Page 16

Before Devon’s vehicle came to a complete stop, Ian already had the passenger door open and was climbing out.

Leaving his brother and Brody’s laptop behind, he hightailed it into the hospital’s lobby and didn’t bother stopping at the front desk.

When a gray-haired guard called out to him, Ian just yelled over his shoulder, “ My wife’s in labor. ”

“ Good luck!” Guess it wasn’t the first time a frantic father-to-be had rushed past the older man.

Bypassing the elevator, Ian shoved open the door to the stairs and then took them two at time up to the third floor.

He remembered where the Labor & Delivery ward was from the tour they’d taken about three weeks ago as part of their Lamaze class.

Angie’s contractions were now three minutes apart, and she was almost fully dilated.

Somehow , some way, Little Bit had waited for him to get there.

Angie had been in labor over eighteen hours, and it didn’t look like she’d make it to nineteen.

During the long, gut-wrenching flight, CC had managed to catch a few jet streams, saving them about thirty minutes of airtime, which looked like it had made a world of difference in getting Ian to the hospital in time for the delivery.

After landing, Ian had been chomping at the bit while they’d taxied to Trident’s assigned hangar.

The second the stairs had hit the ground, he’d been running down them.

Thankfully , Devon had his head on straighter than his older brother, because out of the two of them, he was the only one who had his car keys in hand— Ian had forgotten his in his go-bag which had still been on the jet.

His parents were catching a ride with the teams, all of whom were headed to the hospital to wait for the newest arrival to the Trident family.

Bursting out into the hallway, he almost ran over a nurse. “ Sorry ! Wife’s in labor!”

“ Good luck!”

He ran down the hall, through the doors under the L & D sign, and slid to a stop at the reception desk. “ My wife, Angelina Sawyer . Labor . What room?”

Before the startled woman could answer him, he heard, “ Ian ! In here!”

Shelby was waving to him from one of the rooms. She was wearing scrubs and holding another set. “ Hurry ! She had to start pushing.”

Holy shit!

Rushing into the room, he tried to make sense of the chaos. Angie’s legs were up in stirrups, with a blue sheet covering them. She was screaming, cursing, sweating, and panting all at the same time. Her gaze latched onto his, and he couldn’t miss the relief he saw in her eyes.

Kristen was by her side, holding her hand and counting out loud. “ Eight ... nine ... ten. There you go, relax.”

“ Uuuuugh !” Angie collapsed back on the incline of the bed. Her face was beet red, as she tried to catch her breath. “ Ian ! You ... made it!”

Several nurses were going about their duties as Monique pulled a stool over to sit on and got ready to deliver the baby. “ Just in time, Ian . Throw those scrubs on over your clothes and wash your hands and arms. We probably only have another few contractions to go, so hurry.”

He must have frozen in place because Shelby grabbed his arm.

“ Come here—these are your size.” She led him to the sink and turned on the water.

In under a minute, he’d soaped up, rinsed off, and managed to get the scrub shirt and pants over his T -shirt and BDUs .

Shelby squatted down in front of him with two shoe covers.

“ Let me put these on over your boots, so you don’t have to scrub again. ”

Damn it. He hadn’t even realize he still had his dirty boots on. Thankfully , they were dry, and he hoped Angie and the hospital staff didn’t notice the brownish stains of blood against the worn, black leather.

Once he was set, Kristen stepped away from Angie’s side and let him move in before giving him a kiss on the cheek. “ We’ll wait outside with everyone else. I’m glad you made it.”

He didn’t have time to thank Kristen or Shelby because Angie grabbed his hand and squeezed like she was trying to crush his metacarpals. She screamed as the contraction took hold.

“ Dad , count to ten for her,” one of the nurses prodded.

“ Huh ?” Oh , right, Lamaze . Counting . Got it. “ Um , one, two, three ...”

Once more, Angie collapsed at number ten. She shook her head on the pillow behind it. “ I ... I can’t do this, Ian ! The epidural’s not helping. Please , I can’t!

Leaning down, he kissed her forehead, then whispered in her ear. “ Yes , you can, Angel . Do you know how I know?”

“ N -no.”

“ Because you, my beautiful wife, are the strongest woman I know, and I know quite a few. You have to be strong to put up with me. Every time life knocked you down, you got up again. You’re going to be the best mother in the world.

And because of you, I’m going to try to be the best father I can possibly be.

We’ll probably stumble a few times, and we may even fall, but we’ll get up again and make sure Little Bit , and any other children we may have, will be prepared to take the world by storm when it’s their time.

So whattaya say? Are you ready to have this baby? ”

“ Well , when you put it that way ...”

He brushed her damp hair from her face, which was starting to fill with pain once more. She struggled to sit up. Putting his arm around her back, he helped her as she got ready to push. “ I’ve got you, Angel . Let’s do this.”

With her head resting on Chuck’s shoulder, Marie surveyed the maternity ward’s waiting room.

It was filled with her sons’ friends, employees, and teammates, as they all awaited Little Bit’s arrival.

The operatives had come straight from the airport, while others had already been there.

When Kristen had come out not long ago, after passing the coaching torch to Ian , she’d announced it wouldn’t be much longer, and now everyone was even more excited than they’d been.

It didn’t matter what the baby’s gender was, as long as he or she was healthy, but after having four boys herself, Marie was looking forward to spoiling a little girl.

God help her, though, when she was old enough to date, because Ian would be cleaning his guns every time a young man picked her up—then again, Ian’s daughter would probably be sitting right next to him, cleaning her own guns.

“ Mom ?”

She looked up and smiled at Devon and JD .

Her grandson was the spitting image of his father at that age, and it brought a rush of memories back to her.

When Chuck had taken Ian to meet his baby brother for the first time at the hospital, he’d asked the two-and-a-half-year-old if he knew which one of the newborns in their bassinets on the other side of the window was Devon .

Without hesitation, Ian pointed at the correct infant.

“ Dat’s my baby brudder!” He’d paused and then announced, “ I’m gonna be the best big brudder in the whole world, Daddy . ”

And he had been and still was. When their time came to depart this life, Chuck and Marie knew their growing family’s new patriarch would take care of them until his own dying day.

“ Want to hold him for a bit?” Devon asked.

She held out her hands. “ That’s a silly question—of course I do.”

Gently taking her grandson, she cuddled him close as Devon squatted in front of her.

Marie stared down at the eyes that matched her own and all her sons’.

Unexpected tears rolled down her cheek, and Devon reached up and wiped some away.

“ Hey , it’s okay, Mom . You’re here, and you will be for a long time. ”

If things had turned out differently, her family might have been mourning right now, despite the birth of Little Bit .

She thanked God that wasn’t the case. She owed her sons her life, and wasn’t that ironic?

They may not be perfect, but then again, who was?

However , she would forever be proud of the men they’d become.

They were good husbands to their spouses and would be excellent fathers to the children they’d have.

After all, they’d had the best role model around in that department.

Chuck’s arm had been resting behind her neck, and he squeezed her shoulder. “ Darn right you’ll be. And there will be plenty more grandkids for you to dote on before you know it.”

Sniffling , she raised her gaze, and it settled on Nick and Jake , sitting next to each other on the opposite side of the room.

Their heads were close together, and they were deep in a private conversation.

Her smile appeared again and grew as she turned back to her husband. “ I think you’re right.”

“ Break out the cigars!” Ian declared from the doorway, with sparkling eyes and the broadest grin Marie had ever seen on his face. “ It’s a girl! God help me and any little shit that wants to date her someday.”

Everyone jumped to their feet, gathered around, and cheered.

“ What’s her name?” Kristen prodded, since the new parents had kept a list of all possible names for boys and girls to themselves.

“ Peyton Marie Sawyer weighs eight pounds five ounces, has a full head of black hair, and came kicking and screaming into the world, just as I knew she would.” He accepted a fat cigar with a baby-pink ribbon around it from Brody as others were handed out by Nick and Boomer .

Apparently , they’d stocked up on them in both pink and blue for the occasion.

Stepping over to his parents, Ian shook his father’s hand, smiled down at JD , then kissed Marie on the cheek. “ She’s beautiful, just like her mother and grandmother, and you have permission to spoil her rotten—although, you were probably planning on doing that anyway.”

“ You know me too well, sweetheart,” Marie responded. “ I’m so happy for you. How’s Angie ?”

“ Exhausted but happy.” Turning to face the rest of his family and friends, he said, “ Nick , since Dev was my best man, Angie and I would like you to be Peyton’s godfather.”

His youngest brother’s eyes and smile widened. “ Me ? Absolutely ! I’m honored, bro, and I won’t let you down.”

“ Good , and I know you won’t. And that leaves just one last announcement.

” As his gaze fell on Jenn , his eyes watered, and his voice grew thick.

“ Baby -girl, I remember standing in a similar maternity waiting room over twenty-two years ago, when your dad came in and announced you were a girl. I think I fell in love with you at that exact moment, and I hadn’t even seen you yet.

When Jeff asked me to be your godfather, I honestly didn’t fully understand what it meant when I said yes.

But now I do, and I’ve never regretted it.

It has been my honor and privilege to hold the title of godparent for such a beautiful and exceptional young woman, and I’m thrilled to pass it on.

Angie and I would like nothing more than for you to be Peyton’s godmother. ”

There wasn’t a dry eye in the room as Jenn rushed forward, clearly too overcome for words, and threw her arms around Ian’s neck.

He held her tightly for a few moments until she regained some of her composure.

Through her sniffles, she finally answered him.

“ Yes , Uncle Ian . I’ll be there for her every step of the way, just like you were there for me. Thank you for the honor.”

“ You’re welcome, Jenn . Always know I’m proud of you.

” With a final squeeze, he released her, and they both wiped away some more tears.

Then Ian hitched a thumb over his shoulder.

“ I’ve got to get back to Angie . Thanks for being here, everyone.

The nurse said you’ll all be able to see Peyton in about fifteen minutes through the nursery window, although I’m not sure they realize how many people are here waiting to see her. ”

After shaking a few hands again and getting his back slapped a bunch of times, Ian turned toward the door, but a small voice ringing out stopped him in his tracks.

“ What -waffle, Unc -en!”

The roomful of people burst out laughing as, with a huge grin, little Mara repeated herself even louder from her father’s arms. “ What -waffle, Unc -en!”

Ian just groaned and shook his head. “ I’m doomed.”

If you’re following the best reading order of the Trident Security series and its spinoffs, up next is Knot a Chance : Doms of The Covenant : Book 3