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“Open your eyes, Cade. Look at me, honey. Stay with me.”
He tried. Tried so hard to do what she asked. He hated when she cried—hated her being upset about anything. All he wanted was for her to be happy.
“Please. Please, Cade. Don’t leave me. Don’t leave us.”
Someone lifted his hands and he felt the hard bump on her stomach. The child inside her was safe and that’s all the mattered. He’d shown them love while he could. Shown them they could have any future they wanted.
Wishing he could have been a part of their lives for just a little while longer, his eyes grew heavy, and the world went black.
23
The steady beep of the machines in the hospital room combined with the florescent lights and strained nerves, keeping Laura wide awake despite the late hour.
Well, that and the uncomfortable chair she’d dragged beside Cade’s bed.
She hadn’t left his side since his surgery to remove the bullet lodged into his back. Doctor Simon had told the group of family and friends gathered in the waiting room he’d been lucky. The bullet had missed all his vital organs and been removed without incident.
But he’d yet to wake up.
“Hey, you,” Jude said, stepping into the room beside Matthew. “How are you holding up?”
Laura shrugged and sniffed back the tears threatening to fall. The day had been long and filled with stress and fear, but she only wanted to put positive energy in the room. She’d do anything to see Cade open his eyes. To fit under his arm, attack him with kisses, and tell him how she loved him.
Matthew dragged over two more chairs, one on each side of Laura, and sat. He rested a hand on her knee. “He’s strong. He’llwake soon. He’s always been a little lazy. Likes his sleep too much.”
His light teasing coaxed a small smile from her. “He just needs some time. How’s Mom?”
Brooke had leapt into action and taken Isaac down as soon as he’d fired the shot that had hit Cade. Everything that followed was a bit of a blur. Sheriff deputies, local police, and EMT’s had swarmed the property. Her mother and father were transported to the local hospital, but she’d ridden with Cade.
She’d kept up to date on her mother’s condition, but nothing could pry her from Cade’s side.
“She woke for a few minutes and asked about you,” Jude said, squeezing Laura’s hand. “We told her you were all right and with Cade. She fell back asleep before we left the room. She’s going to be okay.”
“She found me. She helped me get out of that house.” Emotion lodged in her throat as flashbacks of seeing her mom, of hearing the gunshot, shook her senses. “She finally stood up to Dad—tried to protect me. I thought he killed her.”
The tears fell. How many times had she hoped her mom could break the chains of abuse and intervene? Could be brave enough to support her children the way they truly needed?
Nicole had finally taken that step and it’d almost cost her life.
Matthew hooked an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “He might have tried, but she’s stronger than any of us gave her credit. She’ll pull through, and he’s already in a jail cell. Right beside that good for nothing ex of yours. Where they’ll both stay for a very long time.”
She breathed in her brother’s familiar scent of cedar and peppermint. He’d been her rock so many times. Having him by her side, by Cade’s side, turned her insides to mush. “I still can’t believe Dad was going to just let him kill me.”
Matthew pressed a kiss to her temple. “He can’t hurt you anymore. He can’t hurt any of us, and it looks like you have one hell of a protector willing to do anything to keep you safe.”
She stared at Cade’s closed eyes. His breathing was slow and even, and a light color touched his cheeks under his scruff. “He has to be okay.”
“He will be.”
The catch in Matthew’s voice reminded her of what Jude had told her about why he’d been acting so strangely the last few days. “I’m sorry about the baby.” She rested a hand on her belly, the reminder that this life inside her was so fragile tightening her chest. “I’m sure seeing me like this is hard. I get why you kept your distance.”
“Hey, now,” he said, topping her hand with his. “My distance had nothing to do with you and everything to do with needing some time to process and grieve. I take my uncle duties very seriously and will love this child so damn much.”
“Not as much as Aunt Jude, though.” Jude placed her palm on top of Matthew’s.
Despite the fear still churning in her gut, a peace and happiness settled over her like she hadn’t known in years. She had her brother and her sister beside her, no matter what the future held.
“You two will have to get in line. No one will love that baby more than me.” Cade’s dry voice was so weak it barely registered in Laura’s ears.
