Page 270 of G.O.D.S Omnibus
Annabella takes a seat on the other rocking chair while Grace rushes over and takes Zadom, helping place him in Annabella’s arms.
“Be careful with that one, it’s butt likes to explode,” Boston says, coming back into the room and squatting down beside his mum.
Grace helps me up so Grandma Betty can sit and hold Zhavia. Even though I haven’t spoken to the guys about her name yet, in my head I can’t call her anything else.
“I can’t believe it,” Annabella says to Boston. “I never imagined you or your brother could create something so precious. Look at his little nose.”
“I’m still on the fence about it all. The smell that came out of that tiny body was absolutely disgusting. I don’t know if I’m cut out for a baby.”
“You will be fine. Lucky for you, there are lots of able hands.”
Boston laughs at her. “Mum, we had Petra and nannies our whole lives. Did you even change a nappy?”
“A couple,” she admits with a laugh.
“Look at the Emmerson ears on this little poppet,” Betty says. I’m not sure how much they know about the genetics of our kids, but the guys would have explained to them what happened with the babies, or at least what we expected to happen. “They have that slight little point at the top, like pixie ears.”
As I lean down to look, I smile because they do, and while I never paid any notice to Marlow or Chester’s ears before now, I think I need to.
“It just amazes me they have so much DNA running through them. How is it even possible? Brennan tells me they are no closer to knowing anything yet.”
“They are working on getting your daughter to work for Olympia again,” I say to Betty.
She chuckles. “Good luck with that. That girl is so damn stubborn. If it’s okay with you, can I send her some photos? Maybe when she can see how precious they are, she might change her mind.”
“Of course you can,” I tell her.
Photos. I hadn’t even thought to take any since they have been back. I’m such a terrible mother.
We spend some time with Grandma Betty and Annabella before they excuse themselves, giving me privacy to feed the babies.
After trying for half an hour, I managed to get Zhavia to latch on and feed for a little bit. Grace even convinced Boston to sit and bottle-feed Zadom some breast milk.
Everything seems to be working in our favour—finally. I really hope there are no more surprises waiting for us, so we can now just relax and focus on being a new family.
Chapter Thirty-One
Trace
The worst day of my life was when I had to let child services take Jolie. I vowed then and there I would do whatever it took to keep her safe.
That was, until the day my babies were taken. Losing them trumped letting Jolie go because this time I could see the look in her eyes, knowing I let her down. It’s been so hard to face her the last few days. But now that they are back, I don’t know what to say to her.
Chester volunteered to do the body retrieval, and where he goes, Creed or Laughn are usually not far behind. Brennan says he wants most of us to be here, as we can’t risk the babies’ safety until the new security team is here and in place. Apparently that process takes time, especially when you don’t trust anybody.
“I’m going with Chester,” I announce to the room, and while everyone’s eyes find me, none of them argue, which issurprising. It helps that Boston is MIA at the moment, as usually it’s him questioning everything like a spoiled child.
“Fine, but be careful just in case he didn’t go down like we were told,” Brennan advises. “It could very well be a trap. I don’t know if we can trust Melinda yet or not, so I want you to be prepared. The clean-up crew are also on their way to the location, so if we have dead bodies, they will bring them to the morgue. Be safe and don’t give Jolie any more to worry about.”
“Yes, boss,” Chester replies. “Let’s act like birds and get the flock outta here.”
“Just, no,” I tell him.
Both Chester and I walk out to his car, but there is zero point arguing with him over who gets to drive. When he gets a task, he gets tunnel vision and needs to be in control. I’m just along for the ride because I really need to avoid reality right now. I just need to see with my own two eyes that Ziyon is gone. He is the last threat to our family, and him being eradicated would calm my nerves.
Chester speeds off down the driveway, the destination already programmed into his GPS. The cheeky son of a bitch was staying right under our noses. We never would have been able to link the location with him—since it’s an apartment complex that’s currently under renovations. Marlow traced the purchase, but it is registered under an alias. It would have taken Marlow and Jimmie forever to find the link.
I hold tight for the trip since Chester drives like he has a date with death. We might have a lot of abilities, but we can still bloody die and get seriously injured.
