Araneae laid down the knife, smiled at me, and walked toward her husband. From my vantage, I couldn’t hear what she whispered or what Sparrow replied in response. My only clue was body language, a rare visual glimpse of what the two of them shared in private. As they spoke and she smiled, his muscles relaxed until he had his hands at her waist, holding her close.
Even in our large kitchen filled with family, it appeared as though the queen had just soothed the king. She’d recently entered her third trimester, and despite our ordeal, everything was on schedule.
Slowly, the murmurs around the room grew louder as Laurel, Ruby, and I moved the food to the large granite table, and the men refilled their mugs with fresh coffee. In no time, we were all seated, discussing everything from the cooling autumn weather to local and national news. Throughout it all, Patrick watched his wife as if she could disappear before his eyes.
Mason mentioned that he may be headed to Washington DC for a meeting and let it slip that my husband could be accompanying him.
My lips came together as I lowered my fork to the side of my plate. “I thought your job was here on 2?”
Sparrow’s stare bypassed me and went to Mason. “I’m going on that expedition. Don’t even consider going without me.”
Araneae’s gaze met mine.
“I don’t know if that should make me feel better or worse,” I said.
“Better,” Sparrow replied. “No one gets shot when I’m there.”
We all turned to Reid who smiled and lifted both hands. “One day we’ll move on to other news.”
Sparrow’s gaze narrowed. “Don’t hold your breath. Today isn’t that day.” He shook his head. “I have some important meetings this morning; I can’t leave before noon.”
It was as Madeline stood that I realized she hadn’t eaten.
“Mom, are you sure you’re okay?” Ruby asked.
Madeline’s complexion had paled. “I think I should head to our apartment and rest.”
Patrick’s chair scooted across the floor as he hurriedly stood. As he reached for Madeline, she gripped the back of a chair. Her face contorted, her fingers blanched, and she bore down, bending her knees.
I momentarily turned to the sink, thinking I’d heard something.
When I turned back, her green eyes glistened.
“I’m sorry.”
“Madeline, it’s—”
“Oh my gosh,” she interrupted, looking toward the floor, “my water just broke.”
The next few minutes sped by at warp speed. All our chairs screeched over the tile. Sparrow pulled out his phone and barked orders as Patrick instructed Ruby to hurry to their apartment for the bag Madeline had packed.
“Garrett is in the garage,” Sparrow said, “ready to take me to the office. Go now, he’ll get you to the Women’s Hospital.” He turned to Araneae. “This is why I wanted a delivery room set up here.”
As she shook her head, I stood. “I’ll call your doctor, Madeline,” I volunteered, thankful that I’d added all the numbers to my phone earlier.
Sparrow and Mason exchanged looks.
“Don’t worry,” my brother said, “I’m calling now. She’ll be fully guarded. No one is getting near her or Patrick.”
“Or me. I want to be there,” Ruby said.
Madeline reached out to her grown daughter and turned to Patrick who nodded his approval at Mason.
“Don’t worry about a thing,” Mason said. “Reid will have the place monitored electronically, and I’ll have it crawling with Sparrows.” He grinned at Reid. “Our meeting in DC will need to be postponed.”
Reid
As everyone dispersed, Lorna reached for my hand. “Let me know if you hear anything.”
“You too. I imagine Ruby calling or texting you or Araneae before Patrick calls one of us.”
“But won’t you know?” She tilted her head, her green eyes questioning. “How far can you infiltrate the hospital’s computer system?”
“My focus will be on security. Patrick already has it worked out where Madeline will be in a secure and private wing. This won’t be the first baby delivered to a family who requests the utmost privacy.” When Lorna didn’t respond, I added, “Money has its privileges.”
Leaving the kitchen as it was, Lorna rode down the elevator with me, stopping at the apartments. As the doors opened, she lifted herself on her tiptoes and brushed my lips with hers. “Get to work. I’m going to talk to Ruby.”
Before she was out of reach, I seized her hand. “We haven’t talked about this in a while.”
Lorna’s eyes opened, the emerald clouded with confusion. “What?”
“There has been a lot of baby talk around here, and I was thinking that it might be nice