I spin back to look at the EMTs working on my kids.
I’m fucking useless.
“Will you do something! Why aren’t they waking up?”
My brothers move over to me as I drown in my own despair. “Kevlar, you gotta let them work, brother.”
I bring my hands up, scrubbing at my face. “I can’t lose them, Zero.”
He grips my shoulder. “I know, brother. I know.”
“Daddy?” Sadie’s croaky voice murmurs, breaking me from my damn pity party for one.
My eyes shoot over to Sadie, letting out a half-laugh, half-sob, then I rush over, dropping to my knees at her side. She’s still not back to normal coloring, but at least she isn’t blue. “I’m right here, baby girl. I’m never leaving you again.”
“Dad?” Lucas mumbles.
Relief swarms through me as I reach out for his hand too. “Yeah, little big man. I’m right here.”
I peer up at the EMT, my eyes so foggy I can barely see. “Thank you… thank you.”
She signals to her partner, then focuses back on me. “We need to take them both to the hospital.”
“Can you take them to the Texas Children’s Hospital, I know a doctor there.”
“Sure. Let’s get them ready. You riding in the back with them?”
“I’m not leaving their side.”
Ethan moves in next to me. “I’ll follow you to the hospital. Hammond is having the place dusted for prints and checked for forensics. See if there’s anything we can find.”
“I already know who’s behind it. I just need to know who the asshole is that put my kids in the fucking freezer.”
“We’re gonna find out, Liam.”
“You bet your fucking ass we are.”
The hours are dragging on as I sit back in the world’s most uncomfortable chair. The kids are sleeping in their hospital beds right next to each other as I wait for Chills to come back with results from more tests she’s carried out. But so far, everything seems to be okay. Just some hypothermia which is, of course, expected.
Ethan’s working with Hammond on leads, and my brothers are at the café right now, giving me a second to process.
Leaning over, I place my head in my hands, letting out a long exhale.
I should have been there.
The scraping of the curtain sliding across draws my attention. I glance up as Jovie steps into the cubical. My frozen body instantly warms at the sight of her. I didn’t even realize I was still fucking cold, but the second my eyes meet with hers, it’s like I can now see clearly again. I’m unsure how she can have that effect on me in such a short amount of time, but fuck, right now, I need it.
“How are they doing?” Jovie asks as she gestures for the seat beside me.
I nod, and she sits. She doesn’t even know how much I appreciate her coming here, how much I need her right now. I reach across, grabbing for her hand.
She laces her fingers with mine, giving me a genuinely warm smile.
I sigh, shifting my eyes back to them. “They’re gonna be fine… another ten minutes in there, it would have been a different story.”
She grimaces, tightening her hand in mine. “And how are you doing? Honestly?”
“I’ve never been so fucking terrified of anything in my life, Jovie. Seeing them huddled together, their bodies all blue like that…” I have to stop because if I keep talking, I’m going to burst into fucking tears like a girl, and I have an image to uphold.
She leans in to embrace me. “Can anyone trace it back to the Baron yet?”
“We’re trying, but I tell you what? I’ve never wanted to hurt a man more in my life than I do right now. This shit is eating at me.”
She turns to face me a little more. “Don’t go hunting for vengeance. You need to concentrate on these beautiful children. That’s where all your thought should be right now.”
Ethan pops his head through the curtain, spotting Jovie. “Shit, sorry, we’ll come back.”
Jovie raises her hand. “Don’t be silly. There’s plenty of room.”
Ethan moves in, Lou by his side as they come to stand beside me. Ethan folds his arms across his chest. “Still no leads. But we won’t stop looking. We’re gonna find whoever did this.”
I turn to face him. “I should be with them. I should be protecting them. This is my fucking job… I failed them.”
Lou places her hand on my shoulder comfortingly. “You didn’t fail them, Liam, not in any way.”
Ethan scrunches up his face. “Liam, if this is anyone’s fault, it’s mine. I’m so fucking sorry this happened on my watch. I thought the kids were safe with me. Were safer with a cop away from the clubhouse… maybe it just makes them an easy target.”
“Honestly, Ethan, they’re safer at the clubhouse with an entire club protecting them. If an attack happens, I’ll teach them where to hide. I want them home with me, where they belong.”
Lou’s eyes glisten as Ethan’s shift to the kids. My angels are sleeping soundly, oblivious to the life decisions being made for them right now.
“I never thought I would say this, but I actually agree. This just proved they’re not safe anywhere. They should be somewhere with extra protection. As long as they’re happy with the move, I am, too.” He glances at Lou, who’s wiping the tears from under her eyes. It squeezes at my chest to see her hurting, but I need my kids with me. She nods, and Ethan reaches out for her hand, turning back to me. “But I still want to see them, Liam. You can’t cut us out.”
Excitement surges through me as I stand abruptly, grabbing Ethan and pull him to me in a giant hug. Not a manly back-slapping hug, more of a tight, chest squeezing, lay it all out there, emotional embrace.
Elation flows through me like I’ve never felt before.
I can’t fucking believe it.
My kids are coming home.
“I’d never cut you out. You’re like another form of parents to them. That would be cruel. This means everything... every-fucking-thing.”
“I know it does. I apologize I held this over you for so long. Honestly, I thought I was doing what was right by the kids.”
We pull back, our eyes connecting, brother to brother.
“Thanks for caring about them the way you do. But it’s time to let me take care of my kids like a father should.”
Lou turns, looking over at Sadie and Lucas, her expression weakening. “The house won’t be the same without them.”
I nudge Ethan’s side. “Maybe this will give you guys the chance to start your own family… rather than looking after mine.”
“I don’t know the first thing about babies,” Ethan jests.
“Yeah, but you’ve proved you’re a great father, Ethan. You’ll get it right.”
“I’d love to start trying again,” Lou announces, shocking me.
“Again?”
Ethan grimaces like he’s reliving a bad memory. “We, ah… kinda were trying before we took the kids in. Then we stopped, and Lou only has a small window left.”
“Well, fuck, you need this as much as I do. Take your damn life back.”