Best Friends (New Species #15)(108)

Torrent barked out a laugh. “Devious.”

“Genius.” Jaded tapped the side of his head. “I’m not just a pretty face for human to throw money at for charities.”

“I’ll be impressed if you can get that one to go to Medical.” Torrent pointed at Lash.

“Easy.” Jaded turned to him.

Lash shook his head. “No. You will get a safe room built for my mate without making me trade.”

“I would never blackmail you, Lash.”

He relaxed slightly.

“Your mate could be pregnant. Your nose will tell you in time, but they have tests that could let you know in minutes. If she is, they have this machine called an ultrasound. It won’t hurt her one bit…but you could see your son inside her on a screen.”

Lash stilled. “Truth?”

“Truth,” Jaded swore. “How would you like to find out today if you’ve gotten her pregnant already? I could take you both there right after we get back to the hotel.”

“Yes.” Lash nodded.

Jaded shot Torrent a smirk.

The male snarled. “You should just take my job.”

“Then you’d have to take mine. I can’t see you wearing suits and smiling for cameras. I’m willing to switch with you. How about it?”

“Never.” Torrent stormed away.

“I didn’t think so,” Jaded called after him. “Let’s go, Lash.”

“I hope my mate is carrying my cub.” Lash started to hurry toward the hotel.

Jaded kept up. “Me too, my friend. I love cubs. Just let me hold it sometimes, okay? Since I don’t have a mate.”

Lash grumbled.

“I’m not going to steal it. Don’t be like Valiant. Admit it, you wanted to hold Noble.”

“Maybe one day you can.” Lash could understand the desire to hold a cub.

“I’ll take it. That’s not a flat-out no. I had to wait until Valiant wasn’t around and appeal to his mate to get to hold his son after Noble was born.”

“You stay away from Mary when I’m not there.”

Jaded’s phone rang, and he answered it, still chuckling. “You got me.” Then he stopped walking.

Lash kept going for about ten feet—until the other male made a distressed sound.

“Understood. We’re on our way back now.” He disconnected.

“What’s wrong? Are humans attacking?” Lash felt his heart rate spike and rage course through his veins.

“No.” Jaded hurried forward. “We need to get back to the hotel now. Your mate is safe, but Sherriff Cooper called.”

Lash ran at his side.

“That reporter the humans wanted to speak to is holding your mate’s parents hostage at their home.”

“What?” He snarled. “Why?”

“Details are limited right now. We’ll learn more once we get there.”

Lash took off, moving faster than Jaded. He needed to get to Mary.

*

Mary laughed as Mel complained about owning a cell phone. Her friend really didn’t enjoying having one.

Mel admitted her worst fear aloud. “I’m terrified my mama is going to learn the number. Then I’ll have to smash another phone.”

Snow snorted. “She has my number. Not yours. I can handle her, Mel.”

As if on cue, his phone rang.

Mel pointed at him. “I’m not around if it’s my mama. I’m in the shower.”

He pulled it out and answered, placing it to his ear. “Snow here.”

Mary guessed New Species didn’t say hello.

Snow tensed, his expression hardening, and he stood fast from the couch and walked toward the door, listening to whoever was speaking.

Mary glanced at Mel. Her friend shrugged, frowning as they both watched him exit the suite.

“That’s not good,” Mel whispered.

“What do you think it means?” Mary asked.

“I don’t know. He still has a few days off work. Maybe someone got sick and they’re going to call him in to cover a shift.”

“That would suck.”

Mel nodded. “I can’t complain, though. I don’t even have a job anymore.”

“What are you going to do?”

“You mean, what are we going to do? You’re jobless too, best friend.”

Mary inwardly flinched. “Don’t remind me. At least your guy has a job. Lash just seems to like to harass people when they bother him.”

Mel grinned. “That’s a skill.” Then she lowered her voice. “We’re hoping for a baby. We stopped using condoms.”

Mary reached down and touched her stomach, wondering if she was pregnant. “I don’t think Lash even knows what those are.”

“Wouldn’t it be cool if we have babies together? They’d be so close in age if both of us got knocked up!”

Mary was still trying to wrap her head around having a cub.

“The pregnancy thing is super cool, too. Am I right?”

“You mean to have a New Species baby?”

“No. Twenty weeks instead of forty.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, cats and dogs have babies at around nine weeks, give or take. With humans, it’s forty. Snow said the babies born here take around twenty weeks. That means we’ll pop out a baby in half the normal time. Cool, right? Snow also swears they have really good doctors and I’ll get great maternity care.”