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Her laugh echoed off the bathroom walls. “It’s the truth. Bash and I snuck around for months without telling any of my brothers we were together.” Her face darkened, and she shivered at the memories. “Then they all found out, and Jet beat him so badly…”
“Oh God,” I whimpered, my knees going weak. “Maverick is going to die, isn’t he?”
“No!” she told me, steel in her voice. Grasping my arms in a firm hold, she gave me a gentle shake until I lifted my head. “I won’t let that happen, River. But you have to trust me. I only want to protect you and Maverick, so you have to have a little faith in me. In all of us. Your mom, Willa, and I, we won’t let anything happen to either of you. I swear it.”
What little color there might have been in my face drained. “Mom and Aunt Willa know that I’m pregnant?”
“Not as far as I’m aware,” she assured me. “But we suspected Maverick would probably tell Colt today. We’ve been preparing for this day. As for your pregnancy… Maybe you should hold off a little while before you make any announcements regarding that joyful news.”
I knew if anyone could make this situation less volatile, it was Aunt Raven. Her husband might have been the Angel’s Halo MC president, but she was the queen of our family. She ruled us all, and we put our love and faith in her. If she said she would take care of something, I believed her.
But not everything was in her control.
Six
River
After cleaning up in the bathroom, I felt somewhat better. By the time Aunt Raven and I walked out, Nova had helped her mom set up all the food, and more people had arrived at the party.
“Drink some lemon-lime soda,” my aunt encouraged quietly beside me so only I could hear her. “And then eat a few crackers. Nothing too heavy. It should help with the nausea. Take it easy. Your blood pressure seems to be giving you some issues.” She paused at the bar and frowned down at me. “Have you been to a doctor yet?”
I shook my head. The only doctor I’d seen so far was the one at the abortion clinic, but I wasn’t about to admit to that. I still felt guilty over even walking through the doors of that place.
“Don’t worry. We’ll get you in to see one soon,” she said with a grim smile, pushing a few strands of my hair out of my face. “Now, go sit. I’ll have someone bring you a drink and the crackers.”
I walked over to one of the round tables and sat down. No sooner had my ass hit the chair than I was surrounded by a group of guests. I put on a bright smile and greeted them all, thanking them for coming. Fortunately, none of them lingered or sat with me. I was already tired of pretending to be okay.
Nova brought over a cup of soda along with a plate of crackers and a few grapes. “How are you feeling?” she asked as she took the seat beside me. Her eyes scanned my face before relaxing. “You have more color in your cheeks.”
“I’m okay now.” Picking up the cup, I sipped at the fizzy lemon-lime drink.
“Happy birthday!”
I lifted my head as Mila practically skipped toward me, her long black hair bouncing around her shoulders. Bending, she wrapped an arm around my neck and kissed my cheek. “Happy birthday!” she repeated happily. “Guess what?”
Her excitement had me smiling. “What, Mil?”
“We got the store!” she squealed. “And we can start working on it tomorrow.”
“Really?” Laughing, she nodded, and I jumped to my feet, throwing my arms around her. “This is great.”
“I knew it would make you happy.”
I was glad my arms were still around her, because the world went dark around the edges again, and I went limp against my best friend. She stumbled back, her arms tightening around my waist as she took my weight. “Shit,” she hissed. “Are you okay?”
I shook my head. “Give me a second,” I whispered. “Please don’t drop me.”
“Oh my God.” She pulled her head back to look at me, her gray eyes wide and full of sudden fear. “Are you pregnant?” she mouthed the words, and all I could do was nod. “Shit, shit, shit.”
A few moments went by before my vision completely returned and I was able to step back. But Mila grabbed my hands. “Are you okay?”
I shrugged, unable to answer that particular question. I didn’t know if I was okay or not. Nor did I know if I ever would be again, because this was uncharted territory for me. There were too many factors, too many unknowns, and too many dangers for me to have faith there would be a good outcome from this pregnancy.
Lyric walked over to us, a car seat in each hand and a huge diaper bag tossed over one of his shoulders. “Happy birthday, River,” he said, kissing the top of my head.
I put a smile on my face. “Thank you.” Bending, I stroked a finger down Isaac’s and Ian’s soft cheeks. “How are my two favorite demon spawn?”
“Ian is grumpy today,” Mila informed me. “I think he might have a tooth coming in or something going on with his ears.”
