I dialed Watts’ number and made sure he could come to the hospital. When he assured me he was on his way, I finally felt at ease. Zeke rested with his hand in mine as Steph kept a close eye on his heartbeat. I leaned over, listening to each one thump in my ear, memorizing the sound, the rhythm, his breath, his smell.

I kissed Zeke’s cheek just before he fell asleep again, just seconds before a confused nurse told Steph the other patient was waiting for me in the hall.

I gathered my things and stood next to Trex, holding Hailey’s other hand. “Hey, kiddo.” I looked at Trex. “I’m in.”

He sighed and Hailey smiled, the splash of faint freckles over her nose moving infinitesimally.

“How’ve you been?” she asked.

“Better than you,” I teased.

I helped Trex walk her to his truck.

“The rest of the team will meet us there,” Trex said as he helped Hailey into the seat.

“I’ll text Kitsch to see if he can stop by my place and bring me some gear, just in case,” I said. I didn’t want to go on a manhunt in my pajamas. “I was in a hurry, so I didn’t lock up. Not on purpose, but I guess everything happens for a reason.”

“I hate it when you—”

“Say that,” I finished for him. “I know.”

I sat in the back and waited for him to jog around and settle into his seat before speaking again. “Do you have a plan?”

“Sort of,” he said.

chapter twenty-nine

going home

Naomi

T

rex died.

Twice.

“It’s okay,” Darby said from her hospital bed when her newborn stretched in my arms.

“I don’t really know how to do this.” Maddie was warm and had the softest skin I’d ever felt, but holding her made my arms feel awkward and stiff.

Darby didn’t seem nervous about me cradling her baby at all. “You’re doing great.”

Shawn had taken Darby all the way to Texas before we’d caught up with them, but neither he nor his two thug friends were a match for Trex and his team, even after Shawn impaled Trex with a hunting knife. The stress had thrown Darby into labor, and we barely got her or Trex to the hospital in time, but there Darby was, cooing to her newborn in my arms, and Trex was due out of surgery at any moment.

“Hi, Maddie,” I said. They’d named her Madison, after Matt, and I couldn’t be more proud.

“She is a pretty little thing,” Kitsch said.

“She’s beautiful,” I said, smiling down at my husband’s namesake. I froze while she reached and found my finger, her tiny fingers and even tinier fingernails encompassed my pinky.

“She likes you,” Martinez said.

The air was sucked out of the room once the surgeon stepped in.