There was a time when I hated Payten, when I blamed her for coming between me and Quaid, a very long time ago. Okay, so not so long, maybe. But the instant I saw the blood I knew what it meant and realized her tiredness from earlier had nothing to do with stress and everything to do with the now struggling babies I felt crying out inside her.
My mom instincts drove me toward her, Ethie slipping from my arms as I blasted open the veil to the thundering sound of Enforcers breaking into the apartment. Femke's strident voice roared as I pushed Oliver, the gushing blood from Payten's womb slippery underfoot, through the gap in the veil.
"STOP!" She was too late, for once, and I was the one in action, sealing the way behind us while the membrane caught and rippled with the blast the WPC leader shot at our fleeing forms. The fact she'd tried to shoot me in the back wasn't lost on me but I had more important things to worry about.
Three more important things.