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“So we know he’s alive,” Nate said, breaking the uneasy silence. “And it’s obvious he doesn’t want to be found. Do we keep looking for him?”
Ellis didn’t even have to think about it. “Hell yes. I want to know why he almost got Bree killed.”
Nate nodded. “And stop him before he puts anyone else in danger.”
They both looked at Damian. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared up at the ceiling, then sighed heavily.
“Yeah,” he said finally. “I’m in.”
* * *
His boys.
Look at them, all together again. He never thought he’d see the day.
From a ridge above the old cabin, Dr. William Hunter watched his sons through a pair of binoculars, his chest tight with sorrow. They looked good. Strong. Healthy.
No thanks to him.
He shifted his weight to relieve the ache in his side. Bones— that bastard— had winged him with a bullet a few days ago and the pain was not letting up. He desperately wanted a drink. Craved the blissful numbness that came with a belly full of vodka. But he was two years sober and, dammit, he was going to stay that way until the bitter end.
The night Bones had found him, he’d been drowning in sorrow and self-pity and had come so very close to nose-diving off the wagon. So he supposed he owed the bastard some thanks for interrupting. It made him remember how tenuous his current situation was, and he couldn’t fix things if he started drinking again.
He’d managed to escape into the forest by sheer luck, but then he’d lost Happy. He couldn’t leave his dog behind, so he circled back, following Sugar Falls River toward his cabin. He’d been shocked to find poor Bree-Bree out on the ice, fighting for her life. The memory of her laying there, blood staining the snow pink around her as Bones pointed the rifle at her head…
He shivered.
Christ, he was a plague.
Despite his best efforts to keep her safe, he’d gone and fucked up her life, too.
His legacy was destruction. He thought he could change it and still leave a good mark on the world, but during all those long nights of wandering the forest alone, he’d made his peace with the fact it was too late.
All he could do now was protect the people he loved.
His sons would never love him back. He’d made his peace with that, too. Those boys had deserved so much more than he’d been able to give, and he’d regret it until his final breath.
Which, if the doctors were to be believed, would come sooner rather than later.
Will backed away from the ridge and pulled up his fur-lined hood. He still had work to do. He just hoped he had enough time left to keep his boys and Bree safe from his biggest mistake.
36
After a week in the hospital, Bree wanted nothing more than to get home and check on her dogs. Ellis and his brothers had repeatedly assured her they were fine, but she wouldn’t truly relax until she saw them with her own eyes. She waited impatiently in the hospital lobby, fidgeting in her wheelchair, wishing she could drive her own damn self home.
Finally, a red truck pulled up to the front door and the nurse waiting with her chirped, “Here he is!”
Except it wasn’t the man Bree wanted to see.
For the first few days after she was transferred to the hospital in Anchorage, Ellis had been all but glued to her bedside. After surgery, he’d helped her eat, dress, and even use the bathroom. He was a solid presence she began to rely on, but then he suddenly stopped showing up.
Which was fine, she told herself. He had a lot going on with the state troopers’ investigation and his dad still missing. She wasn’t in danger anymore and he had a million other things to worry about. He was busy.
It was fine.
But she had expected him to at least pick her up when she was discharged.
Instead, Nate climbed out of the truck and hurried around the front of it to open the passenger door for her.
