Page 2 of Gator (Bourbon Kings MC #1)

Rosewood, Virginia, three weeks before the wedding...

“Say what now?”

I mean, I heard the man. He was crystal clear with his enunciation, and he didn’t mince his words. He was eloquent, straightforward and to the point. I was just hoping that maybe I was currently having a stroke or something because I could have sworn Dr. Steiner just told me I was pregnant.

“You are pregnant, Dev.”

Yep. I’m not going deaf.

“Are you sure? Maybe it’s cancer, or some benign tumor. Oh, what about gout? Herpes? I can totally wrap my head around an STD!”

Dr. Steiner chuckled. “No. You’re pregnant.”

“Stop saying that!” I snapped, rubbing my forehead.

“Dev, this isn’t something you can just shake off,” Dr. Steiner continued, his voice taking on that soothing tone reserved for patients on the verge of a meltdown. “We’ll do another test if it makes you feel better, but I’m confident about the results.”

I groaned and leaned back in the uncomfortable exam chair, staring up at the fluorescent light above. Pregnant? Me? This wasn’t part of the plan at all. I mean, it’s not like I’d been planning much beyond surviving the upcoming wedding of the century.

And now... now this?

“Alright,” I finally muttered, my voice strained. “Let’s do another test. Just to be sure.”

Dr. Steiner gave me a small nod, but I swear I saw a flicker of amusement in his eyes. He left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts—well, more like a tornado of anxieties and questions swirling around my head.

I pulled out my phone, hovering over my best friend Morgan’s contact. She’d know what to say. She always did. But before I could hit call, the door swung open, and Dr. Steiner returned with Jessica, a tray of medical supplies, and a rolling machine that looked like some torture device.

“What the hell is that?” I asked, pointing to the thing.

Jess grinned. “It’s a vaginal ultrasound.”

“If you think you’re sticking that thing up my pussy, think again. My pussy is off-limits. Closed for business. Permanently.”

“I’m not sticking anything anywhere.” Jess chuckled. “Dr. Steiner is.”

“Like hell he is!”

“Lie back, Devlyn, and put your feet in the stirrups,” the man ordered.

Grumbling, I did as I was told.

What choice did I have? My life was falling apart.

Why not go out with a bang?

Total humiliation, here I come!

“I figured this would be quicker,” the annoying man said as I closed my eyes.

I tried to tune out everything. I didn’t want to be here.

I wanted to run away and hide under my pillow until this nightmare was over.

The only damn reason I came to this stupid clinic was because I thought I had the flu again.

After what happened the last time I got sick, I knew my baby sister would kill me if I got the plague again.

Not that it was a picnic for me, either. That was the worst two weeks of my life, and I sure as hell didn’t want a repeat. But when the vomiting started, I figured it was just a stomach bug and best let Dr. Steiner prescribe me something before I had to call in for an exorcism.

Sheesh, the vomiting was non-stop.

And don’t even get me started on my current predicament. I didn’t think there was anything that could save me from sleepless nights, fat ankles, and crying babies.

Because if there was, I wanted to order it, now!

Hell, I’d even spring for two-day shipping.

Seriously, Amazon sells everything, don’t they?

“Uh, Jessica. Go get Dr. James and tell her I need her help?”

Opening my eyes, I saw Jessica slowly nod as she backed toward the door before she raced out of the room.

Frowning, I leaned up on my elbows and glared at the man between my legs. “What the hell is wrong? Is it a tumor? Oh, please tell me it’s a tumor!”

And like every man with a dick, the fucker refused to say a damn word as one of my best friends, Claudia James, walked in, grinning.

“Hi, Dev.” She smirked, walking over to the machine.

“Save it,” I snarked. “Tell me it’s a tumor, so I can go home and finish watching Game of Thrones .”

Looking at the machine and then at me, Claudia asked, “Dev, when was the last time you had sex?”

“You already fucking know that. What’s inside me? The Lolli-Pop Guild? The cast of Eight Is Enough ? What?”

Jessica Keller, a good friend of mine, just leaned against the wall laughing her ass off, slowly shaking her head.

Fucking bitch! I’d get her back for this.

I swear I would.

“Dev, you are most definitely pregnant,” Dr. Steiner said, turning the monitor around so I could see the screen.

Only I had no fucking clue what I was looking at. “What the hell is that? The surface of the moon? A Jackson Pollock painting? Help a girl out!”

Pointing to the screen, Dr. Steiner carefully said, “Here is baby A, and this is baby B. And over here is baby C?”

“You practicing your colors next, Doc?” I snapped, turning to Claudia. “What the hell is he talking about? A, B, C?”

“Uh, Devlyn, you are pregnant with triplets.”

I blinked.

“Excuse me?”

“Triplets. Three babies.”

“I’LL KILL HIM!” I screamed.

Slamming my apartment door shut, I walked over to my couch, plopped my ass down, and groaned. Placing the little brown bag on my coffee table, I looked around my apartment and wondered what the hell I was going to do now.

I was most definitely pregnant.

Not just pregnant, but I was carrying a litter.

Three babies.

What in the hell was I going to do with three rugrats?

The knock on the door came sharp and insistent, jerking me out of my spiraling thoughts.

I rolled my eyes, dragging myself off the couch, and grumbled under my breath.

It wasn’t as if I didn’t have enough to deal with already.

Swinging the door open, I found Claudia standing there.

Her face was an odd mix of sternness and concern.

“Don’t glare at me like that, Devlyn,” she said, stepping inside as if she owned the place. “We need to talk.”

“Talk about what?” I muttered, slumping back over to the couch.

She sighed, pulling up a chair across from me. “You need a plan.”

“A plan?” I scoffed. “I barely have a clue how to take care of myself most days, Claudia.”

“Well, you better start figuring it out quick, because those babies don’t have the luxury of waiting for you to get your act together.”

I groaned, burying my face in my hands. She wasn’t wrong, but that didn’t make the sudden weight of responsibility sitting on my shoulders any lighter.

Claudia leaned in, her voice softening just a touch. “Listen, Devlyn. You’ve always been tough, but this? This is going to take all the strength you’ve got and then some. But I know you. You can handle it.”

Her words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken truths. And as much as I wanted to argue or push her away, I realized she was right. I didn’t have a choice. These babies were counting on me, and I had to figure out how to rise to the occasion.

Claudia, always one to cut to the chase, stood up and dusted off her hands. “Get your mind right. I’ll be back tomorrow with some stuff you’ll need.” She paused at the door, throwing me a pointed look. “Don’t wallow in self-pity too long, alright?”

And with that, she was gone, leaving me alone with my thoughts, my fears, and the faintest flicker of determination.

My fingers brushed the edge of the brown bag on the table, its contents suddenly feeling like the smallest piece of a much larger puzzle.

I leaned back against the cushions and stared at the ceiling, wondering if I could really pull this off.

The answer?

I didn’t know yet.

But I sure as hell was going to try.

Right after I hired a hitman to kill me a gator!