not that I don’t appreciate your level of dedication, but this baby isn’t going to stay inside me forever. Do you think we could leave before you have to deliver the baby on the table?”

My eyes widened in fear. “Does that happen?”

“It will if we don’t leave soon.”

I rushed to her side and helped her stand. She wore one of those oversized shirts that made her look like she was wearing a tent, but I didn’t dare say that. I wasn’t about to take my life in my own hands the day my daughter was going to be born.

I held her arm as I guided her down the steps. The snow had melted and all we were left with was mud, but I still worried about herfalling. As soon as I got her loaded in the passenger seat, I whipped out my phone and sent out the bat signal.

“It’s go-time.”

“Already?” Lock asked. “We still have three days.”

“Not anymore. Get the team together.”

“On it.”

I hung up and slowly backed down the driveway, careful of anything I might hit. I saw the way she judged me, how she disapproved of how slow I was driving, but there was no way I’d go any faster and put the baby in danger. Hell, I’d even traded in my truck for a minivan. Did we need one? Hell no. But that didn’t mean I would sacrifice the safety of my child. Not that a truck wasn’t safe, but I had the minivan tricked out by Duke to ensure I had the latest safety measures in place—along with a few of my own creations.

My favorite was the catcher’s mit. It was a protective shield in the shape of a mit that would pop out in the event of an accident and protect Harper’s womb from impact. Yes, I was well aware of the possibility that the child could still be injured, but I did everything I could to make sure that wouldn’t happen.

“There they are,” I muttered as Lock pulled out in front of us. Then Brock and Scottie pulled out behind us, then cruised along beside us down the road. Yes, we were blocking all lanes of traffic. Yes, we had sirens and lights on the vehicles. Was it legal? Probably not. But if anyone ran a light, my protection vehicles would prevent Harper from taking the brunt of the hit.

“Oh God,” Harper groaned.

“What? What is it?” I asked, panic lacing my voice.

“Nothing. You just have everyone in town staring at us.” She waved out the window at Mrs. Gardner at the flower shop.

“They know it’s time, and they’re staying out of the way.”

“How did you even get away with this?” she spat. “This is so humiliating.”

“I don’t care if it’s humiliating as long as you’re safe.”

“Baby Daddy, this is the lead vehicle calling in for a safety check.” Lock’s voice boomed over the speakers of the comms system.

“A safety check?” Harper sighed.

“It’s a necessary evil. All clear, lead vehicle.”

“Roger that. Secondary vehicle, check in.”

I saw Harper rolling her eyes at our methodical way of checking in with each other. She may not like it, but I wasn’t taking a risk. And if she didn’t like this, she definitely wouldn’t like what I had in store for the ride home.

Or at the hospital.