Epilogue

Zane had proven to be every bit as overprotective as his club brothers. Between Corinne’s kidnapping and my pregnancy, every caveman instinct inside him had been triggered. He barely let us out of his sight for the first few weeks following everything that had gone down, and he’d only gotten a little better as more time passed.

It had been another month, and today was the first time Zane had left us alone for more than a couple of hours. And I used “alone” loosely since a prospect had stayed on the front porch while he was at Iron Inkworks. But at least Corinne and I had gotten to stay home instead of hanging out at the tattoo shop while he was working.

“Hey, baby, I’m home,” he called when he walked into the house.

“Did you hear that, sweetie? Daddy’s home,” I cooed to Corinne.

We were on the floor while she did tummy time, and even though I wasn’t too far along in my pregnancy, I knew to wait for Zane to help me up. “We’re in here,” I called.

He strode into the family room, his lips curving into a satisfied grin when he spotted us. “There’re my girls. I missed you two.”

I rolled my eyes with a laugh. “You were hardly gone long enough to miss us.”

“Wrong,” he growled, crouching down to press a kiss to my lips. “It happens every time I walk out the front door. Doesn’t matter if I’m gone for five minutes or five hours. I’m already looking forward to getting back to you before I pull out of the driveway.”

“Aw,” I sniffled. “Stop being so sweet, or you’re going to make me cry. You know how easy that is with the pregnancy hormones coursing through my body.”

“Your gorgeous-as-fuck body that’s just getting better with you carrying my baby.” His hand cupped my still-flat belly. “I’ll try my best, but I’m makin’ no promises. You deserve all the sweetness in the world since that’s what you give our daughter and me.”

I giggled at how easily he accepted my excuse, reminding me of the conversation Molly and Dahlia had back when I was first getting to know them. It was amazing how many things could be blamed on pregnancy hormones. And how many ridiculous food requests I could make even before the food cravings had kicked in.

“Did you remember to pick up pickles for my grilled cheese sandwich? And that yummy popcorn with the pink Himalayan salt that I’ve fallen in love with?” I asked.

“Of course, I did, baby,” he confirmed with a grin as he lifted his arm to show me the bag he’d been hiding behind his back. “Got you some chocolate caramels too.”

“Ooh, gimme,” I squealed, reaching out to snag the candy and pop one into my mouth. “Yum.”

“See, munchkin. Daddy did good,” he murmured as he lifted Corinne into the air to nibble at her belly. “And when you get big enough, I’ll bring treats home for you too.”

“I’m sure you will.” I beamed a smile at him. “You’re such a good daddy.”

He flashed me a satisfied smirk. “I sure as fuck hope so since we’re gonna have a bunch of kids.”

“A bunch, huh?”

“Yup.” He set Corinne back on the floor. “That’s what you want, so that’s what I’m gonna give you.”

“Lucky me.”

He shook his head. “Nah, I’m the lucky one, baby.”

He claimed my mouth in a deep kiss, and I whimpered when it was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone.

“No,” I cried as he pulled away to answer.

I couldn’t hear what was said on the other end of the line, but I knew it was serious when every hint of good humor was wiped from his expression. When the call ended, he tucked the phone into his pocket.

“Sorry, baby. Gotta go.” He brushed a quick kiss against my lips before explaining, “Some girl just called the clubhouse. Ice was in an accident.”

“Some girl?” I echoed, my brows drawing together. In all the months Zane and I had been together, I’d never seen Ice with a woman.

“No clue who she was, but it sounds bad.” His lips pressed into a grimace. “Blade’s on his way to meet him at the hospital, and he asked for some help getting Ice’s bike back to the club’s auto shop. I’m gonna meet Wrecker and Wolf there to give them a hand since we’re closer to where it happened.”

I’d been looking forward to a quiet night at home with him, but one of the things I loved most about Zane was his loyalty to the people he cared about. So I pasted a smile on my face and nodded. “I understand. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

“You can curl up in our bed and get some rest.” His hand dropped to cup my belly. “You’ve got your hands full enough between taking care of Corinne and giving me another baby.”

“Go.” I patted his butt as he turned, earning me a hot look over his shoulder. One that I was sure he’d make good on when he returned home.