Page 7 of Redemption
“My apologies for the shock, madam. I know this can’t be easy. I swear we have no ill intentions toward you or your family. We are simply a brother and a mother who have waited decades for this moment. We come in peace, truly offering you sanctuary, protection, and the love of a family you never knew existed.”
Lachlan’s hand flexes involuntarily in mine, as though he’s shocked by the man’s words. That’s at least something that makes sense—finally. My husband has never had that in his life. The love of a family is one thing he’s never known beyond me and Aurora.
My heart stutters in my chest as a deep well of emotion I can’t pinpoint with a name grips me. For the first time since I walked into the courtyard, I let myself think about the insane possibility that this man might be telling the truth.
What if Lachlan really does have a family? What if this really is his brother? What if his mother really is waiting on a plane to meet him?
Tears gather at the corners of my eyes. My emotions are all too chaotic and close to the surface after the week we’ve had. I truly don’t know how much more I can take.
In that moment, I make a vow: I will kill this man myself if he’s lying and hurts my husband. No one gets to play with Lachlan Mount this way and cause him pain. No one.
The intensity of the protectiveness coursing through my veins should shock me, but it doesn’t. I’m Keira Mount now, and I am a force with which you do not fuck—especially when it comes to my husband and child. There’s nothing I won’t do to protect them from harm. Nothing.
This last week has forged me into a different kind of woman. I’m beyond a mama bear. I’m a Mount through and through. I will do whatever I have to do to protect my family.
The man nods and outstretches his hand to offer it to Lachlan. “We will wait for you. As long as it takes. There’s no way our mother will let that jet take off until she meets you.”
Lachlan pauses before reaching out to shake his twin’s hand, as if he’s not sure he’s ready for physical contact. As if in slow motion, he extends his hand, closing the distance between their skin. I stare at their hands, freezing when I realize they look nearly identical too. Both have long, straight, tanned fingers and neatly clipped nails. Lachlan’s heavy diamond pinkie ring is at odds with the understated gold signet ring on the finger of his doppelgänger.
My breath catches when their skin touches and their hands clasp. It’s like time stops. The only one of the four of us breathing normally is Aurora as she snuggles against me.
The other man lets out a rough sound as his face lowers. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to find you, brother.” When he lifts his eyes, they’re glassy with unshed tears. “This is truly a miracle.” He sucks in a ragged breath, as if steadying himself through an onslaught of emotion. “We will await you at the hangar. Thank you. Thank you, God.” The last part he whispers, and his Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows.
Lachlan nods, holding himself, as he always does—with pride, dignity, and undisguised power. “Until then.”
Their fingers disengage, and we both watch as the man turns and walks out of our courtyard, looking exactly like my husband from behind. The same height. The same build. The same hair. It’s uncanny. I stand, dumbfounded, as he disappears into our home, walking out of our sight—and out of our lives, which will never be the same.
Neither Lachlan nor I say anything for long moments. We both stare at the doorway the man exited.
Aurora shifts in my arms, and I hold her tighter.
“Did that just actually happen, or am I losing my damn mind?” I whisper into the electric air that surrounds us.
With a shaky hand, Lachlan reaches out to the nearest chair and yanks it away from the table before collapsing into it. His forehead drops into his hands as he sucks in ragged breath after ragged breath.
“I have a brother. A brother and a mother. And a father.”
Never before have I seen my husband lose his ironclad control over his emotions, but he’s on the verge right now. His body shakes and heaves, and the only thing I know to do is to be his strength if he needs it.
Shifting our baby in my arms, I crouch down beside him, pressing my head against his suit-jacketed shoulder.
“It’s okay. We’re going to figure this out. Whoever he is, whoever they are, we’ll figure it out.”
“I have a brother.” Lachlan lifts his face from his hands as tears stream down his cheeks. “He looks just like me.”
It’s like I’ve entered an alternate reality. Lachlan is crying? I give myself a mental shake. Of course he is, Keira. You have no idea what this feels like. You’ve always known you had a family. He never has.
But still, my protective instincts rally. “How do you know he’s telling the truth? How can you believe him so easily?”
My husband laughs brokenly through his tears. “There are some things you just know. I have a brother.” A sob breaks through the laughter, and my husband reaches for me and Aurora and drags us up into his lap. “I have a family. I have a family. I have a family.”
As I sit in his arms, tears slide down my face, dripping into Aurora’s hair as her chubby fingers extend toward her daddy.
He reaches for her, burying his face in her sweet-smelling curls.
I hear him whisper, nearly inaudible, “I’ve always had a family. I knew it. I always knew it.”
Chapter Five
