As we race past Finley’s office, she’s standing by her door, arms crossed, watching with a slight amusement on her face. “Goodbye, Jovie.”
“Bye, Ms. Knight, I look forward to working with you.”
Kevlar and I race to the elevators, frantically pressing the button. “Holy shit! Do you think they know?” I ask.
Kevlar grins widely. “With the way Fin was smirking, I’d say yes.”
I grimace, placing my head in my hands in embarrassment. “Great! Not even on the job yet, and I have a black mark against my name.”
“And a red mark on your ass,” Kevlar quips while ushering me into the elevator.
Oh damn! Some great first impression.
I wrap my arm around his waist—at least we found time to be together. Now we can go home and spend time with the kids. Because that’s so fucking important, and honestly, I really freaking love it.
KEVLAR
One Week Later
Today, I picked up Sadie from school and Lucas from daycare, then took them over to Ethan’s for a catch-up. He was dying to see them, Lou too. So, we’ve spent the late afternoon with them before we head back to the club. It’s been good to spend some quality time with our family.
The kids are off playing with Lou while I sit with Ethan in the backyard going over some details.
“So, is he still having the nightmares?” Ethan asks.
“Not every night, but the first night was the worst. He was in my room when it happened. He’s back in his room now, but we put a monitor in there so we can hear them when we go to bed, just to make sure. He’s had three episodes this week.”
Ethan rubs the back of his neck. “You think we need to do something about that?”
“Yeah, it’s part of the reason I came tonight… would Lou know anyone through work who can help with this kind of trauma? A child therapist or something? Someone she recommends?”
“I’ll find out for you. Have her get the best fucking doctor in Houston. We need to nip this in the bud, Liam. We don’t want him traumatized for the rest of his life.”
“Couldn’t agree more. We should probably send Sadie, too, just to be sure.”
Ethan slumps into his chair. “This is all on me. I should have had someone guarding the fucking house.”
I reach out, gripping his shoulder. “We got the kids back. That’s all the matters.”
A low growl vibrates from Ethan’s chest. “There are still no leads on the assholes who took them, though. Anything on your end?”
“Nothing.”
“Would you tell me if you did find something?”
“Probably not. But honestly, we’ve got fucking nothing. It’s eating at me. Every. Damn. Day. I just want to find whoever took them, and…” I don’t continue.
Ethan lets out a long breath. “I get it. I’ve never understood that line of action before. I have always been a man of justice. You book them, they pay for their crime through the courts. But after seeing the kids huddled together in the freezer…” he pauses, closing his eyes for a moment, “… yeah, I wanna find them and kill them, too.”
My eyes widen as I turn to my blood brother. I’ve never heard him talk like this. “Ethan, don’t go doing anything stupid. Leave that for the club. You have a beautiful wife to think about.”
He scrubs at his face, letting out a long exhale. “You’re right. Fuck! I know you’re right. This is messing with my head, Liam.”
I lean over, wrapping my arm around his shoulders and pull him to me. “Don’t throw your life away. You think for a second you’re gonna pull the trigger or something crazy, you call me.”
“Yeah, sure. Thanks… this has helped.”
“You want me to stay the night?” I ask.
“No, don’t be stupid. You gotta get the kids back to have dinner and get them into bed. A routine is what they thrive on, Liam. You don’t have to mess it up because of me. Lou’s good at keeping me straight.”
“You sure? I hate leaving you like this.”
“Honestly? Yeah, I’m fine… talking to you has helped. Just getting that off my chest has made me feel better, like I’m not going fucking crazy.”
“You’re not going crazy. Seeing the kids like that ripped me to shreds. It did the same to you, too. So, I know exactly how you’re feeling ‘cause I’m feeling it, too.”
“I’m glad we’re in a good place. I’m sorry I took the kids from you… real fucking dick move. But in a way, I’m glad because I got that time with them, too. I love them, you know?”
I grip his shoulder. “I do know… I get it. You were just looking out for them. For your family…” I pause, finding my inner strength. “I forgive you, Ethan.”
He inhales sharply, dropping his head into his hands like I’ve lifted a huge weight off his shoulders, so I pull him into a man hug.
The door swings open and Sadie runs out, slamming into our legs, wrapping her arms around us as we hug. “I wanna cuddle!”
We both laugh, each wrapping an arm around her, Lucas running out as well. “M… m… me hug, too!”
“For family,” Ethan’s voice cracks a little with his emotion.
“Yeah, brother. Everything is for family.”
“This is nice to see,” Lou softly chimes from the back door.
Lifting Lucas onto my lap, I glance at Lou. “Yeah. It is. But I need to get this little man home. Look at you, you’re wasting away.” I run my hands into his sides tickling him. He bursts into a fit of giggles as he squirms on my lap, jerking to and fro.
“Daaad! I big and s… s… stwong!” he stutters out through his fits of laughter.
I stand, taking Lucas with me. “Then we should feed you, so you can lift your Uncle Ethan like I’m lifting you right now.”
Ethan stands, holding Sadie’s hand as we head back inside the house. Lou’s grabbing all our shit together, ready for us to depart.
“I’ll lift him so high he’ll be f… f… flying!” Lucas calls out, and I hoist him up over my shoulders.
“Super cop!” Sadie yells.
I peer over my shoulder at Ethan. “Yeah, Sadie. He is a super cop. He just needs to remember that.”
“He does… now it’s time to head home. Be good for dad, okay?” Ethan manages a half-smile.
“Yes, Uncle Ethan,” Sadie drones.
I walk up to Lou, leaning in kissing her on the cheek. “Call me if you need anything.”
She hands me the kids’ toys. “I will. I’ll take care of him.”
We walk out to the truck and place the kids in their seats.
“Let me know what Lou says about the counselor for the kids. Maybe she can find someone for you, too?”
“If I did that, you know the force will review me.”
“Yeah, I get that, but maybe you need to talk this through with someone—”
“I just did.”
“A professional, man.”
“I’ll think about it, okay?”
I grip his shoulder, then open my car door. “Keep your head straight, Ethan.”