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There’s a glimmer of unshed tears in Calli’s eyes.Oh fuck. Lilly jumps to her feet and then squats in front of Calli, gently pulling her hand away from her stomach and holding it in hers.
“Calli, hun, is there something you want to tell us?” she asks compassionately.
“I’m sorry,” Calli whispers. “I know the timing is horrible with everything that’s happening, and Matt’s been a beast about keeping it quiet so not to worry anyone, but fuck, I need to talk to someone.” Her words come out in a rush, tears trailing down her cheeks.
“Oh, Calli. You have nothing to be sorry for. You’re going to have a baby, aren’t you?” She gives her friend's hand a reassuring squeeze.
Lilly glances at Gage.Do I want children? Does he?Her panther exudes a warmth inside her.Yeah, someday.The three women immediately surround Calli, shielding her from the potential prying eyes of the men.
Calli’s watery smile falters, and her eyes grow round. “But—”
“No buts,” Dawn interrupts. “This is fantastic news. We need to celebrate life and be joyful. If we let these assholes take that away from us, then they’ve already won.”
Lilly wipes the wetness from Calli’s cheeks. “Only tears of happiness are allowed, okay? Any water in that cooler, Beth?”
“Right here,” she says as she hands her a clear glass bottle.
Calli bites her lower lip. “You’re not mad?”
“How could we be mad? We’re going to be the best freaking aunties ever!” Lilly cheers and clinks her bottle to theirs. She masks her worry with a smile. Calli’s pregnancy would be risky in these times, especially with the current threat from Vance.
After they sit back down, Lilly turns to Beth. “Did you know?”
Beth smiles at Calli before answering. “I suspected. When I brought Clara to the diner last week, I saw Calli coming in from out back. She was pretty pale and was wiping her mouth. I first thought that with her being human, maybe she was coming down with something, but she bounced back too quickly for it to be the flu. After that, I noticed she was only ordering water at the bar.”
Calli’s eyes widen. “You didn’t say anything!”
Beth shrugs. “Not my story to tell. I figured if you were, you’d tell us when you were ready.”
A sudden dousing of cold water over Lilly, Calli, and Beth stops all conversation. Sputtering, Lilly turns, and there, not two feet away, stand Gage, Matt, and Jax. The men laugh as they drop the flat leather waterskins on the sand.
Out of the corner of her eye, Lilly catches Lennon in motion behind Dawn’s chair. Dawn, who is cackling over their predicament, sobers quickly when he dumps a skin of water over her. With a screech, she leaps up and turns on him, her blonde hair pasted to her head as water drips down her face. “You motherfucker!”
All four men clutch their stomachs, their deep laughter spreading across the beach. Lilly glances once more at her friends. A small smile purses her lips.Yes, this is exactly what we needed.
The girls chase the boys around the beach, threatening retribution of all sorts, but ultimately back off when Jax picks up Beth and dunks her in the lake, fearing the same consequences. Back lounging in their chairs, the ladies spend the rest of the afternoon watching the men finish laying the traps in the water, cajoling and cat-calling on occasion. The atmosphere is light, lighter than it had been in far too long, and Lilly is grateful that Dawn had brought them all together with something as simple as a lawn chair and a beer.
As they are packing up the Jeep, Brook’s SUV barrels down on them at breakneck speed, skidding on the gravel when it comes to a halt. Finn is behind the wheel, but it is Brook who jumps out of the passenger side with her eyes wide and her gaze sweeping the area. “Where’s Matt?”
The urgency in her voice has the hairs on the nape of Lilly’s neck rising.
“He’s just grabbing the last few items down by the beach,” Calli answers, her face paling. Without another word, Brook takes off at a run toward the shore.
Heart pounding, Lilly rushes over to Finn’s window. “What’s going on?”
The big man rubs the scar on his face. “Grab everyone. We may not have time to say this more than once and not over the radio.” Turning, Lilly runs for Gage, who is still in the water, making final adjustments to the nets.
Within minutes, everyone surrounds the SUV. Finn has stepped out of the driver’s side onto the lower sidebar attached to the vehicle, his already enormous frame now towering over everyone with the added height. Brook stands beside him, her face pale. Her usual beanie is gone, and her messy bun is falling out of its hold. He wraps his arm around her as he begins to speak.
Finn’s deep baritone voice carries over the hushed crowd gathered around. “As some of you know, Brook and I went to bring supplies to Abigail and Renee. When we arrived, the cabin had been ransacked, and the women were nowhere to be found. At first.” He pauses and lowers his eyes. “We eventually found their bodies in the woods about a quarter mile from the cabin. From what we can tell, they had been tortured before they were killed.”
A chill runs up Lilly’s spine, all too familiar with Vance’s methods of torture. Her heart aches for the poor women. A solid warmth presses at her back, and Gage’s scent washes over her. He wraps his arms around her, bringing her against his solid chest, and she gives his forearms a squeeze.
“You okay?” he whispers in her ear.
She nods, taking comfort in having her mate at her back both now and in the upcoming battle. Vance’s face still haunts her, but her resolve to finish the fight he brought to them has her straightening her spine.
Finn continues, “We briefly stopped in Hope, to see what we could find out. Word is, Vance is planning his attack on the farm tonight. We can’t use our regular radio codes. He may have gotten them out of those poor women. I suggest we switch to emergency protocols,” he finishes, then looks at Matt, raising a brow.
