“They bear a certain degree of responsibility,” Luke replies. “You were their precious cargo, and instead of keeping an eye on you, they wound up chasing hood rats down the road. Avery, it’s unacceptable.”

  Fallon clears his throat. “It had been so quiet at your place for so long, they probably didn’t think anything was going to happen. Besides, from what Pike told me, those little fuckers managed to steal some of the GPS tracking equipment they had in the car.”

  “What about Helen?”

  “She’s in the hospital,” Kellan says. “She’ll be okay. When Pike and Langley came back, they heard Miley screaming from inside the house. Helen just got out of surgery; I spoke to her attending physician. It was a through and through, no vital organs affected. And the girls are okay, too. They’re with our agents at the house.”

  “I still can’t believe all of this happened. It’s like a scene out of a thriller movie.”

  “Yeah, I would’ve gone for a smarter villain, though,” Fallon chuckles dryly.

  “I’m confused. How did Charlene think she was going to get away with any of this?”

  Kellan lets a heavy sigh roll from his chest. “From what she told me, just before I put her in the back of the deputy’s car, Charlene figured my parents would apply the right amount of pressure—financial, legal—anything they could to keep Fallon and me tethered and unable to retaliate.”

  “It’s still delusional,” Fallon insists. “Charlene should’ve known better, or at least enough, about the three of us to understand that she can’t just waltz in and terrorize the people we love in order to get us to submit to her maniacal whims.”

  “Keep in mind, Charlene was drunk on the illusion of control,” Kellan adds. “She didn’t account for Toby going off on his own the way he did.”

  “I’m surprised she didn’t suspect anything either,” I say.

  Kellan thinks about it for a moment. “I think she did, but her ego kept her blind and focused solely on getting close enough to you.”

  “Well, I’m glad it’s over. It is over, right? She’s going back to prison?”

  “Oh, yeah, and then some,” Kellan replies.

  Luke plants another kiss on my temple, then Fallon cups my face with both hands and tenderly kisses my lips as I begin to relax. Granted, that mild sedative is starting to work its way through me, as well.

  “And we’re going to get back to our lives, one way or another,” Luke says. “Or, better said, our life together.”

  “Right,” I mumble in my sleepy haze.

  “Will you be coming back to stay with us? We do miss you, Avery. More than words can express,” Kellan says.

  Their gazes settle on me—three pairs of eyes overflowing with love and affection. I feel like such a fool, now, such a reckless fool. This was all so crazy. Calculating on Charlene and Toby’s part. Confusing enough to throw my senses for a loop. Yet I didn’t stop loving these men, not even for a second. And while I do accept the bitter taste of my own hesitation, I’m relieved to see how things turned out. This whole thing could’ve torn us apart but instead, I think it’s only made us stronger.

  Stronger together.

  “I’m coming back. Our child needs the whole family,” I tell them. “And I need my men with me, now more than ever.”

  “You’ve got us,” Fallon says. “You’ve always had us, baby.”

  I let them hold me close and tight as the red and blue lights flicker behind us. The crime scene techs will be here a while, turning Charlene’s house upside down. I’m sorry I won’t be involved in remodeling the house anymore, but I’m not sorry as to the reason why. I’m sorry she turned out to be such a horrible person, but I’m not sorry that she will suffer terribly for what she did to us. I know Kellan will make sure she never gets out of prison.

  None of that matters anymore, though.

  I have a relationship to focus on. A family to put back together and to build up, stronger than before. I have myself to work on, my girls to take care of, and another baby on the way. Tomorrow is never guaranteed, and I almost lost my tomorrow tonight. I will protect what I have with the same ferocity I went after Toby’s leg just an hour ago. I’m done sitting on the sidelines. My alphas need me at my full potential, and so do my children. Their love makes me feel invincible.

  32

  Avery

  Summers in Nebraska are getting hotter with each passing year. And being closer to my due date has July feeling like a genuine oven. There’s a state-of-the-art air conditioning system throughout the mansion, but every time I go out, the hot air hits me like Hell’s lashing tongue.

  I don’t normally leave the house in such scorching weather, but it’s a special occasion.

  Helen and my men have just come out of the courthouse near North Platte’s townhall. I was in first thing in the morning, testifying at Charlene and Toby’s trial. With Helen and the guys’ testimony, it’s a sealed deal.

  “Toby got life without parole,” Kellan says as we all take our seats at a café terrace across the street from the courthouse. “He’s lucky the D.A. didn’t want to go for the death penalty.”

  “What about Charlene?” I ask.

  “Thirty years minimum, no early parole,” he replies.

  Helen winces as she shifts in her chair. She is fully recovered from her gunshot wound, but the weeks she spent in a hospital bed have had a negative impact on her muscles and joints. A woman like Helen is used to moving around a lot, particularly in her advanced age, so any time spent in complete repose will affect her mobility and flexibility when she starts moving again. But I’m glad she’s okay. Soon enough, she’ll be running circles around my girls again. “Let them both rot in prison for all I care,” she grumbles. “I can’t play in the pool with Annie and Miley because of them.”

  “Now, now, Helen, you heard what the doctor said. You just need to take it easy, and you’ll be hurling beer kegs by fall,” Fallon replies, half-smiling.

  “I’d better. Otherwise, who’s gonna help poor Avery here with miracle number three?” she shoots back, nodding at my ginormous belly.

  I feel like a bloated balloon these days. Motherhood is not without its perks, but damn, it does take a toll on the body. I don’t regret a single moment, though. Heck, in fact, I think I’m gonna miss the mindless cravings and having this sweet little baby nestled inside. But soon enough, I’ll have another little human to raise, and this time, I’ve got three strapping dads to help me.

  “Hey, are you completely forgetting about us?” Kellan asks, raising a skeptical eyebrow. “We didn’t just donate the genetic material, you know.”

  “You’d better stick by her side,” Helen jokingly warns them. “Or I’ll string the three of you up like turkeys for Thanksgiving.”

  We can’t help but laugh. The shooting may have hindered Helen’s physical mobility, but her mind and her tongue are as sharp as ever. Annie and Miley are back at the mansion in the care of agents Pike and Langley. After the Toby debacle, they felt so bad that they offered to babysit my girls whenever Helen isn’t available, and given that the first two months of post-op had her laying mostly in bed, the guys had their work cut out for them.

  “Listen, we’re a team,” Luke says. “We got in this together, and we’re gonna stick through it. Speaking of, don’t you have a baby shower to organize?” he asks me.

  “Who for?” I reply, somewhat confused. “It’s not like I have any friends around here.”

  Helen scoffs. “Why, thank you.”

  “Sorry, Helen. So, a baby shower for one? Is that what you’re asking?” I say, chuckling softly.

  Kellan’s gaze softens. “You’ve got more friends in Lincoln County than you know, Avery. And you deserve a baby shower. You deserve all those great moments you never got in the past, before you came to us. You deserve to be loved and spoiled, to be cared for and protected. We’re here to do just that and more, baby.”

  “I’m overwhelmed,” I say, melting in my chair. “And I would positively kill for some lemonade.”

  Fallon raises his hand, signaling the waiter to come over and take our order. “Say no more, my love.”

  “Hey, what about Elizabeth and Bill?” Helen asks after the waiter leaves our table. “Their names were repeatedly mentioned during the hearing. Is the D.A. really trying to go after them this time?”

  “Key word is trying,” Kellan replies. “We’ll help however we can, but I’m not sure it’ll stick just yet.”

  “There have been rumors about them possibly being linked to a drug trafficking ring,” Fallon says, his brow furrowed as he’s still trying to wrap his head around that nugget.

  We’d heard about this through the grapevine. A whisper here, a rumor there, but nothing concrete. Just enough to horrify Bill and Elizabeth’s sons. “We’re looking into that in the meantime. One way or another, we will nail them to the wall, Helen. Rest assured, Maurice’s downfall and death will not go unavenged.”

  “Whatever happens, happens,” Helen concedes. “As long as we’re happy, safe, and thriving, I’m not sure anything else matters.”

  “I’d like nothing more than to agree with you on that,” Kellan says. “But the truth is, our parents’ influence is still casting deep and ugly shadows over the county. I can’t allow them to keep getting away with this. And if these more recent allegations are true, then I have no choice but to go after them with the full force of the law.”

  “I’ll be helping through Wolfhound Security, as well,” Luke adds. “We’ve got the tech and the specialists to cast a wider net. Trafficking has been a rising issue across Nebraska, and we need to nip this in the bud before the government authorities find themselves overwhelmed. I’m talking about the federal agencies, statewide.”

  “We’ll figure it out,” Fallon says. “We’ve gotten through worse.”

  Though not as bad as having to put their own parents behind bars. I barely remember mine at this point. They’re a sad memory, a ball of terror and misery tightly wound in the back of my head—the source of every insecurity that first pushed me into the arms of a monster like Daniel. I still think about Lauren, my kid sister. She was only twelve when I left. The years have gone by, and I haven’t heard anything from her or from our deadbeat parents. I put it all behind me. I had no choice at the time, but lately, Lauren has been crossing my thoughts more and more.

  “What’s wrong?” Kellan asks. He has a way of noticing when my mind wanders.

  “Nothing. Just thinking about my own family. Gosh, we really don’t get to pick’em, do we?”

  “No, but we do get to pick the ones we build our new family with,” Fallon says. “And I’m proud of us, just so you know. Proud of you, Avery, in particular. I still can’t get over that whole screwdriver-into-the-thigh move you pulled on Toby.”

  I laugh lightly. “Looking back now, I’m astonished by my own reaction.”

  “You were pissed off,” Luke says. “I would’ve done the same or worse.”

  The waiter brings our order over, and I dive right into my ice-cold lemonade while Helen works her way through an ice cream sundae. The doctor did say she should be more mindful of her blood sugar these days, but after everything she’s been through, none of us around the café table have the courage to tell her not to eat that small mountain of frozen dairy goodness.

  “It’s like tasting heaven,” she mumbles with a mouthful.

  “Hey, we should take the girls out for ice cream later, too,” Kellan suggests. “There’s a new gelato shop open in Hershey. I’d love to give that a try.”

  “And I love that you think about Annie and Miley,” I reply.

  “And we love you and the girls too much not to think about building more moments like this,” Luke says, then leans in for a sweet kiss.

  I love that they love us so much. I love that we’ve managed to survive such terrible moments, only to come out smiling brighter. I love that we have, in fact, become stronger together. We’ve each had our trials and tribulations. Our demons and insecurities to vanquish. But when push came to shove, when danger knocked on our door, when others tried to tear us apart, we still found our way back to each other.

  33

  Kellan

  Avery is dangerously close to her due date for what we’re about to do, but we know she won’t resist. We couldn’t wait any longer, either. She deserves for us to make an honest woman out of her, and she deserves to have all the security and balance that we can offer.

  Fallon, Luke and I leave Helen with the girls one summer evening while we take Avery out for a drive. We use one of Luke’s convertibles, an emerald-green BMW that gives Avery the pleasure of feeling the late July wind blowing through her hair as we drive south of Lincoln County to French Couture, a high-end restaurant that I’ve managed to rent for the night.

  No other guests, just the four of us and the service staff.

  I chose this place because it’s beautiful and because Avery actually redesigned the whole restaurant a couple of months ago. She loved working here, and she couldn’t stop talking about the fancy menu with its rare French wines and fabulous desserts. We figured if there was a perfect spot to propose to her, it would be here where her creative labor exudes from every wall and sheet of fabric.

  It’s like walking into a 1930s French bistro.

  The lights are dim, the Tiffany-style lamps casting an amber hue over the white silk tablecloths and the Bohemian crystal glasses. The chairs are dressed in soft cream velvet, while every single corner of the dining room is overflowing with fresh peonies and roses, their scent filling the air as we take our seat at the round table in the middle.

  Candles burn high in their silver-brushed candelabra. Avery is beside herself, her blue eyes wide and glowing with delight.

  “You guys rented this whole place for us?” she asks as the waiter pulls her chair out for her.

  I love this pregnant look on her. I love her curves, clad in pale blue satin tonight—the dress hugs her full breasts tightly, falling loosely to the floor while a thin layer of dainty white lace covers her creamy shoulders and bare back. I love the pink gloss of her lips and the way in which her blonde curls fall over one shoulder. She looks like a character from a Jane Austen novel, plump and beautiful and carrying our child. If I could love her more, I would probably suffocate without her.

  “It’s a special occasion,” I say.

  Wine is poured into our glasses, water into Avery’s. Soft French music plays in the background.

  “A special occasion?” Avery asks. “How so?”

  “Charlene’s appeal was denied. She’ll do the full thirty years,” I say.

  Avery looks at each of us for a moment, and I can see the relief filling her gaze as a smile slowly blooms on her beautiful face. “Wow, she’s really out of our lives?”

  “Forever,” Luke says. “We wanted to celebrate with you. Given your current condition, we figured you could use some great news.”

  “The best news will come when my water breaks,” she giggles, “but this will have to do until then. I’m glad she’s getting what she deserves, though.”

  “She deserves way worse for what happened to Marcus, but I’ll settle for what she got,” Luke says.

  The conversation gradually flows into the future. Our plans for the life that we intend to build together, and the strategy we put in place to further develop Wolfhound Security.

  “I understand you’re getting a new Director of Operations in?” Avery asks during dessert.

  The feast so far has been exceptional, just like she advertised since she first glanced at the menu and long before the doors were even open to the public. But what makes me the happiest is the delight with which she has worked through the courses, enjoying every flavor and spice to the fullest. It’s been heaven for her senses, which is precisely where I want Avery tonight. In heaven by our side.

  “Yeah, he’s starting next month,” Luke says. “I recruited him out of the DOD. Andrew Stanton. Brilliant guy. I can’t wait to work with him.”

  “We met him when we were still in the Navy,” Fallon adds. “He was in the Marine Corps, but we briefly intersected during a couple of field missions off the Persian Gulf Coast. Solid guy. As solid as they come.”

  “I’m glad you’ve got that position covered,” Avery says. “Marcus is a hard man to replace.”

  “Speaking of positions in need of covering,” I interject, not wanting the vibe to dive into grief over our friend’s premature demise, “there’s one we haven’t discussed yet.”

  “Oh?” she asks.

  The guys and I get up from our seats, and I set the ring box on the table in front of her. We kneel in front of her at the same time, our hearts thumping in frantic unison. We’ve talked about this for days, and we couldn’t think of a better way to make Avery understand how serious we are where she’s concerned.

  “My gosh,” she gasps, realizing what’s about to happen.

  “We need a wife, Avery,” I say, my voice trembling slightly. “We need you as our wife.”

  “Marry us, and we’ll spend the rest of our lives making you and our children happy,” Luke adds.

  “We want to spend the rest of our days with you,” Fallon says.

  “From the moment I met you, I knew you were special,” I tell her. “Different. You wear your soul’s scars with grace, you move forward, ever forward, like a river. You never linger. You’re always flowing, learning, growing. I’ve never met anyone like you, and these months we’ve had together tell me that what we have is truly special. Let’s make it special forever. Marry us, Avery, and you’ll make us the happiest men in the world.”

  Avery’s eyes fill with crystalline tears as she nods slowly. “Of course I’ll marry you.”

  It’s all we need to hear to slip that diamond ring on her finger and whisk her into our arms, showering her with kisses and sweet caresses until we practically melt into one another. She cries with joy, bliss rolling down her pink cheeks in twinkling stars. I’m overwhelmed and ecstatic, filled with so much happiness that my heart feels too big for my ribcage.

 

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