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“I feel it deep in my heart, my love. You’ll have your own.” My mom put her arms around me and Birdie. “We just need to prepare for your dad to blow his top. You know he expects you and Dante to end up together.”
“Which is ridiculous, considering I haven’t spoken to him since the night of his party.”
“Dante’s been busy.” Birdie always defended him and made excuses for him ghosting me.
“I don’t care. I need to do what’s right for me.”
“What if you having a baby is a deal-breaker?” my mom asked.
“So what? There’s nothing between us. He won’t be back until right before the wedding. I’m doing this.” Time wasn’t on my side. I didn’t have a crystal ball to look into the future to see if Dante was the one, so I wouldn’t put off having a baby for what if.
Just then the door opened, and Dr. W entered. “Okay, Ember. If you’re ready, I’m ready.”
I looked at my mom, then Birdie. With not a single doubt in my mind, I said, “I’m ready.”
3
Dante
I stopped in Minneapolis to fuel up and grab a bite to eat. Fuck, it was freezing. My nuts practically jumped into my ass to escape the arctic cold. It appeared I wasn’t acclimated to sub-zero temps anymore after spending so much time in the sweltering desert.
After blasting the heater and warming myself for several minutes after filling up my gas tank, I called my cousin Ray. Someone needed to know I was coming. I was only a couple of hours from the compound and feeling a little guilty for not giving my family a heads up.
Plus, I wanted to find out if my parents and sisters would be around. It would suck if they weren’t home when I got there.
“Hey, cuz,” Raymond answered on the first ring. “What’s it been? A year?”
“Something like that. How’ve you been?” Man, I felt like a shitty cousin. If I recalled correctly, it’d been over a year since I’d last talked to him and my buddies, Chase and Max. Time flew at light speed during missions. Hell, the past six years were a blur to me.
“Been better, that’s for sure. Can’t wait to see you next month.”
I chewed on my bottom lip, then reached for a lollipop as if it would soothe me like a pacifier. “Actually, you’ll get to see me much sooner.”
“Why’s that? Thought you had to fulfill your contract completely.”
“That’s usually how it works, but I got cut loose. Are my parents around?”
“I don’t know. I assume they are. Why’d you get cut loose?”
I sucked on my candy as I watched cars pull in and out of the parking lot. “You assume my parents are around? Either you know or don’t.”
“I’m not in town. I’m in The Cities.”
“No, shit? So am I. Where are you? Maybe we could grab a beer before going to Bastion.” This would be perfect. I could tell Ray what went down and get his reaction before I told my parents.
“Really? I’m… Um…” His voice trailed and there was a long pause. “Watching someone.”
“Who? Is it club business?” Why did he sound weird? Like he was doing something wrong and hoped he wouldn’t get caught?
“Not exactly. I’m down for a beer once I know what’s going on.” Ray had always been mysterious and broody for as long as I’d known him. My dad had told me he had trauma from being held captive, but I hadn’t questioned him further.
Why wouldn’t he tell me who he was watching if it wasn’t club business? “When will that be?”
“Hopefully not long. I’ve been sitting out here for over an hour already.”
“Well, I’ll come meet you. We can keep watch together.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, cuz.”
