They said their goodbyes, and Brie hung up the phone, a lump of happiness and pride in her throat. Maggie returned to the booth with a look of expectancy and shock on her face.
“How did the fortune-telling go?” Jake asked with a smirk.
“The woman told me that I’m going to be matched with a shifter. Can you believe that? I never would have thought that I would be a shifter’s fated mate.”
“You know they just tell you what you want to hear,” Jake said.
“You don’t know that, Jake. Fate works in mysterious ways. Just look at me and Hunter.”
Jake took his break while Maggie went back to her spot behind the cash register. In the distance, beyond the craft booths, Brie could see the carolers gathering around the gingerbread mountain. Someone blew into a pitch pipe, and the first notes of “Jingle Bells” filled the community center.
Hunter’s phone buzzed, and he picked it up to read a text. Brie watched a slow smirk form on his lips. “It’s from Axel,” he said. “He says they made it to the hospital safely. Dom’s freaking out. Valeria’s laughing at him between contractions. She’s upset that she left her cinnamon rolls at the booth.”
“Tell her we’ll bring them to her as soon as we close down here for the night.”
Hunter typed out a text, his eyes bright and a smile on his lips.
“I get to see Dom in a panic. That will be a first,” he chuckled.
“I’d rather it be now when the doctors have everything in hand than during the raid that saved Sophie’s life.”
“We can visit Sophie in the hospital too. Bring her some pastries,” Hunter suggested.
The tension that had formed in Brie’s shoulders when this all started felt like it was finally starting to unwind. As the notes of “Joy To the World” filtered through the laughter and murmur of the crowd, Brie knew that everything in her world was now right.
Chapter
Thirty-Four
The hospital waitingroom smelled of disinfectant and anxiety. Steel Protection was gathered in uncomfortable plastic chairs, waiting for word about the baby.
Hunter and Brie had brought treats for everyone. The cinnamon rolls Valeria had abandoned at the festival, sugar cookies for the crew, and a box of snickerdoodles for Sophie.
Valeria’s brother Gabriel paced near the vending machines, his detective shield clipped to his belt catching the fluorescent lights. Axel typed on his laptop in the corner, probably hacking something he shouldn’t. Siren read a medical journal with the focus of someone memorizing every word. Ryder bounced his knee in a rhythm that made Hunter want to pin him to the floor.
“It’s going to be a while,” Axel told them.
They left the cookies with Blaze and made their way to the third floor where Sophie was located. It was quiet as they walked down the hall to Sophie’s room. Hunter knocked softly.
“Come in.” Sophie’s voice was hoarse but strong.
They walked inside. She looked small in the hospital bed, bandages wrapping her wrists where the zip ties had cut deep. The bruises on her face had shifted from purple to green-yellow. When she saw them, her eyes filled with tears.
“Brie! How is the festival going?”
“It’s perfect.” Brie opened the box, revealing golden cookies dusted with cinnamon and sugar. “Snickerdoodles with extra cinnamon.”
“This is exactly what I need right now,” Sophie said with a smile.
Hunter stood back, watching his mate tend to her friend. Sophie took a small bite of a cookie, closing her eyes as she savored the flavor.
“Thank you,” Sophie whispered, then looked directly at Hunter. “Both of you. I thought... when they grabbed me, I thought that was it.”
“You’re safe now,” Hunter said. “Brennan’s in federal custody. The others who were holding you are facing serious charges.”
“You saved my life. All our lives.”
The words sat heavy in his chest. He’d saved lives before, more than he could count, but this felt different. This was his community, his mate’s friend, someone whose absence had left a visible hole in Brie’s world.
