Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
All the panic, fear, and adrenaline of the night had finally faded away.
Vander stayed right beside Brynn, holding onto their daughter, as the paramedics cut the umbilical cord, then checked Brynn over.
Brynn’s hair was a tangled mess, but he thought she’d never looked more beautiful. Siv handed him a blanket and he wrapped the baby in it. Then once Brynn was settled, he carefully placed their baby girl on her mother’s chest.
“Look what we made, Vander,” she breathed, stroking the little girl’s shock of black hair.
Yeah, he still couldn’t believe it. The tiny girl was gorgeous.
“We have a gurney down one level,” the paramedic said. “We’ll bring a stretcher up.” He watched them and smiled. “In a moment.”
Vander slid his arm around his wife and she leaned into him. The baby seemed content, making a few little noises. God, he thought he’d understood love when Brynn had exploded into his carefully ordered world, but seeing this tiny life, their tiny life, he felt something so big and profound.
“Thank you.” He kissed the side of Brynn’s head.
“You’re welcome.” Her lips quirked. “You’ve been worth all the trouble.”
He laughed. “Can I have her back now?”
Her eyes warmed. “Yes.” She handed the tiny baby back to him.
His daughter’s eyes opened. They were big and dark blue, but in the numerous books he’d read, he knew that might change.
They’d likely remain some type of blue, and it was a hell of a thought that there might be a little person out there with the exact same shade of blue eyes as him.
Secretly, he hoped she got Brynn’s lighter blue eyes.
“God, I never pictured Vander as a girl dad,” Siv said. “Poor kid is never going to be able to date.”
His brother chuckled. “Nope. Between her father and uncles, no man is getting anywhere near this princess when she grows up.”
Brynn rolled her eyes, but was smiling.
Vander stared down at his daughter. “I’ll protect you, sweetheart. I’ll give you everything you need and deserve.”
Soon, Brynn was resting on a gurney, Vander striding beside her holding the baby as they exited the building. There was a massive police presence outside, with barricades and police vehicles everywhere. Flashing blue-and-red lights lit up the night.
Hunt strode over, wearing a suit, his face serious. When he saw the baby, a smile broke out on his rugged face.
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” Vander said. “We’re headed to the hospital. You got a handle on everything here?”
“Yeah, we rounded up what was left of the would-be Robin Hoods.”
Vander frowned. “One fell from the building. He’d fired on a window, and—”
“We recovered his body.” Hunt gripped Vander’s arm, his gaze dropping to the baby. “I’ll deal with it. You take care of Brynn and your…”
“Daughter.”
“Fuck, Vander Norcross a girl dad.” Hunt whistled.
“Fuck off.”
“Shh, you can’t swear around the baby.” Hunt laughed. “Go. And give Brynn a kiss from me.”
“Not damn likely.”
Not long later, they were in the hospital. Brynn was in a gown, her face washed, and hair brushed. She held the baby to her chest as she breastfed.
She pulled a face. “Everyone makes this look so easy. It hurts.”
He perched on the side of the bed, so damn relieved that Brynn was okay, and the baby had arrived safely. “I have no doubt that with some practice, you’ll nail it. Like you do everything.”
“We have a baby girl, Vander.” She stroked the baby’s soft cheek, wonder in her eyes.
“We do. Thanks to her amazing mother.”
“Well, we’ll have a hell of a birth story to tell her one day. A skyscraper heist, bad guys, a rooftop fight, and her daddy delivering her in a stairwell.”
Vander pulled them both closer. If he had his way, he’d keep them here, safe in his arms, forever.
“So, we need to give her a name,” Brynn said.
They’d made a list, but now, he wasn’t sure any of them fit. “You pick. You did the hard work. I’ll name baby number two.”
“Oh, we’re having another one?”
He reached over and stroked his daughter’s cheek, then looked at his wife. “We’re definitely having another one.”
She smiled at him. “You’re supposed to ask, Norcross.”
He shrugged.
She laughed. “Always good with the orders, not so good with the asking. Fine, you can name the next baby. I like Amara. I think it’s pretty, but also strong. That’s going to be our girl.”
“Amara Norcross. I love it.” He stroked her dark hair. “Hey, there, Amara.”
Brynn finished feeding, and Vander instantly confiscated the baby. He kept her close as he walked around the small hospital room. “The family will descend soon.”
Brynn fluffed her hair. “I know. I’m ready.”
He sat beside her again. Amara’s eyes had drifted closed, her tiny mouth pursed. “I am so glad I got tangled up with you.”
His wife snorted. “I practically had to conk you over the head to get you to admit it.”
She’d busted through the hard shell he’d built, and he’d been helpless against her. Thank God.
“Trouble. From the first moment I laid eyes on you.”
She pulled his head down and kissed him. “I’m sorry I’ve been so off lately. I was worried, I didn’t feel myself.”
“A totally normal reaction, Brynn. This is big, but it doesn’t change who we are and what’s important to us.”
“I know.” She kissed him again. “I love you, Vander Norcross. Now, let me watch you snuggling our baby, because I love seeing hot guys holding babies, and I’ll never get tired of seeing my hot guy holding our baby.”
Brynn sipped her tea and watched her mother-in-law, unsuccessfully, try to steal her baby granddaughter away from her son.
Vander was having none of it.
Brynn smiled. Her husband had unsurprisingly turned into an overprotective daddy very fast.
After their wild night and Amara’s unexpected arrival, followed by a day in the hospital, they were finally home.
She’d been so glad to sleep in her own bed, not that Amara had been that interested in sleep.
Their daughter had decided to try sleeping all day and staying awake all night.
Brynn would kill for a decent hit of caffeine, but since she was breastfeeding, she was keeping it limited.
Their warehouse apartment was currently filled with people.
Vander’s parents, his siblings and their partners, Brynn’s mother and siblings, most of the Norcross team and their partners, Boone, his wife Gemma, and their baby boy, Milo.
Plus Shadow, who was leaping around, enjoying the chaos.
She could smell Clara Norcross’ lasagna in the oven, and it was already making her hungry.
Hunt appeared, also cradling a mug. His was coffee though, and Brynn gave it a few envious sniffs. His wife Savannah was sitting on the couch, chatting with Gia, Siv, and Haven.
“So, how does it feel to help stop a hundred-million-dollar theft and give birth all in one night?” Hunt asked.
She shot him a look. “I’m glad more people weren’t hurt.”
Thankfully, the only fatalities had been the thief who’d fallen after fighting with Vander, another that Vander had stabbed, and the one Saxon had shot.
The hostages had all been fine. Carolyn and her husband had spent one night in the hospital, but the Haldon CEO had already called to thank Vander.
Not to mention beg him to take on millions of dollars’ worth of security work, plus she’d sent an extravagant baby gift basket.
Across the room, Vander finally relinquished Amara to her grandmother. Clara rocked the baby and cooed at her. Brynn had a sneaking suspicion her mother-in-law was going to be dropping by for unscheduled visits. A lot.
She needed Rhys, Easton, and Gia to hurry up and have some babies.
“The poor Wolf Pack had no idea Vander and Brynn Norcross would be attending that office party,” Hunt said.
She sighed. “Still, three poor families are missing their sons. All because they were stupid and greedy.”
“They were all old enough to know better.”
“And how’s Henry Moran?”
“They didn’t give him bail. He’ll stay behind bars until his trial.”
He had to take responsibility for his actions. She was just glad he hadn’t died, and especially glad that he hadn’t taken her with him.
Vander took Amara back, ignoring his mother’s protests. A part of Brynn felt sorry for Henry, but he’d risked her life, Vander’s life, and in turn, Amara’s life. If he’d had his way, her baby girl might not have made it. That, Brynn could never forgive.
“So, you’re on leave now.”
She smiled at Hunt. “You going to miss me?”
“Somehow the SFPD will muddle through.”
“I’m taking a few months off. Although at this rate, I might need to step in to run Norcross Security, since someone is having a hard time putting his daughter down.”
Hunt watched Vander looking down at the baby, and his lips twitched. “He’s going to be a hell of a father.”
“He is.” Her gaze traced Vander’s face. He rarely gave much away, but right now, she could feel the love radiating off him. It melted her heart.
As though he sensed her, he looked up. The look he sent her hit her hard, and she felt the full force of their connection.
He was hers. She’d fought for him and fought with him, and together, they’d made a life. And it was only the beginning.
Hunt drifted away and Vander crossed the room. He slid one arm around her, hauling her to his side, Amara snug in the crook of his strong arm.
“You’re already a pro at holding a baby,” she said.
“She’s making it easy.”
“That’s because she’s sleeping when she’s supposed to be awake.” Baby Amara was blissfully in dreamland, snug and secure in her daddy’s arms.
“I got a present for you.”
Brynn lifted a brow. “A push present.”
“I heard it’s customary.”
“What is it?”
He slid his hand into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a set of keys. He set them on her palm.
She frowned. “I was expecting something sparkly.”
“It’s the keys to the house we liked in Russian Hill.”
She sucked in a breath. “I thought we agreed that it was too big and too expensive.”
“No, you were worrying about those things, even though you loved it. And I think you were just worried about us leaving here and making a change.”
She swallowed. Gah, sometimes it sucked having a super-observant man as her husband. “Vander…”
“We both loved it, Brynn. We both knew it was ours.”
Everything inside her melted. “Thank you.”
“It’s going to be our home. Where we raise Amara.” He looked down at the baby, then back at her. “Where we raise our other children. Where we’ll help them grow and learn, and keep them safe. Where I will love you for the rest of our lives.”
She pressed her face to his shoulder and breathed in the smell of Vander and the sweet smell of baby. “Best thing I ever did, forcing you to accept that you were in love with me.”
He made a low sound. “I seem to recall we’d both survived an explosion, were soaking wet, and had a large audience.”
“I only remember you,” she murmured.
He slid a hand into her hair. “Nobody’s ever going to love you as much as I do.”
“I know.” When his lips hit hers, she pressed into him and kissed him back.
“My turn for a snuggle.” Brynn’s mother appeared and stole the baby.
Vander scowled, but Brynn wrapped her arms around him. “Kiss me again, Norcross.”
He pulled her closer. “Whatever you say, Detective.”
I hope you enjoyed Vander and Brynn’s adventure!