I didn’t let myself feel, didn’t let myself do anything yet. I went back to Dakota and held the bundle of cloth to her leg as I shouted for the authorities to come to the back yard.
The others I had knocked out were still out cold, thankfully, and I knew I’d have to answer for that. But I didn’t care.
I just rocked Joshua as I held Dakota and tried to push out the memories.
Because I knew that no matter how many times I relived the shooting, it would pale in comparison to this. I’d nearly lost Joshua and the love of my life, even though I still didn’t know if she would be okay.
People talked to me all at once then, and I answered questions, though I didn’t know how.
Somehow, I knew we were going to be all right. Because we had to be. If I lost Dakota after all of this, I would never forgive the world. Never forgive fate.
Because I had just found my future, and there would be hell to pay if I had to give that up.
By the time we made it to the hospital, Joshua and I riding in the back of the second ambulance behind Dakota’s, I was exhausted and ready to go home.
I knew that my house wasn’t going to be mine for a while, though. My home would be wherever Dakota and Joshua were. No matter what.
Joshua lay on Hazel’s lap, finally sleeping. He would need someone to talk to, to find some way through everything that had happened today, but physically, he was unharmed. Emotionally? That would take some time.
But we’d find a way.
He had fallen asleep in my lap, then had moved from lap to lap as everyone he loved had held him close, making sure he knew that he was okay and cherished. He woke up crying every once in a while, asking for his mom, and we just told him he would see her soon.
Because, Jesus Christ, he had to see her soon if I had anything to say about.
We would have to deal with the authorities, and they would likely want to know exactly how I had been able to fight off so many. But the fact that I knew how to defend those I loved was something people would have to deal with.
I didn’t fire a weapon, didn’t even use one. Yet, somehow, we had survived.
Dakota would be okay. Thank God. The bullet hadn’t hit bone or anything vital, but it had torn through the muscle. It would take some time for her to recover, and she would hate that because she couldn’t be on her feet. We would find a way to make the Bolder Bean work without her, though, or with her in a new position seated behind the counter.
I didn’t care about any of that. Not really. All that mattered was that she was okay. She was safe.
And Adam would be behind bars for a long fucking time.
It didn’t matter that he hadn’t pulled the trigger on those two officers, he had ordered the hit. He would be put away for those murders, for attempted murder, kidnapping, illegal firearms, parole violations, and so much more.
We would never have to deal with him again.
Now, I just needed to make sure that Dakota remained okay.
I hadn’t been able to talk to her, mostly because she was still dealing with all of the doctors, and the girls had wanted to go back to see her. Joshua hadn’t wanted to leave my side, and Dakota wasn’t ready to see her son yet anyway. They wanted to make sure she was all cleaned up, her leg hidden until he knew she would be fine.
I understood that, so if he came back to me, I would let the barnacle hold onto me as I listened to him sleep.
He woke up again, scrambling off Hazel’s lap and into mine, and I held him tightly.
“What about the kittens?” he asked, his voice sleepy yet still full of fear.
“We were just there to check on them,” Myra said as Nate stood in front of me and ran his hand over Joshua’s head.
“Miss Myra and I took care of them. They miss you, but they’ll see you soon. You don’t need to worry about them. They’re part of our family now, so they’ll always be taken care of.”
A lump rose in my throat at that, and I smiled at my baby brother. He understood what needed to be said. I just wished I was strong enough to find the right words to say to Joshua myself.
“Don’t go away,” Joshua said, looking up at me.
I shook my head. “I’m never going away, Joshua. I can promise you that.”
“Not just never. You have to stay forever.”
The others turned away slightly to give us as much privacy as possible, and I leaned down to look at the little kid in my arms. “If I have anything to say about it, I’m not going away ever. I love you, Joshua. As if you were my own son.”
There was a sniffle beside me, the sound of someone hushing another, and I ignored them all.
“I love you, too, Macon. I know that man said he was my daddy, but he’s not. I want you to be.”
My heart nearly broke as another sniffle came from the other side of me. Once again, I ignored them.
“I need to tell your mama a few things first. But, Joshua? I’d love to be your family.”
“I’ll help you make it happen. You, me, and the cats.” He paused. “But I want you to be family, and not just because of the cats. Because I love you, too.”
That did it. Tears fell down my cheeks, and I held Joshua close, rocking him back to sleep
