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“She did, I mean,” his hoarse voice was so faint I had to strain to hear.
I moved without realizing it, taking a step forward to the next smaller beam.
“She laughed when they ripped me away from Carven. She liked that bit—tearing me away while he screamed and clung to me—almost as much as she liked to watch them beat me. I had to kill her, Wildcat. I had to—”
“You protected yourself,” I whispered, taking another step.
“She was my mother.” He turned around, his deep blue eyes almost black. “Did you know that?”
Surprise slammed into me. Mother? HIS MOTHER? I shook my head, unable to believe it…
Only I did.
I did believe him.
I closed my eyes, rocked to my core. “That wasn’t your mother,” I whispered as a flutter came from somewhere deep in my belly. It wasn’t the baby. I knew that, still it drew my focus to that pregnancy test sitting on the edge of my bathroom vanity.
I opened my eyes. Hate and love and desperation collided inside me. I took a step closer, watching his eyes widen. “She might’ve given you life, but that woman was not your mother, Colt. She was a cruel, manipulative, soulless, spiteful thing that occupied a body. What you did, you did in selfdefense.” I searched his eyes, seeing the torment he held inside. “She wasn’t part of you, and you weren’t part of her. You are part of us. We are your family.”
I stepped again, watching his top lip quiver as he fought for control.
My heart was in my throat, thudding violently as I lifted my hand and brushed my thumb along his cheek. “Family is the one you choose. The one you fight for. The ones who fight for you.”
His brow pinched. Heavy breaths made his big chest rise, drawing my gaze. I stared at the blood and bruising…then the bloodied stub on his hand where his thumb had once been.
“Family is the ones who want you, who need you.” That lump choked my words. I tore my focus from what they’d done to him and took a step closer. “That part of you who killed also protected you.”
He shook his head. “A beast.”
“A beast you needed,” I whispered, staring into his eyes. “A beast I needed. I needed him to keep you alive. But I need him to bring you back to me now.” I reached out, watching him flinch as I touched his hand. But I tried again. This time, he didn’t pull away as I guided his hand to my belly. “Because we’re going to be a family of our own. You, me, Carven, and London…and…” I held his stare. “And our baby.”
His eyes widened. Deep breaths sucked in all the air before he whispered, “Baby?”
“Yes, my protector…our baby.”
TWENTY-FIVE
London
“Up there.” Carven stared at the shattered second-story window in the goddamn place. “It’s the only way in.”
He stepped closer, grabbed a thick wooden post rising from the veranda, and heaved himself upward.
“Careful.” I winced as I heard the thing creak and groan under his weight.
The siding gave way under his grip, splintering until it fell. My heart boomed with the collapse, making me step closer. We’d circled the place, trying to find a way inside. The shattered window on the second floor was the only possible way.
“Fuck!” Carven snapped, then tried again, this time finding a better grip to heave himself upwards.
We wanted in.
No. We needed in.
I stood there, watching my son risk his goddamn neck to find his brother.
“Wait,” Guild called behind me.
“Not now,” I muttered, flinching as Carven’s foot slipped, but still he inched toward that window.
