Chapter One
“That son-of-a-bitch! This is all his
fault!”
As
the gurney slammed through the emergency room doors, Officer Matt Bryson
glanced down at the pissed off woman laid out flat on the wheeled stretcher. He
walked double-time alongside, trying to keep up. If he didn’t, he feared he’d
be dragged down the hallway against his will like a bobber bouncing behind a
trolling boat.
She
squeezed his hand even harder. Matt’s fingers had already lost their feeling
and the tips now turned purple.
“What’s
wrong with him? Why would he do this to me?”
If
he thought she couldn’t possibly tighten her grip on his abused hand any more,
he was dead wrong.
“Fuck. That hurts!” she screamed.
Matt
didn’t dare tell his sister-in-law how much his hand hurt, too. He guaranteed
his pain didn’t compare to what she was going through. And he also wanted to
keep his manhood.
“Matt,
you have to arrest him for doing this to me!”
She
must be in a true delirious state if she thought that would ever happen. As if
he’d arrest his own brother who was also the chief of police. And his boss. Yeah, right.
Amanda’s
face contorted again as they wheeled her down the hall, bypassing the ER
check-in. He had already called ahead and, as a law enforcement official, no
one blinked an eye on him skipping that step.
“Amanda,
it’s already done and you now have to deal with it.”
“Noooo.
No, I don’t!” Her hysterical voice pierced his ears, as well as the hospital
worker’s, who winced as he pushed the gurney.
You’d think the guy would be used to
unreasonable pregnant women.
Amanda
put a hand to her face and groaned. “He will never touch me again!”
Matt
doubted that. But he kept his mouth shut. He wasn’t stupid.
When
they reached the elevators, the guy in the green medical scrubs pushed the up
button. Matt silently begged the elevator to hurry.
“If
he does this to me again… If he even touches me again, I will kill him!”
The
hospital employee turned ashen and eyed the Glock holstered on Matt’s duty belt
with unmistakable concern. Matt frowned and turned his hip away from the crazy
woman on the bed. Just in case.
“Where
is he? I’ll just kill him now! Oooow!”
The
ding of the elevator made Matt glance toward the ceiling and mouth a silent, “Thank
you.” On the way up to the third floor, he reminded her, “I think this is also
partly your fault, you know.”
With
beaded sweat dotting Amanda’s forehead, she shot him a glare.
“Well,
it is.” The huge belly that looked like Mt. Everest was obvious proof. “Do I
have to explain the bird and the bees? I’m pretty sure you knew what you were
getting into when you slept with your
husband.”
Amanda’s
growl morphed into a howl of pain as another contraction hit her.
The
elevator stopped and the doors swooshed open onto the maternity floor.
“Okay,
we’re here. Max should be showing up any minute now,” he consoled her, trying
to pull his hand away. He wasn’t successful. Somewhere along the way, she had
turned into Superwoman.
Amanda
flushed face suddenly paled. “You won't leave me, will you?”
Yes. Matt sighed. Fuck.
No.
He couldn’t desert her. Even though he really didn’t want any part of the birth
of his nephew. Or niece. Did they even find out the sex yet? He hadn’t asked
and really didn’t care.
“Where’s
Max?” she wailed loudly.
Matt
wished he knew. If Amanda didn’t kill her husband, he would. Pigs would fly
before he’d step in to help her with the birth. He had his limits.
He’d
go back to the sandbox first.
“All
right, we need to go,” the nurse, or whatever he was, said.
“No!
You need to come with me, Matt.”
Oh shit no.
“I
can’t do this alone!”
Matt
glanced down at Amanda’s practically purple face and scowled. He couldn’t even
begin to explain to this woman why-in-the-hell he refused to go in there. First
of all, he didn’t want to see his sister-in-law in that position. Nor did he
want to see that area stretched to
the impossible.
The
image in his head made him shudder. He didn’t even know if he’d want to watch
the birth of his own kid. Though that would never happen, since he wasn’t
having kids. Ever.
Plus,
he’d seen enough blood and gross shit in his extended stint in the Marines. And
he knew what happened in childbirth. He witnessed it while in the Middle East
and not by choice.
No thanks.
A
frazzled Max rushed down the hall with his shirt buttoned crookedly and his
belt clearly missing some of the loops. But, damn it, the man had arrived.
And
for that Matt sighed in relief.
“I’m
here! I’m here!”
“About
time,” Matt told him, dryly.
“I
had to change out of uniform,” he answered before glancing down at his wife. He
did a double take. “Holy shit. Are you okay?”
“Fuck
no, you rat bastard!” she snarled, finally releasing Matt’s hand. “I feel like
I’m about to be split open and my cooch will never be the same again. I just
want to let you know that. This will ruin my tight—”
Max
quickly slapped a hand over his wife’s mouth and gave a look of apology to the
hospital staff within ear distance. Matt stepped back out of reach, rubbing the
circulation back into his fingers.
He
considered his brother extremely brave to put his hand anywhere near her mouth.
At this point, Amanda may bite off a digit.
Max’s
cheeks appeared red. Surprised, Matt didn’t think anything could make his
brother blush.
He
turned away to hide his snicker. Most of the people who knew Amanda weren’t
surprised at anything that came out of her mouth. It should be nothing new to
her husband.
His
brother was on his own now. He could deal with his wife, who appeared as pissed
off as a cornered porcupine.
A
tall blonde rushed up, wearing a long white lab coat. Most likely a doctor.
“Why is she still out here? Get her in the delivery room STAT before we have a
new Bryson baby in the hallway,” she commanded, the staff snapping to attention
like she was a Master Sergeant.
Matt
backed up a step, cocking an eyebrow at her I’m-in-charge
stance.
Shit.
The
woman was all legs and attitude.
“Well?”
she asked without patience. Then, following a flurry of activity, the hallway
became empty and quiet.
Matt
blew out a breath and leaned against the nearest wall. He had a fucking
hard-on.
Just
like that.
Fuck.
He
pushed himself off of the wall and straightened, yanking his duty belt up over
his hips as the rest of the family rushed down the hall like a herd of buffalo.
“Are
we too late?” his mother asked, excitement in her eyes.
There
should be. She had harassed her three sons for years about getting hitched as
well as bugged them for grandchildren. Now, she was finally getting one.
Well,
as long as Amanda cooperated. Because if anyone could call off a pregnancy at
nine months and counting, it would be her. Matt shook his head and laughed to
himself. The woman sure was obstinate, and Max had his hands full with her.
Though, he suspected his brother loved every minute of it. Self-masochist
bastard.
Matt’s
father, Ron, stepped up next to him and whacked him on the back. “Good job for
getting her here on time, son.”
Matt
nodded at his father, but answered his mother. “No, Ma. You’re not too late.
How can you be too late for a birth anyway? Once the kid is born, you’re stuck
with it forever. That’s how it works, remember?”
“Yeah,
Ma, you’re stuck with Matt forever,” his brother Marc said. “Like it or not.”
Mary
Ann Bryson frowned at her middle son. “I’m not stuck with any of you. I brought you into this world and I can take
you back out.”
Her
husband laughed. “That’s right, honey, you tell them.”
“Damn,
Ma, that’s a bit harsh,” Marc said, frowning.
“Where’s
Leah?” Matt asked his brother.
“Sleeping.
She has to work daylight shift tomorrow with you.”
Matt
nodded. His future sister-in-law, the newest member of the force, proved
herself a good cop and could back him up anytime. In fact, he wouldn’t have
minded her being by his side in combat. She was tough and she sure kept Marc in
line.
His
middle brother was a lucky man. Unlike Max, who was probably getting his ass
ripped up one side and down the other right now.
Fuck that.
“Well,
now that most of the Bryson army is here, I’m going back on patrol.” He stepped
over to the nearest elevator and pushed the down button.
“Don’t
you want to see your niece after she’s born?” his mother asked.
“Nope.”
And
with that, the elevator doors swooshed open and he jetted.
