Page 179 of Wicked Brutal

“Pretty much.” Tobias nods like that makes perfect sense.

His eyes drop to my hand. Then mine. There’s a flicker there. Something hot. Something painful. Something unfinished. I let go.

“Eventually, the baby will start hearing voices from outside Ally’s body. The voices it hears a lot can become familiar.”

Tobias looks at Ryan. “You should talk to it a lot.”

Ryan’s eyes find mine. “I do.”

Darla finishes packing away the things she doesn’t need. I sit up and pull my shirt back into place.

“Everything really looks okay?”

Darla turns to me. There must be something in my face, because all the amusement leaves hers. “Everything I saw today was reassuring. Measurements are where I want them. Heart rate looked good. Nothing you’ve told me about your symptoms concerns me right now.”

I nod. “And the stress?”

Darla doesn’t bullshit me. “I’d love for you to have less of it. But having a horrible week does not mean you’ve harmed your baby.” I let out a breath. She continues. “You call me if anything changes. Bleeding. Significant pain. Anything that scares you enough that you’re sitting there wondering whether you should call.”

“Even if it’s stupid?”

“Especially then.”

Ryan says, “She’ll call.”

My head turns. “I can answer for myself.”

His mouth closes. The room changes. Barely. But Cassandra notices. Walter definitely notices. Darla’s eyes move between us.

Tobias, blissfully unaware, points toward the ultrasound machine. “Do we get a picture?”

Oh. I look at Darla. She smiles. “Several.”

She reaches beside the machine and picks up the little strip she’d printed. My breath catches all over again. Three tiny black-and-white images. Our baby. She hands them to me. I stare.

Ryan comes closer. Not touching me. Just close enough to see. Tobias wedges himself directly between us. “Which part is the butt?”

Walter coughs. Cassandra loses it. Even I start laughing.

Darla points. “Right around here.”

“That doesn’t look like a butt.”

Tobias looks up. “Can I have one?”

The question catches me completely off guard. I look down at him. “You want one?”

“Yeah, it’s my baby too.”

My eyes fill instantly.

Tobias notices. “Why are you crying?”

“Because I’m pregnant and apparently that’s my whole personality now.”

Darla carefully separates one from the strip. “Here.”

Tobias takes it with both hands.