DIAMOND HART

DIAMOND HART   SIXTY-SIX

The delivery room was too bright, too loud, too full of urgent voices telling her to breathe and push and breathe again, and through all of it Christopher stayed exactly where he'd promised he would, at her side, one hand gripping hers so tightly she wondered distantly if she was the one bruising him this time instead of the other way around."You're doing so well," he kept saying, over and over, his voice thick with tears he wasn't bothering to hide anymore. "Starr, look at me, you're doing incredible, she's almost here.""You keep saying that," Starr gasped, half laughing despite the pain, despite everything, because there was something in his face, some wide-open, helpless devotion, that made even this feel survivable."Because it's true every single time," he said, pressing a kiss to her damp forehead. "One more, love. The doctor says one more big push."Starr gathered whatever strength she had left, all the strength that had carried her out of a cabi

DIAMOND HART   SIXTY-FIVE

The cabin came into view through a break in the trees, a single window glowing yellow against the dark, and Christopher's chest seized at the sight of it, an ordinary looking building that had, in the space of a few hours, become the only place in the world that mattered.Officer Reyes met them at the edge of the tree line, one hand raised, her expression firm but not unkind. "You stay here," she said, before Christopher could even open his mouth to argue. "My people are already moving in. The second it's safe, I will personally walk you to her. Not before."Christopher wanted to fight her on it, every instinct in his body screaming at him to run straight for that glowing window, but Valentine's hand closed hard around his shoulder, holding him steady, and some last shred of reason told him that charging in blind might cost Starr more than his patience would.Inside the cabin, Starr had heard the change in the air before she understood what it meant, a stillness

DIAMOND HART   SIXTY-FOUR

Emma hadn't gone home. She'd sat in the back office of the eatery for nearly an hour after Christopher had stormed off toward Valentine's car, staring at her own hands, listening distantly to the sound of Magnus shouting orders into a phone somewhere near the front, and feeling something inside her cave in completely.She hadn't wanted this. She kept telling herself that, over and over, like repetition alone could scrub the last hour clean. She had wanted Christopher back, wanted Starr gone from his life, wanted, more than anything, to matter to someone the way Starr so effortlessly seemed to matter to everyone around her. She had not wanted a pregnant woman dragged out a back door by a man whose eyes, she now admitted to herself, had frightened her from the very first meeting in that hotel room.She was still sitting there when Magnus found her, his face a storm of fury and fear that made her flinch back against the wall."Get up," he said, his voice flat and c

DIAMOND HART   SIXTY-THREE

Starr woke to the smell of old wood and the dull ache of a headache pressing behind her eyes, her mouth dry, her wrists bound loosely in front of her with something soft, a scarf maybe, not rope, which struck her, even through the fog, as strange. Whoever had taken her had thought about comfort. That single detail told her more than anything else could have.She was in a room she didn't recognise, wood-panelled, curtains drawn tight against whatever light existed outside, a single lamp burning low in the corner. A cabin, maybe, or something built to look like one, far enough removed from the city that she couldn't hear a single car outside. She shifted on the narrow bed she'd been laid on, and felt, immediately, the tightening low in her belly that made her breath catch.Not yet, she told herself, pressing a bound hand flat against the curve of her stomach. Please, not yet."You're awake."Michael's voice came from the doorway, and even after all these years, even knowing exactly what

DIAMOND HART   TWELVE

Days had passed and it was almost the weekend. Starr was feeling unusually fatigued and simply wanted to rest. She had woken early to go to work, but ended up not being able to. So, she decided to rest at home and call in sick."Go to the hospital," Magnus commanded Starr

DIAMOND HART   TEN

DIAMOND HART   EIGHT

MATURE WARNING! Needing serious space, Starr stopped going to the office for a while. She had always not needed to always go to the office, but she did. It was kind of like a necessity for her. But, ever since Chris Chariton showed up, everythi

DIAMOND HART   SIX

Starr was distracted for the umpteenth time that day, thinking back about the time she had with Chris. She smiled to herself a bit, feeling like a teenage girl with a crush. She couldn't help it. Anytime she tried to focus, her body reminded her of how good that night had felt. It took everything