Page 30

Chapter 29

Got your six

CHARLIE

“ M a’am, would you like to sit down while you wait?”

I glare at Officer Burton, deciding not to respond. If I do, I’ll say something we’ll both regret. No, Officer, I do not want to sit and call me ma’am again and you won’t have to worry about a rampaging shifter being the worst thing that could happen to you today . I continue pacing.

Though I know Luke is safe, I’m beyond anxious to get my son back. Until I see him myself, touch him, I won’t be able to settle.

I also saw Edie’s death, though Lennox tried to push me out thinking I would despise him after seeing him kill someone. But after watching Edie throw my son off a building, if Lennox hadn’t killed her, I would have devoted my life to hunting the woman down and destroying her.

Officer Burton’s radio squawks and he speaks into it, then says to me. “Lennox is on his way up with Luke.”

“Thank god,” I breathe, wanting to rush out the door to greet them but knowing it’s best to wait for them here where we can have privacy. There’s no telling what shape Luke is in, mentally and physically.

Thinking of his terror feels like a punch to the gut and fills my eyes with tears. Though I know it’s not my fault, it’s hard not to feel like a failure of a mother. My job is to protect my child at all costs, yet he was taken from me. Snatched from his school, a place that should be safe for him. What if he never feels safe again?

The door opens and Lennox’s huge white wolf jogs in, Luke sitting astride him. I register the blood on both Luke and Lennox. “Oh my god!” I cry out as I rush toward them. Luke holds his arms out and I scoop him up, crushing him against me as he cries, his sobs mingling with mine.

Officer Burton jerks his head at the other officers in the room and they leave, allowing us a private reunion.

I sink to the floor, shifting Luke so he’s sitting in my lap, cradled against me. Lifting my shoulder to catch the tears leaking down my face, I whisper, “I have you, baby. Nothing bad is ever going to happen to you again.”

I catch Lennox’s blue-eyed stare. He’s still in his wolf form and, at first, my turmoil clouds my ability hear his thoughts, but as I gradually settle, I realize it’s shame keeping him in this form. He thinks he’s to blame for Luke’s kidnapping.

I reach out, silently asking him to come to us. He pads over, his paws whispering against the hardwood. With a soft whine, he sinks to the floor next to me, resting his head on my knee and snuffling Luke’s leg.

“It’s not your fault,” I tell him, still rocking Luke in my arms.

Luke’s tears are drying up and his sobs have turned to hiccups. “L…Lennox saved me, mom.”

“I know,” I tell him, hoping Lennox can see the truth in my mind and heart, but his wolf is stronger than ever, blocking me from reaching the human underneath. “Lennox is our hero.”

I run my hand over his head, rubbing his ears. Then I rest mine and Luke’s combined weight into Lennox. I press my ear to his side, listening to his heartbeat.

Luke wraps his free arm around Lennox and we sit that way for several minutes, breathing together, feeling the heartbeat of our small family.

Lennox’s ear flicks against my forehead and his wolf latches onto the word, thinking it over and over again, letting it sink in. Family, family, family.

Yes , I whisper silently to him. You are part of this family. Both you and your wolf. We love you. We need you. Please don’t blame yourself.

At my lack of condemnation, Lennox’s wolf retreats within his head, pushing his human thoughts at me. I should have realized Edie would go after Luke. I should have done more to protect him. Should have gone to the school myself. Should have…

Hush , I tell him. None of this is your fault. Edie would’ve found a way to get to me no matter what we did. She waited 140 years for me to show up in your life. That is an insane amount of patience.

He doesn’t respond, but his mind calms and his wolf relaxes.

After another minute of cuddling on the floor, Luke starts to squirm, wiggling away from me. Using his sleeve, he wipes the last of his tears from his cheeks and says, “Mom, this lady pretended to be a cop and picked me up from school, but she wasn’t a cop and Principal Louis let her. Dallas saw me with the principal, and we should probably tell him I’m okay. He might be worried when he finds out I’m not at school…”

I gently cut off what could turn into a lengthy blow-by-blow of the events leading up to our reunification. “We’ll tell him, but more importantly, are you hurt?”

Lennox whines and rises to his paws, nuzzling the back of Luke’s shoulder.

Luke winces and nods. “The wolf lady bit me on my back when she was holding onto me. Lennox didn’t have to bite me when he carried me.” The last sentence is said with enough annoyance that I’m relieved. If he has enough presence of mind to be upset that one wolf bit him and the other didn’t, then he’ll be okay.

“Let me see.” I gently turn him so he’s still sitting in my lap but facing away from me. I pull the collar of his shirt down enough to see the nasty bite marks on his shoulder. It makes me want to murder Edie with my bare hands.

I know the feeling , Lennox says gruffly in my head.

I smile at him and say out loud, “Please turn human, Lennox. We need your cool logic and another pair of hands.”

He dips his head and steps away from us, shifting to his human. “I’ll be back,” he says, striding to his bedroom. He returns seconds later, buckling the belt on a pair of jeans.

“Oh, Lennox, you’re hurt!” I gasp, beckoning him to come to me. He crouches next to us and I reach out to examine the nasty gash on his chest but before I can touch him, Luke launches himself into Lennox’s arms, startling both of us.

“Thank you for saving me,” Luke says, burying his face against Lennox’s neck.

My heart melts and the last of my terror recedes as Lennox’s arms close around Luke. He drops his head to Luke’s and whispers softly to him, telling him how brave he was and how proud Lennox is of him for doing all the right things during his ordeal.

Tears fill my eyes and I embrace both of them, holding the two people in the world who mean the most to me.

“We need to get him to a hospital,” Lennox says.

“I don’t want to go!” Luke pushes away from us giving Lennox a betrayed look.

Lennox looks surprised, but I explain, “We’re not taking you for needles, sweetie. But a doctor should look at those cuts on your shoulder and make sure you didn’t bang your head.”

He stares hard at me, worrying his lower lip. “I didn’t bang my head, mom. I promise.”

Lennox’s lip twitches and he says, “If your mom has a good First Aid kit at home, we can probably take care of you there.”

“Of course she does,” Luke says.

“Of course I do,” I repeat, slightly offended that Lennox would even have to ask the question.

“It’s up to you, then,” Lennox says, gently depositing Luke back in my arms and standing. “Hospital or home?”

“Home,” Luke and I say at the same time.

As much as I would like the reassurance of a doctor looking at Luke’s injuries, I don’t want to upset him further. I’ve had medical training and should be able to take care of both him and Lennox.

Lennox finishes dressing and we head over to my apartment in an unmarked police cruiser. “I’ll be outside for the night in case you need anything,” the officer says as we leave the car.

Luke grabs my hand as we head into the building. I suspect it’ll be a while before he’ll be okay letting me out of his sight, which is fine by me. Losing him today, even if for just a few hours, was one of the worst moments of my life.

Why do we need police protection? I ask Lennox through our link, not wanting to upset Luke.

Lennox opens my apartment door and waits for us to walk through before following. It’s a precaution. We know Edie was involved with ASHRA, but we don’t know how far her influence goes within the group. I suspect it was limited to New York, but I still have questions about the bombings. We don’t know if there’s still a bomber out there or if they were picked up in the bust.

Are we in any danger?

I settle Luke on the couch and head for the kitchen to prepare a snack for him. With a glass of milk and a plate of cookies in front of him, Luke is the happy seven-year-old he was this morning, his brush with death nearly forgotten.

We shouldn’t be in danger , Lennox answers. Edie was fixated on me and used the organization to set me up. Her power outside of the New York cell would be limited. But as a precaution, Captain Charlamagne thinks we should have a unit follow us until he’s sure there are no more ASHRA members looking for revenge.

I don’t like it, but I guess it’s better than having another psycho come after our family.

Lennox tenses. Am I part of the family?

Of course, I tell him, sliding my hand into his. He wraps his fingers around mine and warmth suffuses me. There’s no going back now. You save one of us, you automatically become a Lopez.

He cracks a smile, but it’s a sad smile. I want nothing more than to be part of this family, but the curse…

Can we not think about it, just for tonight? I beg him. I’ve said that to him before and his brain flicks to the night we had sex on the fire escape. He knows he shouldn’t, but the mating call is beating at him. At both of us. Luke’s kidnapping has united us, tightened the bonds that hold us together.

I don’t want to be alone. I know it’s not fair, but I can’t let him leave. The thought of not having him here when both Luke and I are hurting is too much. He’s necessary to our existence.

I’m not going anywhere , he says, settling against the couch cushions.

“Are you two talking to each other in your heads?” Luke asks, his sharp gaze going back and forth between us.

My mouth falls open. “What do you mean?”

He grins and bites into a cookie. “When we were talking about shifters in class, Mrs. Vingeland said that some shifters can talk to their mates tele… tele… in their heads.”

“Telepathically,” I supply the missing word automatically, still boggled over the idea that my son knew we were silently conversing.

“Yeah, that,” he says cheerfully. “You guys are always doing this weird thing where you go quiet but then you stare at each other. It’s a bit creepy.”

Lennox looks at him with a mixture of wonder and pride. “How do you feel about the idea of your mom and I being mates?”

I hold my breath. Will Luke hate the thought of having a father figure in his life again? After his ordeal today, no one could blame him if he didn’t want a wolf shifter near him.

A grin splits Luke’s lips. “I think it’s awesome!”