My Maddie (Hades Hangmen #8) - Tillie Cole Page 0,106

pain swept through my body. “Breathe,” Sister Ruth instructed, and I followed her slow outtake of breath. Once changed, I paced the living room, watching the door. I listened for tiniest sign of Flame and the arrival of his motorcycle.

“Let me examine you,” Sister Ruth offered and led me to the bed. I lay down and winced as Ruth examined me. Her eyebrows were pulled down. “Have you been feeling pain for a while, Maddie?”

“My back has ached all day and last night.” I rubbed my hands over my stomach. “I had quite a lot of pain, but I assumed it was Braxton Hicks.”

“You are five centimeters dilated, Maddie. You are in active labor.” I swallowed. I felt my hands begin to tremble. “How is your pain now?” Ruth asked. On cue, a sharp pain shot through my body and I closed my eyes, trying to breathe through the agony. I squeezed Bella’s hand tightly, waiting for the pain to subside. I lay back down on the bed when the pain passed. Bella brought a glass of iced water to my lips.

The door opened and I lifted my head, needing it to be Flame. Mae and Lilah came through. “Active labor, five centimeters,” Bella called to them, as they stood around the bed.

“Maddie,” Mae said and held my other hand. “That is good. Your baby will be here soon enough.” She pressed a washcloth over my brow. “It is worth it, I promise. All of the pain is worth it.”

“Flame?” I asked.

“He is on his way,” Lilah confirmed. “Ky is with him, and AK and Viking. He said they are almost home.” Lilah held up her cell. I squeezed my eyes shut. “I need him here. I need him to be here.” I moved my legs from the bed. “I need to get up. I need to walk.” I insisted as Ruth helped me rise. I gripped onto the bed frame, groaning when the pressure in my back became too great. Bella rubbed my back. I breathed in time with Ruth.

I closed my eyes and thought about Flame. My mind took me back to The Order. Took me back to the day the Hangmen came for Mae. When the prison cell, in which we were held was opened, I stood before them, the men in leather. They looked nothing like anyone I had ever seen before. And they had killed the disciples. They had killed Brother Moses, my tormentor. Someone had saved me from him. I stared at Brother Moses, stabbed to death and impaled on a tree. In that moment I felt all of my years of pain and suffering melt away. A sense of euphoria infused my body. The cage around my lungs had snapped open.

“Who killed him?” I had asked when I again faced the devil’s men. “Was it you?” I asked Flame. He was stunning to me—dark hair, dark eyes, tattoos of flames decorating his skin. My savior, the man who freed me from my shackles of bondage. He was not a devil’s man to me. He was my liberator. He was my angel.

“Yeah, I killed the fucker,” he said.

“Thank you.” I remembered the smell of leather as I wrapped my arms around him, my cheek to his chest. I remembered his muscled arms tensing, then wrapping around me. He held me and something inside of me shifted. Some part of my heart that had died was revived. I was resurrected. Reborn for this man they called Flame… and now I was having his baby. Our baby. Our miracle.

The sound of motorcycles came roaring from outside. “Flame,” I murmured.

I heard the low murmur of voices, then, “MADDIE!” Flame came smashing through the door. I looked up and my eyes watered on seeing the man I loved finally here. I held out my hands, and I saw Flame’s eyes widen on seeing me gripping the bed frame. I stood upright and held out my hand. Flame’s footing faltered, but he came to me. His eyes searched every inch of me. “Maddie…” he said softly. My sisters moved aside and Flame took hold of my hand. He pulled me to his chest, and I wrapped my arms around his waist, just like I had done all those years ago in the commune. And like then, he held me back. Leather… leather and the strength my husband brought to my soul. “Maddie,” he rasped again, then kissed my head.

A contraction flooded my body. I hung onto Flame and moaned