Chapter Twenty-Four
Kytten
“Fuck, that hurt,” Blade cursed as he ripped his hand from Beck’s
“If I hurt, you hurt,” she retorted as she pulled his hand back and squeezed.
“How long have you been having contractions, Beck?” Harmony asked as she rolled the stool over to the end of the bed.
“All day,” she admitted with a sheepish look.
“All day? Why didn’t you say something, Becca?” Blade asked, his voice exasperated.
“’Cause they didn’t hurt. I thought they were Braxton Hicks.”
“It’s okay. I’ll take a look and see where we’re at.” Harmony broke down the end of the bed so she could move closer. Before she could lift the blanket, Blade stopped her.
“Wait.” He looked at me. “She isn’t...” I felt the blood drain from my face. Panic rose in my chest, trying to choke the life out of me. I reached back, feeling for the knife in my pocket as I tried to steady my breathing.
Cash told me he hadn’t told them what I said, but he’d had to tell them something. I guess they figured it out, judging by the look on Blade’s face and what he asked. I shook my head no.
“Isn’t what?” Harmony asked as she looked at me. She stood and walked over, her hands grasping my arms. “Isn’t what, Kytten?”
“We’ll talk about it later when Val is here. Right now, Beck is the priority.”
“You are always my priority.” I nodded and smiled in a way I knew Harmony would accept. Cash hated that smile, but it was the one the Nyght Nymphs knew. The truth was, I had never been anyone’s priority. Not since my mom was taken away.
Not until Cash.
He made me a priority.
“Beck needs you more right now.”
Harmony searched my face, as if she didn’t want to believe me, but ultimately, just like always, she took me at face value. No one ever dug deeper. They accepted what I said as truth.
Until the Silver Shadows.
“We’ll talk about this later,” she said, and I nodded.
She returned to her stool and lifted the blanket to check Beck’s progress. “You are at eight centimeters. It won’t be much longer,” Harmony said with a smile.
“Blade, why don’t you sit behind her? Support her back and hold her,” I suggested.
“Not sure she’ll let me.” Though he moved into position.
Since coming to the clubhouse, I had gotten to know the brothers and their old ladies.
Blade and Beck were always bitching at each other.
Not a day went by, hell, or even an hour, when they didn’t snipe at each other.
But the way they looked at each other said everything you needed to know.
The complete devotion between these two was inspiring.
Cash looked at me that way. Like I made the sun shine just for him. I could only hope he saw a smidge of what I felt on my face when I looked at him.
“She’ll let you.” I helped Beck lean forward while Blade scooted in behind her. When she leaned back, her eyes closed tightly, and she grabbed her belly. “Remember to breathe, Beck. In and out.”
When the contraction stopped, she fell back against Blade, and he kissed her head.
“I should have gone to the hospital. I want an epidural.”
“Unfortunately, most doctors in the hospital won’t allow an epidural once you reach eight centimeters, so you probably wouldn’t get one now even if you were there,” Harmony explained.
“You’ve got this, Becca. After everything we’ve been through, this should be a piece of cake,” Blade encouraged.
“Cake,” she breathed. “I can’t wait to have cake, and cookies, and coffee. Hell, I’d be happy with liver and onions.” Her body shuddered when she said liver and onions, leading me to believe it was something she despised. “I can’t wait to have something other than turkey and dry bread.”
“Why, is that all you’re eating?” Harmony asked, her hard glare focused on Blade.
Harmony was just like her name described. She was peace and love unless she knew a woman was being abused. Then she was anything but. I placed my hand on her shoulder, and when she turned to me, I shook my head.
“It’s all Junior here will let me eat without throwing up. If it weren’t for my stepmom, Maureen, and the smoothies she was able to make for me, there would be nothing left of my body.”
“Your doctor didn’t have anything for you?” Harmony asked.
“They tried. But nothing worked except Maureen’s smoothies.
“Let’s take a listen and make sure baby is doing well in there.”
When we entered the room, I had quickly put together the supplies we needed. One thing I could say for Patch, he was organized and efficient. He had everything we would need.
I handed Harmony the gel and the Doppler, and as soon as we heard the thump, thump, thump of the baby’s heartbeat, any tension in the room dissipated. I would never tire of hearing a baby’s heartbeat. The idea of a new innocent life hit me in places I thought were dead.
I thought back to that night at the diner when Cash asked if I wanted kids. I suspected he did, but the thought of being responsible for someone innocent terrified me. So many things could go wrong in pregnancy and childbirth. And even more that could happen afterward.
Every Nyght Nymph had a story. Even Syrena—maybe that was why I kept quiet.
She wasn’t any less damaged than the rest of us.
None of us had been safe as children. Val got pregnant at sixteen, and her babies were stolen immediately after birth.
She didn’t even know about Dante until a few months ago.
She spent the rest of her life searching for Amber. And even when she found her, it wasn’t safe to be with her or tell her who she really was. I still thought of Val as Wonder Woman. And if she couldn’t protect her kids, how did I ever think I would be able to protect mine?
Beck leaned forward and screamed as the contraction ripped through her body. Blade was quiet, the concern clear on his face. I admired her ability to scream. For years I had let the monsters scream for me. Never wanting to be a burden, I kept everything to myself.
I looked up to her being able to express herself without a care in the world. The freedom and safety she must feel to let others see her hurting and vulnerable.
“I’m gonna go give an update,” I said before stepping out into the hallway.
Brothers and old ladies lined the hallway. My face broke out in a grin as I took in the men and women sitting on the floor.
“It would be more comfortable waiting upstairs,” I said to everyone.
“Not a chance,” Zero refuted as everyone stood. “This is the first baby. We’re all a little excited.”
“How are they doing?” Ryder asked.
Cash had told me that Ryder, Blade, Beck and Rachel all grew up together. They had a bond that couldn’t be broken, even in death. It was another thing I envied. A friendship like that was something everyone craved.
“Mom and baby are doing great. It could be a few more hours yet.”
“And Blade?” King asked. “He passed out yet?”
I couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “Blade is a trooper. He’s hanging in there.”
Relief washed over his face. King and Blade had recently discovered they were cousins through King’s biological father. It took a minute to wrap my head around the fact that both Beck and Blade were related to King but not related to each other.
“How are you doing, Kytten?” Sam asked beside me. I took a deep breath. “I’m doing well. As an EMT, this isn’t my first delivery. Though it is the first one I’ve experienced with someone I know. It’s hard to see her in pain.”
Cash wrapped his arms around me from behind, and I leaned back into his chest. His chin rested on my shoulder, and he whispered, “I’m so proud of you.” It was what I’d needed to build me back up. To know someone was thinking of me.
Life was different here.
It wasn’t just my relationship with Cash. But with my brother. With Sam and Ellie. Even Melissa. I knew if I needed her, she would be there despite our having had a rocky start at the beginning.
“Any news about Amber?”
“Not yet. We still have prospects out looking, but the guys wanted to be here for Beck. Everyone will go back out after the baby is here.”
“Okay, I’d better get back in there. I’ll keep you updated.”
I entered the room, and Beck was in the middle of a contraction once again.
They were coming closer and closer. It wouldn’t be much longer before their son was here.
Everyone outside was here for her. They hadn’t forgotten about her while they looked for Amber.
And they hadn’t forgotten about Amber while they supported Beck.
The door swung open, and Maureen blasted in, followed by her daughter Colleen and the sheriff. “Did we miss it?”
“Almost,” Beck said between gritted teeth.
“Well, you can blame your father,” she said as she moved around the bed to the far side. “He refused to use the lights and siren.”
“This was not an emergency,” the sheriff huffed.
Maureen glared at him as she rubbed Beck’s arm. When the contraction released, Beck turned her watery gaze on her father.
“It was an emergency. I needed my mom.”
The sheriff walked over and kissed his daughter on the head. “And she’s here.”
He stepped back toward the door, and Beck asked, “You aren’t staying?”
“Absolutely not.” Colleen and I chuckled at the look of fear on the sheriff’s face.
He opened the door and Beck yelled, “Coward. He’ll be there when my brother’s born, right?”
“Oh, he’ll be there. He might not watch, but he wouldn’t miss it.”
“Alright, Beck, it’s time. I want you to push with the next contraction.”
Maureen and Colleen held up her legs while Blade supported her from behind.
“Don’t you want to see your son being born?” Beck asked.
“I am right where I need to be,” he told her, and when she looked back at him, he kissed her. “You are so fucking amazing.”
“Okay, enough of that. I can’t deliver a baby if I can’t see through my tears.” Harmony smiled, easing the weight of emotion in the room.
Beck pulled forward, her eyes closing tight as she pushed with the contraction. “Great job, Beck. I can see his head,” Harmony praised. “Just a few more and he’ll be here.”
I stood behind Harmony as Silas Declan Spade entered the world. He cried so loud we knew they’d heard him through the door when the sound of boots stomping and men yelling met our ears.
Harmony placed the baby on Beck’s chest, and his parents were in awe. The love for their son was evident in the tears and smiles they shared with each other.
“I wish your mom could be here. She would be so proud of the man you’ve become.”
“Thank you, Maureen. I wish she were here too. She would be happy you were here in her absence,” Blade said, though he never took his eyes off his son.
“We always wanted to share grandbabies. And now we can.” Maureen leaned over and kissed Beck on the side of her head. “You did so good, sweetheart.”
I checked the baby over while Beck held him. His APGAR scores were high both times. Harmony waited for the cord to stop pulsing and Beck to deliver the placenta before asking Blade if he wanted to cut the cord.
His face was pale, and despite making it through the birth, I thought this might be what did him in.
“Um, not sure I should do that.”
“Grow some balls, Micah. I did the hard part. What the fuck do they call you Blade for?”
We all chuckled as the color came back into Blade’s face. He straightened up and asked for the scissors. Beck knew just how to bring him back from his fear.
The way Cash did for me.
As I watched him cut the cord, then smile at the mother of his child, it occurred to me that maybe, with Cash by my side, I really was capable of doing anything. Including being a mother.
In a few years.