Jace
He knew that he was possibly putting her and the baby into danger by leaving the safehouse, but Ruby was right—the baby and Winter both needed to be in a hospital for the delivery. From what he had overheard, the doctors were planning on taking her in for an emergency C-section.
Ruby caught up with him, running down the hallway to where she had left him. “You’ll need to change if you want to be in the operating room with Winter for the delivery,” Ruby said.
“They’ll let me be in the room with her?” he asked. He had no clue how any of this worked. They really didn’t have time to take those parenting classes that they offered first-time parents while being hidden away in the cabin up north.
He pressed his hand harder against the wound, fighting to stay conscious for as long as possible.
He just needed to hold out until Ruby came back to get him as she promised.
And all he kept telling himself was: Don’t let go.
Not now. Not when she needs you. The fact of the matter was, he needed her more than she’d ever need him.
She had quickly become his world, and now, he wasn’t going to be around anymore to tell her that.
He wasn’t going to be able to help raise their son, or tell them both how much he loved them, and that thought gutted him.
Somewhere beyond the walls of the shitty little cubicle, Winter’s surgery was probably underway.
Somewhere beyond the walls of his little prison, their son was about to take his first breath.
And Jace knew that if he didn’t find a way to hold on, he might never see either of them again—and he couldn’t let that happen.
He couldn’t break his promise to Winter—not now, after they had come so far together.
The world around him blurred in and out of consciousness as Jace fought to stay awake.
Blood pooled beneath his body, hot and relentless, soaking through the thin scrubs.
He tried to push himself upright, but his strength was gone.
The pain was intense, but the pain of knowing that he was letting Winter and his son down was unbearable.
He was beginning to think that the outside world had ceased to exist. Ruby still wasn’t back, and he worried that something had gone wrong with the delivery.
Why hadn’t she been back to get him yet?
He was giving up hope when the door banged open, and Ruby stood frozen in the doorway, eyes widening at the sight of him slumped against the lockers.
“Oh my God!” she gasped, rushing forward.
“Jace, what happened?” Her hands pressed against the wound, her voice sharp and commanding as she shouted for help.
Within seconds, more staff poured into the tiny room, working as a team to lift him onto a gurney.
The fluorescent lights streaked above him as they wheeled him down the hallway, voices overlapping as Ruby shouted instructions.
“BP is dropping,” she said. He wanted to ask her what that meant exactly, but forming words seemed impossible.
“Prep the OR,” she ordered. “He’s losing too much blood.
” Jace could hear in her voice that none of what she was saying was a good thing, but he also knew that if Banshee and Savage vouched for Ruby, then she had to be a good doctor.
Jace drifted in and out of consciousness as the sound of Winter’s name echoed in his mind.
He clung to it, even as darkness swallowed him whole.
He just hoped like hell that Winter wouldn’t forget him and would teach their son about him at some point—even if he was breaking his promise and leaving her alone.
When he tried to open his eyes again, the world seemed softer.
No one was rushing around or shouting orders.
No one was saying that he was losing too much blood, and a part of him worried if it was all just a dream—until he tried to move.
The pain shot through him like a bolt of lightning, and his eyes finally shot open.
The sterile white walls of the hospital room blurred into focus, the steady beep of a monitor grounding him.
His chest ached and felt bandaged too tightly.
Jace winced in pain as he tried to sit up again, failing miserably.
He had so many questions running through his mind, but the loudest was what had happened to Winter and their son.
And then he saw her—the answer to all his questions.
Winter sat beside his bed in a wheelchair, her hair pulled back, her face pale but glowing with exhaustion and something fiercer—joy.
In her arms, swaddled in a blanket, was their son.
They were too perfect sitting there staring back at him.
He blinked, half expecting them both to disappear when he reopened his eyes, but they didn’t.
Jace’s breath caught as he tried to speak, but his throat was dry, his voice a rasp. “Winter,” he croaked.
Her eyes filled with tears as she leaned closer, carefully shifting the baby so Jace could see him better. “You’ve been out for almost a week,” she whispered. “I was so worried that I lost you.”
“I was worried that you lost me, too,” he admitted. “I’m so sorry that I left you. I didn’t want to.”
“That wasn’t something that you could help, Jace,” she reminded. “Rebel told me how she found you in the room where you were changing to come in to the baby and me. You couldn’t have known that the Dead Rabbits were going to find you there.”
“No, but I should have been more cautious. I should have had Savage here to watch our six. I let you and our son down,” he insisted.
“You did no such thing. You’re here, and we made it. He’s here. He’s safe, and so are you, Jace,” she said.
Jace’s gaze locked on the tiny face, the soft rise and fall of the baby’s chest. His heart clenched, and he felt completely overwhelmed. “Our son,” he murmured, reaching weakly for her hand.
Winter pressed her fingers into his, steady and strong. “You almost left us,” she said, her voice trembling but resolute. “But you didn’t. You fought your way back to us both, Jace. You kept your promise to me.”
Jace swallowed hard, his eyes never leaving theirs. “I promised you that we’d do everything together, Winter. But I missed his birth.”
Winter leaned forward, pressing her forehead to his.
“You’re here for the most important part, though.
You’re here to help me raise him. And now you can keep that promise to me that we’ll do everything together—including changing his diapers.
” She made a face, and he couldn’t help his chuckle.
Jace moaned and grabbed his side when just that simple movement shot a pain through his side.
The baby stirred, a soft sound escaping his lips, and Jace felt something inside him settle.
The war wasn’t over, the danger wasn’t gone—but at that moment, with Winter and their son beside him, he knew he had survived for a reason.
Jace shifted against the pillows, wincing as the bandages pulled tight across his side.
The monitors beeped steadily, but his eyes kept darting toward the door, toward the sterile hallway beyond.
If he had been asleep for the better part of the week, then that would have given the Dead Rabbits plenty of time to come looking for him.
Why hadn’t they finished the job, though?
Maybe Savage and Bolt had kept them safe, but he couldn’t ask them to do so forever.
“We can’t stay here,” he muttered, voice low but urgent. “Hospitals aren’t safe, and the Rabbits are probably looking for me. Too many people know I’m alive, and too many eyes have seen us. If the Rabbits find out we’re here—”
Winter cut him off, her hand tightening around his. She sat in the wheelchair; their son nestled against her chest. “Jace,” she said firmly, “we are safe.” He knew that she was trying to comfort him by making him pretty promises, but he knew the score—they might never be safe again.
He shook his head, and frustration flashed in her storm-dark eyes.
He had to make her understand—it was for her and the baby’s safety as well as his own.
“You don’t understand, honey, they’ll keep coming.
They won’t stop until I’m dead, or worse—they track down you and the baby. I can’t let that happen.”
She shook her head at him. “Savage already handled it,” Winter interrupted, her voice steady despite the exhaustion etched into her features. “While you were recovering, Savage and a few of the Bastards met with the Dead Rabbits. They convinced them you were dead.”
Jace froze, his breath catching. “What?”
“They told them you didn’t make it,” Winter explained softly. “Savage made it very convincing. He said that you bled out after the ambush. Ruby corroborated the story, as the ER doctor who worked on you, and she even faked your death certificate, leaving no stone unturned.”
“She can get into a lot of trouble for doing that,” Jace insisted.
Winter shrugged, “Not really,” she said, “the FBI gave her the go-ahead to do it, and she said that she would have done it anyway, just to keep the baby and me safe from the Dead Rabbits.”
“I knew that I liked her,” he breathed. “I owe her.”
“I’m sure that Savage and Banshee will end up taking care of your tab at some point since she’s the Harlot’s new doc.
The Rabbits seemed to buy the lies. They were satisfied with Savage’s explanation and Ruby’s death certificate.
They agreed to call things off and leave the baby and me alone, saying that their war was with you and the FBI. ”
For a long moment, Jace just stared at her, the weight of her words sinking in. Relief warred with disbelief as he thought through everything that she had just said. “They think I’m dead,” he whispered.
Winter nodded, brushing her thumb over the baby’s cheek. “And that means they’ll stop hunting us. Savage’s plan gave us a chance to breathe, Jace. A chance to raise our son without looking over our shoulders every second. And a chance to stop running and put down roots as a family.”
Jace leaned back against the pillows, his body trembling with the release of tension he hadn’t even realized he was holding. His hand reached for hers, gripping tight. “I guess I owe Savage, too, then,” he said.
She giggled and nodded. “He said to tell you that he’ll collect too.”
His gaze dropped to the baby, and his voice broke. “You and the baby are safe, and that’s all that matters, honey.”
“We’re all safe, Jace,” she reminded. “We have a fresh start and can build the life that we want.”
“Then, I guess that I’ll stay dead for as long as it takes,” he joked. “How would you feel about being married to a dead man, honey?” he asked.
Winter leaned closer, pressing her forehead to his.
“I’d say that I’d love to marry you, Jace.
Besides, you’re not dead to us. You’re here, and you fought your way back to us.
And now, finally, we’re all safe.” The baby stirred, a soft cry escaping his lips, and Jace closed his eyes, letting the sound wash over him.
For the first time in months, the storm inside him began to quiet, and he finally felt like he was home.
Winter and their son had become that for him—his home, and now, he’d never have to let either of them go again.