Page 18 of Vengeful Pawn (Adair Legacy #6)
MiaBella
“ D id you mean it?” Coral asks once everyone leaves, and we’re playing a game of Go Fish in bed while waiting to hear about my release.
“Mean what?” I ask, my voice casual.
“That we could be part of your family.”
Charlotte sits up from the cot where she was watching a movie on my phone. “You said that?” I’m not sure if Charlotte is angry or skeptical. Maybe both.
“I did,” I say to Charlotte. “And I did,” I tell Coral. “I didn’t realize you were awake.” Her cheeks tinge pink. “If it’s something you two would like to discuss, you should. If you already know you don’t want it, that’s okay, too.” No matter what, I’d like to be in their lives.
“So, you’d be what…like our mom?”
You can’t miss the hope in Coral’s tone, despite her shooting looks at her sister for approval. Whatever Charlotte decides, Coral will do the same, even if it’s not what she wants.
Laying my cards down, they both get my undivided attention. “I would be whatever you want me to be. Don’t feel pressured to decide right now; these things take time, and we have plenty of it. If you want me to petition the courts for fostering, I can do that, and we can test the waters.”
I glance between the girls. They are having a conversation with their eyes and facial expressions. Their bond is unmistakable and strong. Something I hope they will always have, no matter where they end up in life. If I can provide support, then I will.
“Where would we live?” Charlotte asks. And boy, is that a good damn question.
“That is a little complicated right now.” I wish it weren’t. “I’m not sure what’s going on with Hendrix and me and the baby. It’s unclear whether we’re together or not, but I promise, I will have a home for you.”
They’re quiet for a moment before Coral leans forward and fake whispers, “Can we know the sex of the baby?”
Getting in even closer, I mimic her actions. “I don’t even know yet.”
Her sweet giggles are a welcome sound. Since meeting Coral, she’s been more closed off than other thirteen-year-olds, but I get it, knowing what she suffered through. Charlotte is the one I worry about the most. She shielded her little sister as much as possible until I could get them out.
When Charlotte moves to sit on the bed next to me, reaching for her sister’s hand, then grasping mine, I’m shocked when she says, “We want to be yours.”
“Hendrix’s, too, if he wants us,” Coral adds quietly, like she’s afraid of immediate rejection.
“I do.” We all jump slightly at the masculine tone as the man himself enters the room he left us in hours ago. “I want all three of you to be mine.”
“You’ve been listening.” I raise my chin in challenge with a crooked smile.
“For a few minutes.” There’s no shame in his confession.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t clear about that last night.
” My heart pounds in my chest as he comes closer, a bag of delicious-smelling food in one hand.
Hospital food is not all it’s cracked up to be.
“Anyone interested in seeing the house we could be living in here?”
The girls jump with excitement. Unfortunately for me, the jostling makes me wince and want to cry out in pain. Instead, I bite my lip because they’ll feel guilty.
“Whoa.” Hendrix rushes over. “How about we hop off the bed so Mia can lie back and rest some. Here, Charlotte, you can pull the food out. It’s grazing-style, so a little bit of everything for everyone.”
The girls are quick to do as they’re asked. The table we’d been playing cards on gets moved away from the bed, and everything is set up so I’ll be able to grab what I want, too.
“No problem… Dad.” The hesitation in Charlotte is rewarded by the biggest grin I’ve ever seen from Hendrix. Pride puffs out his chest, and the girl relaxes when she realizes he likes it.
“Dad,” I whisper, a tear in my eye.
“I like the sound of it,” he confesses as he slides in next to me, allowing the girls to plate up their food and get settled together on the cot. “You get to leave tomorrow morning before end of shift. We’ll go to my parents’ place, but I’d like you to look at the house I bought today.”
My eyes widen. “You bought a house? A whole house?”
“Yes?” he stammers.
“So, we’ll be living here?” I don’t mind. I love Castle and the club, but here the girls will have even more family, more cousins. The baby, too.
“Well, we’ll also have your house in Mobile. I know you spent time making it a sanctuary, and it’d be nice to have something there for when we visit your brother.”
“You think of everything?”
He shrugs, pulling me into his side, and we sit and watch the girls chat and eat, making plans for their rooms once Hendrix shows them that they have their own suite in the new house.
There’s a bathroom that opens into both of their bedrooms, and they’ll share an enormous walk-in closet but still have the privacy of their space.
Their excitement makes me emotional, and when I begin to cry, Hendrix panics, but after expressing that it’s a good thing, he calms down.
“We’re really doing this,” I say to him after the girls have fallen asleep together on the cot. I’ll never understand how they both fit.
“We are.” He kisses my temple sweetly. “I’m leaving for a few hours. Holden and Easton will be outside the room if you need anything.”
“Where are you going?” I likely already know the answer.
“To have a word with the man who hurt you.” I have mixed feelings about that.
Resting my head against the pillow, I struggle to find my words. “I still don’t remember what happened.” And it’s killing me. I dream about it because I wake up feeling panicked and terrified, only getting flashes of what happened, but no memories.
Hendrix grabs his phone from the table and taps a few times before showing me an image. “This is him. His name is Roger Harding, and he was looking for his wife, Rebecca, who had left Haven House a week before. He was never going to find her because she has a new name now.”
Closing my eyes, I remember her name being screamed in my face, the hand around my throat, and the panic I felt about being choked to death. “He was choking me.” My fingers flutter to my neck. “Screaming her name, demanding to know where she was.”
“That tracks. Roger became increasingly violent in their marriage. He nearly killed her twice before Noelle offered help.”
“You’re going to kill him.” It’s not a question. It’s a fact.
“I can hand him over to the police, but then they’ll demand to know where Rebecca is, her new name. He’ll have access to her again…. To you. I can’t let either of those things happen.” Neither could I.
I open my eyes, and the warrior Hendrix has been his entire life is there in the fierce expression on his face. Placing my hands on each cheek, I pull him closer until our lips meet. “I love you, Hendrix Adair. Please make sure you come back to us.”
His eyes widen with shock this time as he bombards my mouth with his range of emotions, not voicing them but ensuring I get his meaning by his touch. Watching him leave is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but he needs to do this, and I agree that some people simply need to die.