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“He didn’t know,” Rainy said. “I was going to tell him, but then we got word that something was coming down. I didn’t want to put him at risk because I knew he would have come with me or taken me in at Watermark. I couldn’t risk that. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to any of you.”
“He’ll understand, honey,” Ashlyn said. “You did the right thing, and he’ll see that.”
“I hope so,” she whispered through the emotion, gripping her abdomen. “I really hope so.”
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” Ayelish said, steadying Rainy. “The baby?”
Rainy nodded quickly and took long, slow breaths until she could talk. “It’s still early. I think it’s just Braxton Hicks. It’s been a hell of a day.”
“It has. We should get you off your feet and let you rest,” Ayelish said.
“And you should join her, Aye.” Wit gave her a knowing look. “Get your feet up. Need to stay healthy.”
“You too, Ash,” Hen said, and all eyes darted between Ashlyn and Hen.
“Wait,” Rainy said with excitement. “Both of you? You’re both… pregnant?”
“I am, but…” Ayelish looked at a grinning and crimson-cheeked Ashlyn. “Oh my… you’re pregnant.”
“With everything going on, we thought we’d wait to say anything,” Ashlyn said. “Didn’t want to distract from the case.”
“You jumped out of a fucking car the other day, Ash,” Wit said. “You should probably tone that shit down.”
“I was going after Hen. He was in the woods, taking fire.” She shrugged.
“Oh, Ash.” Ayelish laughed.
“So my two brothers are having babies with twin sisters right on the heels of big sister,” Rainy pointed at herself. “Having a baby with… their brother? Did this just get weird?”
“Based on all the sister cousin and brother uncle stories Wit’s told over the years… not at all,” Ayelish teased.
“Hey, I got a credible threat here,” Pete Langley said as he approached the crime scene again. “Waiting on intel, but it’s headed here and fast.”
“Shit. We need to get Rainy out of here,” Wit announced. “She’s done.”
“You’re the target,” Rainy reasoned, looking back and forth between her brothers. “Both of you.”
“Oh no, we’re hangin’ back. We’ll get in that damn mobile unit if it’s a real threat,” Wit said.
“Yeah. We’ve got this. We’ve got each other’s backs,” Hen said. “How ’bout Ash and Aye take her back to Watermark? They’ll be safe there, can remain in contact, but rest out of harm’s way.”
“Good idea,” Ayelish said. “We’ll take her in.”
“I’m fine,” Ashlyn said. “Killion needs backup in the mobile unit. I’ll play it safe from there. Promise. We can’t leave it to just him and Relay in there.”
“Okay.” Ayelish turned to Langley. “I’m getting her out of here.”
“I don’t want this case to go sideways,” he warned, “especially with all the casualties so far. I need to make sure this goes right.”
Langley scratched his chin as he looked around. “Fuck. We’re down too many. You need an escort to get in the way of anyone headed your way.”
Wit looked around as well. “We’re short here too. If you don’t know what this threat is, with Hen and me in the mobile unit…”
“Shit. Okay. I’ll escort them to Watermark, but once they’re inside and safe, I’ve got to get to the field office and run this shit down with our cyber unit who picked up the chatter,” Langley said. “I have guys keeping it locked down here, just need you guys to help hold it down until we know if this is real or not. Can we count on you?”
“Hell yeah,” Cane said, entering the conversation. “We’re at the finish line, Langley. You know we’re in it to win it and want to raise a glass with your team tonight when we close the chapter on this entire Chalice bullshit.”
“Amen to that,” Langley agreed. “One less pain in my ass. I’m all for it. This has been a long time coming. We’ve all lost too much over the years to this shit to throw the game in the final inning. Let’s go, Ayelish. The sooner we do this, the sooner we all share that fucking drink.”
