Chapter Six
Maceo
Seventeen hours later, our plane touches down in Denver late in the evening. I’m eager to get us safely to our vehicle and back home.
Of course, the first thing Josephine has to do when we exit the plane is to use the bathroom. The longer she takes, the more anxious I become. I pace outside the women’s restroom like a caged lion. Not having eyes on her unnerves me, especially not knowing if Esteban is nearby. I scrutinize every stranger who walks near me. It’s not overkill when you know there’s a target on your back.
When Josephine emerges from the restroom, I take her hand and we hustle to retrieve our luggage before making our way to our vehicle. At our vehicle, I sweep outside and inside the SUV, checking for bombs, bugs, and trackers. With everything cleared, I instruct Josephine to climb in as I load our luggage.
Thankfully, Josephine doesn’t stop to question what the hell I’m doing. She’s aware Esteban could be anywhere, and with the bastard having a safe house somewhere in Colorado, being out in the open is not safe. The hour drive home to Fort Collins is no less tense. My eyes flit to my mirrors every few minutes to see if we have any tails. It’s not until we approach the gate to our property, I finally relax.
The sanctuary of our hundred acres in the Colorado wilderness with the Rockies in the background has a way of setting me at ease. It’s our home and my club's compound.
The vehicle isn’t even in park when Punk opens the passenger door and pulls Josephine out in a big brotherly hug. “Come here, sis. Damn, I’ve missed your obnoxious ass.”
Josephine laughs and squeezes him back. “I missed you too, little bro.”
“Speaking of those who missed you…” Punk whistles between his fingers.
Hades barks his head off. He comes running up the path from where our house is being built like a bull charging a red flag.
“Oh shit!” I dash in front of Josephine to block Hades from leaping on her. The dog outweighs my Pixie by fifty pounds, even more after being food spoiled for nearly two weeks.
Hades leaps in the air and collides with my chest. I barely catch him before landing flat on my ass with anoof. Hades whines, slobbering me with his tongue. “Okay, big boy. Take it easy. You need to calm down, or you may hurt yourmamá.”
At the mention of his favorite human, Hades bounds off me and prances to Josephine. “Hey, baby. How is mommy’s good boy?”
Hades howls and piddles himself with joy. Josephine laughs and rubs his big velvet head, peppering him with kisses. Hades stubby tail wags like a flag in the breeze, but suddenly he goes stiff.
Josephine looks worried. “Hades? What’s wrong, boy?”
Hades sniffs at hismama’stummy. He looks slowly up at Jo and back at her stomach. Hades presses his snout against her nonexistent belly and surprises us with a loud snort. He looks over his shoulder at me and does something he hasn’t done since the early stages of mine and Jo’s relationship—he bares his teeth and growls.
“What the hell? Hades, calm down,” Punk says, alarmed.
Hades spins around, keeping Josephine behind his back. He snarls at both Punk and me, warning us to back off.
Shit.I know what the problem is.
“Back up,” I say to Punk, beckoning him to step back with me.
Punk raises an eyebrow but does what I ask. After we’ve retreated several paces, Hades stops snarling and turns back to Josephine. He rubs his colossal head against her abdomen and whines.
“Oh, Hades,” Josephine says, comforting our dog with gentle strokes. “It’s going to be okay.”
“The fuck is going on?” Punk asks.
I sigh. “Our baby boy figured out he’s not the baby anymore.”
“Maceo! We agreed not to say anything until after we got confirmation from the doctor.”
“I’m sorry, Josephine,” I apologize before waving my hands between Hades and Punk. “But I think some explanation was needed. Besides, it's Punk. He should know he’s not just guarding my wife.”
Punk’s face puckers in confusion before popping with surprise. “Jo’s pregnant?!”
I smile like the king of the world.
He thumbs his chest. “I’m going to be an uncle?”