When I show up with the burgers Cara requested, her smile is so worth it.
“Thank you.” She beams, taking one of the bags from me. “I’m starving.”
Clover appears like she smelled the food and sighs happily when I hand her the other bag. “You get my tick of approval for this act alone.”
We sit down at the table and eat. Felix comes out of the shower and joins us. “You spoke to the Knights?”
I nod. “Atlas will be here tonight for the night watch, and then they will take turns. So we have backup, and from now on someone will go with Cara whenever she leaves the house, and someone will always be back here to make sure Clover and Fire are safe, too.”
I watch Cara eating and enjoying every single bite, doing a little happy dance, and I make note to always bring her food whenever she wants it, because she’s never looked happier and more in her element.
She has just swallowed her last bite when we hear gunshots go off, glass shattering.
“Get under the table!” I call to everyone, while I grab my gun and run to the front with Felix at my side.
A car speeds off, tires screeching behind them. We step outside and take in the damage. Multiple bullets have completely shattered the glass window, and tire tracks are left on the lawn. The men had run up to the gate and shot from between the gaps. They couldn’t make it in here, but they obviously found a loophole, literally.
“Let’s see if we can get their license plate number from the security footage,” Felix suggests, jaw going tight. “Those bastards are lucky no one got hurt.”
“They are telling us that they know where she is,” I reply, looking him in the eye. “It’s a warning. I think we need to stop sitting around and waiting for them to make the moves. We need to take this into our own hands.”
Felix might still have a badge, but I don’t.
And I’ll do whatever I need to do to protect Cara.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Cara
I’m still holding on to Clover and Fire when Atlas walks in. “Looks like I missed all the fun.”
The fact that this gang shot into this house where my goddaughter lives absolutely terrifies me. This house has every safety measure, and she still could have gotten hurt. We all could have.
“I need to leave, I can’t put you all in danger,” I say to Clover, wanting to cry. If anything happened to any of them, I don’t know what I would do. I’d rather die myself than lose one of them.
“No, you don’t. They know where we live now—we are already a target,” she comments, looking down at her daughter. Fire has been handling all the commotion like a boss, without any fuss or tears. “I can drop Fire off somewhere safe. I think it’s best that she does go, after what just happened. And that way I can be out the front with the guns instead of hiding under the table.” She turns to me. “They fucked with the wrong people, Cara. No one is going to try to hurt my family. It’s about time I came out of motherfucking leave.”
“Clo—”
She kisses my cheek and then goes to speak with Felix, and I know she’s telling him her plan. Fire will be sent away somewhere safe until this is all over with, and Clover gets to be in the action without worrying about her daughter getting hurt.
I hate that all of this is because of me.
Because of Rhett.
Because of the MC.
Decker sits next to me and pulls me into his arms. I close my eyes tight, and after holding myself together all of this time, I finally let myself fall apart.
“Someone could have died because of me,” I cry into his black T-shirt. “Can you get me out of here? I don’t want them to get hurt because of me. There was a baby in here!”
He rubs my back, and I hate that he is seeing me this weak. “We can stay at my house, if you want to. I’ll let everyone know.”
“I do.” I nod, realizing that no matter what Clo says, I need to separate myself from them. It also means I’m putting Decker at risk, but being with him feels safe.
I’m not scared of dying. But losing someone I love? That is what terrifies me. I think there is only one thing that could break me, make me lose my mind in grief, and that would be it.
Anything else I could survive.
“Sapphire is going to go somewhere else so she will be safe, and we are going to fix this, all right?” he promises me, his deep, soothing voice calming me down. “No one got hurt. And they are going to regret this, you hear me?”
I nod, but stay silent.
How are we going to take down an entire gang? A child of theirs was hurt, and maybe they want revenge, an eye for an eye.
And we have only one child in our family.
“It’s safer if Sapphire goes,” I say out loud, reassuring myself. “She needs to be protected at all costs.”
“She will be.”
I sit up and wipe my tears away. “But I want to go to your house. I’m going to pack my stuff.”
I don’t want to put them in danger again.
And Clover is right about one thing—we should be out there guns blazing, not hiding under fucking tables. I might not be a cop or a member of the FBI like she was, but I’m not untrained. This is my world too, and I’ve survived it so far.
I touch the stubble on Decker’s cheek.
I’m not leaving this world now, not when I only just started truly living.
Pressing a kiss against his lips, I say, “Tell me what the plan is. I’m helping. I’m not sitting here and letting others fight my fight. I’m there, with you all, every step of the way.”
“Cara—”
“I don’t need protecting, Decker. What I need is my freedom back, and the safety of the people I love.”
He kisses me back, and opens his green eyes as he pulls away. “Okay.”
“Okay?” I ask, brows lifting in surprise. “You’re not going to give me any shit?”
He laughs. “I know how strong and badass you are, Cara. And I’ll be there to have your back. No matter what.”
I push him back against the black leather and kiss him more deeply this time, until I hear someone’s throat clearing. I glance up to see Atlas standing there. “You sure you need protecting? You look fine to me.”
I move off Decker and sit up straight. “Atlas, right?”
He nods and takes a seat opposite us, crossing his legs at the ankles. “The car was most likely stolen, no plates, so there’s no lead there. But here’s a fun fact: I actually know someone in the gang.”