a wail. Mackie’s worries evaporated with the sound. It was so human, so normal. “Oh, he’s got a pair of lungs on him, doesn’t he, Val?”
Val smirked. “Reminds me of you in that regard.”
“Oh!” Mackie stressed the outrage, happy that they had passed the hard part. Or, not really, because damn, now they had to raise a child.
Harry finished the aftercare and let him sit up on the surgery bed. A second later, Lucien brought something swaddled in a clean, white blanket that appeared far more human. An old, wizened one, he thought, as Lucien handed the bundle to him, showing how to support his head.
Val stood closer and peered down at their son. “He looks like you, too.”
“You think? He’s got your violet eyes and fishy-pale skin.” He smiled to show he was kidding. “I’m scared I won’t know how to care for him properly.”
“Lucien will help.”
“Will you?”
Val was obviously surprised by the question. “Of course. Why would you think otherwise?”
“I don’t know.” Mackie peeked inside the swaddle to count fingers. Yep, all there, although he didn’t dare yet go as far as the toes. For one thing, he’d never get the blanket quite right again. So far, the baby wasn’t fussing, like being born was no big deal after all. “You’re a warrior. It’s hard to picture you changing a diaper.”
“Well, get used to it. As of now, I’m on paternity leave.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. I told Alex he’s going to have to wait for me to help him with his new business venture until this one is at least three months old.” He cupped Mackie’s chin and stared hard into his eyes. “We’re doing this together, baby. I’ve told you that.”
He had, many times. It was hard to believe that everything his heart had ever desired was his—that the war with Dracul was over and that they could live out their lives in peace. That was assuming, of course, that Annika didn’t stir the pot any more than she already had. Well, that was something to worry about another day. For now, he was the happiest person in the world.
Smiling like a loon, he gazed at his son. His. Son. “We should really start calling him by his name. Are we sticking with Aiden?”
Val, who had been stroking the side of his finger down the baby’s cheek, paused. “I’ve been thinking.” He cleared his throat. “Would you mind if we went with Andrew instead?”
“Oh…” Mackie hadn’t thought he could be happier—or more surprised. He’d been wrong. “You’d do that? It doesn’t…hurt you to think of him as that?” It wouldn’t be good for any of them if Val was constantly reminded of the child who had died.
“No. It would be a way of honoring my other son, plus it’s your grandfather’s name, isn’t it? It’s why your parents gave it to you as a middle name?”
“Yes, and I actually liked him. He was nice to me when the others weren’t. When he died, I cried for days.” He touched the baby’s cheek with his own fingers. It was downy soft. “Hi, Andrew.”
“And I’d like to keep his middle name as Alexander. I owe everything to my captain.”
“Of course. If not for him, we’d never have met. I’d be on the streets or dead, or—”
Val put his finger to Mackie’s lips, silencing him. “No more what-ifs. We’re here, together, as a family, and you’ve made my life a joy that I never thought I could experience.”
“Ditto,” he replied, which was a stupid response, but it was all he could get out past the lump in his throat.
Then Andrew screwed up his cute little face and let out a squall that brought the house down.
* * * *
Alex and Quinn
It was hard to enter the room. The worst of the carnage had been cleaned, thanks to Lucien’s ruthless homemaking skills. Still, there were dark stains that would never come out of the carpeting and flooring, along with the deep gashes left by bullets. Quinn walked slowly to the spot where he’d lain over one of the other go-go boys, terrified and bleeding, yet determined not to leave him alone. If he closed his eyes, he could hear Alex’s roar as he came to his rescue. It was the second—no, third—time he’d heard that primal sound from his man’s lips. No…husband’s. He twirled the gunmetal tungsten ring that Alex had slipped onto his finger at city hall. It had been necessary to make sure that the marriage was legal, and part of him