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They were letting Gerard out in a few days. Jimmy, Andrew, and Dave—they hadn’t survived. Pen would never forget them. She hadn’t reallyknownthem, but they’d died right there in front of her. She would never forget.
Pen was going to go back upstairs—to wait in the ICU waiting room. Wait for Sydney to just wake up. She’d talked to Nikkie Jean—and gotten herself discharged. She had a broken collarbone, and some stitches.
Big deal. Her friends were hurt far worse.
They didn’t know how well Jo-Jo was going to walk again. And Sydney was up in ICU. They both were.
A broken collarbone wasn’t abig deal.
She’d wanted to find Zoey. Nikkie Jean had said Zoey was searching the hospital for Murdoch and had seemed determined. She’d found Zoey—right after Zoey had found Murdoch.
She’d stayed where she was, almost behind Rafe and Caine…while Murdoch and Zoey had basically proposed to one another. She really wasn’t certain who had done the proposing, actually.
Pen was kind of numb right now. She didn’t know how she was supposed tofeel.
Right now…she didn’t know whether she would ever feel anything again.
Everything about her world had changed in an instant.
She knew how lucky they were. Theoretically. All three of her best friends and she had survived. Gerard was going to recover. Zoey and Murdoch werealive.Those little kids were safe. Her…brother and sister.
Eastman was dead.
Some of his goons were dead, too. Others…were still out there. She couldn’t even bring herself to feel afraid of that right now.
Mostly…mostly she just felt numb.
She stepped around Rafe and Jillian. She wanted to see the little girl. Her sister. Pen thought her name was Oakley. Pen just needed to see her, to make sure Oakley was ok.
“Zo? Got room for me there?” Zoey, Murdoch, and the two kids looked…like the perfect family. Like the kind Pen used to dream about when she was little and separated from her sister.
Zoey turned. A look of relief and surprise went across her sister’s bruised but beautiful face. “I was on my way up to get you when you woke. Luc has a car ready to take ushome.”
Murdoch stood from where he’d knelt. He was kind of wobbly, but he was alive. “There you are, kid. So what do you say? Can I be your honorary dad? You good with that?”
Was she? Before Eastman, she’d wanted nothing more than for Zoey to find a man to love her like her brothers loved their wives. At least, that had come true. Pen found herself nodding. “As long as you promise to always be good to her. She deserves the best.”
“That she does. I’m not going anywhere. I should probably warn her, I want five-point-eight kids though. You have to be the eight. We can make Sydney be the point. With these two, just three more to go.” He looked at Zoey, an expression in his eyes that had Pen’s own eyes filling. He loved her sister. So much. “If you’re up for that?”
“You are the only man who will ever get near myeggsagain. You can count onthat.” Zoey kissed him. Then held out her arm to Pen. And pulled her close.
Murdoch still held that little girl. Zoey held the little boy. Pen was very gently caught between them all.
They were going to be afamily.
She would get through this. And maybe someday…she’d be able tofeelagain.
Murdoch and Zoey pulled back.
That was when she saw the semi-circle of women staring at them all. Ather.
“Why are they looking at me like that?”
Zoey’s eyes widened. “No one hastoldyou?”
Pen shook her head. “Um…what exactly am I missing?”
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