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Emma

I t takes a moment for me to register that the gunshot wasn’t from Adam’s gun, that I’m still alive and unscathed. Detachedly, I notice Adam’s dead body on the floor behind me, my ears still ringing as I look up to see Ty drop the still-smoking gun to the floor and rush over to me, cupping my face in his hands. His mouth moves but I can’t make out what he’s trying to tell me. I’m in shock, I suppose.

“Emma, are you hurt?” he asks with fear in his eyes.

“No. No, I’m okay,” I respond as the world starts to come back into focus. “You shot him,” I say, as the realization that Adam is finally gone starts to sink in.

“I had to.”

“But you hate guns…” I point out confusedly in my state of shock.

“Emma, I would do anything to protect you and Max,” he says seriously.

“Max!” I gasp, my focus snapping back to where I saw him upstairs before.

“Mommy!” I hear my son cry from behind me.

I whirl around to see Jax carrying him down the stairs further away from us, covering his eyes so he won’t see his father’s body. When they reach the bottom, he wriggles out of Jax’s arms and he comes racing toward me on his little legs, arms open wide. I rush toward him, not wanting him to see Adam either. I scoop him up into my arms, breathing him in and showering him with kisses as I squeeze him tightly, making sure to face him away from the body.

“Mommy loves you so so much. I’m so sorry baby. I should have listened to you about Daddy,” I sob.

“Daddy was being scary,” he cries, clinging to me tightly.

“I know baby, I know he was, but I promise you he’ll never hurt you again. He won’t come back,” I swear, rocking him gently.

“Promise?” he mumbles, nuzzling in closer to me.

“I promise. Ty, Jax, and Mason kept us safe,” I say looking at them gratefully. It’s only then that I realize Mason is missing.

“Where’s Mason?” I mouth at them, not wanting to alarm Max.

At that moment, Mason appears followed by Beth. Both of them are injured. “What happened? Are you okay?” I gasp.

Spotting Max and realizing the danger has passed, Mason replies, “We’ll talk about it soon, let’s get this little one someplace else. Bess has already called this in to the cops. They’ll need brief statements from us now and full ones in the morning, but we don’t need to stay here.”

I nod, allowing the others to take charge of the situation. I have so many questions and I want to thank them all. But my focus now is on getting my son as far away from here as possible.

***

After a hot shower and some food, Max is sleeping the way only a small child can, deeply and peacefully his small mind already working to protect him from the horrors of the day with rest. He’s been fairly quiet about the situation, but I know one day soon he’ll have questions that I’ll need to answer. Not for the first time my thoughts go to Jessica’s children, and I wonder who is taking care of them and how they’re coping with the tragic loss of their mom.

I’m still in shock that Adam has been alive this whole time, that he killed three people, that he’s finally gone for good. I knew Adam wasn’t a good guy, but I had no idea he had such darkness in him. He claimed that he was acting out of love, that he was trying to build a better life for us and our son, but he was lying. It was always about the money and saving his skin. He knew that Kane was going to get the money back from him, one way or another and so he decided to fake his death.

In hindsight, I realize now that he’d been planning it for a while. About a year before his ‘death’ he insisted we take out life insurance for the whole family. He wanted a ridiculously expensive policy for all three of us with crazily expensive monthly payments. For once, I put my foot down and refused, insisting we go for a more modest plan. It was enough to help Max and I survive in the months following his death but nothing else.

I was informed after his supposed death that Adam had taken out an additional, much larger policy with a company of ill repute when I was handling his estate, but unsurprisingly, the insurance company gave several excuses and eventually, barely gave us a penny. I’ve no doubt that had it paid out the full sum he’d intended, Adam would have resurfaced far sooner.

A shiver runs down my spine as I wonder whether he might have considered killing us for the money had I agreed to a large policy for myself and Max. If he would murder his own mother for money, I don’t doubt he’d be capable of killing us too. If the guys hadn’t shown up when they did, we wouldn’t be alive now. The gratitude I feel to all of them, and Bess, for coming to our rescue is immeasurable. Tomorrow will be a long day, we need to go give our full statements to the police and then I want to visit Jacob in the hospital. But for now, we can unwind knowing that Kane is in custody and Adam is gone, no one is going to harm Max.

After showering I put on some comfortable clothes, shrugging into an old sweatshirt that hugs me like an old friend. I quickly call the hospital and check in on Jacob’s status. They assure me he’s doing well, that his condition is stable and they’re hopeful they can bring him out of the coma soon. With the good news bolstering me, I head downstairs. Bess has gone home so it’s just us in the house. A house I’m now starting to think of as home. The guys are all in the living room waiting for me, having cleaned up too. Mason’s eye is bruised and swollen with a large cut underneath. There are several bandages on his arms. Thankfully, Ty and Jax are uninjured.

Therefore, I head to Mason first, inspecting his injuries. “You should go to the hospital,” I tell him, my brow furrowed as I see that bright crimson blood is seeping through one of the bandages.

He shakes his head. “I’m fine, just a scratch.”

“What happened? Who did this to you? I know it wasn’t Adam.”

“Adam had help, some drug addicts we think he paid off. Bess and I encountered two of them, high as all hell, which made them crazy and strong. One of them was a big fucker, he did this,” he says pointing to his eye. “Once I’d dealt with him, I had to help Bess. The crazy bitch she was fighting pulled a knife and started slashing wildly, she got a few nicks in before we could stop her.”

“I don’t know what to say… Thank you, all of you, I’m sorry for dragging you into this mess.”

I look at them, my heart aching with love and fear. A different fear than when I believed I was about to die, but fear, nonetheless. Fear of losing them. Fear that today’s events have been the final straw. Fear that they don’t feel the same. I know Jax said he loved me too, but I wouldn’t blame him if it was a kindness bestowed on a woman who was about to die rather than his true feelings.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Mason insists.

“Never. When I think about how close that bastard came to…” Jax chokes out unable to finish his sentence.

“Emma, did you mean it? When you said you love us?” Ty asks, his brown eyes meeting mine.

Mason looks confused but not unhappy to hear this.

“Yes. I do,” I reply truthfully. “I know it’s unconventional, and we haven’t known each other long, but today made me realize that I’ve fallen in love with you. All three of you.”

“I meant it, too. I love you, Emma,” Jax says. He takes my hand and squeezes it, stepping closer to me.

“I love you, Emma. After Danielle… I didn’t think I would ever feel joy again, that I would never have a family. You gave me those back, you and Max,” Ty says, coming close to my other side and placing a kiss on my forehead.

I look to Mason. Out of them, Mason and I have the most volatile relationship. Is it too much for me to hope for him to love me back?

“Of course I love you, Emma, I’ve loved you from the moment I first laid eyes on you,” he replies softly.

They kiss me tenderly, holding me close, making me feel safe and loved. None of them tries to take things further, innately knowing that tonight I just need to be held. Already I’m plotting in my head how we can move an extra bed into the biggest room and push them together to make one big enough to fit us all, I want to fall asleep with the men I love.

I’m in love, and they love me back.

Like the sun finally rising after a long, dark winter I know everything is going to be alright. Better than alright. Max is safe, Jacob is going to be okay, and I have three incredible men who love me.