One ring later and Tex answered. “I’m assuming the news of your nephew's death is fake.”
“I want everything on everyone involved in this case. Do what you need to.”
“This could take some time.” Tex spoke slowly, making sure we understood.
I took that as my cue. “They fucking shot my son. We don’t have time”
Jared sighed heavily. “Logan, we got this. As soon as we have something we’ll let Nick know.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
BEX
Dom was sitting at the dining table of our new safe house. His arm was in a sling. He was at once groggy and moody. At least the meds kept the pain away, but the kid was pissed off. Not that I blamed him. I wasn’t exactly Sally Sunshine. I wanted so badly to find the asshole who shot him. As it was, I was instructed to bring Dom home and to stay there. After several back roads and even more back-tracking, we eventually made it to the new house. Ollie met me and talked me through all the security features. It wasn’t necessary since I had a part in designing the security system. We had cameras outside, and there wasn’t a single blind spot on the house. The alarm was triggered once someone entered the driveway or came up the front porch. Lights went on when activated by movement. And everything required face recognition and a thumbprint. No one was getting in the house unless one of us wanted them in.
“And once you’re in the house.” I was still giving Dom the security lecture. “You reset the alarm by pressing ‘three’, ‘five’. That allows you to walk through the house but the doors and windows are covered. If we ever get a cat, we would need to rethink things since he wouldn’t be able to get out.”
Dom did not look impressed. “Am I going to need to submit a DNA sample? Because I think that’s a violation of my privacy or something.”
“Oh, please.” I rolled my eyes as I sat opposite him. “You’re a teenager with a heavy social media presence. Privacy is not a thing you’ve ever prioritized.”
“You’ve checked out my social media?” I knew what he was asking, and I hated the hesitancy in his voice.
I nodded and tilted my head towards him. “Only once you came into our lives.” He narrowed his eyes as if he didn’t believe me. “I mean, it wasn’t as if I wasn’t tempted, especially after Lilly checked up on you. When she said you were fine and healthy, there was a big part of me that wanted to check for myself.”
“Do you think Logan checked on me?”
Everything in me melted. He wanted to know if we thought about him. I knew I could answer him honestly. “Lo is as nosy as they come. It was an open adoption and I had no doubt he watched your parents’ social media feeds to catch photos of you over the years. And then, when you were old enough to have your own social media, he would’ve checked what you were up to.”
His eyes turned serious but his voice went colder. “But you didn’t.”
“I tried once, but it hurt like hell, Dom.” I had to be honest with him. “Giving you up was the hardest thing I ever had to do. But I did take comfort that you had good parents.”
He nodded. “I did. It sucked when my dad died but my mom was awesome. And Bill was not bad to be around. He was just… I didn’t trust him. He was pissed about my dad’s money being in a trust for me. And that if anything happened to my mom, her portion would still go to me. At first, I thought he wanted to replace my Dad, but I think all he wanted was access to my money.”
Before we could continue, my phone chimed with a notification from the security system. Logan’s car was pulling into the driveway. I looked at my screen as the camera captured him getting out of the car. I was so entranced by him. He took out the baby car seat and left it on the ground as he reached back and took Landy from the toddler seat. Once he had Landy draped over his shoulder, he picked up the car seat. I watched him from one camera to the next until he was at the front door. He gently put the car seat down once more as he removed his key from his pocket and unlocked the front door.
Dom’s sarcastic tone pulled me back to him. “If I ever have that dreamy look on my face, please shoot me.” He rolled his eyes. “You are the most badass woman I’ve ever met and still you’re going gaga over a man carrying a baby.”
“Well, when it's the right man…” I smiled at Dom.
He made gagging noises and went to the front door to help Logan with the kids. My heart melted even further. What I didn’t tell him was that when it was the right man with your own children, then ‘gaga’ was an understatement.
As they walked into our new dining room, Dom holding Vicky’s car seat and Logan carrying Landy in his arms, my world shifted into place. These were my people and we were in my home. And to hell with the assholes who were trying to take it away from me. I would fight tooth and nail to hold onto these people.
I smiled as I whispered. “Are they both asleep?”
“She’s out like a light.” Dom smiled, and it was beautiful. “I think she likes spending time with Grandma…” His face dropped. “I mean…”
Logan’s lips twitched as he put his free arm around Dom. “No, you got it absolutely right.” He turned to the kid. “If that’s okay with you?”
Dom nodded. “I want it, it will just take time to get used to it.”
“Fair enough.” He eyed the sling on Logan’s other arm. “How’s the arm?”
“Uncomfortable.”
I couldn’t resist chiming in. “The meds have done nothing for his mood.”
