Chapter Fifty
Valentin
Lachie was starting to stir. Valentin looked down into the portable crib to confirm, then glanced at the staircase.
Assa had gone up fifteen minutes ago to take a shower.
Wes was out on an emergency run to the store because Zinn had apparently forgotten to pack extra diapers.
Even Ryde was away, staying the night at a friend’s house. Everyone had deserted him.
Leaving him alone with Zinn and Calder’s baby.
He sighed, sneaking another peek. Lachie was such a cutie. The tiny omega had the same mole on his cheek that Zinn and Ryde did, but his hair was growing in bright blond. Calder once mentioned that his hair was like that as a young child, as was Jordie’s and Ked’s.
Maybe it was good that they were alone. This way, Valentin finally got to look his fill.
Since the baby had been born, he’d been careful not to be caught staring at him, and he hadn’t held him.
Valentin avoided the temptation, because if he didn’t, surely everyone would see how much he loved Lachie. Perhaps more than he should.
The day after Zinn gave birth, Valentin, Assa, and Wes brought Ryde to see his new little brother in the hospital. Assa and Wes met Calder in the waiting area while Valentin brought Ryde into Zinn’s room.
In the doorway, he’d stopped short at the sight of Zinn propped up in the bed, holding the teeny baby to his chest. Ryde bounded into the room, hopping up when Zinn patted the mattress beside him.
Valentin had been so overwhelmed by the picture of the three of them, the rightness of it, he’d nearly fallen down.
It made him recall the conversation he had with Zinn when he found out about his pregnancy.
In another universe, this was his new baby, his and Zeller’s.
But in this universe, the stars had decreed that Lachie was Calder and Zinn’s baby, and that Valentin’s destiny was to build a family with two gorgeous betas.
And that reality felt right, too. He wouldn’t change it.
And in both universes, he loved this baby.
They all did. Just like with Ryde. In the middle of the sterile hospital room, with Zinn grinning at his sons like he’d just won the lottery, Valentin’s attachment to Lachie was instant and complete.
But he didn’t know if Calder would appreciate that.
Or Zinn. And he would rather die than cause Assa or Wes to question his commitment to them for even one second.
So, he kept his revelation to himself. He stayed on the sidelines, letting other people hold Lachie, coo over Lachie, love Lachie, never giving away the depth of his feelings.
Lachie grunted. Valentin had been around his younger siblings enough to know that naptime was ending. Why was Assa taking the longest shower in history? And when would Wes be back? He’d left half an hour ago.
The baby stretched his fists to his ears before performing his new trick of rolling onto his belly. A moment later, he pushed up onto his arms. He’d be an early crawler, Valentin thought. Smart kid.
Lachie must have realized he wasn’t in the nursery he was used to. They’d dimmed the lights, but that didn’t disguise that the Pashuks’ den was large and unfamiliar. He fell back onto his stomach, fussing mildly.
There were prepared bottles in the fridge, and Zinn had left a warmer on the counter. Valentin put a bottle in it, crossing his fingers that Assa would come downstairs before Lachie began crying in earnest.
But the shower kept running.
Valentin hoped Lachie didn’t need changing, since Wes wasn’t back yet.
He looked into the diaper bag, thinking there might be one on the bottom Wes had missed.
He was surprised to see at least five diapers in plain view.
How had Wes not seen these? Valentin texted him quickly to say that he could come back from the store.
The baby’s quiet fussing turned into genuine wailing just as the timer went off on the warmer. Valentin brought the bottle into the den and peered into the crib again. Lachie looked up at him with big, watery eyes and opened his adorable bow-shaped mouth.
Sighing, Valentin reached for him. Was he worried about his attachment to Calder and Zinn’s baby? Absolutely. But he wasn’t going to stand there and let Lachie cry.
He picked him up and perched him on his shoulder. “It’s alright, little man,” he said gently. “I’ve got you.”
Valentin smoothed his palm in figure eights over Lachie’s back.
“Shh…shh.” Turning his face toward the crown of the baby’s head, he inhaled.
Like all infants, Lachie carried the faint scent of his omega father.
“I’ll tell you a secret,” Valentin whispered into his hair.
“Your daddy’s sugar maple scent is the best thing I’ve ever smelled.
” He leaned his ear toward Lachie’s mouth.
“What’s that? … You want to know what my other favorite smells are? ”
Adjusting the baby into the crook of his elbow, he walked him around the room.
“Well, let’s see… Last year your brother Ryde made me blueberry muffins for my birthday.
Your papa taught him how to make them at the bakery…
Those smelled pretty great.” Valentin couldn’t resist leaning down to kiss Lachie’s forehead.
“Then there’s your de-de Wes’s coconut shampoo.
Have you ever noticed how he has the best hair in the world?
So black it looks blue when it catches the light…
What’s that you say? You haven’t noticed?
Hmm. I suppose that’s acceptable, since you’re only four months old.
” Lachie stuck his fist in his mouth. “There’s also your de-de Assa’s eggplant parmesan.
As far as food goes, that’s the best I’ve ever smelled.
Don’t tell your daddy and papa, but I prefer it to the cake smells at Felton’s. ”
Lachie began mouthing his hand in earnest and Valentin conceded he couldn’t wait for Assa to feed him. He sat down in the recliner and tested the bottle. A minute later, Lachie was resting in his arms, eyes closed, blissfully sucking away.
Valentin looked up to see Assa in the doorway, arms folded over his chest.
“Why don’t you look wet?” Valentin raised his brows.
“I think you know,” Assa answered wryly. He glanced at the baby. “We needed you to pull your head out of your ass.”
“Zinn was in on it?”
“Calder too.”
“And I suppose Wes isn’t at the store.”
“Nope,” Wes said, coming into the room. “I’ve been sitting in my car down the block waiting for Assa’s text that you’re finally acting like the de-de you’re supposed to be.”
Assa pulled out his phone and took a picture.
“I’m sending this to Zinn. He’ll want to see it.
” He sat on the edge of the chair and kissed the top of Valentin’s head, then ran a thumb across Lachie’s cheek.
“That was a beautiful monologue you just gave. I’ve always meant to ask you what Zinn’s scent is… sugar maple, you said?”
“How?”
Assa held up the baby monitor he’d stashed on a shelf. “I’ve been listening, so I wouldn’t come down too early. It’ll be worth the extra on the water bill. And just so you know, we fully expect you to stop being weird about Lachie. Whatever was tripping you up, it’s done now, okay?”
“Why didn’t you just ask me?”
“We would have,” Wes said. “If tonight didn’t end your I don’t hold Lachie stance. But we wanted to give you a chance to work through it for yourself.”
Valentin huffed. “You realize that you’ve created a monster here? Now that I’m holding him, I might never let go.”
“Pretty sure Zinn and Calder are counting on that.”
“You really think so?”
“Mm-hmm,” Assa replied. “We’ve been on the other side of this. As soon as we met Zinn, we knew we wanted him to be a part of Ryde’s life. Then you, too. Parents want infinite love for their kids, alpha. At least the good ones do.”
“Infinite love is something I have,” Valentin said, pulling Assa down for a kiss, before motioning Wes over to do the same to him.
An hour later, Assa and Wes were doing tummy time with Lachie while Valentin sat at the table going over accounts for The Cracked Heart.
After he, Wes, and Assa had their commitment ceremony, he hired a new manager, Sandi, and was trying to be home at night more often.
He trusted Sandi, and of course Xan was there as well.
The club was finally turning a real profit, and Valentin was proud of the things he’d done to make it a success.
Installing a better sound system and instituting theme nights had provided great returns.
It also helped that Bergam had been in jail for a while.
He’d get out soon, but for now, Valentin appreciated the reprieve from his threats.
His phone buzzed, and he looked down to see a message from Zinn. Assa sent me the picture of you and Lachie. This is how I always imagined it in my mind when I was pregnant the first time. *red heart emoji*
Valentin’s throat clogged with emotion. He thought of a million ways he could respond, but in the end, he replied with his own heart emoji and turned the phone over on the table.
Fifteen minutes later, it rang. He really hoped it wasn’t Zinn asking for a longer explanation about why it had taken him so long to hold the baby.
But it wasn’t Zinn.
It was the landline for The Cracked Heart.
“Sandi?”
Valentin heard crowd noises and distant sirens in the background. “Valentin! You need to get down here…or maybe to the hospital… I’m not sure!”
“Wait—what’s going on?” The din behind Sandi made it difficult for Valentin to make out his words. Across the room, Assa and Wes looked at him with concern.
What’s wrong? Assa mouthed.
Valentin shrugged, then shouted back into the phone. “Sandi! Tell me what’s happened. What were you saying about the hospital?”
Sandi let out a long, tired breath. “It’s Xan,” he finally got out, his voice catching. “He’s been stabbed.”
***
When Valentin got to the hospital, he found Asher sitting next to Xan’s bed.
“What are you doing here?” Valentin asked.
“Hello to you too. I was at the club when everything went down, and the staff all had to stay to be questioned by the police. I figured you wouldn’t want Xan to be alone.” Asher lifted a shoulder. “Plus, we’re friends.”
“Friends might be overstating,” Xan mumbled from the bed. Valentin was relieved to see him awake and talking, even though he looked like he’d just been run over.
Asher laughed. “Whatever, man. Now that Valentin’s here, I’ll take off, but I’m glad this wasn’t worse. See you around.” He grabbed Xan’s hand and squeezed, sliding their fingers together slowly as he pulled away.
Valentin clocked the intimate gesture.
“Something going on between you and Asher?”
“Nah. We fucked a few times a while back. But nothing serious.”
“Really?”
Xan made a noncommittal noise. “I didn’t think you needed to know. He’s private. And he wanted to keep it on the DL in case it affected getting back in his brother’s good graces.”
“For what it’s worth, I don’t think Zinn cares if Asher dates.”
“You’re probably right, but it doesn’t matter because it hasn’t happened in months.”
Valentin could see it, Xan and Asher. They were great guys and both had the same dry sense of humor.
He didn’t know a lot about Xan’s past, but he’d worked for Ang for a while before Valentin came along and had never gotten pulled into any of Bergam’s nonsense, even when a lot of the other employees had.
Valentin laughed lightly.
“Finding out I fucked Asher is funny?”
“No…sorry.” Valentin held up his hands. “Just my anxiety leveling out. I raced down here because I was terrified. All Sandi could tell me was that you’d been stabbed and were headed to the hospital in an ambulance.”
“I’m alright. There was a ton of blood, and I’m sure it scared the staff, but the wound was superficial. Just needed stitches.”
“What happened?
“Got jumped outside the club while I was doing my rounds. Off my game, probably because it was early and you always assume shit’s gonna go down in the dark.”
“Do you think it was one of Bergam’s?”
“Dude came up behind me, and while he was cramming his cheap-ass utility knife into my side, he said, ‘Bergam’s back, bitch.’”
“Shitty alliteration.”
“Shitty everything. I guess our vacation is over.”
A few taps on Valentin’s phone were all he needed to see that Bergam had been released. “I wonder how dangerous he is now.”
“Not very, in the sense that it’s unlikely he has many useful friends left. He was a petty wannabe-kingpin before getting locked up, and he’s less than that now. I bet the guy he hired tonight was a freelancer, not a loyal soldier.”
“Even if he doesn’t have money or a network, he still has the thing that’s always made him a dangerous idiot.”
“Hubris.”
“Exactly. He’s not well-connected, so he can’t intimidate me with a show of force or money, but his ego is huge with misplaced confidence.”
Xan’s lips pursed. “He’s dangerous because he’s reckless.”
“And because he’s got nothing to lose.”
“The doctor is sending me home in the morning, so I’ll be back at work tomorrow.”
“Take a few days.”
“No way. I want to talk to my people, and hire a few more if that’s okay?”
Valentin nodded. He’d been hoping to save for lighting upgrades, but security was obviously more important.
He spoke to Xan for a few more minutes, until he fell asleep. While Valentin hated that Xan had gotten hurt, he appreciated that the trip to the hospital had given him a reprieve from the feelings that had arisen when he finally held Lachie.
He hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d told Wes and Assa that they’d created a monster. All he wanted to do was hold that adorable baby again.
Sandi messaged saying that the detectives had finished up at the club and that everyone had gone home. Since Xan was not badly injured, Valentin doubted the police would do much follow-up. It was just as well, since he had little faith in law enforcement. He was on his own here.
And Bergam would strike again.