Chapter 16
JONAH
Ijerk back in horror, my eyes going to the end of the hall. Lucas is standing there, his stuffed dinosaur in his arms, staring at the scene with wide, terrified eyes.
“Mommy?” he whimpers, looking at Ellie, who’s still slumped against the wall. “Mommy is bleeding!”
“Hey, it’s okay,” I say quickly, getting to my feet.
I can’t help but look down one last time, making sure my brothers and Nick have Kevin restrained.
“Get him the fuck out of the house. And someone check on Trisha.” Then I stride down the hall, only making it a few feet before Lucas flings himself into my arms. I hold him close to my chest as I walk back to my girl.
She’s barely holding onto consciousness, her body a dead weight when I wrap my arm around her, so I slide the three of us down to the floor, cradling them both against me.
“Everything is okay, Lucas,” I tell him. “You’re safe. I promise. Everything is going to be okay.”
I’m not sure if I’m trying to convince him or me. I know Kevin can’t hurt them again, but Ellie is fucking bleeding. Bleeding and practically passed out and if I can’t make sure she’s okay in the next two seconds I’m going to lose my mind.
“Give me the kid,” Mac says, coming up beside us. In a lower voice he says to me, “Nick and Lawson have the guy outside, he’s not going anywhere. Sawyer is with Trisha, she’s starting to come around.” He puts a hand on Lucas’s back. “Come here, buddy.”
“No,” Lucas wails. “I want Mommy. I want Jonah!”
“Jonah needs to look at Mommy’s cut,” Mac says, prying Lucas’s fingers from my neck. It feels wrong to let him go, but I need to focus on Ellie. “Let’s get you some chocolate milk, okay?”
“Do we have strawberry?” Lucas asks in a small voice, and my brother grins at me over his head.
“The kid is motivated by drink,” he says. “He’ll fit right in around here.”
He’s going to have to. Lucas is a Barlowe now, for all intents and purposes. And if I have anything to say about it, he’ll be taking that name officially.
With Lucas gone, I turn my full attention to Ellie, cradling her face in my palms. She blinks a few times, like she’s trying to bring her vision into focus. “Jonah?”
“Hey, darlin’” I say, not bothering to fight the sting of tears in my eyes. I hadn’t realized how much I needed to hear her voice. “Everything is going to be okay.”
“Where’s Lucas?” she asks, her voice suddenly sharper. “Was he just here? I’m so—everything is fuzzy—”
“Relax,” I tell her, pulling her close. “Everything is fine. Mac has Lucas.”
But Ellie doesn’t relax. Her entire body goes rigid in my arms. “Kevin,” she gasps. “Oh my God, Kevin is here. He has a gun! He hit Trisha—”
“I’m fine,” a shaky female voice calls from behind us. In the distance, I hear the sound of sirens.
“Kevin isn’t going to hurt anyone,” I tell Ellie. “I promise, you’re safe.”
“Oh, my God, Jonah,” she says, her arms coming around me, her entire body shaking. “God, he burst in here with a gun. I was so scared! Trisha tried to stop him so I could get to Lucas and then he…he…” A sob wracks through her.
“Shh,” I tell her, holding her tighter. “Lucas is safe. You’re safe. And Kevin is going to jail for a very long time.”
“But I—”
“Shh,” I say again, kissing the top of her head, overcome with gratitude that she’s safe in my arms. I have a feeling I’m not going to be able to stop touching her for a very long time. “I’ve got you, Ellie. I’ve got you.”
“How’s she doing?” Sawyer asks many hours later, coming to sit next to me at Ellie’s bedside. It’s the first time I’ve had a chance to talk to him since the cops showed up at the house. Already that feels like days ago, not mere hours. This night has been so damn long.
“Doctor said she’s going to be fine, but she’ll probably have concussion symptoms for a few weeks.”
My twin shakes his head. “I can’t believe she managed to stay conscious all that time with a fucking concussion.”
My stomach twists. I can believe it. She thought she was the only thing standing between Kevin and her son. She would have to be dead to stop fighting for Lucas.
The fact that it had been a very real possibility tonight keeps sending uncontrollable shudders through my body.
“When’s the last time you checked on Lucas?” I ask.
“An hour ago.” When I turn to glare at him, he holds up his hands. “They’re asleep, Jonah. I’m not going to keep calling to wake them up.”
Nick and Jules brought Lucas back to their place. I feel confident in our best friend’s ability to keep the kid safe, but I hate that he’s out of my sight.
“You need to be here for her,” Sawyer says, knowing just what I’m thinking. “Besides, who on earth would you rather have looking out for the kid than our bad-ass, motorcycle riding, former-Marine best friend?” I collapse back in the chair, exhaustion washing over me. “You need to rest.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not going to be much good to them if you’re dead on your feet.”
I know he’s right. Still, the idea of closing my eyes seems impossible. Ellie is in the fucking hospital. All because I didn’t stay with her when I should have.
Thinking about that awful, foreboding feeling from earlier has a thought coming to me. “Why did you come to the house?” I ask. “You said you were going to send the guys so you could stay at the bar to keep the asshole friend there.”
He shrugs. “When I got your text about sending the guys, it felt wrong. I can’t really explain it, but I knew I had to get to you.”
“Twin thing,” I mutter, and he nods.
“You told me earlier you had a bad feeling, and I ignored it.” There’s an ocean of regret in his voice. “If I would have taken you more seriously, none of this would have happened. The whole fucking thing is my fault.”
“Man, that’s not true,” I argue. “You had no way of knowing. I ignored the feeling, too.”
“You wouldn’t have been at the bar at all if I hadn’t guilted you about missing your shifts.”
“And if you hadn’t sent me to Mount Casper when you did, I wouldn’t have gotten to the house in time.
” I have to pause to catch my breath at that terrible thought.
“If I’d been at the bar when that prick came in, he probably would have contacted Kevin and told him there were two of us.
” I’m pretty sure it was the surprise of my twin showing up that saved all our asses tonight.
“I still feel shitty,” my brother says. “I’m sorry, man.”
“No need,” I tell him sincerely. “I never doubted for a second that you had my back tonight.”
“Yeah, well, I couldn’t let you go off and get yourself killed,” he says, his voice back to his usual light, teasing tone. “This girl can’t become my sister-in-law if you’re not around to marry her.”
“That’s the plan,” I tell him.
He claps me on the shoulder as he stands up. “I know it is, man. Twin thing, remember?”
After he’s gone, I take Ellie’s hand between both of mine and bring my forehead down to rest on our entwined fingers. I’m so damn tired. All I want to do is bring her and Lucas home and keep them safe in my arms for the next several dozen years.
“So you’re going to marry me, huh?”
My head snaps up at her voice. “Darlin’,” I say, my hands fluttering uselessly around her face. “Are you okay? What do you need? Are you thirsty?”
She brings a hand to my cheek, silencing me. “I’m fine, Jonah. I’m safe. Because of you.”
“I never should have left you alone,” I blurt out. “God, baby, I’m so sorry—”
“Stop,” she says. “Nothing he did is your fault.”
“But—”
“I mean it, Jonah. I spent a lot of years blaming myself for his shitty behavior. We’re done with that. Kevin is the asshole here and I refuse to listen to you apologize for what he did.”
“Asshole isn’t nearly a strong enough word.”
She smiles a little, but it looks pained. “I know.” Her eyes well up. “I hate that he’s Lucas’s father. I hate that he’s going to be connected to us for the rest of his life.”
“No, baby,” I say, wiping her tears. “He’s going to jail for a long-ass time.
” The idiot crossed state lines while out on bail.
He not only abused his wife—again—he also committed battery against Trisha and threatened to kill me.
Any DA worth a damn will be able to get him on attempted murder charges.
His asshole brother was arrested tonight, too, along with their cop buddy who didn’t put Sawyer’s call through at dispatch.
I won’t rest until all three of them are behind bars for a long damned time.
“But he’s still Lucas’s father,” she says in a small voice.
“Listen to me,” I say firmly. “Providing sperm doesn’t make someone a father, okay? No one knows that better than me. My old man was a piece of shit, too. But I still got through all right. Do you know why?”
“Because of your brothers.”
“Exactly. And Lucas has those same men in his life. He’ll have Mac to teach him how to drive like he did for me.
Nick will show him how to defend himself and others.
Sawyer will take him fishing and teach him how to throw a baseball.
Jules will help him with his math homework, ’cause God knows none of the rest of us will be able to do it.
And Lawson will tell him about girls—actually, scratch that.
We’ll keep him away from Lawson when the subject of girls comes up.
” She gives a watery laugh, tears in her eyes.
“The point, darlin’, is that none of us are going anywhere. Okay?”
“What about you?” she manages through a sob. “What are you going to teach him?”
I feel tears sting my own eyes. “I’m going to teach him that he’s the most loved little boy in the world. And I’m going to teach him to be respectful to his mama and take good care of her because she’s an angel on this earth.”
“Jonah,” she whispers, tears sliding down her face faster than I can catch them. “I love you so much.”
I lean forward to rest my forehead against hers, relishing in the fact that she’s safe and alive and mine.
“I love you, too, Ellie. Always will.”