Chapter 3
Sunday, January 22, 2017
Not bothering to change out of my black, ribbed tank top and pink pajama pants I slept in, I took another bite of my homemade salad—with steak tips and the rest of the animal blood from my latest cup as its dressing—on my way into the basement. Dominic, his brothers, and a couple more of his men had spent the morning picking up their orders of ammunition and blood.
I tried getting Katrina and Bianca to join me, but they were too engrossed with the classic game Operation?.
Every time the buzzer went off, they laughed, Katrina thinking it was the funniest thing in the world. It was adorable.
She and Bianca got along so well; it was beautiful. To a stranger, one might’ve thought Bianca was Katrina’s granddaughter.
Stepping off the last step to the basement, I walked down the long tunnel—hardwood flooring and white-painted walls instead of cement and stone—toward what was our new and improved weapons room. The set up inside was like our old one, just much bigger. Dominic had an indoor shooting range built inside this new weapons room, too. The only other real difference was the small, attached room that was used for extra storage space. Along with the weapons room and range, we still had our surveillance room down here, as well as a bigger and improved torture chamber.
Halfway down the main tunnel was another one that veered to the left, harboring my favorite space here—our medical facility.
Three makeshift hospital rooms and a basic operating room made up the area, and the hospital rooms were the size of fancy suites, complete with state-of-the-art medical equipment, attached bathrooms, and large, comfortable beds.
My ultrasounds and exams began taking place in our facility after I left the hospital. Down here was where I would be delivering. I preferred it, to be honest. An emergency blood supply was secured in the facility for serious-enough injuries. Regular hospital staff—doctors, nurses, an anesthesiologist, a midwife, even a surgeon—were all available. All that was left was convincing Julie Barton to quit her job and work for us.
Julie was offered a much higher wage and a better environment, not to mention a cushy benefits package, but her heart was at Englewood Hospital with the staff she worked with for five years. She did, however, agree to personally examine me here at home and agreed to be here when I delivered.
I prayed every night for Dominic to convince her to join us. I didn’t want anyone else for a doctor—only Julie.
Pressing my palm to the scanner, the weapons room unlocked, and I opened the door, finding Dominic and his brothers finishing putting away the new stock.
We kept the card scanners for the rooms in the basement but added palm and iris scanners as well. It was mainly about convenience or for those who forgot their key cards… Like I did more times than I cared to admit.
Pregnancy brain, I swore.
“Hey, Lil,” Dino greeted. We bumped our fists and wiggled our fingers at each other’s hands, laughing as he hugged me with one arm, feeling my belly afterward. “How’s the baby today?”
“Good… Hungry.”
“The usual,” Dino stated.
“Yeah.” I smiled, amused. “I’m bored and wanted to see what you all were up to.”
“Work,” Dominic said, entering from the storage space in a simple black suit with a black dress shirt underneath.
I wanted to rip off his clothes.
Too distracted by Dominic’s beauty, I neglected to notice Dino use my fork to take a bite of my salad. Dominic chuckled.
“Hey!” I whined, laughing as I grabbed my fork out of his hand and stepped away from him. “Fuck that; get your own.”
Dino laughed. “Aw, who can resist such a meal so delectable?” he quipped, talking in Dracula’s voice.
“Alright, alright,” Dominic said, unable to mask his amusement. “Go on, get out.” He waved his hand in a gesture for our brothers to leave.
Anthony, Angelo, and I greeted each other on their way out. Dino attempted to steal one more bite of my salad, but I playfully pushed him away. With just Dominic and I now in here, I ate what was almost Dino’s second helping, unable to tear my eyes away from the hunk of a man before me.
“Did you get everything you needed?”
He nodded once, stepping closer to me and cupping my cheeks, guiding me in for a gentle kiss. Distancing himself, he asked, “What are you doing down here, anyway?”
“Reality shows can only entertain me for so long.”
My boyfriend’s smile was always a beautiful sight. Aside from boredom, I came downstairs to let him in on what happened while drinking my first blood bag of the day.
Our baby’s movements had been strengthening these last few weeks, although I still hadn’t felt a real solid kick yet… Until this morning. Words couldn’t describe it. I nearly cried out of joy, along with reality reminding me that there was, indeed, a living being growing inside of me.
After the shock of the moment wore off, I rubbed my belly, telling our baby for the millionth time I loved it, only to be met with another powerful kick. Watching the baby move was incredible. It always would be. It didn’t hurt but felt so damn weird. Watching the skin of my belly stretch to their movements was fascinating.
I was excited to see Dominic’s reaction… If I could get the baby to kick for him.
Walking away, Dominic retrieved the small box of what where bullets on the table.
“More boxes?”
He nodded. It clicked; they must’ve been to add to the smaller supply he left in the drawer of his nightstand. Upon approach, I noticed they were the cheaper, standard bullets—nothing special, unlike the hollow points.
As he was distracted, I lifted my tank top up over my belly, lowering my pants at the waist a little so he could feel. “Dominic?”
He looked at me, raising his brow. I pushed around on my belly, trying to get the baby to move. I could feel his or her reaction, wriggling around. “The baby kicked this morning.”
That got Dominic’s full attention.
On his way over to me, I rested my palm on a spot toward my lower belly, where the baby finally kicked. I closed my eyes, smiling while I drew in a breath, soaking up the moment. I opened my eyes when I felt Dominic’s hand on my belly, releasing my held breath. I gently pushed around along the sides of my belly, triggering the baby to kick once more. Dominic’s eyes went wide when the baby’s foot swiped across, stretching my skin. His hand remained on my belly as the baby continued to kick and move.
Cradling the back of my head in his right hand, Dominic kissed my forehead before resting his to mine. His other hand stayed on my belly as I held that wrist. We gazed into each other’s eyes.
“I love you,” he said, “so much.”