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“I know,” I said softly.
Ace got up and walked to the window, looking out into the distance as he offered what I hadn’t been able to ask for. “I can take care of her. Keep her safe. She probably won’t like it.”
My hands trembled as I brought them together in my lap. “Can you give me your word that you’ll never hurt her?”
He glanced back at me. “I’m not a good man, Gypsy. I have a low tolerance for spoiled brats—”
“She isn’t—”
Ace narrowed his eyes. “She is. And I get it. She had a rough fucking go of it, but you’ve been trying to overcompensate for everything that’s ever happened to her, and that isn’t working anymore, is it?”
His words triggered my defenses, but at the same time, I had no argument. “It’s easy for you to say, but we did the best we could.”
“And if that hasn’t worked out by now, maybe it’s time for a new approach.”
We stared at each other silently, while I tried to figure out if this was either the best or worst idea I ever had.
“She can live at the compound with me,” Ace said. “But if you want me to do this, that means you have to let me take the wheel from here. I can’t have you trying to interfere every time she calls crying about a rule she doesn’t like.”
“I get that.” I nodded. “I wouldn’t do that. Birdie needs structure. She needs rules.”
“She needs a hell of a lot more than that.” Ace sighed.
I was asking a lot from him, and I hated that I even had to rely on anyone else at all to take care of Birdie. But the truth was, despite his rough exterior, Ace had a soft spot for my little sister. For some reason, I just knew in my gut that he would do anything to protect her.
“You can’t let any of the men at the compound touch her,” I said. “I mean it.”
“That’s not going to fucking happen,” Ace snarled and then shook his head. The viciousness of his statement came as a shock to him, but it didn’t surprise me. His reaction was exactly what I’d been looking for, and the confirmation I needed.
She would be safe.
“Can you have your guys keep an eye on her for a few more days?” I requested. “Just until the baby is born. And then…” I cringed for what I was about to say. “Then you can take her.”
“AHHH.” GYPSY’S GROAN TUGGED ME from my sleep, and I bolted upright when I saw her clutching her stomach.
I laid my hands on top of hers. “What is it?”
“The baby,” she rasped. “I think it’s time.”
I flipped the covers off her and noticed that her water had broken.
“Oh my God,” she murmured when she looked down. “That’s so gross.”
Panic was rising in my chest, but I managed to smile at her reaction. “It’s not gross,” I assured her.
She cringed and attempted to scoot from the bed on her own. “Don’t look at it, please.”
I scrambled to help my stubborn wife, wrapping my arm around her waist as she tried to fend me off.
“I have to go clean up, Lucian,” she said. “This is ridiculous.”
I couldn’t figure out why she had shut down until she glanced back at the bed, her shoulders weighted down with shame. She was embarrassed, and when I looked into her eyes, I knew it was because this had unexpectedly triggered a bad memory for her. A memory most likely from her childhood when her control had been taken from her.
I pulled her close despite her protests and kissed her forehead. “You are so beautiful, Gypsy.”
She looked up at me, surprised, and then buried her face against my chest.
“I want to be there for every second of this,” I told her. “Please don’t push me away. Nothing I see will ever change the way I feel about you.”
“You say that now,” she grunted as another contraction took possession of her body.
“I say it because it’s true,” I promised. “Remember that this trust thing works both ways.”
Her face softened, and she nodded before the door burst open and Birdie appeared, followed by Ace and Luna.
“It’s happening, isn’t it?” Birdie asked in a panicked voice. “Luna said it was happening.”
“Stop doing that.” Gypsy glared at Luna. “It creeps me out.”
Luna smiled sheepishly. “Sorry. Just a feeling.”
“We need to go,” I announced.
“Right,” Gypsy said. “We should probably do that after I change.”
I wanted to argue, but I knew it wasn’t something she would bend on. I helped her into the bathroom where she’d laid out a set of clothes for this time, so they were always ready.
“Lucian?” She looked up at me and waved her fingers in front of my face.
“Yes?”
“Can I get some privacy please?”
I winced, and she smiled. “It’ll be okay, I promise. Two minutes, that’s all I need. You can wait outside the door if you want.”
