Hide Your Crazy

by Vale, Lani Lynn

  “I know,” I agreed. “But she’s adamant about it. And she’s sticking to her guns.”

  He shook his head.

  “I…okay,” he finally said. “Have you found Bruno?”

  I shook my head. “Nowhere. House has been cleared, too. Movers arrived yesterday. Bruno is in the wind.”

  “Well…” he said. “Shit.”

  “My sentiments exactly,” I agreed. “Now, get the hell out of my office. I have a teleconference with the governor in about twenty minutes, and I have to clean off my desk really quick.”

  “Even me?” Reese batted her eyes.

  “Even you,” I agreed, bending down to press my lips to hers. “But you don’t actually have to leave. Just move out of my spot. You can clean for me.”

  She snorted and pulled away, standing up and then waving at my desk with a sweep of her hands. “Have at it, big bad police chief. I’m going ring shopping with that one so he doesn’t pick out an ugly one.”

  I grinned. “You do that, baby. I’ll see you at dinner.”

  “Thank you, baby,” she whispered. “That was sweet.”

  “What?” I asked, confused.

  “Giving him your permission,” she answered.

  I shrugged and pulled back, turning so that Logan could see my face.

  “I’ll give him permission all day long,” I said. “But if he hurts her…”

  Logan nodded once. “You’ll skin me alive.”

  I snorted. “Worse than that, kid. Way worse than that.”

  With that, Logan and my wife left, leaving me happy and content, despite the fact that I’d just given a man permission to take my daughter away from me.

  From the moment she was born, she’d been mine.

  She’d been mine to take care of, mine to protect, and mine to love.

  Now she would be none of those things.

  And that hurt a little more than I ever thought it would.

  But, like the grown man I was, I pushed it down and got on with my day.

  Only when I was in my bed, with Reese in my arms, did I tell her that I was sad.

  She wrapped her arms around me and said, “That’s because you’re a good daddy, Luke Roberts. But good things are on the horizon. Like little grandbabies to spoil.”

  The thought of my baby having babies was downright terrifying.

  “That can happen way in the future.”

  I didn’t know whether that was a hope or a prayer, but either way, I didn’t want it to be too soon.

  I was too young to be a grandfather.

  I was also too young to be thinking about my baby getting married, but there I was, having it happen.

  Chapter 24

  My muscles are sore. Should I be sore because I had to do a cavity search of a dead woman?

  -Katy’s secret thoughts

  Katy

  I was elbow deep in a dead woman’s abdomen when Logan walked in.

  I grinned at him.

  He frowned.

  “What’s that look for?” I asked.

  He pulled his eyes from the dead woman’s guts, then focused on me.

  “I imagined this going differently,” he said. “I waited at home, food in the oven, and you never came.”

  My lips twitched. “I have another hour or two here.”

  “I know,” he said. “But I’ve been literally waiting for you to come home for hours now…and I’m getting impatient.”

  “Are you going to ask me to formally move in?” I asked, grasping what I wanted and pulling the bulge out.

  “What’s that?” he asked.

  “Stomach,” I answered. “I have to see what she had to eat the night of the accident.”

  “Why?” he asked.

  “Because this was the driver,” I answered. “And since it is being considered an accident, I’m supposed to make sure that the driver wasn’t on drugs of any kind for insurance purposes. But I’m also checking to make sure that the driver was healthy. We’re assuming she just fell asleep at the wheel.” I paused. “I noticed that you didn’t answer the me moving in comment.”

  His eyes once again focused on me.

  “I figured that was a done deal.” He shrugged. “I did notice that your mother and father have a house for sale across the street from them. And one two houses down.”

  I nodded. “They’ve been open for over a year now. Why were you at my parents’ place?”

  “I was talking to your mother,” he answered. “I asked her how the hell I was supposed to know if a dog was pregnant.”

  “You didn’t go over there just to ask that. I Googled that this week. We already suspect it. We have to take Sister into the vet, though, to confirm. Now what are you trying to get out of telling me?” I set the stomach down onto the table, then separated it completely from the rest of the digestive system.

  After weighing it, I started to cut into it.

  Logan and I had suspected for a week that Sister could be pregnant. I mean, it was more than obvious that it might happen seeing as neither animal was fixed.

  “Logan…”

  He sounded grossed out when he answered.

  “I wanted to ask her the best way to approach your father about asking to marry you,” he told me.

  I froze in the process of cutting.

  “You what?”

  “Then I went to your dad’s office, with your mom in tow, and asked him if I could marry you,” he continued as if he didn’t just drop a bomb. “After I received his permission, I bought you a ring, that your mother helped pick out. Then I waited for you to come home with dinner in the oven, only you never came, despite saying you were on your way three separate times.”

  My lip started trembling as my hands dropped down to my sides.

  “I don’t need a fancy proposal,” I told him.

  His lip tipped up at the corner. “That’s good, because you ruined it by saying you were coming and never did.”

  I snickered. “My bad.”

  He pulled a ring box out of his pocket, then, right there in the middle of my autopsy, he got down on one knee and raised the box with a brightly winking diamond in it up in the air.

  “Katy Roberts, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” he rumbled. “Move in with me. Raise a few puppies and babies with me?”

  There was no other way to answer him but one.

  “Yes!”

  Epilogue

  I like your personality, but your big dick sure is a bonus.

  -Coffee Cup

  Katy

  “I don’t know what I was thinking,” I panted. “I don’t want to do this!”

  My mother and sister started laughing from the other side of the room where they’d been parked, playing Go Fish of all things.

  “Here, focus on the Lou/Sister puppies.” Rowen shoved her phone into my face. “Aren’t they so freakin’ cute?”

  They were.

  Every single puppy out of the litter had been adopted out to people at the police station. Eight puppies in total, they’d all been an adorable blend of both mom and dad.

  I just loved getting updates.

  Normally.

  Now, not so much.

  “Little too late now saying you don’t want to do this,” my dad murmured, adding his two cents. “You’re seconds away from giving birth. You should’ve thought of this when you decided that you wanted to do in-vitro fertilization.”

  I looked over at Logan, who hadn’t said much since I’d started experiencing such strong contractions.

  “Do something!” I ordered fiercely.

  He got up and caught my hand up in his.

  We’d officially been married now for eleven months.

  A month into our marriage, when I told him I wanted to use my savings to pay for in-vitro fertilization, he hadn’t hesitated.

  With both of us having our issues, we’d decided that it’d be best to go ahead and do this the me
dical way instead of waiting months to see if it would happen when we both knew it was nearly impossible.

  And, low and behold, on our first attempt we managed to get pregnant.

  With not one baby, but two.

  Which led us to now, thirty-five weeks later, me in labor and Logan scared shitless.

  “I’ve never been this scared in my life,” he admitted. “I literally hate seeing you in pain, and even more I’m scared that you’re going to be taken away from me.”

  My dad cleared his throat and stood up.

  “You two come with me,” he ordered. “We’re going to the cafeteria for some food and giving them some time.”

  I was appreciative that he was willing to do that—leave and allow Logan to gather his composure.

  My mom, sister, and father were gone moments later, leaving me alone with my husband.

  “What’s wrong, honey?” I asked softly. “We talked about this.”

  And we had, a lot.

  Ever since everything had gone down the night of the shooting, we’d talked so much that it felt like I knew everything there was to know about Logan Gibbs.

  I knew when he was scared. I knew when he was pissed. I also knew when he was full of shit.

  “We did,” he agreed. “But that doesn’t mean that I can’t still be scared that I’m going to fuck this up.”

  I smiled at that.

  “Well, at least I’ll be at your side,” I said. “Dad told me that he left me at Walmart once when I was a baby.”

  He blinked. “What?”

  I nodded. “Got all the way to the gas station at the front of the lot when he realized I wasn’t with him.”

  He smiled. “I really, really hope that I don’t do that.”

  I doubled over when another pain hit me, this one so close to the other one that I knew it wasn’t going to be much longer.

  “I need you to go get a nurse,” I told him. “And Jesus Christ, I feel like I’m on fire down there.”

  He frowned. “You have an epidural. You shouldn’t be feeling anything.”

  “Tell that to my contractions,” I said. “That bitch came in here and turned it off when you were in the bathroom. Apparently, they weren’t happy with my progress, and said that maybe it was my epidural that was hindering progress. Consequently, I agreed to have it turned down.”

  He swallowed hard, then walked out of the room only to return moments later with a familiar face.

  “Is it time?” Payton, one of my childhood friend’s mother, asked.

  I nodded. “Feels like I’m burning from the inside out.”

  Payton lifted my sheet and shook her head. “That would be because there’s a head coming out of your vagina. Jesus Christ, Katy. You were supposed to call us before you started delivering.”

  Logan’s face blanched.

  That was when I felt the urge to push.

  ***

  “I can’t believe you had them in five minutes!” Rowen cried out. “I didn’t even get to take a picture.”

  “Thank God for that,” I muttered as the doctor stitched me up.

  “Amen,” my father agreed. “I love you, kid, but I wasn’t a hundred percent comfortable with being in here when you were delivering.”

  I didn’t care what he wanted, which was why he was there even when he didn’t want to be.

  I’d had them put a screen up so he wouldn’t see anything vital.

  I just had wanted my dad there. Was that so wrong?

  “Well,” the doctor said as she patted my thigh. “You’re as good as new. That’s going to hurt for sure, but I don’t see that it’ll be that much of a nuisance past a couple of days. Let me know if you need anything, okay?”

  I smiled at my doctor, who’d been with me since the conception of the two little cuties in their father’s arms.

  “Thank you,” I said tiredly.

  “Yes, thank you,” Logan croaked.

  “I love seeing big, bad alpha males melt at the sight of their kids.” She winked. “Did good, girl. See you later.”

  With that, my doctor left, and my nurse covered me up after replacing the sheet underneath of me.

  Child birthing was messy business.

  “Is it safe to come out now?” my father asked.

  “She’s all covered, Grandpa!” Payton crowed.

  Dad made a gagging sound. “We’re going to have to come up with a better word for me.”

  My mother snickered as she resumed her earlier seat. My father emerged from behind the screen, and my brother, who’d come in at some point and not announced himself, walked over to the twins.

  “They look nothing like you,” Derek lied to Logan.

  Logan snorted. “They have my hair, my eyes, my nose, and my mouth. They even have my ears. There’s no doubt that they’re mine.”

  Derek sighed. “You’re right. Can I hold one?”

  “No,” Logan denied.

  “What about me?” Dad asked.

  Logan sighed. “I guess.”

  That was when Derek took one baby, and Dad took the other.

  My mother came over and started taking pictures.

  Logan stood up and made his way to me, sweeping my sweaty hair out from my face.

  “You want me to grab you anything while I run to the car for their bags?” he asked.

  “McDonald’s?” I teased.

  He winked. “I’m already taking care of that. Paydon’s on his way up here with food.”

  I did a small fist pump. “Best man ever!”

  Paydon walked in moments later, Gibby in his arms.

  “Congrats, dude!” Paydon exclaimed the moment he breached the doorway.

  I grinned at the man that I’d come to adore since he’d come into my life a little over a year before.

  “Thanks, Pay-Pay,” I teased.

  Pay-Pay was Gibby’s way of calling Paydon daddy.

  Over the last year, she’d come to really love Paydon, but since she was still kind of confused on her parenting situation seeing as Paydon, Nina, and Darius were always there, she called people by their names instead of ‘Mom,’ ‘Dad’ and ‘Grandma/Grandpa.’

  By the way, Gibby still hated not only me but Logan as well.

  It was so weird.

  But boy, did she love her Pay-Pay.

  “You look beautiful,” he continued to yell. “And those babies ‘a yours. Whew, boy! They’re gonna be gorgeous.”

  That, I already knew.

  With who their daddy was? There was no doubt in my mind that my boys were going to be striking when they got older.

  Not that I was biased or anything.

  “Thanks, Paydon.” I smiled softly this time.

  Dad and Derek gave the babies back to Logan, then walked over to where they could see more people gathering in the hallway.

  Paydon walked over to where Logan was holding the twins, then looked down at them before squeezing Logan’s shoulder with his free hand. “You did good, Dad.”

  Logan looked up, a look of startled fascination on his face. “Holy shit, I’m a dad!”

  Paydon snickered. “Yeah, now we both are.”

  With that, Paydon left just as quickly as he came.

  “I love him.” I closed my eyes as exhaustion rolled over me.

  I opened my eyes and looked up as I heard shuffling.

  Logan was making his way toward me, carefully, as if he was carrying the most precious of glass.

  “You’re allowed to wake them,” I told him.

  He smiled. “I know. But I don’t want them to wake up and start screaming when they realize I have no idea what I’m doing.”

  I snickered and pressed my hand against his belly when he sat on the edge of my bed.

  “I can’t believe they’re here,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to be a father. Now…I just have to make sure that I’m half the one that I was blessed with.”

  I looked down at Logan
Ryan Gibbs Junior, then at Lucas Roberts Gibbs, and felt like my heart was so full it would burst.

  “You will be, baby. You will be.”

  He moved until he could lay Lucas in my arms. Then shifted in the bed so that he could lay beside me, half on the bed, half off. Once there, he curled his free arm around me, and then the boys, and said, “I love you, Katerina Gibbs.”

  I felt tears form in my eyes.

  “Not as much as I love you, Logan Gibbs.”

  What’s Next?

  It Wasn’t Me

  Book 2 of The KPD Motorcycle Patrol Series

  Chapter 1

  If you’re hungry, never go to the supermarket. You’ll wind up with a bunch of shit you don’t need. ASK ME HOW I KNOW!

  -Text from Piper to Phoebe

  Piper

  “Gonna miss you, Piper!”

  I looked back and waved at the only friend that I’d met, and continued to be able to tolerate, at the German Army base.

  Jillian gave me a fist raise and turned on her booted heels, heading back toward the front door where I’d been let off.

  I continued through the line of people, making my way to where I was informed to wait.

  It didn’t take long, and soon I was sitting in the chair next to the large window that looked out over the tarmac.

  I shivered slightly and wrapped my arms around myself, hoping that I didn’t have to wait long.

  I was joining a returning troops transport back stateside, and the last thing I wanted to do was sit here any longer than I had to.

  Then again, I was told that I was lucky to get the transport back home. Had I had to fly commercial, I’d have been waiting until Monday like the rest of the world, seeing as a hell of a snowstorm had barreled through our part of Germany.

  “A rare spring snowstorm,” I’d been informed by not one, not two, but fifteen individuals on the way to the transport this morning.

  Honestly, I was glad to be leaving.

  As much as I loved the weather here in Germany, I was ready to be home. Even more, I was ready to get my thin Texas blood back to where it was acclimated to one-hundred-degree summers. I was certainly not used to dealing with any type of snowstorms.

  Pulling out my phone, I began to read my latest book.

  It was nearly an hour later when I was finally called to begin boarding the plane.