Jake was up so fast he knocked over the chair he’d been in. Drake was moving as well, calling into a radio for a helicopter as he rushed around the table toward Emma. Jake got there first, sweeping her up into his arms, barking orders to someone Alonzo couldn’t see, presumably someone to watch his other children as he raced his wife to the hospital.

Alonzo hadn’t known Jake Bannaconni long, but he knew his wife had nearly died in childbirth. He couldn’t imagine how the man had to feel. There was blood on the floor, more than seemed likely for a birth. Elijah and Joshua had gotten to their feet instantly, both looking grim, and he remembered that both men had worked on Jake’s ranch for a long time.

Alonzo signaled to Timur and Gorya. There wasn’t anything he could do there. Elijah would talk with Siena, probably order her on bed rest and lock her down for the duration of her pregnancy. Alonzo couldn’t blame him if he did. He had business of his own to take care of at the Arnotto estates before he made it to the bakery to escort Evangeline home. He hoped he’d have good news on Emma by that time.

He rethought the pregnancy idea half a dozen times while he planned with Timur, Gorya and two more of his cousins Timur had brought in. Alonzo hadn’t been thrilled when two Amur shifters had shown up, but Timur vouched for them and admitted the two men had been with him for the last few years and he trusted them.

The oldest, Mitya Amurov, was his uncle Lazar’s eldest son. Like Alonzo, Mitya had been subjected to unspeakable brutality from the moment of his birth. As Lazar had been even crueler than Alonzo’s father, Alonzo didn’t want to think too much about Mitya’s life or his leopard. On the other hand, if his loyalty was truly to Timur, Gorya and Alonzo, they would have a fierce, unbeatable fighting team.

Sevastyan Amurov was his uncle Rolan’s oldest son. He was cool under fire, said little and saw everything. Like Alonzo and Mitya, he didn’t like his mother being brutalized and then murdered. The moment his cousins, Fyodor, Timur and Gorya had disappeared, he and Mitya had done the same. Alonzo hadn’t known that the cousins had been in touch. He would have put a stop to it for safety reasons. Now, they were here and he was glad.

They had managed to complete their plans for intercepting Emilio’s weapons when Drake called. Emma had delivered a healthy baby boy. She had lost a great deal of blood and it was touch-and-go for a short while, but the doctor had pulled both through.