Nic approaches the van and gives Duke a huge grin as she catches his eye. Just when I think Duke’s going to fucking lose it because she’s taking their newborn on a job, he smiles at her and reaches back to open the door for her.
“Least you could do, asshole,” Nic says, and she climbs in and settles Robin’s carrier into its base in the seat directly behind mine. If I had noticed the base of the car seat was already in here, maybe I wouldn’t have been about to piss myself at the fight I was sure would ensue.
“You’re cool with this shit?” I ask Duke.
He shrugs his shoulders. “Let’s just call it ‘Take Your Daughter to Work Day.’ ”
“Chill, Jer,” Nic says, buckling up and shutting the door. “You two need a reason to be at the hospital.”
The drive to the hospital is quiet, so quiet in fact that it starts to get tense inside the van. I hate when any of the brothers are this silent, because it means they’re thinking about shit—likely shit I’ve done wrong—and that usually leads to bitch duty. I fucking hate bitch duty, mostly because I usually end up on bitch duty with my sister. And if there is one woman on this planet who doesn’t like to be watched over, it’s her.
Upon our arrival, I swing around to the maternity ward and park in the underground garage. Last week when Nic delivered Robin, we scoped out the best point of entry and found the fewest number of cameras between here and Darren’s room. Nic dislodges Robin’s carrier from the base and climbs out of the van with her in tow. Duke and I hop out and meet her on the passenger side.
Duke eyes me and says, “Nic’s going to cause a distraction while you and I pop into Jennings’s room and take care of business.”
“Mercer’s got a uniform on Jennings’s room.” I’ve gone over this again and again in my head and don’t know how the fuck we’re going to work this out. “Not to mention hospital security.”
“You’re so fucking new,” Nic says with a snicker.
Duke smirks at his girl and takes the carrier from her hands. He peers down at Robin and makes a funny face for her. “Your butt buddy is taking care of security. Gonzales is on Jennings, and she’ll leave to take care of Nic.”
“Would you fucking quit with that shit? Trigger’s got a hard-on for my ass, and the last fucking thing I need is you reminding me of that shit.”
“Relax, Jer. I don’t think he really wants to fuck your ass,” Nic says.
Duke purses his lips and looks down at Nic. “Do not get yourself arrested.”
She smiles.
“I mean it, babe. That’s a fucking order. Distract them—that’s all.”
Nic takes Robin back and heads for the hospital while mumbling something about ignoring Duke when he gets bossy. The sappy fuck just smiles at her as she walks away bitching. Fuck, I hope I don’t look like that.
Nic beelines for the nurse’s station in the maternity ward, raising her voice as she gets closer to the large wraparound desk. She’s screeching about fevers and poisonous diapers and something about toxic formula. She even sounds like she’s crying. Christ, she’s a fucking psychopath if she can turn that shit on that quick.
Duke and I dart down a hallway in the opposite direction and through two sets of heavy double doors that signal our exit and entrance into different departments. The hall is lined with Critical Care patient rooms. Right next to a life support station that houses a defibrillation machine and a few locked boxes of shit I’d love to get my hands on is a closed and unmarked door. I stride up to it and push it open, revealing a set of narrow stairs that Duke and I dart up as quickly as we can. By the time we reach the third floor where Darren’s room is, I’m huffing and puffing and ready to pass the hell out. But Duke? No, that motherfucker takes a deep breath and smiles at me.
“Your sister gives me a fucking workout every goddamn night,” he says.
As gross as it is, I know that’s not true right now. “Liar. I read that book. You got another five weeks before you can bust a nut.” I shove my way out into the hallway, desperate to get away from this conversation. I didn’t want to read that book—swear to Christ I didn’t—but Nic made me. And fuck babies. Fuck riding a chick bare. Fuck it all. A bitch’s asshole should only get torn because she’s getting pounded too hard, not because a leechy human is escaping her vagina.
Fuck.
No.
At the end of the hall is Detective Angel Gonzales. When she spots us, she nods her head and leaves her post for the small desk that passes for a nurse’s station in this two-bit hospital. Informing the nurse of an issue downstairs, Gonzales asks for backup in figuring out what’s going on. The nurse is angled away from us, facing a filing cabinet behind the desk. She huffs and explains that she’s not to leave her post. I slip behind a thick square pillar near Jennings’s room and make room for Duke. He and I each pull out a pair of black gloves and slip them on.
No fingerprints.