“Where you go, I will go,” Shade repeated. “I won’t break my vows to you. I promised.” Shade stared at her, seeing the tears well in her tortured eyes.
She fell to her knees, crying while holding her stomach as she rocked back and forth.
“Oh, God, help me. Please, help me. I can’t do this,” she prayed.#p#分页标题#e#
Shade crouched on his knees beside her without touching her. “What can you not do, Lily?”
“Leave you.” Lily buried her face in her hands, crying helplessly. “I told her I wouldn’t even after she told me all about you and showed me proof. I told her I wouldn’t. She showed me your military records, and she told me Digger and Georgia were both killed by a sniper.”
“Who?” Shade asked, already knowing the answer.
“Brooke. She told me, if I didn’t leave you, she would turn over the proof to the sheriff in Jamestown. I told her we would get a lawyer, and she laughed at me. She told me…” Lily cried harder, raising her face to him. “Brooke told me she would kill you by hiring someone better than you, and that, if she couldn’t have you, no one would. She even said she had taken precautions so that, if anything happened to her, you would be blamed for it. I didn’t know what else to do but leave … I don’t want you hurt because of me,” Lily cried heartbrokenly.
“Angel…” Shade reached out, gently pulling her into his arms. “Without you, I’m dead anyway.”
Lily buried her face in his shoulder, unable to stop crying. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” she kept repeating.
Shade spoke soothingly to her, repeating he loved her over and over until she was lying spent against him.
“How did Brooke get to you?”
“She came inside the room the nurse showed me into.”
“How did she get in?”
“I don’t know. I just assumed she snuck inside. Evie was off today, and I didn’t know the nurse working.”
“Let’s go home.” Shade was going to the doctor’s office as soon as he was able to get Lily inside.
He started to lift her from the ground, but Lily frantically shook her head.
“I can’t. Brooke said, if I went home, she would know. Please, Shade, I can go stay with Penni until after the baby is born. We’ll talk to Knox and see what we can do to stop her.”
When Shade’s eyes caught Viper’s concerned gaze, he nodded silently, motioning the members to engulf the couple in their midst.
“Lily, listen to me carefully. We’ll stay in the clubhouse—”
She shook her head. “Brooke will know—”
“I’m going to see Brooke is taken care of. Trust me, angel.” Shade stood, helping Lily to stand. He started to take her arm to help her into the house but she gave a sudden cry, clutching her stomach and crying out in pain.
“Shade!”
He picked her up, carrying her toward the parking lot. He placed her in the truck while the brothers were climbing on their bikes with the women jumping on behind whoever was closest.
Her water broke as he was getting into the truck. He started the motor before backing up then followed behind Viper and Lucky as they pulled out onto the road. A long line of motorcycles rode behind the truck.
“Rider isn’t going to be happy with you,” Shade teased.
Lily gave a gurgling laugh. “Tell him he can put my name in the punishment bag.”
* * *
“Will you quit pacing? You’re making me nervous,” Lily moaned between labor pains.
Shade gave his wife a baleful look. “Should you sit like that?”
Lily was sitting cross-legged on the bed with a sheet over her while she rubbed her belly. “It eases the pain.”
The nurse came into the room, looking at the monitor. “You’re progressing nicely. We’ll be giving the doctor a call soon.” The nurse turned to leave again, and Shade moved to block her path.#p#分页标题#e#
“He isn’t here yet?”
“No, Mr. Hunter. This is the first child your wife has had, so I’ll explain once again.” Her condescending voice grated on Shade’s nerves. “Labor can take several hours. As soon as she’s dilated to a certain point, we’ll call the doctor, and he’ll be here within ten minutes.”
“And I told you I wanted him here now. Call him and tell him for me that, if his overpriced ass isn’t here in the next ten minutes, I’ll have the sheriff come and get him,” Shade growled.
The nurse flew out of the room.
Lily giggled. “That wasn’t nice.”
“I have a newsflash for you: I’m not fucking nice,” Shade said, beginning to pace again.