Behind Dr. Romero, a nurse walks in with a large machine, pushing it toward my bedside. Zane clears out of the way to give her room to work, choosing to stand eagerly at the foot of my bed.
“Maybe we should speak in private,” she says.
I shake my head. “No, this is my husband and my grandmother. Whatever you have to tell me, they can hear.”
The doctor nods once before continuing. “I have reason to believe you’re pregnant,” Doctor Romero says. “We’re going to conduct an ultrasound to be sure. Thankfully, you weren’t exposed to high levels of radiation for very long. I suspect there will be no negative side effects for you or the child, but I still need to conduct a few more tests to be sure.”
My jaw drops. I can hardly believe what I’m hearing. “I’m… pregnant?”
Dr. Romero is quick to apply some lubrication to my belly, gently pressing the wand to my skin as the machine thrums rhythmically. On the screen, images start to take shape. I’m unsure how to decipher all the lines and the warping images, but the doctor eventually pauses over my belly.
My eyes prickle, a warmth blooming in my chest.
That’s a baby. My baby.
And I didn’t even know they were there.
“Oh my God,” I breathe, stunned and amazed and alarmed all at once. If the bullet had hit me a few inches to the right… My heart thuds loudly in my chest. I don’t even want to think about it.
Beside me, Renata is in tears, barely containing her smile. She says a quick prayer in Spanish, of which I understand none. “My dearest girl, look.”
“I’m looking,” I say on a breathy laugh. “Is it…”
“I would estimate roughly three months along.”
Three months…
That would mean December, when I first met Zane in Las Vegas. Could it have been the night we got black out drunk and accidentally got married? Could our child have been conceived on Christmas day? If it’s true, it’s the best gift I’ve ever received.
“Oh,” Dr. Romero says, furrowing her brow.
“What’s wrong?” I ask quickly. “Is the baby okay?”
“The baby appears in excellent health… As does the other one.”
I stare at the screen. She’s moved the ultrasound wand over a touch, bringing into view not just one, but two babies resting directly next to one another.
Twins.
My grandmother is practically sobbing her eyes out, so over the moon she can hardly speak. She grips my hand and kisses the back of my knuckles. “What a miracle!”
While I’m obviously ecstatic, I’m overwhelmed, too. I can’t be pregnant in the middle of a cartel war. I’ve only known about them for thirty seconds, but I feel an unchecked protectiveness stirring inside me. I wouldn’t dream of putting my babies at risk. What if the Becerras open fire on the hacienda again? What if I’m caught in the crossfire? I need to keep my children as far away from all this violence and mayhem as possible…
And that means I can’t enact my revenge in person.
Amidst all the thoughts swirling inside my skull, one screams louder and harder than the rest:What does Zane think?
I look at him, studying his statuesque posture and hard expression. He stands at the foot of my bed like a guard dog, eyes trained on me as if waiting for a command. I can’t tell what he’s thinking, but I do know this is the furthest thing from happiness.
“Zane?” I rasp.
He grinds his teeth, his fists clenching up into tight balls. “This changes everything,” he says, low and dangerous. He looks to Renata. “I want a moment alone with her.”
My abuela stands and nods understandingly. She gestures to the nurse and doctor. “Let’s give them some privacy.”
Zane and I are alone.
I let my hand drop to affectionately rub my belly. It’s a wonder I hadn’t noticed before. My cycles have always been irregular, and with all the running around I’ve been doing, it was more than easy to lose track of when my last period was. Right now, my babies are so small there’s barely even a bump.