Page 117 of Dissonance

I swallow, somehow managing to straighten enough to look at him. “I’ve been getting this pain all through dinner, and they’re getting closer and more intense. I think she’s coming.”

His whole expression shifts, jaw set, eyes sharpening, every part of him moving into that mode I’ve only ever seen with Cooper. Not panic or fear, just immediate, unadulterated focus.

“Alright,” he says, voice steady, grounded. “Okay.”

Fingers thread through mine, his other hand firm at my back as he guides me off the dance floor without drawing a single eye.

“Hospital bag’s in the car,” I say, mostly to myself. “We’re ten minutes from—”

“Thea.”

He stops me, dark eyes searching mine, and I don’t need to say anything else. This isn’t hypothetical. This is happening. Now. Gentle lips find mine, a mere moment before everything changes.

Another wave starts to build, and I exhale into it, my hand tightening around his.

“Okay, we’re going now,” he says when it’s over.

We don’t make it far before someone notices. Cooper appears first, flushed from the sun and the open bar, his gaze flicking between me and the way Lockie’s holding me.

“What’s going on?”

“She’s in labor,” Lockie says, already moving past him.

“Oh, shit,” he gasps, eyes wide, jaw dropping. “Holy shit. What are you still doing here?”

“We’re trying to leave,” I grind out.

We’re almost at the door when I hear my name, a whimper escaping me when I see Paige running toward us, dress clutched in her hand, Maddox close behind.

“I’m so sorry,” I say, sweat beading along my hairline. “I didn’t mean to—”

“Are you kidding me right now?” she asks, beaming. “Is this actually happening?”

I nod. “Apparently so.”

“We need to move,” Lockie says, more urgently now.

Paige drops my hand and steps back. “Oh my god, yes, go, go! Text me. Or don’t. Just—go!”

Lockie’s hand stays at my back, shoulders squared, navigating us through the last of the crowd toward the car. If anyone else calls our names, he doesn’t listen, in full bodyguard mode, getting me out of there as quickly as possible.

“Easy,” he says when we reach the steps down to the parking lot, his body angled slightly in front of mine. “I’ve got you.”

“I know.”

And I do, even now as another wave starts to build, I know he’ll always have me.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Thea

The hospital doors slide open before we’ve reached them, cool air rushing out to meet us. The lights are too bright, everything’s too loud, my skin stretched so tight across my bones that focusing on anything except my next breath feels impossible.

Lockie’s hand stays wrapped around mine as he guides me inside, scanning for the reception desk without breaking his stride.

“That’s it, baby,” he says, and I nod, even though I don’t know what I’m agreeing to.

A contraction builds as we reach the desk, and I double over, bearing down on his grip. If he’s speaking, I have no idea, my nails digging into the back of his hand as I breathe through my nose the way Harriet told us to in class—slow, steady—and wait for it to pass.