I spent the next seven hours running between the two rooms because Kat wouldn’t calm down unless I went to check on our daughter and I was seeing that shit played out on the monitor they had her hooked up to.

Every time she panicked her pain level went up, something I was in no way equipped to handle. The whole fucking hospital staff knew how I felt about it because I told them at the top of my lungs.

Law called me while I was making my way back to Kat for the tenth time. “What’s up buddy? I can’t really talk right now I have a situation here.”

“I know, your boy called us when we were on the road.”

“We should be there in about an hour but the girls are worried.”

“You’re headed here?”

“Yes, the shower was this weekend remember? The SEALs are already in flight.”

“Shit I forgot, I guess I’ll see you when you get here. I’ll have my mom and mother in law set you guys up.”

“How’re your girls Colt? He didn’t…”

“No, I got to her in time. She’s sleeping it off right now but Kat’s the one I’m worried about. They wanna cut her and she’s not having it so the shit’s taking longer. I gotta get back in there.”

“Okay we’ll be there soon.” I hung up and went back to her just in time to see the first of my triplets come into the world. Each time is like the first.

No matter how often we’ve gone through this, it always gets me in the gut. “Colt…” I came out of my stupor at the sound of her voice and moved to her side.

“I’m here baby.”

“How’s Catalina?” She got the words out through huffs and gritted teeth. I was much calmer now that we had movement, but I didn’t breathe easy until I saw her eyes and knew that she was okay.

I heard each of my kids cry out as they came into the world and the remaining tension left me. As

usual, I had a dilemma on my hands. They were taking our babies to NICU, but I never like leaving her while she’s in pain and out of it.

I got my mom and hers into the room and followed the nurses who were taking my kids. I let dad tell everyone about the safe births and that’s when I realized my boys were taking turns sitting in the room with Catalina.

That took a load off my shoulders because now I have to watch over the babies as well. It was a long damn night, but I never let myself come all the way down.

People left and others came but I stayed vigilant all night. I knew Law and his crew were here, accepted the well wishes from the women.

The SEALs showed up not long after Law had and though they’d browbeat their women into going back to the house, none of those boys left the hospital.

You could all but taste the nervousness in the staff. A room full of biker types with tats and bulging biceps isn’t exactly the norm for our little town.

“How you holding up buddy?” Law clapped me on

the shoulder while the others came to stand around me.

“I’m good, my girls are good, all of them. Fuck!”

I had to grab a chair when the full enormity of the past few hours finally sunk in. It felt like I hadn’t stopped going since the phone call from Kat telling me my kid was missing. That was hours ago.

That line of thought brought me full circle. “Jared, where is he?” He like me, had never left. It’s times like these that I’m reminded of the close relationship he shares with my wife.

He wasn’t looking much better than I, but when he looked around at the SEALs and Law before answering me I knew something was up.

“Uh, Mancini extracted him.”

“What? What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I don’t know Colt, I was here with you.” Lying fuck, I know when he’s lying.

“Logan, Law, Creed, you fucks look guilty as fuck.” Tyler wasn’t looking me in the face so I took that to mean they all knew what was up. “Somebody wanna tell me what’s going on?”

“It’s just like he said. Mancini took care of it.”

“How?”

“I don’t think we need to know that right now. He’s gonna call later.” I let Logan talk me down because there wasn’t much I could do about the situation now anyway.

I’d all but forgotten that I’d told my boys to take the asshole to our place. The cops were still looking for him so maybe it was a good thing he was gone since I couldn’t leave the hospital to take care of him. Still!

I put it aside for now and went back to check on my wife and kids again. Mom called to update me on my other kids who she’d taken home with her so I didn’t have to worry about them.

Cody though was a problem. He was too young to understand why mommy and daddy weren’t there. “Have him sent to me.” I could hear my kid screaming in the background.

“Well your dad’s already down there but Cy came back to get some rest. I’ll send Cody back with him then.” After that conversation I took up my place next to Kat’s bed and with her hand in mine finally allowed myself to let go.

I roused myself when dad came into the room with the bruiser who looked like he’d cried himself to sleep. I took him in my arms and held him against my chest.

“Da-da!” That sleepy proclamation were the first words my son spoke. I hadn’t cried since this shit began but hearing his sleepy little voice call my name brought tears to my eyes.

“I’m here buddy.” He made the rounds with me as I checked on my girls throughout the night until my body finally gave out and I had to sit next to Kat and get some rest.

I woke up the next morning fully rested. My wife was still out so I went to check on my daughters. Catalina was ready for release or so they said, but I checked her over myself.

She was her usual pain in the ass self and tried to con me out of some shit so I knew she was okay. I was feeling better until I walked back into Kat’s room where she was just waking up and overheard the nurse telling her about her release later that day.

“Are you out your fucking mind? She just pushed

three human beings outta her body. The fuck you mean she can leave in a few hours?”

“Sir, it’s hospital policy…”

“I give a fuck…” I stopped myself there because I know she wasn’t the one making the rules and it wouldn’t be fair to rip into her.

“Hold him, I just changed him and fed him.” I passed Kat the baby. “You can leave now.” I sent the nurse from the room before leaving myself. “Colton what’re you going to do?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

I left and headed to the nurse’s station. “I need you to make a note of what I’m about to say. I don’t know who’s in charge of discharges in this bitch, but my wife isn’t going anywhere after giving birth less than twenty-four hours ago.”

“I pay more than enough insurance that she could stay here for six months if she so choose to. And just so you know, my kids aren’t staying here without their mother so you tell whatever asshole did this shit to get fucked.”

I didn’t direct my words to anyone in particular, but to everyone behind that damn desk. I went

back to Kat and waited for the shit show to begin. Then the doctor came in not long after and assured me the triplets were healthy and there were no complications, so they only needed to stay a couple days.

“And that’s as long as my wife will be staying here.” This old lady likes to fuck with me. I think this is my punishment for not letting Kat get a male doc. She probably chose this hag on purpose.

“Mr. Lyon, Colton, we are not in the habit of keeping healthy people in the hospital.” She gave me one of her grandmotherly smiles and patted my shoulder.

“Your ear piece working?”

“I don’t use one sir.”

“You sure?”

“COLTON…” My annoying ass wife was about to reprimand me.

“You stay out of it.” The two women exchanged a look and I could see the doctor was trying to hold back her disrespectful laughter. That hand across her mouth couldn’t hide her shaking shoulders.

She’s not gonna find it funny when I bulldoze this

shit to the ground for them fucking with me. “How is it possible that you haven’t changed one bit in almost seventeen years? Never a dull moment.”

“Then you should’ve expected this.”

“Fine Colton, she can stay another day and leave with the babies. Does that satisfy you?”

“Works for me. Now go check on my kids and stop annoying me.”

She had a short low volume conversation with Kat before making her escape and even I have to admit that she’s excellent at what she does.

“Hey doc, thanks.”

“No problem Colton and congratulations again on your new family members.”

“I do have to say though, I still find it unfair that she does all the work and they all come out looking like you.” Well yeah, what the fuck!

“Go do your job doc and stop starting shit.” That’s all I need is for Kat to start with that shit. Like it’s my fault my kids look like daddy. The fuck she want them to look like.

Sometime around noon in between my rounds I got a call from an unknown number. “What?”

“Hello Colton, just wanted to let you know that the package was picked up.” What the fuck? It took me a minute to recognize the voice.

“Where is it?”

“I made a mistake and took it on the boat with me, the shit fell over. I wasn’t about to go in after it, not with the family of hammer head sharks circling below.”

“No problem these things happen.” He hung up the phone. This fucking spook. From that cryptic shit I took it to mean Mancini had taken the perp out to sea and fed him to the sharks. And people think I’m bad.

By the time I met up with Law, Creed and the SEALs, it was obvious they’d gotten the call as well. I had only one question. “Why?”

“He likes your kid.” That was all Tyler would say and I guess that was enough.

By the time I took Kat and my kids home the next day a lot had happened. The cops were at my door asking for a missing pedophile. Not the one who’d taken my kid, but the one I’d drugged, castrated and released.

Apparently someone had nabbed him. Luckily for me I was in the hospital during the time he’d gone missing. “I don’t know fuck and I give even less of a fuck. Now get off my property.”

I slammed the door in their faces and went back to my guests. “Okay, who did him?” I tried to remember who was at the hospital when because these fucks weren’t talking.

“We’re making brunch. Kat’s asleep and the babies are down for their nap.” Danielle interrupted our little gathering. By ‘we’ I guess she meant the hundred and one women that had moved into my house.

“Thanks Danielle, appreciate it.” My kids were on their best behavior, including Mengele. The house had been cleaned from top to bottom.

Like the cleaning service we use wasn’t good enough. But who was I to tell these women that they didn’t need to do the shit they were doing?

All day I had to fight to get time with my wife and new babies because all these women, including Elena and her hen pack, are baby hogs.

Mancini and his wife showed up hours later. I’m

not sure how that relationship works, what with him being a murdering fuck and she being a FED but I didn’t ask.

We left the women in the house and headed out back for some privacy and there is where I learned what had happened.