Off-Limits, page 15
That was when I saw the hole in her black jacket. I pulled her away from Judge and started taking off her jacket. She cried out as I jarred her arm, but I was too worried about the blood.
“It’s only a graze.” She tried to play it off. “I’m fine.”
“Get her to the hospital,” Judge commanded. “Barrick and I will deal with this shit. The cops are already on their way.”
I picked her up and ran from the house. Josie was standing up in the back, her face pressed to the window as she watched me coming. I clicked the fob to unlock the door before I reached her, and I placed Lyla in the back seat with my daughter before jumping behind the wheel. I left tread marks on the asphalt as I took off for the nearest hospital.
“Lyla, are you okay?” Josie was asking as I took a hard right.
“I’m fine, baby girl,” Lyla assured her. “How about you? Nothing hurts?”
“I’m just scared for you,” the little girl told her, crying again. “Lyla, you’re bleeding!”
“Nothing a stitch or two won’t fix, love bug. Come here and give me cuddles.”
I chanced a glance in the rearview mirror to see Josie curled up in Lyla’s arms. Even though she was hurt, Lyla was calming my kid. From the moment Josie was born, Lyla had loved her.
There was a hospital only a few miles away, and I pulled up in front of the ER. Getting out, I carried Lyla inside and yelled for them to help me.
“Howler, I’m fine. Really.”
Ignoring her, I looked around frantically. I wasn’t going to take Lyla’s word on this. She was probably just trying to soothe me, when I was terrified I was going to lose her at any second.
The place wasn’t very busy, and a nurse came out with a wheelchair, asking what had happened as I placed Lyla in the chair.
“She’s been shot,” I told the woman and picked up Josie, who had run in with us, holding my hand.
The nurse glanced at Lyla’s arm and sighed. “She’ll live, sir. I promise.” Smiling down at Lyla, she started pushing her into the back to an exam room. “Let’s get you fixed up, hon. Doc, can you come stitch this poor girl up before her man has a stroke?”
It took less than an hour for them to do an X-ray, just to be sure that nothing was broken, and then stitch her up. They gave her some antibiotics to keep her from getting an infection and a prescription for pain medication before they released her.
We were on our way out the door when Judge and Barrick pulled up in front of the hospital. Judge came over to us, his face set in stone as his eyes scanned over his sister from head to toe.
“How are you feeling?”
She gave him a grim smile, her arm in a sling against her chest to keep it immobile while it healed. “I’m good. I swear. You and Howler need to relax. It was just a scratch.”
I kissed the top of her head and tucked her closer. “Everything taken care of?”
“Yeah. They are writing it off as self-defense, but the cops will be at your house around lunchtime tomorrow to get Lyla’s statement. I’ll come over and make sure they don’t overtire her.” He hugged her, but I didn’t move back so he could get more than one arm around her. Now that I was sure she was okay, I wasn’t about to release her to allow something else to happen to her. “Gwen is in custody, and I’ve already called the DA to make sure they deny her bail.”
Barrick hugged her next, then smiled at Josie. “Miss Mia says she hopes you’re okay, Josie. And that you will be in class next week.”
“She’ll be there. Won’t you, brave girl?” Lyla said, giving her a warm smile.
Josie nodded. “I made her a card for her birthday, but I think I lost it.”
“We’ll make her another one,” Lyla promised her then fought back a yawn. “But tomorrow. I can’t seem to keep my eyes open.”
Barrick kissed her cheek. “Call Mia tomorrow, or she’s going to freak out and come over. Which means Braxton and I will descend on you, little cuz.”
“Is Brax with Mia now?” she asked.
“Yeah, him and her folks. They’re staying a few days and making sure everything is settled for Mia’s cousin to move in with us after Christmas.” Barrick kissed Josie on top of her head then stepped back. “Call me if you need me, guys.” His gaze landed on Judge. “And tomorrow, we are getting you a whole new security detail. We clear, asshat?”
“Yeah, whatever,” Judge grumbled.
“I’m taking my girls home,” I told Judge when it was just him and us standing there. “Lyla needs some rest, and I know Josie is hungry.”
“Yeah, okay. Just be careful.” He kissed both Lyla and Josie, and then he shook my hand. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” He turned to go then stopped and looked back at his sister. “I love you, Lyla.”
“Love you, Judge,” she told him sleepily.
On the drive home, both Lyla and Josie fell asleep, and once we were in the driveway, I just sat there for a long while, watching them. This was one of the worst nights of my life, but it could have been so much more tragic. I could have lost one or both of them, and I couldn’t live without either of them.
Scrubbing my hands over my face, I let the stress of the past few hours press down on me. I needed to get both of them inside and into bed, probably make us all something to eat, but I couldn’t bring my muscles to cooperate.
“Howler?” Lyla’s soft voice reached out for me in the darkened vehicle.
I dropped my hands and leaned toward her. “What’s wrong, babe?”
“I really am okay,” she said as she lifted her left hand and cupped the side of my face. “You don’t have to worry about me now.”
I turned my head so I could kiss her palm. “I’m always worried about you when you’re not right beside me. Nothing will ever change that.”
“I’m so sorry about putting Josie in danger,” she whispered suddenly, her chin trembling. “If anything had happened to her—”
“You protected her, and for that, I will always be thankful. You’re everything a mother should be, Lyla. And that is exactly what you are to Josie. She wants you to be, you know. She asked me the other day…”
Her eyes widened. “What did she ask?”
“If I would marry you so she could start calling you ‘Mommy,’” I told her honestly.
“Daddy!” Josie surprised me by yelling. “It was supposed to be our secret.”
I grinned at her over my shoulder as she unfastened her seat belt and stood up between us. “Sorry, Jo. Tonight has been so crazy that I just couldn’t help myself.”
“Wait,” Lyla protested, touching her head dazedly. “These pain pills are making me loopy. What are you two talking about?”
Leaning forward, I kissed her lips but quickly pulled back. “Nothing, babe. We’re not talking about anything. At least, not tonight. Sit tight, and I’ll get you into the house.”
“Ugh,” she muttered. “You’re so annoying sometimes.”
Epilogue
Lyla
The cops came and went the next day after taking a quick statement from me. My brother, on the other hand, lingered and tried to baby me all afternoon.
I let him do what he wanted, even though he was more irritating than helpful. He was just so adorable when he was trying to be sweet and I didn’t get that side of him all that often, so I soaked it up for a little while until I couldn’t take it any longer and kicked him out of the house.
“Is he finally gone?” Howler asked as he came out of his office where he’d been working since the cops left earlier. He’d called his mom and told her he wouldn’t be at work that morning, then had to explain everything else that happened the day before because Cherie wasn’t one to take a simple excuse. Especially from her son who worked every day even when he was sick.
He wrapped his arms around my waist as I nodded. “I told him to go home and not come back for a few days. He was getting on my last nerve.”
“He just loves you,” Howler defended. “I think you getting shot last night scared him almost as much as it did me.”
“Yeah,” I muttered, trying not to think about the events of the night before. Of Tony’s lifeless eyes staring at nothing. I’d taken a man’s life, and I didn’t know how to accept that.
“Hey,” he murmured, cupping my neck and using his thumb to tilt my head back so I had to look up at him. “It was you or him, and you made the right decision, baby. If something had happened to you, I would have lost my mind.”
Tears filled my eyes, but I nodded. “I know. I just… This is hard for me, Howler. I don’t know how to accept the fact that I ended someone’s life.”
“I’m so sorry, baby. Do you… I don’t know. Maybe want to talk to someone about this? Like a therapist or something?”
The way he hesitated, as if he didn’t know how to help me but was struggling to find any solution, warmed my heart, and I melted into him a little more. “Maybe. But not today. Right now, I just need to be here with you and Jo.”
His smile melted more than my heart, and he bent to brush his lips over the tip of my nose. “I think I can arrange that. How about I make some popcorn, and we can watch a movie together until dinner?”
“I like that idea.”
“Good. You go get our girl, and I’ll fix the popcorn.” With one more kiss, he turned me in his arms and urged me toward the stairs. “Tell Josie she can pick the movie.”
Upstairs, I found Josie lying on the floor, all her art supplies laid out before her as she colored on a piece of folded construction paper. Smiling down at the sight of her so lost in concentration, I sat on the floor across from her.
“Is that the birthday card for Miss Mia?”
Josie shook her head as she continued writing something across the bottom of the card she was making. “No. I already made her a birthday card. It’s just like the one I lost yesterday.”
I picked up the folded construction paper. This one was purple, but when I opened it, there was the same stick-figured redhead in ballet slippers with “Happy Birthday! Love, Josie” written in Josie’s sloppy handwriting.
“Very pretty,” I told her and replaced the card on the floor.
“There!” she exclaimed softly to herself as she closed the new card and stood up.
Bending, she picked up the card and handed it to me. On the front, it read “To Lyla. From Josie,” and there were two stick figures underneath it. A little girl with blond hair and a taller female with dark hair like mine.
Seeing the two of us together like that made something tighten in my heart, and I opened the card with fingers that trembled.
On one side of the card, there was a rainbow and flowers and the two of us drawn again, still holding hands. But it was what was on the other side of the card that had tears filling my eyes until I couldn’t even see the words anymore.
“Will you be my mommy?” was written in her messy, adorable handwriting, and I’d never seen more beautiful words in my life.
Dropping the card, I reached for her and pulled her down into my lap so I could bury my nose in her sweet-smelling hair. “Yes, Jo,” I whispered in a voice choked with a million different emotions. “I would love to be your mommy.”
“Really?” she yelled excitedly.
“Really,” I laughed, my voice cracking.
“I’m so, so, so happy!” she cried, hugging me even as she bounced up and down on my lap. “Come on. Let’s tell Daddy. I bet he will be happy too.”
She pulled on my hand, and I got to my feet. My tears were still flowing, but I held her hand in one of my own while clutching the card she’d made for me in the other.
Downstairs, I could smell the popcorn he must have made, but when we got to the kitchen, there was no sign of Howler. Frowning, I looked around, wondering how I’d missed passing such a huge man along the way, but he wasn’t anywhere.
“Come on, Lyla… I mean Mommy!” Josie tugged me to the French doors, and I opened them, surprised they were unlocked. Howler hadn’t unlocked that door since Gwen had gotten in that first time.
It was a warmer than usual day outside, and we were both in long sleeves so I didn’t make her go back in for a jacket. Instead, I let her pull me out to her play area.
But as we rounded the side of it, I nearly stumbled. There were white and red flower petals surrounding Howler in the shape of a giant heart as he knelt on the ground with a ring box already open in his hands. The little box looked so tiny in his massive palm, but the pear-shaped diamond nestled within it sparkled.
“Daddy, Lyla said yes,” Josie told her father happily, bouncing around again. “She wants to be my mommy!”
He gave her a smile that looked nervous to me, but I wasn’t sure because my tears were blinding me all over again. As I walked closer, he cleared his throat. “Lyla, yesterday was the worst day of my life. So easily, I could have lost you and Josie, and I’m so thankful I didn’t. But today, I want to erase the nightmare and create happy memories I hope you will remember for the rest of your life.” He swallowed hard and inhaled deeply. “Baby, I love you, and I’m tired of wasting time. This might seem sudden to you, but I’ve ached to ask you this for years. Please, will you marry me?”
“Howler,” I breathed, shaking my head as tears fell down my face. “I love you so much.”
“Is that…a yes?” he asked hesitantly.
Laughing, I threw myself against him, sending us both to the ground. “Yes,” I sobbed. “Of course, yes.”
My tears fell onto his face, but his soon joined them. I kissed him, and the memories of the day before, of Tony and Gwen and everything else but the happiness he and Josie had given me, faded for the moment.
Josie jumped onto my back, wanting to be a part of the excitement, and Howler wrapped his arms around her too. “You two are the most precious things in my world. I’m never letting either of you go again.”
Coming Soon From Terri Anne Browning
Needing Nevaeh
Book 2 of the Rockers’ Legacy Series
Sweet Agony
Book 2 of the Angels’ Halo MC Next Gen Series
Terri Anne Browning, Off-Limits
