“Yeah.” I sighed. “I just needed your sweet.”
“My sweet?” he asked in confusion.
I nodded against his chest. “Sometimes I need your bossy. Sometimes I need your happy. Sometimes, even your anger. It’s there to protect me when I need it, like tonight. Sometimes, like now, I just need your sweet.”
“Babe.” His voice was full of tenderness as he kissed the side of my head.
“How did you find me?” I murmured.
His body tensed slightly before he relaxed into me. I could tell he didn’t want to relive it, but I was curious. “Tag got the plates and ran them. SUV was registered to that asshole, Pergotti, who accosted you at the motel.”
“Wow, he got screwed,” I muttered, cracking a small smile despite myself. My sister had stolen his stashandhis car. Somehow I wasn’t dredging up any sympathy.
“Fucking idiot, that guy,” Cal agreed. “I got the Sinners mobilized—they know the territory better—and we tracked him here. Took some convincing, but he eventually shared where those assholes would likely hole up. “Dumb fucking luck we spotted the SUV on the way here. Dragged those assholes back.” He chuckled darkly.
I could only imagine what type ofconvincinghad been required.
“If he knew where they were, why wouldn’t he go to try to get his car back?” I asked in confusion.
“Because he’s a pussy,” Cal replied succinctly.
I fought a laugh at that.
It was quiet for a few minutes as we listened to the incessant beeping all around us. “Max is gonna take this hard.” Cal spoke the thought on both our minds.
“I know,” I murmured.
“We’ll do everything we can but you can’t fix it, babe. I know you’re gonna want to try. It’s how you’re wired.”
He was so right. On both counts.
“I figure best we can do is give them as much stability and love as we can. Which means we need to get things sorted with CPS. I want them in our home permanently without fear of more change. And someday soon, I want them to have my name. But not before you do.”
I sucked in a ragged breath.
“You get me?” he asked. “You get that I love those kids and Mason like my own?”
“I get you,” I murmured through the lump in my throat. “But I expect a proper proposal when that day comes,” I added tartly, needing to inject some levity into our conversation.
He grinned. “Noted, baby.”
Chapter 29
Iwas surprised that with the exception of a few, the street and driveway were devoid of bikes and cars when we pulled up in front of our house the following afternoon.
“I wanted to keep everyone off us for a bit,” Cal explained before I could ask the question. “Sophie, Scarlet, and Cole are the only ones here.”
“They should be at Piper’s,” I complained.
After a very heated argument with Cal that ended with the doctor backing him up, I’d be spending the rest of the day in bed, which meant missing Piper’s wedding. I couldn’t believe she was getting married and I was going to miss it. The thought pained me.
“They’ll go over later,” he replied. “It’s early yet.”
I nodded. I hadn’t spoken much since we’d left the hospital. What to say to the kids, especially Max, weighed heavily on me.
He turned to me. “What’s going on, babe?”
“I don’t know what to say to them,” I murmured hoarsely. “The kids, I mean. I want to be honest and shield them at the same time.”
