I’ve been out of town for three days. The whole time I was gone, all I could think about was the news we found out right before I left. Sophie had woken up sick a couple of days in a row. I had my suspicions, but there was no way to know for sure without her taking a test. On the third day, I said f**k it, got up, and went to the pharmacy near the house. I knew she was afraid to take the test after the last few times she had taken one and they’d come back negative.

I sat there with her in the bathroom, refusing to leave even when she peed on the thing. I knew in my gut that this was it; just like I knew she was my forever, I knew our child was growing inside of her. Those three minutes were the longest of my life. All I could think was, How the f**k can a piece of plastic that probably costs one cent to make in China hold such an important message? When the screen flashed and the word ‘pregnant’ appeared on the screen, I looked at Sophie, who was staring at the screen in complete shock. The only thought in my head then was how much I f**king loved her.

“Holy shit,” she whispered, her eyes meeting mine. I could see tears beginning to form. “We’re going to have a baby.”

“We are,” I confirmed as I pulled her against me, burying my face in her neck. “I love you, baby. Thank you for giving us this,” I whispered against her skin.

“We’re having a baby,” she repeated, this time sobbing into my chest.

I pulled her face away so I could look at her. “You okay?”

“I’m scared, but so happy,” she cried and smiled at the same time.

“Me too, baby. But I know everything’s going to be perfect.” She nodded, and then she smiled a smile that lit her whole face—a smile that, even thinking about it now, makes me feel like king of the f**king world.

Knowing that Sophie is pregnant—fuck me, if that shit doesn’t make f**king her even hotter. I can’t keep my hands off her. I love knowing that my kid is growing inside her. After that shit with Cash’s ex and the kids going missing, I spent all my free time trying to get Sophie pregnant. Not that I hadn’t been on a mission before that, but knowing how short life is only made it that much more important. Next on the list is giving her my last name. Yes, I’m doing shit ass-backwards, but I don’t give a fuck.

“Babe, seriously—when I get home, you better be in bed, butt na**d, and ready for my mouth,” I tell her, coming out of my daydream.

“You can’t talk to me like that and expect me to get anything done,” she cries, making me smile.

“You better hurry. You have a little less than two hours to get your shit done before I’m home and you’re mine. Besides, what do you even have at your old place that you could possibly need? The last time I walked into our bedroom, all your shoes, clothes, and other shit were spread from one side to the other.”

“I’m not that bad,” she says low, probably looking around the bedroom at the disaster she has turned our room into. “I have to get my suitcase and the stuff for Maggie’s wedding.”

“You need to just put that house on the market and stop saying the market’s shit. Who cares if you take a loss? You know I got you.”

“You can’t tell me to take a loss on my house,” she huffs.

“We’re not talking about this right now.” Every time we discuss her house situation, she gets upset. “Just get you’re shit and then be na**d when I get to the house.”

“Maybe,” she says, but I can hear the smile in her voice and can’t help but smile too.

“Don’t f**k with me, Sophie,” I growl before gentling my voice. “How’s my baby doing?”

“Good. Making me tired, but good.” She sighs.

“I’ll have a talk with him when I get home.”

“It could be a girl.” She laughs. I swore up and down to her that it is going to be a boy, but something keeps telling me it’s going to be a girl.

“It’s not.” I smile.

“Love you,” she says quietly, making my heart squeeze like it always does when she says those words to me.

“You too, babe. See you soon,” I tell her, hanging up.

I’m about twenty minutes outside of Nashville when my phone rings. At first, I think about not answering it, knowing that I will be home soon, but I know that, if my friend Leo—a cop in Nashville—is calling, he probably has a job for me or needs my help with something. I reluctantly answer on the third ring.

“Yo, Leo. What’s up?”

“Mayson, I need you to meet me at your girlfriend’s house.”

“What are you talking about?” I ask, dread creeping up my spine.

“Look, I wanted to give you a heads-up. I don’t want you to get here and flip your shit. Therefore, I’m telling you now so you have time to calm down.”

“What the f**k is going on?” My adrenalin surges; he’s f**ked if he thinks I can calm down before I get there when he starts a conversation out like that.

“I called Kenton. He’s on his way. Someone got into her house when she was inside.”

“Tell me she’s okay.”

“She’s fine. Has a couple scratches, a bump on her head, and she’s pretty shaken up, but she’s all right, man.”

Fuck, my heart is beating out of my chest. I press down on the accelerator, needing to get to my girl. “Put her on the phone,” I bark.

“Give me a second. She’s in the ambulance,” he says, and my f**king fingers feel like they’re going to make dents in the steering wheel.

“Why the f**k is she in the ambulance? You said she’s okay.”

“It’s a precaution. You know that shit.”

“Man, she’s f**king pregnant,” I bellow into the phone. I do not care about anything except her and finding out she’s all right.

“Fuck me,” he growls. I can hear the wind moving down the line, indicating that he’s running. “Sophie, Nico’s on the phone,” I hear him say, and then the line is quiet for a second.

“Hey.” Her sweet voice is like a balm to my rage.

“I’m almost there, baby.”

“Okay,” she says quietly, and I want to f**king scream because I can hear the fear in her voice. She’s been so good—no freak-outs, no worries. She’s settled in and started coming around…and now this.

“Talk to me, baby,” I say soothingly.

“About what?”

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I…I’m okay.” I can feel her anxiety through the phone. My foot eases off the gas as I exit off the highway.

“How’s my son?” I ask, hoping to get her to relax a little.

“It could be a girl,” she tells me quietly before taking a deep breath. “I think she’s okay. I…I didn’t hit my stomach or anything.”

“It’s a boy, babe. I keep telling you this,” I prod.

“You don’t know that,” she replies, sounding annoyed, making me smile slightly as I turn onto her street.

I park on the curb, seeing not only an ambulance, but three squad cars. The minute I shut off the car, I hop out and jog to the ambulance. Leo’s standing in front of the open doors of the ambulance with his arms crossed over his chest and his feet planted apart. I can’t see her until I’m right on them. The minute my eyes lock on her, my slightly calmed rage erupts once again.

There’s a scratch down the side of her face and a dark mark under her jaw that looks like a bruise, and the top she has on is ripped at the neck. I take a second to get myself under control before she sees me. I don’t need her feeding off the anger I’m feeling. The second her head turns and our eyes lock, tears fill hers to the brim. Fuck, I hate seeing tears in her eyes, and knowing that she’s scared isn’t helping settle my rage any. I hop in the back with her, getting down on my knees in front of her. The EMT starts to say something, but I give him a don’t-fuck-with-me glare and he backs off.

“Hey.” I hold her face between my hands. She’s so fragile, so f**king breakable, and the most important thing in my life. If something happened to her, I don’t know what I would do.

“You’re here.” She presses her face deeper into my hand.

“Told you I was close.”

“Sir, I’m gonna need you to wait outside,” a different EMT says, hopping into the back with us.

“And I’m gonna need you to cut me some f**king slack. My woman was attacked, and I need to see for myself that she’s okay. As soon as I’m done, I will let you do your job, but don’t f**k with me right now,” I growl.

“Give him a minute, man,” I hear Leo say from outside.

The EMT looks at me and nods before jumping out. My eyes go back to Sophie’s; I study the marks on her, swearing that whoever did this to her won’t be able to walk again after I find them.

“You sure you’re okay? No cramping or anything, right?”

“No, nothing like that. My head just hurts.” Her hand goes to the back of her head, and mine follows her movement. The second I touch the bump on the back of her head, she flinches, and I let off a string of expletives. “You know you can’t cuss like that when the baby gets here, right? The last thing we need is for his first word to be fuck,” she says softly.

“You finally admitting it’s a boy?”

“No.” She rolls her eyes then winces. I lay my forehead against her stomach, just taking a second before asking her more questions. “Are you okay?”

“No… Fuck no,” I choke out.

“I’m okay.” She runs her fingers over my hair, down the back of my neck. I can’t believe she’s trying to comfort me right now.

I finally build up the courage to ask. “What happened, baby?” I hear her take a deep breath, and I lift my head to look at her.

“I was getting all my stuff together for the wedding when I heard someone in the living room. At first, I thought it was you getting home early and you stopped by to help me. I called out your name and you didn’t reply, and then I thought maybe you were trying to scare me. It took a second to realize you would never do that to me.” She shook her head. “I started heading for my phone when a person wearing a ski mask and all black clothes came and stood in my bedroom doorway. As soon as I saw them, I started screaming and put the bed between us. I looked for a weapon, but there was nothing near me. I was so scared.” I can hear the fear in her voice again, and I run my hands up and down her arms, trying to calm her. “The guy grabbed me and started dragging me out of the room. I wiggled out of his hold and got in a good kick to his crotch. I was almost to the front door when he grabbed for me again; that’s when I got this scratch,” she says, pointing at her face. “He got ahold of the neck of my shirt and it ripped, which made me fall backwards and hit my head on the coffee table. Then someone started pounding on the front door and he took off.”

“Jesus, baby.” I pull her closer, needing to know she’s safe, “I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I should have made you wait for me,” I insist.

“Please stop,” she says quietly, her arms squeezing a little tighter.

“I’m gonna let the EMT finish checking you out. I’ll be right outside talking to Leo.” She nods, and I put a finger under her chin, lifting her face up so I can look in her eyes. “You’re safe. I love you.”

“I know.” She rests her head against my shoulder, and my hand goes to her stomach, where my child’s growing.

“All right, baby. I’ll be right back.” I kiss her forehead then her lips. I give the EMT a chin lift, letting him know he can get back to checking her over as I hop out the back of the ambulance. “Talk to me,” I say to Leo, handing him his phone back. He starts to take a step away from the ambulance, but I shake my head no. I need to have an eye on Sophie.

“All right, man. I heard what she told you.”

“Yeah?” I prompt.

“The neighbor who pounded on the door told us they were walking their dog when they heard her scream. At first, they were just going to ignore it, not wanting to get involved in a domestic dispute. When they heard the second scream though, they decided to act.”

Fuck me. I know many times people ignore a scream or yell thinking it’s nothing or not wanting to get involved. Who knows what would have happened to Sophie if someone hadn’t knocked on her door and scared the person away? I shake my head, not allowing myself to think like that. I look into the back of the ambulance at Sophie, who’s talking with the EMT. She’s a little roughed up but safe, and that is all that matters.

“The neighbor said he banged on the door before trying the handle, which he was surprised when it opened. He found Sophie in the living room. She was out of it but talking. He said he helped her to the couch then called the cops.” He shakes his head, running his fingers through his blond hair. “When we got on the scene, she asked us to call you first. I thought she was a client or something, so I had one of the guys call Kenton. That’s when I found out she’s yours.” I watch as he looks in on Sophie, his eyes going soft. “How did you find this chick?” he asks quietly.

I know we don’t look like we match—she’s the soft to my hard, the light to my dark, the blatant innocence to my roughness—but I couldn’t give a f**k if people look at us and wonder why we’re together. I don’t like the softness in his eyes when he looks at her. Leo is a good ol’ boy. He grew up on his family’s farm, comes from old money, played high school and college football, and could have gone pro if he wanted to, but he always dreamed of being a cop. He’s about six foot two and two hundred and eighty pounds of pure muscle. He’s the kind of guy a sweet girl like Sophie could take home to her parents, or vice versa. Too bad for him she’s mine and will be until God sees fit to take her from Earth.