Chapter 20

Lincoln

W arm blood splatters against my face as I jam my blade into the neck of the asshole who dared get in my way.

He lets out a gurgling grunt, eyes going wide with fear as he understands that he's taking his last breath.

A sinister grin takes over my lips as I yank the blade free, sending him to the ground with a hard thud.

I don't get to revel in his demise for very long because someone takes a shot at me. I duck, spinning around on my heel and raising the gun in my other hand. I fire a few shots, sending the man crashing into the wall as one bullet lands in his neck and the other between his eyes. He slides down, leaving a blood trail on the fancy wallpaper.

The lights turn on, and the backup generator kicks in.

"Well, fuck," Titus grunts, his own kill falling from his arms with a sickening wack to the ground. "Isn't that a thing of beauty?"

The hall is lined with a good ten men. This part of the house seems to be heavily guarded, meaning my girl must be close.

I've been a good boy, a really fucking good boy. I've kept it together, kept my monster locked down tight, knowing that if Idid the things I wanted to, I'd fuck up any chance of getting her back.

But god, did it feel fucking fantastic to finally let him out. For the past five minutes, every time I was done with one man, another one popped out of nowhere.

"Would have been nice to have the fucking lights on before all of that." I toss my hand towards the sea of dead bodies. Ispit on the nearest dead corpse, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. "Would have loved to see the life drain from their eyes. Only got to see that last one because of the moonlight shining through that window." The storm has seemed to stop, almost as if to say the end of the rainbow is right out of reach.

"You're a sick fucker, you know that." Titus chuckles. "I like that. Now, let's go get our girls."

We're about to start ripping into each room, but a pained scream has my blood running cold. My eyes snap to Titus, and within a second we're racing down the hall. Grabbing the handle, I see that it's locked. Another pained whimper sounds. My Little Bird. With a roar, I raise my foot and kick the door in.

Eyes wild, they snap to the scene before me.

"Dynika!" Titus shouts, rushing into the room to the girl lying on the ground.

"Little Bird." Seeing her here, safe, has me falling to my knees in relief by her side. Her face contorts with pain. "I'm here, baby. You're safe. We're here."

"Link," she sobs, her face sweaty and eyes hardly open. "It hurts. It hurts so much." My eyes snap down to where she's hugging her belly. The baby. True terror fills my veins.

"Is she okay? What's wrong?" I hate how panicked my words sound, but I just found them, I can't lose my Baby Bird.

"She's coming. Link, I can't stop it. Oh god!" she screams, curling into herself in pain.

"Hey, hey, Little Bird. Look at me." I cup her face in my hands, my heart pounding in my chest. Hold it together, Link, she needs you. You can't fail them again. "You got this. You're so fucking strong. I'm so proud of you."

"I need to push. God, fuck!"

There's no way we could call an ambulance. If they get here and see... anything, we're all fucked. Doesn't matter anyway, because Baby Bird feels like she needs to make her appearance right now.

"What happened to her!" Titus shouts, and I swing a murderous glare his way.

"Do not fucking talk to my wife in that tone," I snarl.

"She had a seizure. She's okay, just hasn't woken up yet," Raven pants out as I help her to her feet.

"We need to get you to the bed, Little Bird," I tell her. She whimpers, and my heart fucking shatters. I hate seeing her in pain.

"Shit," Titus says behind me. "Dynika, baby, wake up."

"Is everyone okay?" I hear Hunter's voice. "Fuck, Little Mouse." Hunter rushes to my side. "Is she okay? Is she hurt?"

"I'm fine," Raven groans. "Just about to have a fucking baby in the middle of a shoot out."

"What!" Hunter's eyes grow wide. "Now?"

" Chiaro di luna ," Quinton breathes out in relief. "Fuck, I'm so glad you're okay."

"Yes," I bark. "Now, get some fucking towels or some shit." I'm trying not to freak out, but I have no idea how to deliver a fucking baby.

"We found him. He's tied up in the bunker," Quinton informs me. "But he's not looking so good as it is."

"I want to end him," Raven cries out in pain. "Fuck!"

"You will, Little Bird. Just bring our baby girl into this world safely, and then he's all yours," I promise her, kissing her sweaty forehead.

More people make their way into the room. As I help Raven settle in, I see it's Otto and Arcadius. "Is she okay? What fucking happened?" Otto growls.

"She had a seizure. She should be fine." Titus lifts the blond girl into his arms. She looks so small compared to him.

"Please don't hurt her," Raven whimpers.

"We would rather die than hurt a hair on her head," Titus vows, nothing but the truth shining in his eyes.

"Who are you?" she asks, gasping for air.

"We'll talk later," Titus tells her, then looks at me. "I'm going to take Dynika into one of the other rooms to rest. We will see you after."

Hunter comes back with the towels as Quinton helps me remove Raven's clothes.

Travis and Taylor come rushing into the room. When their eyes land on Raven, their whole face morphs with relief. "Congratulations, little brothers. You're about to become papa's."

"What?" Travis says as they make their way over to us as Titus and his men leave.

"Did he just say brother?" Raven shoots Travis a glare.

"We'll talk about that later, Dove." He kisses her forehead.

"She's in labor?" Taylor asks.

"Yes!" Raven screams. "And I need to push," she whimpers. "She's coming right fucking now."

Adrenaline fills me, and I grab one of her legs, pulling it up to her chest as Quinton does the same thing to her other side.

"I got the towels," Hunter declares, stopping my side. "Wow. I can see a head!"

"Fuck you!" Raven yells as she pushes.

"You got this, Little Bird. Come on, baby, push. You're doing so good. So fucking strong," I tell her as she bares down and pushes again. A scream rips from her chest before she slumps back against the pillows.

"I can't," she sobs. "It hurts so much."

"I know, Chiaro di luna , but Baby Bird needs you to push. We need her to get here safely, okay? You got this. You're a badass bitch, remember?"

"Yeah," she laughs, nodding her head. She looks exhausted, and I wish so fucking much I could do this for her, but I can't. She's so fucking strong, so amazing. A motherfucking superhuman. I'm in awe and proud to call her mine.

"You got this, Dove," Travis encourages, getting on the bed, ready to catch our baby girl.

"The baddest bitch of them all, Foxy Girl." Taylor grins.

"We love you, Little Mouse. Let's meet our daughter."

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before pushing again. A roar fills the room as I look down and watch as the head pops out, then shoulders, and then she is sliding into Travis's hands. She has done something so incredible, delivering our baby. Raven gasps, slumping back against the pillow.

"You did it, Dove," Travis cheers with a massive grin on his face and tears in his eyes.

There's a small moment as I stare at her gooey body, where I fear something is wrong. But then her little cries fill the air, and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Give her to me," I demand, causing Travis's face to fall. I glare at him, reminding him he's the fucking reason we're in this situation right now.

"Link," Raven's soft voice is stern. I look over to see her looking like she's ready to fall asleep, but she glares at me. "I know you want to blame him for my father's men taking me, but you can't. I won't let you. It's not his fault. None of the things that have happened to me is any of your guys' faults. I know you can't seem to remember this, but you are only human. And this life we've chosen takes place in a big, and dangerous world. You cannot always be the biggest and the baddest. You don't know who else is out there that may have more power than you. So you will not blame him."

My nostrils flare as I shoot Travis a look. He's staring at Raven like she's a gift from god. She is.

"Thank you, Dove." He leans in and kisses her. "I don't deserve you."

"You do." She gives him a sleepy smile. "You always will."

He's going to still beat himself up over it no matter what she says. Good.

I can't promise her I'm going to let this go, but there is another time and place to have that blow out. "I still want my baby," I growl.

He looks back to me, down to the baby, and smiles. He kisses her little forehead, soft cries spilling from her lips as he hands her over to me.

There have been a few points in my life that altered my universe. The moment I laid eyes on Raven when I vowed to myself that she was mine and I'd kill anyone who tried to take her from me. The moment I first held Andrew in my arms and felt it deep in my soul that he was mine. And now, as I look down at my sweet baby girl, her soft cries slipping away as she shoves her fingers into her mouth and sucks on them.

"She's perfect." I don't even care that my voice cracks.

Travis helps Raven deliver the placenta. She looks like she's in a little bit of pain, but nowhere near as much as she was in pushing this little angel out.

"You can't hog her," Hunter grumbles.

There's a knock at the door, and I look over to see Titus. "Congrats on the baby. I hate to rush anyone, but we need to leave. Boris will be here any moment, and I'd rather not have another shootout and lose more of my men."

"Boris?" Raven asks as Hunter covers her with the blanket.

"The bastard who's on his way to buy you and your sister," I snarl. I'd love nothing more than to stay here and wait so I can kill the fucker myself. But I'm not in a position to take on the Russian mafia right now.

Taylor finds something for Raven to wear as Quinton calls for one of our men to go back and bring a car to the house.

"We need to cut the cord," Travis says. He goes into the bathroom and comes out with his switchblade. "Don't worry, I haven't used it. Still clean from the last time, but I still soaked it in some rubbing alcohol I found in the bathroom," he informs, handing the knife over to Hunter.

"Me?" he asks.

"Just do it," I snarl. I'd do it myself, but I don't want to let Baby Bird go. She's sleeping now, snuggled in my arms. Where she belongs.

Hunter cuts the cord, and then we're getting Raven dressed.

"There's clothes over there for her," Raven says. I can tell she wants to cuddle Baby Bird and hold her, but she knows we need to leave.

"What the fuck?" Hunter mutters as he walks over to the side of the room that's decked out in baby stuff.

"I fucking hate him," I growl. "I can't wait until you kill him," I tell her.

"Me too," Raven agrees, surprising me. I know she deals with the killing, sometimes it even turns her on, but I never expected, nor wanted her to kill anyone herself. This one... this one is different. She needs this.

After we dress the baby and get her snuggled back into the blanket, Hunter and Travis help Raven to her feet.

"We thought we would make it easier." Otto and Arcadius step into the room and toss a withered old man onto the ground.

"Doesn't look like he has much left in him," Arcadius mutters.

"Here you go, Little Mouse." Hunter hands her his gun.

Titus steps into the room, the blonde girl cradled in his arms. She's awake now, but barely. She has a gun in her hand too.

We help Raven move closer to the piece of shit on the floor. She spits on his face and a rush of pride fills me. "How does it feel to know all of this was for nothing? You lose, you worthless waste of skin. I hope you rot in hell."

He makes a groaning noise before breaking out into a fit of coughs.

"I hope you know that I'm going to be free, living the life I want and you no longer have any control over me," the blonde girl continues where Raven left off. "Die, you fucking bastard."

The girls aim their guns and give each other a look. Quickly, I leave the room and Quinton places his hands over the baby's ears. Two gunshots ring out almost in perfect unison, making the baby cry out.

"Shhhh," I soothe her, rocking her as I kiss her forehead. "Everything is okay, Baby Bird. No one will ever hurt you again. I've got you."