Page 125 of Ruthless Enforcer

People who might like proof that some of us made it all the way home.

“Hendricks,” Harper says suddenly. “Can you hand me the envelope on the blue-ribboned present to your right?”

Hendricks picks it up, gets on his knees with a hand on Theo to balance him on his back, and crawls over to Harper. Chortling, Theo grabs Hendricks’s shirt and pretends to ride him.

“I like playing horsey too,” I hear Reyes say softly to Clara.

She shakes her head.

Harper whispers something to Nico, who nods and scoots off the chair, running to his mom. Gabriel comes for Lucia, his arms out. “Let’s go get you cleaned up, baby girl.”

She lunges for her dad with complete trust.

Something in my chest pulls tight watching him carry her away.

Fuck, I want one.

Not just any kid. A little girl with Harper’s eyes that reaches for me like I’m her whole fucking world.

“I have something for you.”

I turn as Harper settles on the chair next to me. She hands me a small white envelope with a red bow stuck to it. “Merry Christmas.”

I look at the mountain of presents beneath the tree. “I thought we’re doing ours tonight, privately.”

She shrugs. “This one is first.”

“Why?” I look at the card. Is it going to explode?

“Open it.”

I slide my finger beneath the flap.

Inside there’s a Christmas card. There are no words—just a photograph.

Black and white.

Grainy.

Medical.

It takes my brain approximately three seconds to understand what I’m looking at, and then another two to understand why there are two little shapes.

I stop breathing.

I look at Harper.

She’s smiling softly. “I should have known you’d be an overachiever even in this.”

I look down again. Two. I point at the picture because apparently language has abandoned me. “That’s…”

“Yep.”

“Two?” I hold the sonogram up. “Like twins?”

“That’s generally what two babies at the same time are called,” Harper says with an eye roll.

Two. “Holy fuck.”