Page 65 of Marked

“You settle down,” she seethed. “That’s my best friend getting ready to have a baby.”

Mentioning the fact Keaton wasmybest friend didn’t seem like a solid plan, considering he wasn’t pushing anything out of his nonexistent vagina. I tried backpedaling a bit instead, anything to get me out of hot water.

“What I meant is, they’re just now leaving the safe house.”

Again…wrong thing to say.

“Shit. She’s not due for another couple of weeks.” She started pacing, running her fingers through her long, blond hair. “This is my fault. What if something happens to the baby? I’ll never forgive myself.”

“Enough.” Stepping in her path, I grasped her biceps, holding her at arm's length. “Get all the bullshit outta your head. Henley’s fine. The baby’s gonna be fine. Keaton will most likely pass out, so unless you want to miss the opportunity to tease him mercilessly, we should probably think about hitting the road.”

Mission accomplished. A broad grin spread across her face; it was as frightening as it was beautiful. “You’re on Keaton duty when we get there. If he even looks unsteady, you better get that shit on video.”

I returned her smile, pulling her in for a quick hug. “You’ve got it.”

With the mini meltdown over, we finished getting dressed, even leaving the house in plenty of time to stop for coffee and pastries on the way––my brilliant idea. There was no need to have a waiting room full of hangry, under-caffeinated FBI agents.

“Are they here yet?” Lanie burst through the doors of the maternity ward, earning her a few scathing looks from the nurses at the front desk.

“We’re here.” Jade popped out of a room on our left, Koen was right behind her. “They’re getting her settled, then we can go back to visit. Oh my God, is that coffee?”

She plucked one of the cups out of the carrier without waiting for a reply. If I hadn’t had the forethought to hold on to it with both hands, the whole damn thing would’ve toppled to the floor.

“And donuts.” Lanie held up the white plastic bag by the handles.

“You are an angel. I’m starving.” Koen snatched it, digging through the contents until he found the one he wanted.

“Hey!” Jade elbowed him in the stomach.

“I saidanangel. You’remyangel, Angel.”

Those two were a match made in heaven, pun intended. It’s funny how the four of us started in Huntington as young, fresh-out-of-the-academy agents, each with a different chip on our shoulder. Now here we were, building a life with a found family none of us expected or, in some cases, thought we deserved. And within a few hours, we’d be welcoming our newest member.

“She’s five centimeters dilated,” Keaton announced to God and everyone as he swaggered down the hallway.

“What does that even mean?”

I don’t know why the words came out of my mouth. Blame it on my big brain and its thirst for knowledge. Whatever the reason, I was scarred for life. Even worse than meeting Lanie’s naked parents.

“It means her cervix is the size of a mandarin orange.”

Koen made a gagging sound. “Jesus, K. What the fuck?”

“TMI, dude. Way, way TMI.”

He shrugged. “Don’t ask if you don’t want to know, Noah.”

“Touché.”

Two hellions named Lanie and Jade shoved in between Koen and me, rapid-firing questions neither of them had any business knowing the answer to. Let alone the rest of us.

“How far apart are her contractions?” That was Lanie.

Then Jade. “Did her water break?”

Back and forth they went, only pausing long enough to suck in much-needed oxygen. While Keaton calmly answered all of them, I turned to Koen, just then noticing a few missing members.

“Where’s Duncan?”

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