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“Calvin ambushed me when I arrived in Vegas. He had organized the wedding without my knowledge…” He trails off when I grimace before grabbing my hand and squeezing. “He threatened you. Told me he had a sniper ready and waiting for his command to shoot you.” He swallows, his eyes dropping as he shakes his head. “I couldn’t risk it, so I was going to go ahead with the marriage.” I tense, wanting to pull my hand out of his grip at his words. I hate them, even if he was doing it to protect me. “He had a screen set up; you were on it. He knew you were my weakness. Knew that the only way to get me to go along with his plans was to threaten you and Baron. My friends were there. I thought they had betrayed me.” He huffs a laugh, but it’s humorless. “They hadn’t. It was all part of their plan. They came through for me, and for that, I will be thankful to them for the rest of my life. As soon as the minister started the ceremony, they took out my father’s armed guards.”
I gasp, wondering how they took them out. “What do you mean?”
“They killed them, princess,” he clarifies, a half-smile curving his lips. “But it wasn’t over. My father held some sort of device that sent a signal to the gunman, and he pushed the button. Fuck.” He rakes his free hand through his hair as he turns frantic. “He pressed the damn button before I could stop him. Ryker killed my father, but it was too late. He sent the order. All I saw was you falling, and then the screen cut off. I lost it. I thought I had lost you. I called your cell to try and find out what happened, and all I heard was sobbing and screaming. I thought the worst had happened. I thought you were dead.” He takes a deep breath as if preparing himself for his next words. “I nearly killed myself,” he admits. My eyes widen, and my mouth drops open. He nearly killed himself. What the fuck? “I’m so sorry. I was weak and couldn’t bear the thought of living in a world where you no longer existed. It was selfish of me, I know that. But all I could think of in that moment was being with you. Ryker stopped me. He knocked me clean out, sedated me, and brought me to New York.”
“Y-you nearly what?” I stutter.
“It was irresponsible and thoughtless of me. I know,” he whispers, and I hear the shame in his voice. My chest tightens. This is all so fucked up.
I open my mouth to speak when the door is shoved open. My eyes dart up, landing on my father. He breathes heavily, as if he just ran a marathon, and his facial expression is pure rage. I have never seen my father like this. Not even when he found out about Theo and Thalia. His hand shoots up, and he points at Bishop. “You. Outside. Now.”
Mama steps up behind him, her hand gripping his bicep as she strokes small circles. It’s a calming gesture as much as it’s a warning. She is silently telling him to calm down. “Christian, just relax.”
His eyes and face soften as he looks down at Mama. He cups her face, bending to press a kiss to her lips. “I won’t do anything stupid, baby. I just want to speak to Bishop. Alone.” His voice is relaxed now, completely different from when he first stepped inside the room.
“Dad,” I call. His eyes leave my mama and move to me. “Please, just leave it.” My voice and face are imploring him, but it’s not enough to stop him.
He shakes his head. “Sweetheart, I just want to talk to him. Nothing more.”
I groan, but there is no use fighting him. If he wants to talk to Bishop, he will. “Okay. Where is my son?”
“With your sister and Theo in the family room down the hall. Your mama will go and fetch him.” He smiles at me before his eyes move back to a silent Bishop. He jerks his thumb over his shoulder. “There is a private room down the hall we can use.”
Bishop nods, but he doesn’t look intimidated one bit. “Can you give me thirty minutes to see my family?”
My father stares at him, searching his face before sighing, and I know he has conceded. “We will wait out here to give you two some privacy.” He looks over his shoulder, and I see one side of his mouth curve into a smile before Mama appears with Baron. I didn’t even see her leave, too caught up in the two men in the room and their standoff.
“Bambino mio.” I hold my hands out as Mama passes him to me. Baron squeals as I hug him tight and press kisses in his hair. I breathe in his scent, the smell automatically calming me. It doesn’t last long before he is twisting his head and looking at his daddy. Bishop’s eyes turn glassy as he hovers over us, watching us both so intently, it’s almost suffocating.
“Da-da-da,” Baron babbles.
Bishop smiles, taking him from me and gently dropping down on the bed. With his free hand, he takes mine and laces our fingers. I don’t pull away. Something tells me Bishop needs this moment. “Hey, buddy. Daddy missed you,” he chokes out before his face turns serious. “You won’t understand what I say next, but Daddy wants you to know that I am sorry, and I love you. You and your beautiful mama—my princess," his eyes come to me before going back to Baron, “are everything to me. And I am going to spend the rest of my life proving that to both of you. I will never let anything hurt either of you ever again. And I promise to be everything both of you ever need. I will be your strength. Your protector. Your support. Your refuge if times ever get hard.” He frowns, squeezing his eyes closed before they pop open with determination shining in them. “That’s if your mama can forgive me. I don’t know what I will do if she doesn’t. I love your mama, buddy; I love you, and I will never stop showing you both how much.” Tears fill my eyes at his words, and my breath hitches when his gaze meets mine. I see the truth in them. The love. “She is it for me. My soulmate. My other half. And one day, I am going to marry her ass and lock her down like I should have done a year ago.”
I shiver at his words, and by the way he smirks, he knows the effect he has on me. I want all of what he just said, but there are still some things we need to talk about. But that can wait. Right now, I just want to enjoy our time together as a family. Yesterday, it was nearly taken away from us. I nearly died and so did Bishop. So, for now, I am going to let all the negative stuff go and focus on what’s important.
My family.
ChapterThirty-One
CHRISTIAN
I wait in the family room, my knee bouncing as I stare at nothing, but my mind is racing. How did this happen? And I’m not just talking about the shooting, although that is my main concern right now, but still, I can’t help but question my ignorance these last couple of years. Like how did I not see that the guard I assigned to my daughter was betraying my trust and having a relationship with her? Maybe if I had noticed, I could have done something about it, and it would never have come to this. We wouldn’t be in the situation we are now—my precious daughter in the hospital with a gunshot wound.
If I had known then what I know now, I would have fired his ass immediately. My thoughts pause, something twisting inside me.If things had been different, then Baron wouldn’t be here. I can’t even comprehend that, though. Can’t imagine our lives without the happy little boy that brings us so much joy. No, I wouldn’t change my grandson for anything…but I would maybe change his father.
A soft hand takes mine, lacing our fingers and making an instant calm settle inside me. “Baby, stop. Our girl is going to be okay.” My wife’s hot breath hits my neck before she drops a kiss to the sensitive flesh. The move has my cock standing to attention despite where we are and the fact my other daughter and her…manfriend are sitting with us.
I smile, pulling her onto my lap and into my arms. I bury my face in her neck and inhale her unique scent. Christ, I love this woman more than life itself. She, along with my children, are my everything, and I would do anything in my power to protect them, to keep them safe. Last night I failed in that—no matter how much my wife and daughter tell me otherwise. “I know. But I am anxious to get my conversation with Bishop over and done with and finally have some answers. His face was pure guilt, which tells me everything I need to know. Heknowssomething.”
Elena sighs. “Just don’t do anything that you can’t take back. Aria loves him, Christian.” I grimace, making her chuckle. She swats at my chest. “She does, and we need to support that.” She jerks her head, and I follow her line of sight to where my youngest child sits beside Theo, completely oblivious to our attention as they stare at something on Thalia’s cell. I scowl. That old fucker swooped in and stole my little girl, and now she is going to marry him. I should have gotten rid of him when I had the chance, but one thing I have always believed in is supporting my children, no matter how much I dislike some of their choices. “You supported Thalia, and Aria deserves the same. They have a child together—ourgrandson, Christian. No matter what Bishop tells you today, I want you to promise me that you won’t fly off the handle and do something stupid.”
I sigh, scrubbing a palm down my face before I look at my beautiful wife. Her eyes are big and pleading, and I know I can’t orwon’tdeny her anything. I have never been able to refuse her, no matter how much I disagree with what she says. She knows she has got me because a smile curves her plump lips, and she presses a kiss to my cheek. “I will not take it easy on him,” I warn.
She laughs, the sound easing the tightness in my body. I live for this woman’s happiness. “I wouldn’t expect anything less. Just don’t kill him.”
I bark out a laugh. “As much as I would like to do just that, I would never hurt Aria or Baron in that way.” My grandson needs his father, and as much as I hate to admit it, Aria is in love with the asshole. I would never do anything to hurt my daughter. Or any of my children for that matter. Hence why I tolerate the fucker in front of me. As if he senses me staring, his gaze lands on mine, and a smirk curves his lips. Asshole knows what I am thinking. “When are you two thinking of heading back to Wellington?” My daughter’s head snaps up, her brows furrowing in confusion as she looks at me. “I just mean, the competition has already started, and you’ve missed some of it already by being here. I thought you would need to get back.” Now that we know Aria is going to be okay, there is no need for them to be here. Not that I don’t want Thalia in New York, but she has goals to reach in her show-jumping career, and she needs to get back to what she does best.
Thalia shakes her head. “No. I am not going anywhere. At least until Aria is out of the hospital. She comes first.” I hear the hurt in her tone. She doesn’t understand why I asked that question. Family has always come first, and she now thinks I want her to leave.
