Chapter 17

As the evening quietly falls over our neighborhood, I put the kids to bed in their room. It takes a while to get them to close their eyes, though. Sammy, in particular, can be quite the starter of shenanigans, trying to trick me to read him another bedtime story. Then another. And another.

Luna is already half-asleep on her side of the room.

Sammy, on the other hand, is staring at me as if he’s silently sending messages into my very soul. I love this kid so much already. I’ll destroy anyone who tries to hurt him or his sister—or their mother. Hell, I will destroy anyone who tries to make their lives even the slightest bit difficult. These kids bring out two opposing sides of me, and it’s a weird thing to process, but I’m working on it.

“Come on, kiddo, another story?” I groan, feigning frustration.

Luna giggles, her eyelids at half-mast. “Try a dinosaur story. Those always help.

”

“Thank you for the advice,” I reply as I pull out one of Sammy’s personal favorites from the stack of children’s book on the nightstand. “How about Rex and the Blueberry Thief?”

“Yes, please!” Sammy says, eagerly sitting back against his pillow.

These two look adorable in their matching jammies—Luna’s follow a watermelon theme, with watercolor-style slices of watermelons spattered across white cotton, while Sammy’s are a jolly celebration of the avocado in two shades of green. I could eat them both up, dammit. I shouldn’t get this attached, not with all the uncertainty swirling around us. We haven’t found that son of a bitch Colby yet; hopefully I gave him a good scare the other night but I doubt it.

He’s lying in wait. Biding his time.

It’s a matter of when, not if, with this guy.

“Okay, but afterwards you’re going to sleep,” I say to Sammy. “Uncle Wyatt is downstairs, waiting for me. We’ve got all that leftover dinner to put away.”

“Okay, just this story,” Sammy agrees.

Sitting on his bed, I scooch closer so he can lean against me while we both read from his book. I let him flip the pages as I take him through the tale of Rex, a brave and curious dinosaur who has to figure out who stole his friend Trini’s blueberries.

I don’t know why this little guy is so attached to me but it’s mutual. I see parts of myself in him, parts that vanished to the bottom of my consciousness after I joined the Navy. His innocence, his curiosity, this sparkle of life brimming within him. He’s so precious and it makes me furious whenever I think about what his own father did, setting that diner on fire.

Halle might think I’m joking but I don’t intend to let Colby Nash live.

That man doesn’t belong in this world, not after everything he put her and their kids through. These wide-eyed angels who never hurt anybody, still taking their first steps into a life that has so much to offer them.

By the time I’m done with Rex’s story Sammy is finally asleep, catching up with Luna somewhere far away in dreamland. Slowly and cautiously I put the book away and remove myself from their room before making my way downstairs.

Eric has Halle for tonight. A one-on-one date. We agreed we’d take turns every week since it’s important for us to bond with her and for her to bond with us on an individual basis. While I certainly enjoy every moment that we get to spend together, the four of us, I do see the benefit from cultivating a more personal dynamic, too. There are sides of Halle that come out only when she’s with me. Other sides that emerge with Wyatt. And different aspects altogether with Eric. It’s fascinating. She truly is one of a kind.

Everything I’m feeling is scaring the fuck out of me.

“What is the matter with you?” Wyatt asks.

I’m not even paying attention to what I’m doing. It’s not until his voice comes through that I look down and realize I’m about to put a whole plate of cooked carbonara into the freezer. “Shit. Sorry,” I mutter and empty the plate into a plastic dish with a lid instead before placing it in the fridge. “My mind was somewhere else.

”

“Clearly,” Wyatt chuckles, unloading the dishwasher. “You’ve been like this all day. What’s going on, brother?”

“Everything,” I say, letting a heavy sigh roll from my chest. He pours me a glass of wine and joins me by the counter island. We still have a few things to put away but I need this drink more right now. “I never imagined our house being like this.”

“Oh, you mean with a gorgeous woman and two kids laughing and running around?” Wyatt replies, a broad smile stretching across his face. “Yeah, me neither.”

“It’s not safe. Not while that fucker is on the loose.”

“It’s safer here for Halle and the kids than anywhere else,” my brother replies.

“No, I mean it’s not safe for us,” I say. “What are we doing here, Wyatt? Playing house? Planning a future? We keep telling Halle she’ll never be alone again but where does she stand? What are the chances she won’t take the kids and run off as soon as Colby comes closer?”

Wyatt narrows his eyes as he looks at me. “We’ve gone up against pieces of shit like Colby Nash before. That’s not what worries you.”

“I’m not afraid of that prick,” I grumble.

“No, you’re afraid of getting your heart broken. You’re starting to get attached, and it scares the shit out of you.”

“Wow, you read me like an open book,” I reply with a deliberately flat tone, then empty my glass and motion for a refill.

Wyatt obliges while simultaneously holding back a laugh. “There’s a lot to love about Halle, Chase. All three of us are head over heels with her and there’s no coming back from that. Luna and Sammy are just a bonus.”

“Yeah, but—”

“But she comes with baggage,” Wyatt says. “I know that but it’s obvious we want Halle to be a part of our lives. We’re working toward it. Hell, we’re trying to find Colby so we can throw his ass in jail and be done with him forever.”

“I don’t know, Wyatt.”

“You do know,” he replies, smiling. “You’re just not ready to admit it. You’re in love. So am I. And so is Eric. And we’ve got two choices at this point. We stick together and show Halle what it’s like to be with us, from beginning to end and everything in between, through thick and thin. Or we keep it friendly, help Drucker and the Dallas PD apprehend Colby, then send Halle and the kids on their merry way.”

I give my brother an alarmed look, which, in turn, makes him laugh. “What’s so funny?” I mumble, feeling my ears burn a tad with embarrassment.

“You’ve been a dark and brooding bastard your whole life. Big ol’ tough guy with plenty of battle scars and a left hook that could kill a man,” Wyatt says. “Then Halle and those little munchkins walk in and you’re toast.”

“Like you aren’t.”

“We all are. Our mother included. Chief Holt already misses Halle. He wants to know when she’s coming back to work. Fortunately for Halle and for us, he completely understands the situation and offered us his full support. The entire house is behind us, as well.” Wyatt exhales sharply. “No, brother, what’s really bothering you—and not just you, might I add—is the uncertainty that we’re having to deal with until Colby Nash is arrested, tried, and imprisoned for that diner fire.”

We’re not used to having someone take up so much space in our lives. A space that we’re willingly giving them. Happily, even. I had almost stopped wishing for a woman to show up, one that would want all three of us, together. She seemed like a wild and distant dream yet Halle fits the bill to a T. She is perfection incarnate, at least where my brothers and I are concerned.

“You were used to it being just the three of us,” Wyatt continues, as if plucking the thoughts right out of my head. “Us against the world. Maybe we’d each find ourselves a girl eventually, but when Halle popped up out of the literal flames, things changed. I get it. It’s concerning, especially given how challenging her life is. But I think she’s worth it. I think she’s worth all the trouble. Don’t you?”

I nod slowly. “Yeah. Absolutely. I just don’t like the thoughts I’ve been having about Colby, about what I’m willing to do in order to keep her and the kids safe.”

“You’re not the only one struggling with such thoughts,” my brother confesses. “You’re simply more likely to act on them and you know it. The fact that you’re worried about that tells me that you do have a conscience, Chase, and that makes you a good man, no matter what you might believe about yourself.”

Wyatt and Eric know me better than anyone else. There are so many things from our time in the Navy that we haven’t shared with our mother and father. Things we had to do. Things that I, specifically, did without hesitation. I carry the ghosts of many people with me every damn day of my life. Long shadows that never leave me alone. They are the loudest when they are quiet, because as my brother puts it, I do have a conscience. I simply chose to turn it off when I picked up that rifle in service of my country.

“Halle doesn’t know any of that stuff about me,” I say, my voice low.

“You’ll tell her when you’re ready. We each have a story to tell,” Wyatt replies. “But I will say this—somewhere deep down, I think she already knows what we’re made of. And she still wants us. Just like we still want her. Nash and all.”

“Speak of the devil, we still need to sit down and have a discussion about him. We need to consider every single possibility, because Colby Nash is not someone we can just brush off. The same goes for his mother.”

Wyatt pours himself another drink. “I agree. There are legal options and there are not-so-legal options. As soon as Colby set fire to that diner he declared his intentions. Loud and clear. Halle doesn’t stand a chance against him on her own.”

“I’m not sure the legal system can protect her.”

“If it could, she wouldn’t be here.”

The situation is complicated and messy, to say the least. There are too many unknown factors, too many uncertain aspects for us to navigate. We can’t keep Halle and her children hidden away here forever. The kids need socializing with people outside of their family circle. Halle needs a life of her own. A career. A routine that she can peacefully work through on a daily basis. Passions and hobbies. A fucking life.

She will never have any of that as long as Colby is free and close enough to hurt her. And she did not escape from one gilded cage to end up in another. I want Halle to feel free and happy with us, not like she’s stuck with us because her other option is a raging lunatic.

Darkness settles outside.

I catch a glimpse of the night sky. The moon is rising to the east, a glowing pearl that carries a whispered message. It is the quiet before the storm, I can almost feel it. My skin tingles whenever I leave the house. Colby may not be anywhere in sight but he’s lurking nearby, his presence lingering like an ominous cloud.

This must be how Halle has been feeling since she ran away from the guy. Constantly on edge. Always anxious and looking over her shoulder. Bated breath as she waits for something bad to happen because nothing good ever came out of her life with Colby except for Luna and Sammy, who deserve so much more than what that fucker gave them.