Paris laughed, not because vomit is funny, but because he could imagine his girl revenge-puking all over the vehicle in anger at being taken.
“Did they hurt you?”
“No,” she said. “Just the zip-ties, but that’s nothing compared to what it could have been.”
He shivered. She was right. He took her in his arms again, hugging her close for a long moment.
“I need to do something,” he said, taking her hand in his. He knew she needed to be checked out by the paramedics, so he brought her to one. It took a bit of convincing to get her to settle there, while he walked back to the front door of the house, where the injured man was now lying in the fetal position.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he asked his friend.
Pascal had a dark purple and black bruise across his face. His nose had been broken, and his eyes were bloodshot.
“I didn’t mean to tell him anything, I swear,” Pascal said. “But when you asked me to look into Corinne’s past, I kept on digging, and I went to her place of work. That bakery spot. I was asking her boss about her. I thought she was some kind of gold digger. I was only trying to protect you, man. While I was there, these people jumped me and brought me here. I tried to not tell them shit about you or your girl, but they beat the hell out of me, man. I didn’t mean to talk…”
“Pain is a powerful motivator,” Paris finished for his friend. “I feel like a huge asshole for thinking you had betrayed me. I didn’t even think that you could be in trouble. Honestly, I was so caught up in Corinne, I didn’t even realize we hadn’t hung out in weeks.”
“It’s okay,” Pascal said with a wince as he tried to shrug. His ribs were bruised if Paris could guess.
“It’s not, I should have known something was up.”
“You had bigger problems; I get it.”
Paris nodded, but he still felt bad. He helped Pascal over to the one of the ambulances. “I’m sorry you got mixed in with my family stuff.”
“This isn’t on you, man,” Pascal insisted. “I blame the psycho who took me off the streets and beat the shit out of me to get to you.”
The paramedic gave him the stink eye, so he excused himself and went to the other ambulance. Corinne was lying on the stretcher, rolling her eyes.
“I am telling you,” she said to the exasperated looking EMT. “I am fine. They didn’t do anything to me. I’m just scared, that’s all.”
“Love,” he said, taking her hand in his. “Please let the nice people check you over. I really need to know that you’re all right. From a professional,” he added, when he saw that Corinne was opening her mouth to argue with him.
“Can I just have a minute before they check me? There’s something I need to do.”
Paris arched a brow, not sure what Corinne could possibly mean, but she jumped off the stretcher and launched herself into his arms. She closed her arms around his waist and held on tight. A small sob made her whole body shake, and it did something to his heart.
“Hey,” he said in your hair. “You’re okay.”
“I knew you would come for me; I knew. But I was so scared that I would have to run away. I can run now, but in a few weeks, I’ll be as big as a Buick as the twins grow. I just didn’t want to be away from you.”
He smiled, holding her tight.
“You won’t ever be alone again, love. I’m here. I will always be here. I will always find you.”
“I love you, Paris Warwick. I didn’t get to tell you before, but I should have told you.”
He chuckled despite the tense morning they had. “I love you, too, Corinne. And I love Peanut and Nugget, too. You three are my whole world.”
“How touching,” Agent Porath interrupted as she leaned against the ambulance.
The EMT took this moment to edge Corinne back toward, and onto the stretcher. The woman was efficient at taking Corinne’s vitals, and doing a whole bunch of medical stuff. Paris barely took his eyes off her and Corinne as Agent Porath talked to him.
“So, Gustave is in custody. He’s been charged with the quite a bit.”
“I don’t want Corinne to go through a trial,” Paris immediately snapped. “Not in her condition. Not after everything he has done to her.”
Agent Porath nodded. “Well, I get that. I can try to work my magic on this. I’ll need a sworn affidavit about everything that took place. That should be enough, considering all of the evidence we found in his house. He has a whole room filled with paintings, and I’m guessing all of them are the originals he stole. That is a lot of international crime. Not to mention the drugs we’re about to find in the basement.”
Paris didn’t know what Agent Porath meant when she said they were about to find drugs on the premise. He didn’t care. Gustave deserved to spend every second of the rest of his life for the murder of Corinne’s parents, and for keeping her prisoner for all of her life.
“Thanks for helping us with this,” he said, holding out his hand for the agent to shake. She took it and shook her head.
“Really,” Corinne hopped off the stretcher and gave the agent a hug. “Thanks for helping my family.”
Paris felt his heart about ready to explode at his mate’s words. The Warwicks were her family. He kissed the top of her head, his throat thick with emotion.
“Are there any more Warwick brothers I should know about? Should I be expecting any more calls from your family?”
Paris tugged Corinne into his side, his hand going to her stomach protectively. “No, it’s just us three.”
Agent Porath dramatically wiped her brow. “Thank the Lord. You guys have given me more paperwork than I ever thought possible.”
“If you ever need our help, you know we’re only a call away. We all owe you a debt of gratitude.”
She gave him a smile, but hooked her thumbs on her belt loops. “I’m an Interpol agent, Paris. I already have a ton of people looking out for me. Stay out of trouble, kids.” She gave them a curt wave and walked away, heading toward the house.
It would definitely be a long night for the agents, and Paris didn’t envy them.
“Let’s get you home, so you can get off your feet and rest from the shock,” he said, picking up Corinne into his arms.
“I can walk,” she whispered against his neck.
“I know, but right now, I kind of need to be touching you, to keep reminding myself that you’re okay.”
“Oh, wow. Okay, yeah. I’m pretty sure I need that, too.” She placed her head against his shoulder. “Hey, Paris? Your mother is a badass dragon lady. I saw her eat shifters whole. The fake evil nurse is no more. It was pretty impressive.”
He chuckled. “She is pretty incredible.”
“I’m happy Peanut and Nugget will have a totally cool dragon grandmother to fly with them. I want our little girl to be as strong and confident as her grandma.”
“And her Momma, too,” Paris added, squeezing her tight. “Fuck, you’re so strong, love. After everything, you’re still standing and thinking about the future.”
“Of course, I’m thinking about the future,” she said as he placed her in the car. “You’re my future. And I always think about you.”