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forward. “No extra ammo—”
    “You’ve packed any ammo?” He took another step forward as though he was ready to search her Range Rover.
    “No. Well, other than what I’d obviously conceal and carry.”
    His eyes narrowed. “Do you have anything high-powered or automatic in there?”
    God, he was fun to torque. Sugar popped a bubble of gum. “Define high-powered.”
    “Christ, Sugar.”
    “I’m kidding. Calm down. No C4. No AKs. We’re fine.” She turned for the driver’s door, listening to the grumbling, cursing man of steel behind her. “Come on, Lex. Let’s rock and roll.”
    “Woman.” Jared growled. “Get your sweet ass over here and kiss me good-bye.”
    That was what Sugar was waiting for. She all but skipped over to Jared and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you. I promise I won’t do anything that gets us into a pickle.”
    “I know.” His hand rested on her stomach. Even when he was sour and scratchy, Jared was the epitome of soft—until provoked—when it came to their children. “You and this baby stay safe. Hear me?”
    “Yeah, Boss Man.” She winked and gave him a kiss because he was a pain in the ass, because he was her pain in the ass, and because his mister-bossy-pants act was endearing and made her love him even more each and every day. “Remember how much I’m irritating the piss out of you.”
    “How could I forget?”
    “You can’t.” She bobbed her eyebrows. “But I’d like you to remind me of just how bad I’m being later in bed. Capiche?”
    His eyes darkened, and she smacked a kiss on his lips again.
    “So much fun.” She scraped her nails down his chest. “I almost hate to leave.”
    “Stop messing with him, Sugar,” Lexi called. She was already in the passenger seat.
    Sugar dropped her hands on top of Jared’s then squeezed. “Guess I can do that.”
    He smiled, and it lit her world. “Stay safe, baby.”
    “I can do that too.” Sugar gave him one more kiss and moved behind the steering wheel.
    “You ladies good?” Parker asked, keeping eyes on Lexi.
    “Always,” Lexi said sweetly.
    Sugar shook her head. “If you messed with Boy Genius more, you might get lai—”
    “Don’t push yourself too hard, alright, Sugar?” Parker laughed then waved bye to them both after kissing Lexi once more. “Stay safe.”
    He shut the door then rapped on the SUV’s roof twice. The garage door from Titan HQ’s underground basement started to lift, and Sugar’s blood surged. It might not be the wild ride their husbands were scared they might go on, but it was a last hurrah before she had to buckle down with a newborn.
    Slipping a new piece of gum into her mouth, Sugar lowered her sunglasses as Lexi did the same. They exchanged looks, Sugar revved the gas just to irritate Jared, then they left Titan with a GPS filled with a plan and likely a tracking device on their vehicle. It didn’t matter. For the moment, Sugar felt free.
     
    ***
    Watching Sugar roll out of Titan HQ was a normal occurrence. But this time, his gut churned, and the overprotective vibe that he always had—and that he had to keep semi-in-check because the woman could hold her own—was on full blast.
    Jared stretched and rubbed the back of his neck. What was the root cause? The due date ticked closer. Maybe that was it.
    He had Asal. It wasn’t as if he was a first-time father-to-be.
    But in a way, yeah, he was. An actual baby in the house was akin to a new chapter in his life, and while he was ready for that, it meant change.
    Change wasn’t something he craved. Stability, permanence, solidness—those were the foundations on which he’d built his life. Order was established. Things had a reason for happening and a way in which they were conducted.
    Yet he couldn’t be more excited. Yesterday Sugar had been blabbing on and on to some of the girls at GUNS, her gun shop and range, about how they were having a little girl. He couldn’t help but smile.
    A year ago, if someone had