Page 194 of Wicked Brutal

Cat laughs. “He did not.”

“He absolutely did. Thought Darla had personally invented pregnancy for his entertainment.”

Penny smiles at the picture. “He must’ve had a million questions.”

“A million and fucking twelve. He asked if he squished the baby when he hugged Ally.” Cat’s face crumples. “Then whether it could taste pizza. Why the gel was sticky. Whether boys can have babies.”

Kaiden laughs. “And Darla?”

“Thriving.” Penny hands the picture carefully to Becca and Becca smiles.

A real smile. Not forced. Not sad. “Oh, Ryan.” She studies it. Danny leans closer, his chin nearly touching her shoulder. Becca traces the white border with her thumb. Not the image. Just the edge. “Everything looked good?”

“Darla said everything she saw was exactly where she wanted it.”

Danny nods. “Good.”

Becca looks at me. “Ally okay?”

“Yeah. Scared as shit beforehand, but yeah. Tobias got his own picture.”

Her smile gets bigger. “He did?”

“He asked for one because apparently it’s his baby too.”

Becca closes her eyes for a second. “Fuck.”

Danny’s hand slides from hers to her thigh.

I probably should stop there. But I’m still thinking about yesterday. About the moment everything else in the room disappeared. “Tobias asked if we could hear it.”

Becca’s eyes lift. Danny goes very still. And I realize it. A second too late. Cat realizes too. So does Penny.

Becca looks at me. “You heard the heartbeat?”

I nod slowly. “Yeah.”

Her lips part. For a second she doesn’t say anything. Then she smiles. And fuck. There’s so much in it. Happiness. Pain. Something old and raw that she doesn’t try to hide from us anymore. “What was it like?”

“Bec—“

“No.” She shakes her head. “Tell me.” Danny looks at her. She reaches for his hand again. He gives it immediately.

I swallow. “It was fast. Really fucking fast. Darla turned the sound on and…” I shake my head. “I don’t know. It filled the whole room.”

Becca’s eyes shine. Danny looks down, his jaw tight. Then her smile trembles. Just once. A single tear slips out before she can stop it. Danny catches it with his thumb. Immediately. Becca looks at him. Then at the wetness on his thumb. Her expression turns offended.

“Nope.”

“Bec.”

“No. Absolutely fucking not.” She points at all of us. “I do not cry in public.”

Cat says gently, “Nobody said you did.”

“That was eye sweat.”

Iz nods solemnly. “Very sunny.”