Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 30094 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30094 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
The woman at my back goes down heavily, her blade clattering to the floor, and I suck in a gasp as I turn and glance down at her, realizing too late what the bulge in my back was. “Shit, Marc,” I tell him, my heart racing as fear begins to pound through my veins. I drop to my knees beside her as I look back at Marc in horror. “She’s pregnant.”
“What? Are you sure?” he rushes out, quickly stepping to the side, my body blocking his view. His eyes are filled with that same horror, and while Marcus is ruthless and cold at the best of times, and perhaps a little fucked in the head, even he has lines he won’t cross, and this one didn’t just toe the line, it leaped right over it.
“Yes, I’m sure,” I sputter, pressing my hand to the woman’s stomach and feeling the baby move.
“Shit. Shit. Shit,” Marcus rumbles, moving in closer, his lips pressed into a hard line. “I couldn’t see her body. She had a fucking knife to your throat. I just reacted.”
“I know,” I whisper, reaching out for his hand and giving a gentle squeeze, knowing all too well that here and now is not the time for Marcus to freak out. I need him to keep his shit together because, without him, I don’t know how I’ll get through this. “It’s okay, but we need to get this baby out of her. I don’t know how long it can survive once the mother dies.”
“Fuck,” he says, needing a minute before finally moving into action. He finds the woman’s discarded knife beside her on the ground and quickly scoops it up. Her shirt is pushed up over her protruding stomach, and judging from the size, I can only assume that she’s nearly full-term.
The baby moves inside her, and as if finally realizing just how real this is, Marcus springs into action. The blade presses down low on her pelvis, and while neither myself nor Marcus have any type of medical education, Marcus has spent a lifetime cutting up bodies to have a good idea of how to do this.
All too aware of the threat coming our way, he makes quick work of freeing the baby from its mother’s womb, and as soon as he holds the sweet baby girl in his arms, he glances down at her little face. His brows furrow as if deep in thought. The moment only lasts a split second before he’s reaching back and handing me the baby.
I quickly take her from his bloodied hands before scanning the room and finding a throw blanket on the back of one of the couches, thankfully not the couch currently sporting a nice shade of brain. The baby cries, and I do what I can to soothe her as I wrap her up, hoping she’s not cold. “Fuck, what are we supposed to do with her?” I ask Marc as he gets back to his feet and moves over to join me by the couch.
He presses a hand to my lower back, watching as I wrap the baby. “It’s not like we can leave her here,” he says. “I’m not planning on leaving a single soul still breathing in this house.”
I glance up at him, already reading his thoughts before he’s had a chance to speak them. “What are you saying, Marc?” I ask, scooping the baby into my arms and turning to face him.
He hovers so close, his hand now at my waist as he glances down at the sweet baby between us. “I mean, you said you wanted another baby,” he murmurs, his eyes filling with a type of warmth I’ve never seen from him before, not even when playing with Sebastian. “And I don’t know how you’re feeling, but this one is pretty fucking cute. I want to give you everything you’ve ever wanted, Shayne. And if this is it, then I’m all in with you.”
My eyes widen as I meet his gaze. “Are you sure?” I whisper. “This isn’t like going to the pet store and picking out a goldfish. This is a real, human child. She’s going to grow up and have a whole life ahead of her, and we’ll be responsible for that.”
“I told you, I’m in,” he states, his gaze not wavering for even a second. “If we don’t take her, she’ll be dropped at the local police station and most likely put straight into foster care. Or we could take her.” He pauses a moment, letting his words sink in as his hand raises to my arm, his fingers gently brushing over my skin. “If you want to do this, Shayne. If you want to be this little girl’s mommy, then I’ll raise her with you. Like I said, I’m all in. I want to be her father, but more than that, I want to do this with you. I fucking love you so much, and nothing would make me happier than to have a family of our own.”