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kosher

Ayla

Mom sobs, and I can’t be bothered to care. I jump from my seat and fling myself at the man I love. The dark, dangerous man who looks so much worse for wear after today. He holds a tray of coffees in one hand and brown paper bag in the other.

“Oof.” He makes a pained sound when the impact pushes the air from his lungs. “You’re awake.”

“Sorry. Not sorry.” I hold him like my life depends on it.

Because it does.

His shaking body combined with a low moan has me stepping back.

“Where are you hurt? Why did it take so long for them to release you? Why didn’t you let me know?”

“I’ve been out here for hours. You were asleep. I only stepped away for coffee. Priorities…”

Mom’s voice behind me brings me back to where we were mere moments ago.

“This is why I never worried after the initial setup. Because you were smitten. The world turned on Christian’s axis, and he found you to be what we all knew—precious, wonderful, and perfect.

You were complete together, so I didn’t care that how you met wasn’t… kosher.”

Kosher. Did she just go with kosher to describe whoring me out?

“Enough.” I dismiss everything around me but the bearded man in my arms. “Tell me you’re okay.”

He points to the outside of his thigh. “I took another bullet.”

“You were shot?”

“It was a graze this time, so no hot tub for a while.”

“You— You dove in front of that when he aimed…” My voice lowers with every word until it’s barely a whisper.

“I dove in front of you, Princess. There was no fucking way you were taking that hit with me right there.”

Cian stands and comes to us, extending a hand to Christian, his one good eye saying more than words ever could.

“Cian.” Christian sets his bag down and extends a hand to my brother.

“He’s coming home with us.” I push up on my toes and kiss the underside of his jaw. “After we hear about Fitz.”

Liam pipes up. “He’s out of surgery. He coded on the table, but they brought him back.”

I gasp. “When can I see him?”

“After he gets out of recovery.”

“We need to call his family.”

“I talked to Gallo. He’s on it.”

“You talked to Ren?” Christian says over my head.

Liam nods. “He spends the day with his mom every now and then. Leaves his phone in the car.”

“Bad day to be incommunicado.”

My brother just shrugs and sits in the chair he occupied prior to his disappearance.

“So we know about everyone but the kidnappers and Dad then?”

Mom’s head flies up. “Your father was there?”

“Did you miss the part about all of this being his fault?” Liam’s voice thunders.

“Where is he? How is he? Why haven’t we heard?” Mom seems to be panicked.

“He was—” Christian starts.

But he is cut off by Cian who says his first words since before all hell broke loose, “No. One. Fucking. Cares.” He grits each word through metal like it costs him dearly.

Christian

Cian is right. And he’s wrong. I know Ayla cares, though she shouldn’t.

Janie, though, is a basket case and has no one in her court.

Seamus was being arrested while the EMTs worked on me.

It took extra time because I hit my head and blacked out when I leapt in front of my wife, and if I dare to admit it, in front of her dad too.

I was on a stretcher, wearing a neck brace since I couldn’t communicate and they didn’t know where I was hurt, when I woke to see my father-in law-being handcuffed and read his rights.

I don’t think the thugs were aiming at her, but there was no option for collateral damage. I’d never live with myself if she were hit just for being near her dad. Or if she were executed for failing to do the same to him.

“I’m ready to go home.”

“Almost.” Ayla pats my chest. “I need to see Fitz first, then we can go.”

I squeeze her again and kiss the top of her head. “Okay, Princess. But if we’re staying, you need to take care of your mom. She’s a wreck.”

“No, Honey. I’m right where I’m supposed to be.” She looks up at me, her green eyes blazing, and adds, “I didn’t know. I promise. Well, I guess old me did. That was a bitch move on her part and I’m pissed at her for it.”

“It didn’t last long,” Janie interjects quietly. “You were over the moon for him and basically told Seamus to shove it before you were ever married.”

I might as well sink to my knees in relief. It started poorly, but our vows weren’t lies. My promises to her were true, and hers to me were too. We can figure everything else out.

“We need a vacation. After all this dies down and we feel safe again, we should take a trip.”

“Greece? I’d love to see and shoot those blue waters and white-domed roofs.”

“Yeah, Ayla. I’d gladly take you there.” Or back there. A second honeymoon in the same place as the first sounds perfect. “We’ll get you some SPF four million sunscreen.”

She smacks my chest. “That’s rude.”

“Rude but real.” Liam interjects while doing something on his phone.

This feels so similar to how it did before Ayla’s fall. My wife, her brothers, and I having a great time together.

“Be right back.” I need to know about Fitz so I can take my wife home. I need a good night’s sleep with her by my side where everything is right in the world.

I’m a patient man. I say this to myself on repeat, trying to convince myself of its veracity, during our time at Porter Adventist.

We wait for Fitz. We chat with Fitz. Ayla cries over and fawns over Fitz.

He was Special Forces and to this day is a badass, and she is doing everything but pulling up his covers and wiping his brow.

It isn’t sexual. It’s maternal. It is funny and heartwarming and annoying as fuck, because I just want to go home.

I left for the office by five this morning.

Or was that yesterday morning, technically?

I have no clue, but I haven’t slept well in more than a week.

Liam left an hour ago. Janie disappeared before her younger son, slipping out with little fanfare.

Cian, though, is Ayla’s shadow. There’s no way one will be far from the other right now. Anyone who loves my wife like that is good with me.

“Come on, Princess. We can come back tomorrow.”

“But…”

“Let Fitz sleep. His body needs it to recover.”

He gives me a thumbs-up before she turns back from me to the man who seems to take up the whole hospital bed.

He’s tall enough his feet would probably hang off the edge if he were to stretch out fully.

“I’m so sorry, Fitz. I didn’t mean to mess with your recuperation.

I’ll come back tomorrow. I’ll call you first. The food here sucks so let me know what you want, and I’ll smuggle it in. ”

“Thank you, Mrs. Barone.”

“For the last time, call me Ayla.” She looks over her shoulder to me before focusing again on the Ranger. “I insist. You can’t call me Mrs. Barone after taking a bullet for me.” She pauses. “You took a bullet for me.” Her voice is quiet and choked as the tears return.

The caveman in me wants to say that I did too , but I won’t compare my graze to his gut wound. Besides, she’s going home with me. Anytime now…

How is my wife functioning? If I had to guess, adrenaline-fueled panic mixed with relief.

“Baby, come to bed.”

“I need to make sure everything is good first.”

“Everything is perfect.”

“But it’s not.” There’s panic in her eyes as she looks up from cleaning the island counter of all things.

“The kitchen isn’t going to get any cleaner. Cian is asleep. The house is locked up tighter than Fort Knox.”

“You sure?”

“About all of it. And Ren has extra guys outside just in case.”

“Just in case what?”

“Just in case you were scared to go to sleep and might worry about us.”

Her rag comes to a stop. “Oh.” She turns to drop it in the sink. “Ci might need me. ”

“He’s a grown man, Ayla. He’s figured out a lot of shit on his own.” I lift a hand when she wants to interrupt. “He has fresh ice packs, a small pharmacy at his bedside, and a cell phone with you on speed dial.”

“What if he gets sick? How does that work with his jaw wired shut?”

“They gave him anti-nausea meds and he’s wearing a patch as well. Baby, if he needs anything, you can be to him in twenty seconds, whether you’re in the kitchen or our bedroom.”

“What if I don’t hear him?” Her voice is small and way too tentative for the ball-busting woman I married.

“Then I will.”

Her shoulders sag, and she comes around the counter to me and faceplants into my chest. “Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Okay then.”

I turn and lead us to the end of the hall, through our bedroom and into the bathroom, flipping the switches on in the shower. “What are the rules with your wound?”

“No soaking, and I need to apply some prescription stuff to it twice a day.”

“I didn’t know.” She looks panicked. “I’ll go get it.” She’s halfway back to the door when I snag her hand.

“They applied some at the hospital. We’ll get the rest in the morning.” I lift my watch. “Make that a couple of hours. Please come scrub off this hellacious day with me so we can sleep.”

She strips silently, leaving everything in the middle of the bathroom floor as I do the same. I step under the spray and extend a hand. To my relief, she joins me and immediately stands under one of the showerheads letting the water pour down her body.

Her tears are hidden under the streams until I can take it no longer and pull her into me. “I was so scared,” I admit.

“Me too.”

“Princess, I was scared of losing you. When I heard you were gone—” I swallow past the lump of sand wedged in my throat.

“I knew I wouldn’t be able to live without you.

The last six months have been hard, no doubt.

But me without you is a life that’s not worth living.

I need you, Ayla. Memory or no. Fighting or not.

I’m tied to you. My happiness and my why for living is in our love. I can’t do it without you.”

Her arms wrap tightly around me. “I didn’t know about Mom and Dad and I’m sorry. Except that I got you.”

“You’ve got me. Flaws and all.”

She rubs her fingers over the healed scar on my shoulder. “You’ve saved me twice.”

I’m no hide-and-seek champion. The thought hits me in the gut. When it was me, I ducked for cover. When it was about my wife, it was easy to jump into the fray. Or dive into it.

“And I’d do it again, but how about we skip the flying projectiles and cliff faces for a while? My danger meter is maxed out.”

She looks up into my face. “Okay, but how do we even know it’s over?”

Well, fuck me. I don’t know how to answer that honestly. Is it over? “I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out. Just not tonight. Tonight, we rest.”

We clean up and fall into bed naked and damp, snuggled into one another, holding on to the most important things in our lives—each other.