by Ella Miles
“Can’t I just get elastic or velcro? I think that would be easier.”
I laugh. “You can, but then you are guaranteeing to never date again.”
“Fine,” he rolls his eyes and takes the shoe from me. He ties it easily in one try.
“See! You're a fast learner!”
“What’s next? Learning how to write my name? Type one-handed?” Beckett jokes.
“How about shooting a gun?” Enzo says from the doorway. “I think it’s time you prove you are a better shot and stronger than me.” Enzo winks at me as he crosses his arms and taunts Beckett with a challenge.
Beckett stands, “You’re on.”
We all head out to the top deck of the yacht. There is no one around for miles. We are currently floating several miles off the coast of Hawaii. We should be further away from land, but I think both of the boys are worried I might go into labor at any second and they will need to fly a doctor out quickly, so we don’t stray too far from land.
“How about a competition to make this more interesting?” Enzo asks, knowing Beckett is tired of us both babying him. For the first week, we kept him in bed, brought him food, and hand-fed him. The second week we allowed him out of bed, but he was weak and needed help with everything from bathing to getting dressed. And even now, the simplest of things are tricky. He was right-handed. He didn’t just lose an arm; he lost the arm he was used to doing everything with.
“What do you have in mind?”
“Best of five different games?”
“And what does the winner get?”
“If I win, you have to tell everyone I’m better than you,” Enzo says.
“Fine, but if I win, I get to name one of your children.”
Enzo looks at me as if asking permission for this arrangement to happen. I have complete faith Enzo will win. And even if he doesn’t, I have no problem with Beckett naming one of our children. Enzo and I have already been trying to figure out how to honor all those that have sacrificed everything for us. And Beckett definitely makes that list.
“Deal,” Enzo says.
The two shake hands. Enzo is getting better at remembering to extend his left hand when giving him a handshake or hug.
“So how are we going to make the competition fair?” Beckett asks.
Enzo turns to me. “Kai will decide each round and how you win.”
Beckett rolls his eyes. “Well, I’m going to lose.”
I laugh. “I don’t know. Enzo cut me off from drinking any caffeine and from eating sugar, or anything bad at all. So I’m not very happy with him at the moment.”
“Well, I will happily sneak you a coffee and a donut if you help me win,” Beckett says, winking at me.
“Hey, none of that. Those are my babies too, and I want them happy and healthy, not addicted to sugar,” Enzo says.
Beckett and I both roll our eyes. But I do secretly love how protective Enzo is of our children and how much he wants them to be healthy. I truly have no desire to eat or drink anything bad anymore.
“So what is the first game?” Beckett asks.
I know the point of this is to figure out Beckett’s strengths and weaknesses and to help him feel physically ready to battle Felix after the babies are born, but I also want to tease my husband.
“First game is Kai trivia,” I say.
Both men grin. They both think they know random trivia about me better than the other. But I know for a fact Beckett will win. For one, we’ve spent more normal time together than I have with Enzo. He knows my favorite flavors of ice cream. My favorite movie and books to read. My favorite place to sit and watch the day go by. Enzo and I have spent most of our life running or fighting danger. And I want Beckett to know he has a place in our life. And I want to tease my husband with the fact that Beckett knows silly things about me that he doesn’t.
“First to three points wins. First question: what is my favorite flavor of ice cream?” I ask.
“Chocolate,” Enzo answers.
“Chocolate chip cookie dough,” Beckett says.
“First point goes to Beckett.”
Enzo frowns, giving me a dirty glare, knowing I’m giving him no chance of winning this first game.
“That’s not fair,” Enzo says.
Beckett holds up his stub. “That’s not fair?”
Enzo rolls his eyes and teases. “Are you going to play the I don’t have an arm card the rest of your life?”
“Yep, I am,” Beckett grins.
I grin, too.
Even Enzo smiles a little. All of us are happy that Beckett can joke about it.
“Fine, next question,” Enzo says.
“What is my favorite movie?”
“Pretty Woman,” Enzo says.
Beckett rolls his eyes. “Really? You think the movie with the prostitute and the guy with gray hair is your wife’s favorite movie?”
“Isn’t it every woman’s favorite movie?” Enzo answers.
“Your wife is not most women. Your wife is more of a Katniss fan. Her favorite movie is the Hunger Games. The second in the trilogy, if we are being picky.”
“Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!” I point to Beckett.
Enzo huffs. “How about you ask an important fact, like your favorite sexual position or favorite place to be kissed?”
“Eww,” Beckett covers his ears.
Enzo and I laugh.
Enzo mouths rough missionary and pussy—answers for favorite position and place to be kissed.
I blush and forgive my husband for not knowing my favorite ice cream flavor or movie. He knows the important things. But I ask one more question Beckett will know the answer to and Enzo won’t.
“When is the twins’ due date?” I ask.
Enzo’s face drops. He knows the babies are due in a month. But he doesn’t know the exact date. He’s never gone to a doctor’s appointment with me, and he’s never asked.
Beckett grins while waiting for Enzo to guess.
“October first?” Enzo guesses.
Beckett shakes his head. “September twenty-fifth.”
Enzo throws up his hands. “Fine, you win. Next game is mine though.”
Beckett slaps Enzo on the back. “Don’t be a sore loser.”
Enzo growls.
I grin, watching the two of them banter back and forth. I know they both wish they had gotten to grow up as actual brothers. Enzo grew up with Langston and Zeke as brothers. But I know it would have been different to have an ally living under the same roof.
Even if Beckett would have turned out differently. Even if he became more sinister and serious like Enzo instead of lighthearted and relaxed like he currently is, I know they both would have enjoyed that. I grip my stomach. I can’t wait to see what life will be like for our twins.
“What is round two?” Enzo says, needing a win.
I decide I can’t mess with them anymore, and I need to actually test Beckett’s abilities for all of our sakes.
I grab a bucket of empty beer cans and set ten up in a row on the railing.
“First one to shoot five wins. And you have to start with an unloaded gun,” I say, knowing I’m pushing Beckett, but he needs to be pushed. I know Enzo has plans to fight Felix after the birth. And I want to ensure Beckett is ready if he decides to join him.
Enzo hands Beckett a gun and a box of bullets. Beckett sets the box down on the table. Enzo leaves his own gun in his pants, but takes a couple of bullets from the box and lays them on the table in front of him.
“Go!” I shout.
Enzo is calm and relaxed as he takes the bullets and carefully loads his gun.
Beckett is in a frenzy. He's trying to move quickly to make up time, which only makes him go slower.
Enzo rattles off five shots before Beckett even gets his gun loaded.
Beckett frowns.
“Again,” he says.
Enzo nods and puts his gun on the table.
Beckett does the same.
“Go!” I shout
again, after setting up five new cans for Enzo.
This time Beckett gets his gun loaded before Enzo gets off his shots.
“Again,” Beckett says, more determined.
I line the cans up again. “Go.”
Beckett takes a deep breath and then matches Enzo’s speed loading the bullets.
I grin. Maybe he can do this with some practice.
They both start firing at the same time. Enzo hits his five cans, Beckett only hits one.
“If I knew you weren’t any better of a shot than Kai, then I wouldn’t have offered to compete against you,” Enzo jokes.
“Hey! I’m a better shot than you. My turn,” I say, getting up and walking over to take the gun from Enzo.
Beckett grins, thinking he can beat me. Enzo lines up the cans and shouts at us to start.
I load the gun and fire off my shots in record time, making sure to hit Beckett’s five cans too just to prove I’m better than either of the boys.
“Wow, if I’d had known you could shoot like that I wouldn’t have offered my protection skills. I would have just handed you a gun and sat back and watched,” Beckett says.
I grin. “I learned from the best.” My heart aches thinking of Zeke and Langston.
Enzo frowns. “That’s enough shooting from you. At least until September twenty-fifth when the babies are born. And even then, I want you in the nursery, not wielding a gun.”
I roll my eyes at the sexist remark, but I know Enzo is just worried about me and the babies. I know he couldn’t live with himself if I got hurt. And I have no desire to shoot a gun if I don’t have to. But I’m happy I have the skillset to.
I waddle back to my chair as the men finish competing in sprints, one-handed pushups, and another shooting game.
My life is perfect at the moment, even if the reason for the game is to get Beckett ready for an inevitable fight. I don’t care. I’m happy watching the two of them act like normal brothers.
And in one month our world is about to get a whole lot happier. But I feel my stomach tighten in horrible cramps, and I remember something I read off-handedly at the doctor’s office—something about how twins often come early.
21
Enzo
I feel it the moment my world changes.
Possibly even before Kai realizes what is happening. One moment, I’m schooling Beckett on how to shoot a gun, the next my gaze is locked on Kai. I watch her stomach clench as she grabs it, her face twisting in pain.
I drop my gun on the table and run to her. I grab her face needing to see in her eyes, if she’s okay. If something is wrong with the babies or not. I’m not sure she will tell me just how serious the situation is with her words. I need to see her eyes—they won’t lie to me.
“Kai, what’s wrong?” I ask.
She purses her lips and blows air out as another wave of pain permeates through her body.
“Kai? Baby? You need to tell me what’s wrong,” I say.
Another push of air through her lips. “I think…I think the babies are coming.”
Shit.
They aren’t supposed to come this early. She still has weeks lefts. Three and a half weeks to be exact.
I look behind her to Beckett who is standing motionless, like he can’t believe this is happening either. One minute she was fine, now she can barely stand she’s in so much pain.
Beckett and I trade glances, but neither of us moves. Kai lets out a guttural growl. One sound of pain from her, and she’s caused two grown men to freeze in terror.
Kai notices both of our reactions. She takes another deep breath, and then she seems to get a little more life back in her eyes. “Okay, so I think I’m in labor. We won’t know for sure until my contractions are more consistent. But Beckett, it’s probably a good idea to call the doctor and see if we can get someone on a helicopter to meet us.”
Beckett snaps awake. “Yes, of course. I’ll make the call.”
“And you,” Kai looks at me. “Fix me something to eat.”
“To eat? You sure?”
“Yes, I’m going to need my energy if I’m going to give birth today.”
I nod. “Of course!”
I race down the stairs and start pulling everything out of the fridge—eggs, spinach, carrots, chicken, cheese. Everything comes out as I start scrambling an egg while simultaneously grilling the chicken. I get so focused on the task she gave me that I forget about the most important thing—Kai.
“Kai!” I shout.
“I’m here, I’m right here,” she says, walking slowly around the dining room table, swaying her hips hard back and forth as she walks.
“Jesus, you scared me.”
She smiles at me. “Are you finished cooking yet?”
“No, I just got so focused on cooking that I forgot to check on you.”
“That was the idea,” she grins as she rubs her belly gently.
“What?”
“You need to calm down. I love you, but you are already a mess, and we haven’t gotten anywhere near the hard part. I thought focusing on something that isn’t me right now might help you.”
I frown. “I’m calm.”
She raises an eyebrow.
And I look at what she’s staring at. I have oil, egg, and cheese all over the front of my shirt. I’m sweating like I just finished a workout. And my hand is trembling as I still grip the spatula in my hand.
“Fuck,” I say, rubbing my neck.
She slowly walks over to me and wraps her arms around my waist. “This is a marathon, not a sprint. Go change. Then finish making us some food. Everything is going to be okay.”
I kiss her forehead. “Everything is going to be okay,” I repeat her words as much for her as for me.
“Go,” she says.
“Are you sure? What if—”
“The babies aren’t coming in the next twenty minutes. My contractions just started. Go.”
Reluctantly, I go take a quick shower and shake out my nerves. When I return, she’s standing in front of the stove cooking the eggs I started.
She smiles when she sees me. “Better?”
“Yes.”
I walk over to her and wrap my arms around her. “I can’t believe you are the one in labor, and you had to calm me down. It should be the other way around.”
She laughs, leaning her head back against my chest. “I’m sure you will repay the favor soon.”
We hear footsteps, and both turn around. Beckett is standing in the doorway, pale and white.
“What?” I snap. Clearly, I’ve not completely calmed down.
Beckett looks from me to Kai. “The doctor isn’t coming.”
“What?” I growl.
Beckett ignores me and looks at Kai. “There is a really bad storm between us and Hawaii. Tropical storm level. I called three different hospitals. No doctor was willing to travel through the storm to get to us.” He looks to me. “I offered to pay any amount of money, but no doctor was willing to risk it.”
I open my mouth to speak, but Kai puts her hand against my chest, telling me she has this.
“Is there any other island nearby? Any other way we can travel safely to a hospital?” she asks.
Beckett shakes his head. “There isn’t another nearby island. I looked at the radar and weather stations. They think the storm will blow through in the next eight hours. After the brunt of the storm has passed, several doctors said they’d be willing to travel.”
Kai nods slowly. “Eight hours.” She touches her stomach. “We just have to make it eight hours, and then a doctor will be here. Labor, especially a first-time labor, can take days. So we have time. We will be fine. And even if the doctor doesn’t make it, women all over the world give birth safely without a doctor. We got this.” Her eyes travel from Beckett to me.
“We got this,” we both say in return.
But I’m not sure we got this. The babies are coming early. She’s having twins. And she’s endured more stress during this pregnancy than most women
. We are on a ship in the middle of the ocean, with a storm brewing only a few miles from us, and an evil half-brother chasing us. This is the opposite of fine.
But none of that is helpful to say to Kai.
So instead, we finish cooking the food. And then we sit at the table and try to eat. But after two bites, Kai can’t stand to sit anymore. Or eat.
She gets up abruptly.
“Kai?” I ask.
“I’m sorry, I can’t,” she says, tears forming in her eyes.
Shit.
Both Beckett and I push our chairs back roughly as we stand abruptly.
“You can’t what?” I ask.
“Do this.”
Oh shit. We are only on hour one, and I’ve already had a breakdown, and now Kai is having one.
“Sure, you do,” I say, moving over to rub her back. But apparently, I did the wrong thing, because she swats my hand away. “That doesn’t help. The pain…”
She closes her eyes as another contraction hits, overpowering everything else going on in her brain.
I try rubbing her back again, and this time, she lets me.
Finally, the contraction ends, and a tear falls. I wipe it away quickly with my thumb. I can’t stand to watch her in pain.
“What do you need? How can I help you? What did the books say about how to help with the pain?” I ask.
She huffs. “You think I had time to read the baby books when we were being chased by a crazy man?”
“I’m sorry.” Apparently, I’m not going to say the right things.
I look to Beckett, who just shrugs like he doesn’t have a clue what to do either.
“Research it,” I snap at him.
He nods and grabs his laptop; he starts typing furiously while we wait for another contraction.
“Moving around can help. Don’t stay in one spot. Try moving your hips and see if that helps alleviate the pain,” Beckett says.
Kai starts moving around more, but then a contraction hits, and she stops moving. I walk behind her, grab her hips gently, and sway them back and forth. It seems to help because she doesn’t cry or groan through this contraction. She just lets it happen.
But ten minutes later, another contraction comes, and she’s cursing and crying again.
