Her Lucky Love

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  He knelt down at Cameron’s level and took him by the shoulders. “We’re going to find your brother and sister, you got me?”

  Cameron nodded. “Take care of mom, okay?”

  Brayden crooked his mouth in what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Always, Cam, always.”

  After Allison said her goodbyes, he took her by the hand, and they walked behind the school, aware they weren’t hiding everything from the town. But, at this point, he didn’t care. He just wanted to find his children.

  He tripped over a rock then squeezed Allison’s hand.

  His children.

  Fuck, he hadn’t even had Allison in his life as more than a friend for more than a few moments, and he already thought of them as his. But, the fear running through his veins was a father’s fear. The love he felt when he joked with Cameron, listened to Aiden, or felt Lacy’s little hand in his was a father’s love.

  He wasn’t going to lose those kids.

  “I’m sorry, Ally.”

  “It wasn’t your fault. But when I find David, I’m going to cut off his balls. That bastard can’t hurt my babies and get away with it.”

  He smiled despite himself. “If we weren’t in the situation we’re in, I’d say that was fucking hot despite being scary as hell.”

  She tried to smile but failed. “Help me find my babies and we’ll talk, okay?”

  “We will, Ally. Aiden wasn’t taken as far as we know. Hopefully, the kid will be smart and leave a trail.”

  Allison nodded, her shoulders straightening. “He’s a smart boy, but why the hell did he leave like that?”

  “Because his sister was in trouble and there was no one else around to help her. He’s like you, you know. Putting himself at risk to save Lacy. You’re raising him well.”

  When they reached Tyler, she stopped and kissed Brayden’s cheek. “Thanks for that,” she whispered.

  “Ally, where’s Cam?” Tyler asked, his gaze sharpened.

  “With Rina.”

  “You should be with him. We’ll find your kids, Ally.”

  “I don’t think so. I’m staying by Bray’s side, and we’re going to find my babies. Now tell me what you’ve found out so far.”

  Damn, he liked this fierce side of her.

  Tyler looked taken aback for a moment before lowering his brows. “Fine. We’re going to fan out and keep looking. We’ve found a trail that we think Aiden made out through the forest, but then we lost it. By the way, the we in that is the Coopers. I can’t get my department involved because of the magic. I’m going to have to find a way around that in the future because this shit keeps happening. There needs to be law enforcement of some kind to deal with the magic.”

  “I don’t really care about that right now, Ty. Just tell me where Bray and I need to go. We’re losing time.”

  Brayden squeezed her hand, letting her handle talking to Ty since she seemed to need the control.

  “I want you guys to head east along the trail we’ve marked. We’re fanning out because David is hiding his tracks well enough that he could be anywhere. Stay together and use these.” He handed them each hand-held radios. “Cell reception sucks once you get in the deep brush. Stay warm and let us know what’s up. We’ll find them, Ally.”

  She nodded, and Brayden took her toward where the trail started.

  “I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” Brayden promised as they walked through the woods, the sun slowly fading away through the thick branches.

  “I don’t care what happens to me. I just want my children to be okay.”

  “Well, I care what happens to you. And so does Cam and half a dozen other people, so let’s just be safe, okay?”

  “I’m glad you’re here with me.”

  “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. I love you.” He knew he was bearing his soul to her, but she already owned it.

  She let out a sigh as they both looked for any sign of her son. “I love you too, you big dolt, but this isn’t the time or place for that. Let’s find my children.”

  Brayden swallowed hard at her words. Damn, she loved him. Thank God it wasn’t only one sided. But, now wasn’t the time to think about that. They’d deal with what all that meant when they were safe.

  Maybe his luck wouldn’t just run to numbers and a job; maybe it would be something more. But after this, after the fact that he couldn’t find the children he called his own, he felt like his luck was changing. Everything was falling apart around him. Even though Allison had said she loved him, they were still in a state of stasis until David could be caught.

  Luck didn’t come from an inevitable, but from chance.

  Maybe his lucky coin wasn’t so lucky after all.

  They searched for another few hours, desperation settling in as they searched blindly once they moved beyond the obvious trail. The wind slid through the gaps in the trees, cooling their skin with each passing minute, the icy tendrils of lost hope seeping into their bones.

  Just because the trail had started in the woods didn’t mean it would end there. From the conversations on the radio, he knew Matt and Jordan were searching around town while Jackson searched on the west end of the woods. Justin and Abby couldn’t leave the school, and Rina was at Brayden’s home with Cameron.

  “We have to find them,” Allison whispered.

  Brayden stopped and brought her into his arms. She sank into his hold easily, as though they’d been holding each other for years rather than dancing round it for that much longer.

  “We will, but we’ll have to head back soon. I need to make sure you’re safe and healthy. And don’t start, I know you can go on for hours, but you can’t wear yourself down to the bone.”

  She shook her head and glared at him. “I’m not quitting.”

  He framed her face and stole a kiss from her soft lips. “Never. But we need to get water, flashlights, and other provisions for later. Right now, we just have ourselves for an initial search. I also think Tyler needs to get the rest of the force involved. We don’t have to mention the magic if we can help it, but it’s time.”

  She shuddered in his hold. “I know. I just don’t want to leave. What if we miss something?”

  “I know how you feel. We’ll search for another thirty minutes and head back for supplies. Okay?”

  She nodded, and he took her hand while they headed farther into the woods, praying for any sign of Lacy and Aiden. He cursed himself when he thought of how ill prepared they were. He didn’t even have a fucking weapon if he came upon David, though he knew Tyler would want them to wait for him to deal with the security of the situation anyway.

  “Mom?”

  Brayden and Allison turned to the right at the sound of Aiden’s voice, Brayden’s heart practically beating out of his chest.

  “Oh, God, Aiden.” Allison jumped over a fallen tree and pulled Aiden into her arms.

  Brayden was right behind her, pulling them both to his chest even as he surveyed the area for anything else out of place. He couldn’t be too careful, not with the fragile cargo in his hold.

  “I’m sorry I left, Mom. But I couldn’t just let Lacy go like that.”

  Chills ran down his spine. “It’s okay, Aiden. You’re safe now.”

  Allison’s tears finally fell, and she held Aiden closer.

  “I found Lacy, Bray,” Aiden said, his voice muffled through Allison’s arms.

  Allison pulled back, and Brayden ran a hand down her hair. “Where, Aiden?”

  “He’s in a cave on the other side of a group of fallen trees. I know where he is and can take you there.”

  Allison shook her head. “No, I don’t want you anywhere near him.”

  Aiden raised his chin. “But I know where they are, and you can’t just leave me here.”

  Brayden met Allison’s gaze. Aiden was right. They couldn’t leave him in the middle of the forest alone, and he was the only one who knew where Lacy was. He had to go with them, though that didn’t mean they had to like it.


  “Fine, but you stay here and let me and Brayden take care of it.”

  “Actually, Ally, if there’s a fight, you need to let me take care of it and get your kids to safety.”

  “Bray.”

  “It’s not a man-woman thing. It’s a training thing. I can fight; you can’t. Tyler made sure all of us at least knew some form of skill to protect ourselves. Plus, I want you to get Lacy and Aiden out. They’re the more important things here.”

  “I don’t want to lose you either,” she said, her voice fierce.

  “You won’t. If something happens, you take the kids and call Tyler later after I radio in. We should tell him anyway, so he can head here.”

  He gave their relative position to Tyler as best he could, and his brother told them to stay put.

  Right. That wasn’t going to happen.

  Yeah, it’d be stupid, but they weren’t just going to stand there, not when Lacy was so close.

  They turned down the sound on the radio so they could sneak up on David and followed Aiden’s direction around a grouping of trees. Though it was hard to find, he could see the dark cave opening where Aiden said David held Lacy.

  Brayden held back the revulsion at the thought of that man with his little girl—yes, his little girl—and held Allison’s hand. Even though the Malones seemed to want to only bring them in the family fold, it didn’t stop the thoughts entering his mind.

  “Stay here,” Brayden ordered. He kissed Allison hard on the mouth, aware Aiden was watching them.

  When he pulled back, her eyes were wide.

  “I’m going with you,” she countered, not commenting on the kiss he’d laid on her in front of her son.

  “It’s not safe.”

  “Then you shouldn’t be alone. Aiden and I won’t go in with you, but we’ll stay close. We’re not letting you go alone, Brayden.”

  “Yeah, I’m stronger than I look,” Aiden argued.

  Brayden sighed. “I know, Aid. But I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “Well, we don’t want you to get hurt either. We’re coming,” Aiden said, and Allison nodded in agreement.

  “Fine, but if I tell you to run, you run. Got it?”

  “Okay,” Allison said, and he believed her. She wouldn’t put Aiden at risk.

  They made their way to the edge of the cave, the trees providing cover. He peeked around the corner and saw Lacy tied up with rope, her mouth covered with duct tape, but otherwise she looked unharmed.

  Thank God.

  Still, he’d kill the fucker for touching one hair on her head.

  He looked beyond Lacy and didn’t see David, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t there. Brayden picked up a large stick—the only weapon he could find—and slowly crept into the cave. Lacy saw him, and her eyes widened, but he put a finger over his mouth to indicate she shouldn’t make a sound even through the duct tape.

  David was nowhere to be found, something that scared the hell out of him. Lacy didn’t move, but her body shook. He couldn’t sense anything around him that could indicate David was around and he didn’t understand it. He made his way to Lacy’s side, and as he touched her arm, something smashed against his shoulder.

  Pain ricocheted down his arm, and he fell to his knees. He heard Lacy’s muffled screaming behind the tape, and he turned around to see David hurl a large rock toward them. He lurched out of the way and pulled Lacy with him, covering her with his body.

  He didn’t have time to undo the knots or uncover her mouth, but he could at least make sure David didn’t harm her.

  Brayden twisted and stood as David came at him. He used his stick to knock another rock out of David’s hands and punched the fucker in the face.

  “Don’t’ get up.” Brayden said as he kicked David in the side and moved back to get Lacy. She was more important than hurting the man who had hurt her.

  “I’m a gnome. One of the last of my kind. Those kids you so desire are half my blood. My parents are going to raise them with the values and magic they deserve. They’re not going to be raised by some whiney-ass human.”

  Seriously? All of this because of the gnome blood in their veins? Yes, Brayden had known that, but he’d had thought that maybe the Malones would have another reason. But it didn’t matter, David was still a kidnapper.

  Lacy cried behind him, and he picked her up, ropes and all.

  “Ally!” he called. “Come get Lace while I deal with David.”

  “Lacy!” she yelled back.

  David came at him again but stopped, and Brayden felt magic wash over him. Hell, it looked like Rina was right and the Coopers seemed to be immune to gnome magic—something they’d have to deal with later.

  “It doesn’t work, David,” he countered and punched the man in the gut.

  He left David writhing on the floor behind him. The man was just a weakling, nothing in the scheme of things. He’d only gotten away with what he had because of the magic he possessed, not through any form of strength or wits. Brayden would just leave him for Tyler. The bastard wasn’t worth Brayden’s time. All he wanted was to take care of his family.

  “You bastard!” David yelled behind him, and Brayden turned to the side at the mouth of the cave, protecting Lacy with his body.

  David ran past them and tripped, stumbling across the rock face and tumbling down the hill. Brayden sat Lacy on a rock and undid her tape, then covered her eyes and ears as David fell over the side of the small cliff, screaming in agony until finally David’s cries stopped altogether.

  Dear God. The man had fallen by tripping.

  Tripping.

  Apparently he was in shock if he could be so flip at the moment.

  “Lacy!” Allison yelled as she ran toward them.

  “Be careful, don’t trip.” Brayden warned and shifted his eyes so he could show her where David had fallen.

  “What was that terrible scream?”

  Brayden shook his head and Allison’s eyes widened, and she pulled Aiden closer. Brayden undid Lacy’s ropes then Allison pulled her into her arms.

  “Oh, my baby. Did he hurt you?”

  “No,” Lacy choked out, tears running down her face. “He just tied me up and said he wanted me to go with Grandma and Grandpa. I don’t want to go with them.”

  Brayden pulled Aiden into his side and ran a hand down Lacy’s back. “You won’t have to. Ever.”

  Allison nodded. “You’re staying with us, baby. You’ll never have to go with them.”

  Brayden looked into her eyes and wanted to know exactly who us was, but that would be for another time. Even though David wasn’t a problem anymore, he knew the grandparents wouldn’t stop. Their fight for the kids probably wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

  “Brayden!” Tyler called as he appeared over the rise, the rest of his brothers behind him. “What happened?”

  “David tripped,” Brayden said honestly as he dipped his hand toward and down the cliff.

  Tyler’s eyes widened, walked over to the edge and looked down. “Well, shit.”

  “Mommy, Tyler said shit,” Lacy whispered, and Brayden held back a laugh.

  Things weren’t back to normal, not even close, but once they had Cameron in their hold, they could at least move one step closer to a relationship. Just because the immediate danger was gone, though, didn’t mean he’d let them out of his life. No, we wanted them forever.

  He just needed to convince Allison of that.

  And, by the look on her son’s face, Aiden needed a bit of convincing as well.

  Chapter 8

  Allison ran a hand down Lacy’s hair as her baby slept. She was surprised her daughter could sleep now considering Allison wasn’t sure she, herself would ever be able to sleep again. Whenever she closed her eyes, she thought of the look on her baby’s face with the rope tied around her little wrists.

  That wasn’t something a mother could forget.

  That wasn’t something a mother should have to live through.

  Allison stood up and tiptoed ou
t of the room, tears threatening to choke her. She didn’t want to cry in front of Lacy and wake her up. Her little girl needed as much sleep as possible.

  Blindly, she walked down the hallway and ran into a solid chest, startling her.

  Brayden.

  Wordlessly, he wrapped his arms around her, and she shuddered in his hold, finally letting go of the emotions she had ignored during the ordeal. She’d been so scared they wouldn’t make it in time.

  A mother shouldn’t have to deal with the threat of losing her children like that.

  Like anything.

  When they’d run through the forest looking for Aiden and then Lacy, she’d tried to remain strong, but it had only been a facade. Inside, she’d wanted to cry, scream, and run. Every step that took her further from what she’d known and closer to the unknown perils of almost losing her children had broken her.

  She’d never thought of herself as glass, but having to rely on Brayden had just told her what she was.

  Weak.

  Needy.

  “Stop thinking so hard, Ally,” Brayden whispered in her ear, the warm tendrils of his breath sending shivers of need down her spine, a need she didn’t want to acknowledge.

  “I’m not thinking hard,” she countered.

  “Yes, you are.” He pulled back and rubbed a finger down the middle of her eyebrows to the tip of her nose. “You get this little line right here when you’re thinking about things that make you sad or angry. I know it’s there; I don’t need to see it.”

  “Stop knowing me so well, Brayden Cooper.”

  “I know you better than I know myself, Ally. Just because I haven’t acted on it doesn’t mean I don’t know you. I didn’t act on it because, at first, I couldn’t, and then later, it was too soon. Yeah, I know three years seems like forever, but I wanted to make sure you were ready. I know what makes you smile, what makes you ache. I know it all.”

  Her heart swelled at his words even though she begged it not to. “I don’t know how that’s possible.”

  He framed her face and kissed her lips. “I love you, Ally. I’ve always loved you. I just didn’t say it. It’s funny that my family thought I didn’t know my own feelings. But I’ve always known, Ally. Always.”