People were shouting, footsteps cracking on the floor as the guys rushed to Lola and Cade, but I couldn’t move. My entire family had been shot at: my son, the woman I loved, and my unborn baby girl. I could have lost them all in one fail swoop, and there would have been nothing I could have done about it.
“Brody!” Sal shouted, his hands pressed against Lola’s leg. “Get your ass over here.”
I stumbled forward, not knowing who to go to, but Lola’s eyes sprang open, and she begged, “Make sure Cade is okay.” I thought I loved her even more at that moment.
Sirens rang out, help on its way to save my family, as I collapsed to my knees between them both. Jord was checking Cade’s shoulder, and he said, “It’s through and through.”
“Lola’s isn’t,” Sal grunted. “And she looks like she’s about to pass out.”
I lunged toward her, falling on my ass as I tried to wrap my arms around her. Her back leaned against my chest, her pale face glancing up at me.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry, Brody.”
“No, darlin'.” I shook my head and placed my hand on her cheek, feeling wetness trailing down mine at the same time. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“I didn’t protect him,” she managed to get out. “I’m sorry.”
I gripped her tighter as she closed her eyes, people running into the diner and heading toward us. Paramedics stopped next to us, one pair going to Cade and the other to Lola.
They worked fast, checking their wounds and, all the while, I sat there, not able to do a thing. I was stunned, my anger having flushed right out of me, but then I glanced over to Jace’s still body, and it returned tenfold. I wished he was still alive so I could cause him the pain he’d been trying to cause me.
They lifted Lola onto a stretcher, and one of the paramedics asked, “Are you coming with her?”
I looked over at Cade who was being wheeled out, Jord at his side. “Go,” Cade said. “Go with Lola and my baby sister.”
My stomach bottomed out, and all I could manage was a nod as I followed them and got into the back of the ambulance with Lola’s still body.
LOLA
I’d been awake for ten minutes according to the clock on the sterile wall. Each second that went by was announced with the tick of the second hand, and for some reason, I found it comforting.
I was still here, taking breaths, and staring at the man who slept beside me. From the dark circles under his eyes, and the scruff on his face, I’d say he hadn’t left the hospital in days. The calendar on the clock told me I’d been in here for two days, which meant I’d lost an entire block of time.
I was desperate to wake Brody up, but I needed to work through everything that had happened in the diner. Jace had been about to shoot me a second time, but the shot that rang out was from Brody, destroying the person who had come to harm us. He was always there, ready to take on anything he could. There’d been a millisecond where I doubted if he’d get there in time, but my gut knew the truth. It knew he’d never leave us in danger.
He groaned in the chair, moving around to try and get comfortable as his eyes opened a little. He stared right at me, closed them back up, and then sprang into action. He stood, pressing the button on the back of the bed to call the nurse, his hands hovering over me.
“Lola?”
“Hey,” I tried to say, my dry throat making it hard to talk properly.
He reached for some water, holding it to my lips, and it was pure heaven. “Take it slowly,” he warned, and I did as he said when my stomach churned followed by a kick.
The relief at feeling the baby almost had my chest caving in. “What happened?”
“Jace—”
“No.” I shook my head and rested back against the pillows, taking Brody’s hand in mine and bringing it to my chest. My heart was pounding, and I needed his touch to center me. “What happened after?” I paused. “Cade?”
“Is home and living the high life thanks to Jan and her daughter, Aria.”
I snorted. “He’ll hate that.”
Brody’s lips quirked. “Yep. He’s already threatened to go on hunger strike.”
I laughed, the sound throaty, but the more we talked, the easier it was to breathe. “How long did that last?”
“About the same amount of time it took Jan to make grilled cheese.” His grin turned somber, and his other hand clasped the side of my face, his rough fingertips clutching me. “I thought I was going to lose you.” His eyes shined with unshed tears. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
I wanted to crack some kind of joke and bring light to the situation, but I couldn’t manage to bring it forth. I’d been too close to death that time. Nothing compared to having a gun pointed at you and a bullet piercing your skin. The pain was one thing, but the terror of losing your life in the blink of an eye was another.
“I’m sorry,” I said, tears rolling down my cheeks. I couldn’t have stopped them even if I wanted to. “I’m so sorry.”
“No.” He leaned down and placed his forehead against mine. “You have nothing to be sorry for, darlin'. Nothing at all.” He inhaled a breath, but it stuttered back out of him. “I love you so much it hurts.”
I placed my hand on his cheek, loving the roughness of his stubble. “I love you, too.”
“Marry me,” he croaked out, his voice rougher and deeper than I’d ever heard it before. “Marry me so you can be by my side every day for the rest of my life.”
“I’ll be there every day anyway.”
“I don’t care.” His dark-brown eyes met mine, promises shining in their depths. Promises I craved to hold on to and make him keep. “Marry me. Be my wife. Your soul is half of mine, and they need to be joined forever, or I think I may just die.”
“You’re so dramatic.” I laughed.
“Is that a yes then?” he asked right as a nurse came into the room.
“Ah, the famous Lola Martin is finally awake.”
Brody pulled back, but he didn’t glance away from me. I wanted to stare into his eyes all day long and never look away, but the nurse pushing in front of him broke my connection.
“Let’s get this blood pressure tested, huh?” Her kind smile put me at ease as she pulled out a cuff to wrap around my arm.
“Is the baby okay?” I asked her.
“Yes.” She glanced down at the monitor when it beeped with my blood pressure results. “The doctor will be around in a little while, but baby is doing great, and by the looks of things, so is Mom.” She wrote something down on a clipboard. “The bullet was removed from your thigh, and with any luck, we’ll have you up and walking around like normal within six weeks.”
I swallowed, already trying to calculate how much time I’d need to take off work and how far along I’d be. “Okay,” I said. “And when can I get out of here?”
She looked back at me, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “I’d say a day or two. There’s only so much distraction the nurses can take from the men who refuse to leave the waiting room.”
“What—”
“The guys won’t leave,” Brody said as the nurse pushed the clipboard in its holder on the side of the bed. “And Sal has been wreaking havoc.” He scrubbed his hand down his face and glanced at the nurse. “Can I tell them they can come in now that she’s awake?”
The nurse rolled her eyes. “Fine. But you tell them to keep it down. It’s like having a bunch of teenage boys on my ward.”
“Will do,” Brody replied and took a step toward the door after her.
“Wait,” I called, reaching my hand out. He frowned at me and hesitated. “I…” I worried my bottom lip, my stomach bottoming out. “Yes.”
“Yes?” Brody repeated, moving toward me and taking my hand. “What do you mean?”
“Yes, I’ll marry you.”
His breath whooshed out of him and flowed over my skin, causing goose bumps to prickle. “You will?”
“Yeah, Brody.” I tried to l
ift up but groaned when my leg throbbed. He leaned down, stopping a few centimeters from my face. “I’ll spend the rest of my life with you as your wife.”
His lips slowly morphed into a grin. “Hell yeah, you will.” And then he kissed me, the kind of kiss that only he could give me.
Epilogue
LOLA
I pressed the tissue to the corner of my eye, trying to stem the flow of tears that threatened to escape. Only this time, they were happy tears. The kind of tears you didn’t mind crying in front of the people you considered your family.
They called out Ford’s name at the same time Brody wrapped his arm around my waist, his other hand pressing against my once again swollen stomach. His fingers spread out, and a thrill ran through me at seeing the wedding ring on his ring finger.
“How you feeling?” his deep voice asked in my ear.
“Happy,” I told him. And it was the truth. One word could sum up the last four years of my life. Since the moment we left the hospital, things had gone from good to great. Brody didn’t want to wait to “put a ring on it”—his words, not mine. So we were married within a week, our closest friends attending the small ceremony.
Sal had walked me down the aisle, and Cade had been Brody’s best man. Things had been perfect. And then came Princess Belle—little baby Belle, who had made an entrance into this world after thirty-two hours of hard labor. She’d caused a dramatic appearance, and nothing had changed since.
The man on the stage pinned a badge to Ford’s chest, announcing him a new member of the DEA, and cheers rang out. He’d worked his ass off to get to where he was, and finally, he was coming home. A home we’d created.
People milled around as the chairs were packed away, a small party ensuing after the ceremony.
“I told you that you could see everything from up there, PB,” Cade’s deep voice announced as he sidled up next to us with Belle on his shoulders. She gripped on to his light-brown hair, messing up his mussed style.
“Youse even taller dan Daddy,” she said, her sweet little voice clearly in awe.
“I know,” Cade replied, a grin on his lips as he halted next to us. “Hey.”
“Pandering to her every need, I see,” I said with a raised brow. Belle didn’t want for any attention, not with her four uncles and older brother, and don’t even get me started on Sal, who had taken to her calling him Popa. He loved every second that little girl doted on him.
“It’s what big brothers are for.” He shrugged, his eyes widening at something behind us. He’d been away at college for the last two years, but anytime he could get home for the weekend he was living it up with pretend tea parties and letting PB give him a makeover. He was a sucker when it came to his sister, but it didn’t fail to put a grin on my face.
“Quick,” he ducked down. “Hide me. Aria is coming over.”
“Ara?” Belle asked. “Where Ara?” she said, louder that time as she searched the crowd. She waved her hand in the air. “Ara! We over here!”
“Shit,” Cade cursed.
“Shit,” Belle repeated.
“Dammit, Cade,” Brody groaned. “What did I tell you about—”
“Dammit, Cade,” Belle repeated.
I moaned. The girl was a sponge, and she soaked up every little piece of information and knowledge. Unless it was bath and bedtime. Then she magically lost her hearing.
“Right, come on down now, Belle. Let’s go and see Uncle Ford.”
“Nope.” She shook her head and held on to Cade’s hair tighter. “I staying wiv my big brover.”
“Belle,” I warned, already tired after the full day we’d had. “You can come back and—”
“She’s fine,” Cade said, straightening as another few people joined the circle. “She can be my buffer.”
“Your buffer?” Brody asked, flicking his gaze over at the newcomers, greeting them all with a nod. “Sal, Jan, Aria.”
They all said their hellos, but it was Aria’s face that had me frowning. She was the spitting image of her mom with her shocking red hair and pale face, but it was the blush spreading on her cheeks that had a smile lifting back on my face. She’d met Cade after he was shot, and she’d been around constantly since. We all knew she had a crush on him, but she was eight when they met, which meant she was only thirteen now. Cade saw her like a little sister, but she hadn’t gotten that memo.
“Hi, Cade,” she greeted, her soft voice barely able to be heard. Where Jan was loud and in your face, Aria was the complete opposite.
Cade shuffled his feet on the floor and readjusted his grip on Belle’s legs. “Hey.”
“Are we ready to get this party started?” Ford asked, pushing through us all and reaching for Belle. “Baby Belle!”
“Unkie Ford!” She squealed and tried to leap off Cade’s shoulders, but she didn’t realize it was a long fall because of how tall he was. He’d even surpassed Brody’s six-foot-four height. Only by an inch, but Cade loved to remind him.
Ford caught her and held her to his chest. “Thanks for coming, Baby Belle.”
She pressed her small hand to his stubbled cheek and flashed him a toothy grin. “Anytime, Unkie Ford. We go play now?”
He blew out a breath and grinned at me. “I thought she’d never ask. Let’s get outta here, I hear I have cake in my near future.”
He took a step away from us as Belle answered. “You does, Mama made it.”
He groaned. “I can’t wait.”
Everyone filed after him, Aria sticking to Jan’s side and Cade taking up the rear, but neither Brody nor I moved.
“Do you ever wonder what life would be like if we’d never have gotten here?” I asked.
“No.” He shook his head and cupped the sides of my face, getting as close as he could with the growing bump in the way. “Not for one second. Souls like ours aren’t destined to be apart. We would always find each other, it just took us a little while.”
I closed my eyes and basked in the feel of him. “I love how sappy you are.”
“And I just love you. Forever.”
My eyes opened, and I stared up at him. “Forever.”
Acknowledgments
This story has been in the making for over two years and I’m so so thankful it’s finally out there in the world!
My first thank you needs to go to Paige Sayer. You’re the most awesomest Alpha Reader and PA. Thank you for loving my stories as much as I do, and generally just being you!
I’d liked to say a HUGE thank you to my BETAs readers: Danielle, Nikki, Yvonne, and Liza. You ladies are amazeballs!
I want to say a massive thank you to all the authors in the community. Our little slice of heaven is a place I never want to leave.
To the bloggers who help share EVERYTHING. I love you so much, and I can’t put into words how grateful I am!
Linda, thank you soooo much for everything you do. You’re always there no matter what, and I’m not sure what I’d do without you!
To my editor, Jen and Proofreader, Judy. Thank you for putting up with me!
Lastly, I want to say thank you, to you. Thank you for taking a chance on this book. Thank you for reading. And thank you for being awesome!
Also by Abigail Davies
MAC Security Series (Alpha Security/Military)
Book 1: Fractured Lies
Book 2: Exposed
Book 2.5: Flying Free (Standalone Spin-off)
Book 3: The Distance Between Us
Book 4: ReBoot
Book 5: Catching Teardrops
Six Book Boxset
The Easton Family Saga
Fallen Duet (Forbidden Angst)
Book 1: Free Fall
Book 2: Down Fall
Fated Duet (Student/Teacher Angst)
Book 1: Defy Fate
Book 2: Obey Fate
Bonded Duet (Age gap/Forbidden Angst)
Book 1: Torn Bond
Book 2: Tied Bond
Burned Duet (Age Gap/Forbidden Angst)
Bo
ok 1: Fast Burn
Book 2: Deep Burn
Confessions Series (Romantic Comedies)
Book 1: Confessions Of A Klutz
Book 2: Confessions Of A Chatterbox
Book 3: Confessions Of A Fratgirl
A. A. DAVIES (Darker, alter ego)
Verboten (Extreme Taboo. Inferno World Novella)
Broken Tracks Series,
(co-authored with Danielle Dickson)
Book 1: Etching Our Way
Book 2: Fighting Our Way
Destroyed Series,
(co-authored with L. Grubb)
Destroying the Game
Destroying the Soul
About the Author
Abigail Davies grew up with a passion for words, storytelling, maths, and anything pink. Dreaming up characters—quite literally—and talking to them out loud is a daily occurrence for her. She finds it fascinating how a whole world can be built with words alone, and how everyone reads and interprets a story differently.
Now following her dreams of writing, Abigail has found the passion that she always knew was there. When she’s not writing: she’s a mother to two daughters who she encourages to use their imagination as she believes that it’s a magical thing, or getting lost in a good book.
If she’s doing neither of those things, you can be sure she’s surfing the web buying new makeup, clothes, or binge watching another show as she becomes one with her sofa.
Connect with Abigail
Reader group—Abi’s Aces
Newsletter
www.abigaildaviesauthor.com
Fallen Duet: Brody & Lola: Free Fall & Down Fall (Easton Family Duet Boxsets Book 1) Page 41
