Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 105868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Who knew? “This is their first baby. Sometimes the process takes a couple of hours. Sometimes we’re here all night. There’s no way to know.”
“All right.” He tugged on a strand of her hair. “I’ll hang out at the clinic.”
She looked up at him. “Ace, I don’t need a bodyguard.”
“Yeah, you do.” His mouth curved. “And I have a definite interest in your body.”
She shot him a look, but her lips twitched. “It’s late enough we’ll lock the hospital doors. Don’t worry. Plus, I think Christian gave you a sign?”
“Yeah. He has to hunt down a poacher tonight for the troopers and wants me to keep an eye on Amka until she’s finished,” he said reasonably. “If you lock your doors, I’ll do that. Call me if you need anything, especially if you finish and want to head home.”
“Deal.” She studied him for a second. “I don’t suppose you want to see a baby being born.” Those two kids probably wouldn’t mind.
He made a face immediately. “Hell no. I’m not ready for that.”
She threw her head back and laughed, the sound carrying down the quiet street as they walked toward the hospital lights. Then unease skittered down her back as if somebody watched her. It was a strange feeling, one that came with a chill. She looked toward the tavern, but nobody stood outside.
That was odd.
Chapter Twenty-Three
May stretched her neck, her body tired, her mind calm. She finished making tea in her toasty warm house. It had been a long night delivering the adorable baby girl, but both mother and child were perfectly healthy, so all was good.
A knock pounded through her front door.
She jumped and placed the cup on her counter, hustling out of the kitchen, her heart racing. Just as she opened the drawer of the cabinet next to the sofa to get her gun, Ace’s voice rang out.
“May?”
Relief caught her and she slammed the drawer shut. Shaking her head, she hurried to open the door. “Ace? It’s after two in the morning.”
“I know.” He brushed past her, his green eyes glittering. “What I don’t know is why the hell you’re here by yourself.”
She shut the door and turned to face him. “Huh?”
His chin lowered, giving him a predatory look. “You said you’d call me if and when you left the hospital.”
Oh yeah. “It’s almost three in the morning.”
His eyebrows lifted. With the scruff along his jaw and the flush across his face, he appeared dangerous. Deadly, even.
Flutters cascaded through her abdomen. She’d figure out why later. “Ace?”
His nostrils flared.
All right. He was definitely pissed. She licked her lips, gratified when his eyes flared even more. “I didn’t want to wake you.” Plus, she’d known she now had electricity, thanks to him.
His jaw clenched tight as if he were trying really hard to hold onto his temper.
Fascinating. She watched him, realizing belatedly that she wasn’t afraid of him in the slightest. But she knew not to grin. Right now, anyway. “Ace.”
He slowly drew off his leather jacket and tossed it to a hook near the door. The jacket, predicably, hung in place. “There is a killer wandering Knife’s Edge who murdered a blonde woman much like yourself. There is another killer that hunts and rips out eyeballs in the mountains of this state that even my brother Christian can’t find. Finally, you have an asshole of an ex in town who came here specifically to find you.”
Well, that was all true. “It isn’t even dark outside,” she said lamely.
“Even so, it’s the middle of the night,” he returned evenly. Way too evenly.
Her mind scrambled. “You didn’t ask about the baby.”
“I already know about the baby because I went by the hospital after making sure Amka got home all right,” he lumbered. “Found out that the baby is just fine at nine pounds, three ounces. What I didn’t find at the hospital as expected, was your very cute ass.”
Well. All right. “I figured it was too late to call you.” Truth be told, she’d been so tired that she hadn’t given it much thought.
“You said you’d call me.”
That was true. Even so, whatever. “I’m sorry, but if you think giving me a generator—one I still plan to pay for—and taking me on one date gives you the right to order me around, you’ve lost your ever-loving mind.”
He changed. Slightly. Just enough. A warm swell of heat rolled toward her, spiking her senses into full awareness. “I don’t give a shit about a generator.” He moved toward her like an angry bear stalking its prey for the night.
Her knees wobbled and she planted her feet. “I do.”
“Too bad.” He reached her, and warmth instantly cascaded across her front. “It might’ve been one date, but the night before meant something. You cried out my name. Several times.” His hand tangled in her hair and drew her head back with enough bite to spiral electricity down her entire back. “Tell me you get me.”