Siena nodded, but she didn’t reply. What could she say? She knew Elijah was a good man, but he was hunting. Right at that moment he was hunting. And he wasn’t hunting an animal, he was hunting a man. Eli and Drake were with him. She rubbed her tummy, wishing she’d insisted on Elijah talking to her, telling her straight up what was going on.

She’d allowed him to avoid the discussion because she was so in love with him. She’d always been in love with him. She felt as if she loved him from the day she sat across her grandfather’s table and looked at his handsome face. She didn’t want to lose that. As much as she didn’t want to live—or have her children live—under a cloud of suspicion, she didn’t want to lose Elijah. She knew she didn’t have all the facts about his life. He was the head of a crime family—but then again, maybe he wasn’t. Something else was going on. She just had to get him to tell her, or figure it out for herself. The sad truth was, she knew she didn’t have the strength to leave him if he was what all the rumors said he was.

“He is a good man,” she agreed. “And he’s good to me. He’ll be a good father. He hasn’t gotten to the stage where he talks to them yet, but he rubs my belly every night and goes to sleep with his hand over them.”

“Them?” Catarina hitched forward in her chair. “You’re having twins?”

“Unconfirmed,” Siena said. “My leopard said more than one, but I haven’t gone to Doc yet to have him corroborate.”

Emma cleared her throat. “Um, honey? That’s how she put it to you? More than one? She didn’t indicate two or give you that image?”

Siena eyed her warily. “What does that mean?”

“Just that Doc should check you, Siena. Carrying more than one baby can be hard on you,” Emma said. “Jake would have had a fit if I’d had more than one baby inside me. As it is . . .” She glanced at her watch. “He’s due to check on me any minute. It’s been fifteen minutes and he pretty much is like clockwork.”

Catarina and Siena giggled like a couple of schoolgirls. Right on cue, Jake slid the door open. All three women burst into full-blown laughter.

Jake scowled at them. “What’s so funny in here? Emma’s supposed to be taking it easy.” He pinned his wife with a steely gaze. “I don’t think that’s actually resting, Emma, you’re sitting up. Doc says to lie down.”