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If Holly really and truly wanted me to keep guns out of the house, so be it. It would take some getting used to. In the end, making her happy was my priority. Her safety was too, but I'd have to get creative. I was an expert with knives. That might have to become my preferred method of defense.
“I won't let that happen,” I promised, squeezing her shoulders. Her jaw worked, her expression fierce, but she relented a little.
“I can't trust you with that. Not after what just happened. And in front of Drew? Who knows what he'll do. And I can't lose—” Holly choked back a sob, and my arms went around her immediately.
“I'll take care of it. You aren't losing anything.”
She looked at me with red eyes. “How can you be so sure? You don't know what he's capable of. This was ammunition he didn't need.”
“I've given him until Monday to decide if he wants to sign the adoption papers or not. By then, I hope to have something that will force him to see things our way,” I said. Losing Gabriel was something she couldn't survive, even if I was with her the whole way. But I wouldn't let that happen. If Daniel didn't come up with something, I'd go to whatever lengths necessary to get rid of our Drew problem.
“How did you know who he is?” The panic that her secret wasn’t as safe as she thought made me want to protect her even more.
“When he’s next to you, you look alike. But next to him, it wasn’t hard to figure out.”
She nodded as if she knew it were true.
“And he agreed to sign the papers?” she asked incredulously.
“He agreed to think about it. That's something.”
“Do whatever you have to do,” she whispered.
“Let me take care of it. You focus on what you love. Gabriel . . . and me.” I offered her the slightest hint of a smile.
“I want to know what's going on. I'm not sticking my head in the sand.”
I brushed her hair back from her face. “I'd never shut you out, Beauty. You'll know everything I do. I don't want you worrying about something I can handle for the both of us. That's all.”
Her arms went around my neck. “So many times since you've come into our lives, I've wondered how I ever did any of this on my own.”
“You don't need me.Youare the strong one. It's me who can't function without you. But you lean on me whenever you need to. I’d do anything for you. I hope I'm slowly proving that.”
“You are,” she assured me. “And thank you for listening to me. Why don't we get a gun safe? Is there one we can put in the top of the closet so Gabriel can't reach it? If you promise to keep it in there, I think I can live with that.”
“That can be arranged.”
“I know you didn't mean to leave the gun out, that you were as devastated as I was.”
“All the worst-case possibilities flashed through my mind. It won't happen again. I don't think I'd survive that because I'm pretty sure I had a mild heart attack. Where is our boy?”
“Playing in his room. His face, Carlos. He was . . . shattered. I told him he was a good boy for listening, and that we love him very much even though we’re angry with him. He knew I was scared. And he was worried that you’d be mad at him. You need to go be with him.” Holly shook her head. “I wish I could protect him from everything. Is it too much to ask that he has a childhood where he just gets to be a kid? He's innocent and deserves to be sheltered, at least for a few more years. I didn't get that, and I can't stand the thought of him living the same life I did.”
“We'll protect him as best we can, but you know as well as I do, we won't be able to do it forever. Life is ugly. I don't want him to see that any more than you do, but it's inevitable.” I wasn't telling her anything she didn't know, but suddenly, I understood why good parents were so determined about wanting more for their children, a better life than what they had. “You make it look so easy. I wish you knew how in awe of you I am.” I nuzzled her hair, breathing in her sweet honey scent. “I can think of lots of ways to show you,” I promised, ready to do just that.
“We have dinner guests coming, and I want to spend as much time with Gabriel as we can.”
“We are not losing him.”
“I know. I need us to all be together.”
“Then that's what you'll get.”
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Carlos
“What do you have for me?”
