Page 22 of Blood Revealed

“Wow, congratulations, brother. When did you decide this?”

“Day before yesterday when she told me I knocked her up.”

My mouth drops open. This kid was the player to end all players and now he’s so whipped he’s going to be a husband and a father?

“Fuck me,” I say.

“I know. Trust me, I know.”

“You happy about it?”

“It’s funny. I thought I’d be scared or pissed or whatever, but I’ve spent so much time around Boss and Elise, sat for Gun. I’m really good. Brin’s the one who’s scared. She’s happy but scared. I suppose if I were the one pushing a kid out of an opening only wide enough for my dick, I’d be scared, too.”

“Two more whiskeys,” I order the hot mama. “This calls for a toast.”

She refills Hero’s glass and pours a fresh one for me. I raise my arm, drink in hand. “Long, happy life to you, Brin, and your budding family.”

“To us,” he says before shooting back his drink fast enough to make even a seasoned drinker like him cough.

“God help you if you have a girl. Brin’s got those eyes that’ll have all the boys poking around.”

“Now why you have to go saying shit like that? Besides, she’s giving me a son. I don’t have to worry about a son.”

“You just jinxed yourself, brother.”

The look on his face is priceless. I laugh at his pain. Wow. Just wow. Never figured Hero to be the settling-down type. Hannah will be ecstatic.

Veronica stands in the archway between the common and the hallway. “He’s out of surgery,” she says. “He’s still out in recovery. When he wakes you can go see him.”

“Thanks,” I answer. It hardly seems like enough time has passed, but looking at my watch, two hours have passed since we arrived and he was shuttled into surgery.

Hero has his phone out and up to his ear. “Bird, baby,” he says into the line and I leave him to his call.

Sneak made it through the surgery. Thank Christ. I’m not a religious man, but I still don’t mind giving thanks. I can’t sit anymore, too antsy to sit still. The brothers can’t get here soon enough.

I walk around the common, letting myself be pulled into conversations with whatever Missouri brother wants to chat, but I’m still too antsy to stay in any one conversation too long. We’ve got too much shit going on, too much running through my brain. When Veronica comes to get me fucking finally, I give my excuse to Bud, the last brother to want to talk, and follow her back to the recovery room.

They weren’t kidding. The surgery. The recovery room. It’s like a mini hospital back here. These boys have put a lot of money into it. ’Course, still being in the life, they need it. I’m just thrilled to see Sneak lying with his eyes open. He looks a combination of pissed and in pain.

“They give him pain meds?” I ask Veronica.

“Yeah, but there’s still gonna be pain unless we do the heavy shit and Hatchet doesn’t like to use the heavy shit until they ask for it. So far, he hasn’t.”

Right.

“Brother,” I say, stopping at his bedside. “Gave us a scare there.”

“Fuck you,” he whispers, and I laugh.

“You want heavier pain meds now?”

He winces. Trying to be tough. “I think yes,” he whispers again.

“Veronica, get this man the good stuff,” I order. She nods and moves to a cabinet where they apparently keep their meds. “I didn’t call Trish. That’ll be up to you.”

He doesn’t speak, but his eyes say, “Good call.”

“Hero’s fine. Got it in the shoulder, but Veronica here patched him up. Haven’t talked to Boetcher yet, but know she patched him up, too.”

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