Page 96 of Nitro

“True.”

“You guys, I’m standing right here.” Daisy puts her hands on her hips.

“We know.” Nina pats her shoulder before walking past her. “This three-in-one stroller is the one we bought Julia. It worked out okay for you, right?”

“Eli never escaped from it.”

“That’s half the battle.” Nina turns to the sales lady. “Can you add that too please?”

“Of course.” The woman goes to get a dolly to lift the huge box.

“This isn’t all going to fit in the car,” I say.

“We’ll have the boys bring a truck to pick everything up. That’s what they did for me.”

“Great. What’s next?”

As we work our way through the list, I can’t help but think about my mother. I would never have been able to go baby shopping with her. We would have killed each other trying to choose one item. Forget making it down a whole page of stuff to buy. I’m so grateful for Julia and Daisy. They’re like the sisters I never had.

Nina’s a bit overbearing at times, but she means well. Also, she will back down if you insist on something other than what she suggested. She’s not as bitchy as she seems on the surface. Underneath her biker babe persona, she’s a sweetheart. She means well. She’s just a bit rough around the edges when it comes to working with others. Ultimately, though, I don’t know what I’d do without her. Not just for the money but because she offers the kind of wisdom I can’t get anywhere else. She actually understands what Nitro and I are going through. She has raised more kids than she can count, and some of them were almost feral when she got them. I’m so lucky to have her by my side.

We’re finishing up at the store when Nina gets a call. She steps outside to answer it. Through the window, I watch herdemeanor change. Immediately, I know something’s wrong. I worry it’s Nitro, so I check my phone. No calls. No texts. Maybe it’s one of the other guys?

When she walks back into the store, she’s as white as snow. “We need to go home.”

“What happened? What’s wrong?” I ask, reflexively covering my belly with my hand.

“It’s Matrix.”

“Is he okay? Is he hurt? Is he dead?” Daisy’s frantic voice pitches higher with each question.

“Breathe,” Nina says in a soothing tone. “He’s in the hospital. He did something incredibly stupid, but he’s going to be okay.”

“What did he do?” I ask.

Julia glances at Nina. She shakes her head so slightly that if I weren’t looking right at her, I wouldn’t have caught it. Nina frowns as a silent agreement passes between them.

“What aren’t you telling us?” Daisy asks.

“He hurt himself,” Julia says carefully.

“But he’s going to be okay?”

“Eventually. He’s going to need some help first. Let’s get going. I want to get back before visiting hours end,” Nina says.

We get into the car. She drives like a bat out of hell to get back to the clubhouse. After arguing with Daisy for several minutes, Nina caves and agrees to take her to the hospital too. Julia goes with them so she can be with Scar. He’s already at the hospital, along with Nitro and Talon.

I want to go as well, but Nina insists it’s already going to be chaotic. Also, she doesn’t think I should be in a hospital while I’m pregnant because there are too many drug-resistant bacteria. That’s the only reason I agree to stay at the clubhouse with Reaper and Tucker.

After they leave, I sit in the living room with the guys. “How bad is it? Nina didn’t tell us much. She didn’t want Daisy to lose her shit.”

“It’s bad,” Reaper says.

“How bad?”

“He almost died.”

“Oh, no. What happened?”

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