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I’d thought about it for years. Logically, I knew the torture would have either continued or they would’ve been killed immediately. Nothing I did or didn’t do would have ended their torment. The three of them said as much once we were loaded into the helicopter after the rescue mission. Yet I still felt guilty; still heard them begging…pleading for their lives.
“You may have walked out of that cave without marks on your body, Alec, but you left there with marks on your soul.”
“How do I get rid of them, Pop?”
“You live your life without restraint. Don’t let those assholes win. Go after what you want and don’t settle for anything less.”
“Lock her down?”
He leaned back, a broad smile on his face.
“Lock her the hell down.”
Quinlan
“WELCOME TO THEfamily, carodear,”Mrs. del Toro said as soon as the boys left the room.
“Thanks, but I’m not family.”
She laughed. Not just a little one either. No, she full-on belly laughed. What made it worse was when Cate, River, and Ems joined her as if I’d said the most hysterical thing in the world.
“Oh, but you will be soon enough. My boys do not bring women home with them unless they intend to keep them.”
“This is gonna be great. It’ll be like watching one of those reality shows,” Emory announced.
“Twenty bucks says Quin tries to vote Alec off the island within a week,” River teased.
“Ha ha, very funny.” I rolled my eyes at my two best friends.
“You’ve brought him back to life.” Gabriella took my hand. “He was lost in his head until you came into the picture.”
“It’s because of the baby.”
“Your baby is a precious gift, a blessing to our family, but I saw the difference in him months ago. You’ve given him joy once again.”
“I give him grief and maybe a tad bit of heartburn.”
My attempt to lighten the mood fell flat.
“You challenge him, bring out emotions he’s tried to lock away. He struggled for a while to pull his head out of his behind, but now he understands what you are.”
“What am I?” I murmured.
“His future.”
She left me to my thoughts after dropping such a huge bomb in my lap.His future. Since my father’s diagnosis, the future wasn’t something I’d given much consideration. I was firmly stuck in the here and now, desperately trying to hold on to whatever time we had left with him, yet at the same time, drowning in responsibility. It was foolish of me to think I could handle everything on my own, especially after the confrontation earlier with my bio-assholes. The problem was, I didn’t know how to ask for help.
“Quin?” Cate’s worried voice broke through my musings.
“I’m sorry, what?”
She handed me a bottle of water. “I said you need to drink all of this.”
“Oh, thanks.”
Still feeling somewhat nauseous, I started with small sips, testing my stomach if you will. The last thing I wanted was to gulp it down, only to bring it back up.
“Will Dr. Shultz be your obstetrician?”
