“I’m done after this,” I tell them. “He’s my last job and … my most important. The only one who gets the shot is me.”
Silence follows, each of them looking at me with understanding.
Each of these men, well maybe not my son, knows what I’m feeling right now. All aside from Zac. I pray my boy doesn’t know what we do—what it’s like to avenge the women we love. If he does, I’m thankful he’ll have the same army at his side that I have.
My worlds collide, giving me everything I had never dreamed possible. It’s up to me now to protect them for good.
“Only Everything” by Quinn Lewis
The ride from the private landing strip to Zeke’s place felt like it took an eternity rather than the half an hour it did. Being this close to Riley but not seeing her yet makes me beyond anxious. I need to see with my own eyes that she’s okay.
By the time we pulled into the parking area for Zeke’s place, I had my hand on the door and was ready to bolt.
“Easy,” Zeke whispers in my ear. “Let them get out first and make sure everything is clear.”
How easy it was to forget, even for a moment, that a threat was out there. I nod, and it takes a lot of effort to sit back in the seat and let all the men climb out.
“I’m excited to meet Riley.” The voice comes from behind me, and I jump, forgetting that Zac had climbed into the back of the large SUV. His head pops between Zeke and me. So close I lean back to put some space between us and smile at him. He looks ridiculous, having climbed his big bulk into the trunk area of the SUV when we realized we didn’t have a big enough vehicle waiting for all of us.
“She’s going to love you,” I tell him.
“How do you know?”
I look around him and meet Zeke’s eyes. Seeing them next to each other this close steals my breath. It’s wild how much they favor each other.
I clear my throat, blushing when Zeke smirks at me knowingly.
“Let’s just say she’s got a thing for tall men.”
Zeke starts chuckling, and Zac’s smile grows.
“That sounds interesting.”
“Just watch your junk if you plan on having any babies. Her little feet know no limits when it comes to climbing.”
“Climbing?”
This time, I laugh with Zeke.
“You’ll see,” he adds.
The door next to Zeke opens, and Asher pokes his head in. “All clear.”
We climb out, and someone pops the back hatch to let Zac out. We all move toward the elevator as a unit with me in the middle. It’s unnerving. However, it’s probably one of the safest places I’ve ever been. I know Zeke would protect me with his life, and he wouldn’t have these men at his side if they wouldn’t do the same. I pray it doesn’t come to that.
I don’t take a full solid breath until we’re in the back elevator that will bring us directly to his door.
To my Riley girl.
The ping of the elevator reaching his floor makes my heart speed up. I move, pushing to the front with Zeke at my back, and wait for the door to open.
“Auntie!”
I lean back into Zeke when I hear her sweet voice, but only for a moment do I allow myself that relief to show. I push forward and drop to my knees in front of her. My eyes roam all over her tiny body, from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet.
“You got a boo-boo, too, Auntie?” She reaches out and pokes my cheekbone. “How’d you do that?”
“Walked into a wall, if you’d believe it,” I tell her, figuring this is one of those times when it’s best to omit the truth.
“Me, too!”
I frown, looking at her and waiting for her to finish. I know very little about how she got the nasty scrape and bump on her head.
“You walked into a wall?”
“No,” she sings. She was about to say something else when the rest of the group with me must have been noticed. “Wow.”
I feel Zeke move to my side before he bends down. Riley moves to stand in front of him, her little arms coming up and her hands going to his hair. She gives his short locks a little ruffle before she frames his face with her tiny hands.
“You look different.”
“I do.”
“You sound the same.”
“I do.”
“Okay.”
And to Riley, that was that. She gives him a big hug. I’m guessing that’s when she gets a really good look at the rest of the men in the room. Her little eyes go huge, and she looks at me with a twinkle in her eye.
“You brought me more giants,” she whispers, looking over my head. Her little face lit up. “Who are you?”
I turn to see who she is looking at, not even a little surprised that it’s Zac.
“Whoa,” she exhales. “You look like my giant.”
“I do?”
She nods and looks at Zeke. “He looks like you.”
He bends down, and Riley follows his movement. “That’s because he’s my boy.”
She looks back at the boy in question, little brow furrowing. “He isn’t a boy. He’s big like you.”
“Get over here and give me a hug, kid,” he grunts a laugh out, clearly not going to entertain that conversation. She wraps her arms around him, and he moves to stand with her in his arms. She gives a squeal of happiness when he stands to his full height with her arms around his shoulder and bottom supported by his forearm.
“Well, you sure did bring home some extra baggage than what you left with.” I turn to see Ella standing with Evan’s arm around her shoulders. It looks more to help hold her up than anything else.
“Oh, El,” I cry, moving from our little huddle to my friend. When Evan doesn’t let go, I know he is without a doubt holding her up. “Are you okay?” I ask when I step in front of her, not sure if I should hug her or not.
“I’ll be fine. Just a little sore, that’s all.”
Evan snorts and rolls his eyes. “Understatement.”
She narrows her eyes at him. “When we don’t have little ears. We’ve been over this.”
I laugh lightly.
“Livi, I’m going to show my new giant where the toys are!” She rushes past me a second later with Zac’s hand in hers and his big frame walking behind her. He looks over his shoulder and gives me a wink, lifting his arm to give me a thumbs-up before they vanish around the corner, and I hear them move farther into the apartment.
“Now that the little ears are gone,” Ella starts, her body leaning heavier into Evan. “I’m so sorry, Liv.”
“Don’t,” Zeke says. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“It isn’t your fault. I swear, Ella. You saved her life. Don’t you apologize for someone else attacking y’all.”
“He almost had her. I had my hands full and turned to lock up. It happened so fast. You’ll see the bruise later, but all five of his asshole fingers were so tight on her little arm, it left the perfect impression of his hand. That’s how close he was. I thought Evan had forgotten about us, and I was too busy stewing in my snit. I wasn’t paying attention.”
“This is NOT your fault,” I reiterate. Wishing my friend wasn’t hurting.