Page 40 of Redemption
My brother shakes his head like he can’t believe what I’m saying. It’s a lot to comprehend for anyone, especially after the day he’s been through. A day in my life. We might be twins, but we’re not the same—that’s for sure.
“I’m strangely impressed. You do think of everything.”
“It’s how we stay alive. But fireworks are unnecessary right now. No one has any reason to be looking here, and even if they did, they wouldn’t find anything but holes in the wall behind the couch.” I replace the picture on the wall before grabbing the handles of two of the duffels. “Grab the others. We’re taking the minivan in the garage. It has a car seat for Rory. I’ll come back to dump the food.”
As soon as the words are out of my mouth, my wife steps through the doorway of the baby’s bedroom with a pink bag on her shoulder and a fussy Aurora in her arms.
“She’s ready. I kept most everything packed. I just need to grab my bag. It’s on the bed.”
“My princess,” I say, walking over to press a kiss on my baby girl’s face. “There’s no reason to fuss. Mommy and Daddy are taking you to a new kingdom. One without monsters.”
Instantly, she calms down, like she always does when I’m near.
I never knew I could be good with a baby. It was as shocking to me as it was to Keira. But then again, I never knew an innocent, precious princess could come from a man like me.
And she’ll never be threatened again. Ever. No matter what I have to do or who I have to become, my daughter will never again be touched by this. She will never know anything but love for the rest of her life. I’ve sworn it over and over, and there’s nothing I’ve ever meant more in my life. I will make it reality, whatever it takes.
“Thank you,” Keira whispers as Aurora snuggles more comfortably in her arms.
I lift the strap of the bag from her shoulder. “You get her in the car seat. Marco and I will load everything up and deal with the food.”
Keira’s gaze darts to the drywall-dust-covered duffel bags before returning to my face. “I love you so fucking much. Thank God you are who you are.”
A gorgeous smile, under the most unlikely of circumstances, gives my wife’s entire countenance a radiant glow. To Aurora, she whispers, “See, there’s nothing to worry about, baby girl. Daddy’s got everything covered, because that’s what Daddy does.”
My lips curve in response to my wife’s beautiful smile and confident words, but I won’t breathe easy until we reach cruising altitude.
I glance down at the watch on my wrist. Less than an hour, and we’re out of this fucking country.
Chapter Nineteen
Keira
A small part of me wondered if our departure from the airport would include a shoot-out, but when the jet lifts off the runway and Lachlan is safely belted into the plush leather seat beside me with Aurora on his lap, I thank every power in the universe for getting us out of New Orleans safely.
Thank goodness we’re safe. Thank God we’re together. The words repeat over and over again in my mind as we climb and turn in the direction of our future.
Lachlan’s words from earlier have stayed with me. “I don’t know if you’re ever coming back.”
The enormity of what that could mean hasn’t really hit me yet, but there’s one thing I’ve had to learn since I entered the world of Lachlan Mount: to flow with whatever happens and make the best of it.
They don’t teach you the skills I’ve needed to survive the last few years of my life in any school or college. Instead, this has been my front row seat in the university of real life. Fixed goals, plans, and opinions? Out the window. Learning to adapt, overcome any challenge, and thrive, no matter what life throws at you? Those abilities have become invaluable. I’ve had to learn to trust more than I ever knew was possible. I’ve had to learn to bend beyond my limits—without breaking. And most shockingly of all, I’ve learned intense lessons about the depths of my faith within the darkness of my husband’s world.
Being Lachlan Mount’s wife has been nothing like I expected. I’ve been loved better and more deeply than I ever knew was possible for a person to be loved. And in return, I’ve loved harder and more fiercely than I ever was capable of before. My soul feels complete in a way I’ve never experienced. I have my soulmate beside me, and he holds my heart in his hands. Our daughter has brought us even closer together than I ever thought possible and forged new bonds between us. Aurora has given us both purpose and brought out new sides of Lachlan that I never knew could exist.
That first day in my office, he was a dark, shadowy figure, sitting at my desk—the boogeyman come to life to drag me into the underworld. He destroyed the tiny little existence I had been grasping and clinging to, and in exchange, he gave me an entire new world.
I could never have anticipated where life was going to take me as a result of the debt he said I owed him. I thought my life was ending, but in truth, it was just beginning.
I wouldn’t trade any of it to go back to who I was or the life I used to live.
Every single thing that I value most came out of what seemed like the worst thing to ever happen to me.
It’s a fact that’s never far from my mind. It’s the reason I live life differently now. It’s the reason I didn’t lose my mind when I had to walk away from everything tonight with almost no notice.
I trust that life is leading us where we need to go. It hasn’t let me down yet, even during those moments when all hope seemed lost.
I reach out and grasp Lachlan’s hand, giving it a squeeze as I gaze at the beautiful face of our daughter.
