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Jude put his forehead to mine. “Because they saw how much you mean to me. And the fact that you preferred dying to taking Dad’s life is enough for us to know that you’ll fit right in. Do you think we’ve never made a mistake?”
“I think what I did was more than a mistake.”
He leaned back again so he could look at me. “I once blew up Liam’s Ferrari with a hand grenade. And accidentally shot Gabriel because I was showing off. Vanna spied on us for her father, and Liam didn’t tell Quinn he was engaged to someone else when they first got together.”
I put my good hand around his wrist, needing something solid to hold on to. “I feel like this is all a dream I’ll soon wake up from.”
He touched his mouth to my cheek. “I’ll make sure the dream never ends.”
My chuckle turned into a sob, and a few tears tracked down my cheek. “Jude.”
He crushed his lips to mine, and I wound my good arm around his neck, my cast on his back.
Burning with the need to get closer, I arched into him, then flinched at the pain shooting through my leg. Jude sat back as soon as he noticed. “You need to rest. And eat. Let me take care of the rest.”
True to his word, he made sure I had everything I needed. After I ate, he curled up next to me, and we watched TV until I fell asleep. And when I woke up a few hours later to a dark room and panicked, he was there to hold me.
* * *
“Who’s trying to get a hold of you?”
My phone had died a day or so ago, and I hadn’t bothered charging it until now. It was currently beeping with message after message.
My boss at Walmart knew I’d been injured and wouldn’t be in for at least two weeks. And the only other person I cared to talk to was currently hovering over me as I used crutches to walk to the bathroom.
“Not sure. I’ll check it when I’m back in bed.”
Jude nodded, stepping closer before backing up again. “It would be so much easier if I just carried you.”
“I need to move around. You heard what the doctor said.”
Not leaving my side, he exhaled loudly. “But he also said you need to take it easy.”
“I am taking it easy. A walk to the bathroom every few hours isn’t exactly overdoing it.”
I held my crutch up in the air when he tried to follow me into the bathroom. “No way. I need privacy.”
He blinked at me, pouting. “I’ve already seen it all. Why are you suddenly shy?”
As much as I loved the way he took care of me, I needed a few minutes alone. “I’m going in by myself.”
“Fine. But I’ll wait in front of the door.”
As promised, he was still exactly where I’d left him when I came back out. A smile spread over my face, and I shook my head at him. “Did Lenny’s teacher send his schoolwork?”
Jude lifted me back into bed. “She sent it to my email after I talked to her yesterday. Mom already went through most of it with him this morning.”
We’d decided to keep Lenny at the house for the next two weeks. Even though the power transfer at Gladius seemed to be going well, I didn’t want to take any chances. I still couldn’t believe Jude and his brothers somehow got three of the factions to agree to appoint new leaders.
I grabbed my phone from the nightstand, going through my notifications. I had three voice messages, all from unknown numbers.
Tapping the first one, I put it on speaker. “This is Ximena Cortez from Child Protective Services. We’re conducting a home visit but are unable to get a hold of you. I’ve been to your apartment three times, and you were out each time. Please call me on this number.”
She rattled off a number, but I didn’t take it in. Instead, I played the next message. “This is Ximena Cortez again. Contact me immediately or I will have to refer this on to the police.”
With shaking hands, I played the third message. “How dare you take my son away from me. If you think you can just disappear, you’re delusional. I’ll find you. And then I’ll make sure you never see him again.”
The venom in Mom’s voice bounced off me—I’d heard it too many times before—but the threat made my hands tremble. She’d already proven to be tenacious when it came to something she thought was her due.
