by R. E. Butler
Eventually, she gave up trying to sleep. Even though Aaron argued for her to try to rest, she fixed the bed so the head was elevated, and waited for Grant and the kids to come back.
She was staring at a bowl of chicken broth and a Styrofoam cup of hot tea and wishing she had some ice cream instead, when she heard the sounds of many feet walking down the hallway. Aaron pulled the table away from the bed as Grant and the kids came into the room.
All five kids said excitedly, “Mom!” They rushed to the bed, all of them lining up down the side, their faces bright with smiles. Each of them had their hands behind their backs, and one by one they gave her a gift.
A squeeze bottle of honey to help her throat. A vase of roses. A stuffed teddy bear dressed as a doctor. A stack of magazines. And a book of crossword puzzles. She smiled at each one as they leaned over and kissed her cheek before moving to the end of the bed. She blinked at the happy tears in her eyes, so thankful that they were safe from harm. Grant leaned over the rail and kissed her forehead. “Good morning, sweetheart.” Looking at Aaron, he said, “How’s our patient?”
“Tired.”
Grant arched a brow, stroking a finger down her jaw. When she looked into his green eyes, she saw a flicker of understanding. “We’ll keep you safe, Sam. No one will ever hurt you again.”
She opened her mouth to tell him that he shouldn’t feel guilty for what happened and her mind’s inability to let her rest, but Grant pressed his finger to her lips and admonished her not to speak. She nipped his finger with a smirk and nodded. She was feeling better, even if she was exhausted. Although her throat hurt, her aches were lessening. When Aaron had taken her to the bathroom earlier, she got a good look at herself in the mirror, wincing inwardly at the black eye, not to mention the thick bruising around her neck. She knew she was lucky to be alive, and she ignored the part of her that was screaming for a brush and some makeup, used the bathroom, and got back into bed.
An hour after Grant and the kids arrived, she said goodbye to them, and Grant promised to return in a little while. Her parents walked through the door and just seeing her mother’s shocked face was enough to have her crying again. She hugged her mom and dad and struggled to rein in her wild emotions. She was vaguely aware that the door closed while she was hugging them, and she realized that Aaron had left her alone with them. She used the iPad to communicate. Grant had already filled them in on what he understood of the situation based on what he and the police learned from the assholes who tried to take the kids.
“I’m so proud of you, honey,” her mom said, “standing up for the kids like that. I always knew you would make a wonderful mother if you had a chance, and you proved it.”
Sam smiled at her mom. Her dad said, “You’ve got two very good men who love you, Sam. From what I learned about Grant during our phone conversation, he and Aaron are both torn up by what happened. It’s important that you all know that it wasn’t anyone’s fault but those people who tried to kidnap the kids. The most important thing is that you’re all safe, and Grant has promised that they’re going to make sure you’re all well protected from now on.”
Her parents visited with her for an hour. Her mom got her another cup of hot tea so she could sweeten it with honey, and her dad sent Grant down to the cafeteria to get a popsicle for her. She was not surprised that her parents were going to take the kids back to the boarding house and stay with them. They were already giddy in that new-grandparent kind of way, and it made her happy that she came from such a loving and accepting family.
“We’re going to stay at the house until Grant comes home after visiting hours are over. We’d like you to bring everyone to dinner next Sunday, honey,” her mom said as her dad helped her put on her coat. Her mom leaned over and kissed her unbruised cheek. “I’m so glad you’re okay, Sam.”
After her dad kissed her goodbye, she was alone for only a minute before Aaron came back, followed shortly by Grant who held four juice pops in his hands.
“I wasn’t sure what flavor you liked, so I got you all of them.”
She chose the orange flavored one and shivered when she took a bite of the end and goosebumps raced over her skin. She stifled a chuckle when both of them reached for the extra blanket on the end of the bed and drew it up over her. My sweet protective mates.
“I have some good news, love,” Aaron said, taking a bite of a cherry Popsicle. “While I was out of the room, James called from Bracks. All six of the men who tried to take you are going to be extradited to Florida. Apparently they’re all wanted for various felonies and have warrants out for their arrests. Your attempted kidnapping and assault will be added to their charges, but from what James said, none of them are going to be getting out of jail anytime soon. The moment any of them are released from Florida, there are warrants for their arrest in Louisiana, Georgia, and Tennessee.”
She was glad that none of them were going to be on the streets ever again. Grant had called Louisa Babcock and asked how to handle Sam’s absence, and Louisa had promised to take care of everything and insisted Sam take the week off. Her classes would be given a study hall instead.
Visiting hours lasted until eight p.m. Grant stayed with her and Aaron the whole time. They hovered over her like fussy mother hens. When the doctor returned just before visiting hours were over, he examined her and asked her to try speaking. Her throat still ached, but it had begun to heal, and her voice — while still scratchy — was much improved.
“You’ll be going home after breakfast tomorrow. Rest your voice often, drink plenty of fluids, and call the hospital if it gets worse.”
She smiled her thanks at the doctor, and Aaron and Grant both thanked him and shook his hand.
Aaron cleared his throat. She and Grant looked at him, and he said, “I’m going to grab a cup of coffee in the lounge. I’ll let you say goodnight privately.”
When the door shut and they were alone, Grant sat down on the edge of the bed. Sam sat up enough to hug him. She settled into his warm embrace as he buried his face in her neck and held her. They sat like that, silently, for several minutes.
“I wish I could stay, sweetheart,” he said with a voice thick with emotion. “It’s making my cat go nuts to leave you here, even if Aaron’s with you.”
She leaned back and met his eyes, glossy with grief and pain. She opened her mouth, but he silenced her by brushing his mouth across hers. “Don’t speak, sweetheart, save your voice.” He stared at her for a moment and then said, “I won’t feel right until you’re home, with us.”
She nodded in understanding. Reaching for the iPad, she typed, I don’t feel right without you, either. I feel like I’m missing a part of myself.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Grant murmured, “you’re part of me, too.”
He held her again, talking to her about everything except her ordeal. When the door opened, he kissed her goodbye and promised to be back to take her home in the morning.
When Aaron turned off the lights, leaving the bathroom light on and the door cracked to allow some light to escape, he settled in the chair next to her. When exhaustion claimed her, she focused on knowing that the assholes who had tried to steal the kids were going to be on their way to spending a long time in prison, and her mind let her have the rest she so desperately needed.
In the morning, Grant came with the bag she had packed for her overnight stay at the boarding house. He insisted on carrying her into the bathroom even though she felt much better, and she tried out her voice and was pleasantly surprised that her throat only ached slightly. She showered quickly, finally free of the IV, and pulled out the clothes she had packed and dressed. She came out of the bathroom and pointed to her stocking feet and said with a rough whisper, “Shoes?”
Grant’s face fell. “Ah, crap. I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
She gave him a kiss and whispered that it was okay. She was happy to see that breakfast was delivered while she was cleaning up. She ate oatmeal and yogurt and drank two cups of hot tea with honey.
A nurse came in with discharge papers and a bottle of pain meds, enough to last a few days. Even though her throat felt better, her body was still a little banged up from being manhandled, and she knew she’d appreciate the pain pills.
Grant helped her with her coat, and they walked beside her as the nurse pushed her out of the hospital in a wheelchair. The previous day, she’d received deliveries of flowers, including one from Chief Pope and several from the lions. Aaron lifted her into the front seat of his car and buckled her in, and they both put the gifts and flowers in the backseat before Grant settled in behind her and Aaron climbed into the driver’s seat.
“Ready to go home, baby?” Aaron asked as he put the car in drive and pulled out of the hospital.
“Yes.”
A crayon-colored banner hung across the front porch with the words Welcome Home Mom in large block letters. She smiled as Grant carried her into the house. James, Dylan, Chase, and Hunter clapped and cheered. Grant laughed as he sat her down on the couch. “It was hard as hell to get the kids to go to school today. They wanted to be here when you got home. The kids made them promise to cheer for you when you came inside.”
Dylan, Chase, and Hunter helped bring in the gifts from the car, and James sat down on one of the other couches as Grant and Aaron sat on either side of her.
“Any news?” Aaron asked, putting his arm around her.
James said, “Yes and no. The prisoners are being taken down later this week to Florida. I interviewed all of them separately and so did John and the Bracks Chief of Police. All of them had the same story. Three of the men were hanging out at a bar in Northern Michigan when two blondes came in. They scanned the bar and seemed to be looking for something in particular, and apparently it was them. They approached them and said they needed a job done. They were told that the females’ children had been kidnapped by their deadbeat fathers, and the females were desperate to get the kids back and had been unable to get help from the police. The men called in their three friends who had been burglarizing homes in North Carolina. The females gave them two thousand dollars each the night of the kidnapping and promised to give them ten thousand each when the kids were captured unharmed. One of the females disappeared, but Niecy stayed with the men. Just before they heard the sirens, Niecy jumped in the van and sped away, leaving them holding Sam and no way to escape. They knew they were looking at some serious time if they were caught, and they’d hoped to use Sam as a hostage to get away. They hadn’t counted on us cats showing up and kicking their asses.
“When you’re ready, Sam, I’ll take a statement from you about what happened. The kids all made their statements, and so did all of us. There’s no rush. Whenever your throat is all healed.”
Aaron said, “What’s the bad news?”
“Right. The bad news is that the females appear to have just disappeared into Canada. Traffic cams found Niecy abandoning the van a few miles from Ashland and being picked up by a dark grey sedan. It was rented by a man whose credit card was stolen a week ago, and he had no idea it was even gone until we called and asked if he knew where the car was. The car was abandoned at a bus station in Indianapolis and the two females were picked up in an SUV. So we now know that at least three females had been down to the states. The SUV was deserted across the border into Canada. That’s where we lost them. The border agents have names and physical descriptions of the females, and we said they were wanted in connection to an attempted kidnapping and assault.”
Hunter, sitting with his brothers on the other couch, said, “We don’t know how many females are actually in Canada, though.”
Dylan ran his knuckles along his unshaven jaw. “We assumed that when the females left King that they all went north together, but the truth is we don’t know that for sure. Some of them could still be in the states, or they could have formed several different prides, gone their own ways.”
James nodded. “You’re right. We don’t really know where they are or what they’re doing. The only thing we can do is continue to open our home to those males who would come here to live with us, and keep a close eye on our loved ones.”
Chase frowned. “I don’t like feeling like a sitting duck. If we ever find a mate, how could we make sure she is safe?”
Aaron looked over at the three younger males and said, “Now that we know what they’re capable of, we can watch for them. I know you’re frustrated, but we’re safer together and watching each other’s backs. And when you guys do find mates, they’ll be protected as well. Being mated to a pride member makes them part of the pride, regardless of whether they shift or not.”
Hunter rested his hand on Chase’s shoulder. “For now, we’re just watching each other’s backs. When we find a mate of our own, we’ll watch her back, too.”
Dylan grinned. “And her front.”
The tension eased from the group quickly as Hunter lobbed a pillow at Dylan. Sam sighed, leaning her head against Aaron’s shoulder and hooking her arms around both of her men’s arms.
Aaron and Grant spent the day fussing over her, doing everything they could to make her comfortable. When the kids got home from school, they raced into the house yelling, “Mom! Mom!” They screeched to a halt in front of the couch and then carefully, one by one, hugged her and said thank you. The kids’ acknowledgment of what she’d done for them and their fierce promise that no one would ever hurt her again brought tears to her eyes. She cuddled the kids to her, promised she was much better, and thanked them for being so brave. When Henry arrived from school, he knelt in front of her and asked for her forgiveness, sharing his guilt that he wasn’t old enough or strong enough to have saved her or the cubs. She was truly touched by what he said, and she pulled him up onto the couch next to her and held him, swearing that she saw him jump from his window and take off, and she was so grateful that he’d gone for help and brought his uncles and the pride back to help. When he insisted, she promised she forgave him, even though she knew there was nothing to forgive.
After the kids were in bed, she gave James her statement, wanting to get the story off her chest and feeling that her throat could take that much talking. She told him and the other pride members everything she could recall of that night, how she’d gone limp and then managed to get away from them for only a moment before they caught her. She kicked and hit as much as she could. She remembered getting punched in the face twice and her vision blacking out, just before she heard the van take off and the men yelling after the female. Then all she could remember was how difficult it was to breathe with the thick arm across her throat, and that she was certain she was going to die.
She made sure they understood that the females wanted to take the kids with them and raise them up to be slaves of some sort.
Letting her throat rest for a moment, she took a few sips of her third cup of hot tea and looked around the kitchen table where they were all gathered. Even Eryx, Ethan, Callie, Rhett, and Lisa had come to hear what she had to say.
Callie looked over at where her children were sleeping on the couches and then up to her husbands. “What will we do if they come back?”
Ethan cupped her face. “All we can do is stay vigilant. Hopefully they learned that they can’t just come down here and take our cubs and demand our compliance with their requests.”
“Ethan’s right,” John said. “We’ve always watched out for each other, and now we know that there’s a chance that they might come back. We dealt with the guys they hired, and if we’re lucky, it was a deterrent and they’ll leave us alone. If they try to come at us again in the future, then we’ll be ready. This is our pride, and I’ll be damned if any of the females are going to destroy what we’ve built.”
He growled loudly, and every cat in the room joined in, until the walls felt like they were vibrating.
Later, when she was tucked between Grant and Aaron, she said, “I hope the females got the hint and stay the hell up there in Canada.”
Aaron chuckled. “Us, too, baby. I don’t want
you to be afraid. We’re going to take care of you and make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”
“I know you will. I’m not really afraid for myself, but I am worried about the kids.”
“All we can do, sweetheart, is just look out for each other. Let us worry about your’s and the kids’ safety. It’s our job,” Grant said.
“I love you. Thank you for coming for me.”
“We’ll always come for you, Sam. You’re ours, forever,” Aaron said with a low voice, brushing his lips across her forehead.
* * * * *
The week passed quickly as Sam recuperated. Her apartment was packed up and brought over by the pride members, and since she was on a month-to-month lease, she gave notice with the apartment complex manager and officially moved into the boarding house. Aaron’s room was slightly larger than Grant’s, with a more modern bathroom with a shower stall and a garden tub. Grant moved his things into Aaron’s room, and his bedroom became a music room and library, with her furniture scattered around the room along with her upright piano, collection of antique stringed instruments, and three bookshelves full of everything from sheet music to romance novels.
Sunday afternoon, they drove as a family up to her parents’ home for dinner. She offered to trade her car in for a vehicle big enough for eight, but Aaron instead traded in his slightly older sedan. He knew she liked her Infiniti, but she still would have been okay with giving it up. She turned around in the front seat and looked back at her family. Grant sat in the second row with Ben and Brian, who were watching a DVD on a small portable player. Grant had been looking out the window with a sad, wistful look on his face. When he realized she was watching him, he said, “I was just wishing that our Dad was still alive, to see how far we’ve come and to meet you.”
