Page 19 of Ember
“I’m going upstairs,” Jack said. “You stay down here unless I call for you. If anyone besides me comes down those steps, stop them.”
“Got it,” Hurricane agreed. He could see Tina and a few of the women standing ready at the back door, and he had to admit, it felt damn good to have both the Bastards and Harlots having his back.
Jack slowly crept up the squeaky stairs, wincing at every noise he made. He cleared the bathroom and the first two bedrooms, noting that the last room’s door was shut. That closed door was his last hope at finding Ember and God, he prayed that she was in there.
He slowly pushed the door open and was about to step in when he heard Ember’s scream. She shouted his name, and he took a step out of the doorway, just in time to avoid the bullets that flew past him. “Fuck,” he swore under his breath.
Hurricane ran up the steps and had Jack’s six faster than he could think, and everything around him seemed to be moving at top speed. All Jack could think about was getting into the room before Keith could get off another shot. If he was correct, the gun he was using was a shotgun, and he’d have to reload after firing two rounds. It was now or never.
Jack pushed his way into the room with his gun drawn and found Keith fumbling with the shotgun. “You really should stick to playing music, asshole. Guns don’t seem to be your thing.” He motioned for Keith to drop the gun and waited while the ass seemed to silently run through the pros and cons of his situation.
The soft sob coming from the chair in the corner nearly broke him. “It will be okay, honey,” he promised Ember. Keith is just taking a minute to decide if he wants to die today or just go tojail. I think that this is the part where I tell you that I’m a cop, asshole.” Before he could get out another word, Jack heard the cavalry arrive. As they swarmed the room and took the shotgun from Keith, all Jack could do was look at Ember. She was so fucking strong. She stood and made her way across the room to him, when his feet didn’t seem to want to work, and threw herself into his arms.
“I’ve got you, honey,” he whispered. He watched as Keith was cuffed and led past them out of the room.
“This isn’t over,” he said to Ember.
“It is,” Jack countered. “You’ve just attempted to kill a cop. Add that to kidnapping and stalking, and you’ll be in prison for a damn long time.”
“It will never stick. I’ve got connections,” Keith insisted.
“Good luck with those connections,” Jack said. “Marco is dead, and once his father finds out that you drove him to do all the shit he did, well I’m betting that your so-called connections will disappear. Get him out of here,” Jack ordered.
“Is it over?” Ember asked.
“It’s over, honey,” Jack whispered, gently kissing her forehead. He had so many things that he wanted to say to her, but they would all have to wait until he got her checked out and then took her home with him—where she belonged.
Jack walked into the bathroom to find Ember in the shower. She was just standing under the spray, and he worried that being held captive by Keith had been too much for her. He had her for almost a week, and he knew that it had to be sheer hell for her. But his girl was strong, and he knew that she’d find a way out of the darkness that seemed to consume her. She had only beenhome for a day, and he knew that time would make her stronger. Ember had already made some changes, not only to the house, but also to her hair. She had died it to match her name—a fiery red, and he had to admit, he loved it.
“You can stop staring at me,” Ember said. “I’m going to be fine, but you might not be.”
He chuckled, “Well, that sounds ominous,” he teased.
“Look on the counter by my sink,” she almost whispered. He walked across the bathroom and found a white stick sitting next to Ember’s sink. There was a blue plus sign in the little window, and his brain had trouble trying to figure out what it was.
“It’s a pregnancy test,” Ember said, as though reading his mind. “And it’s positive. We’re going to be parents.”
“Shit,” he said, running his hands through his dark hair.
“Yeah, now you get it,” she said. “I had no clue that I was pregnant. Maybe if I had, I wouldn’t have taken so many chances while trying to get away from Keith. But staying there much longer would have driven me mad.”
“How did you figure out that you’re pregnant?” he asked.
“When they took me in for a quick checkup at the emergency room, the nurse asked me the date of my last period. That’s when I started putting it all together.”
“But you didn’t say anything to me or to the nurse about the possibility of you being pregnant,” he said.
“Honestly, I was in shock. I had just been taken hostage by a crazy man who I thought was a friend. I needed to wrap my head around the possibility of there being a baby before I told anyone. I picked up that test at the hospital pharmacy on my way out. You were picking up the truck to meet me at the door, so I had a few minutes to spare. I was so scared that it would be positive,” she admitted. She shivered in the shower’s spray, and Jack cursed under his breath.
“You’re freezing,” he said. Jack quickly stripped out of his clothes and stepped into the steamy shower with Ember, pulling her into his body to share his warmth.
I’m not cold so much as just numb. I guess that everything from the past few months has finally caught up with me.”
“It has been a crazy few months,” he agreed. He grabbed the shampoo and started to work it through her long, wet hair. She moaned and leaned back against him as he massaged her scalp.
“That feels so good,” she said.
“You said that you were scared that you might be pregnant,” he said, trying to circle back to their conversation. “How do you feel now that you know we’re having a baby?” he asked.
