Rebuilding Stone (The Stone Brother Series Book 2) (25 page)

We're outside of the farmhouse where Lani is being held.
What's going on is totally against the law. I should’ve contacted the local
agencies. My dumb ass lets Evan and Brayden talk me into coming here. I’m
surprised I don’t feel guilty about it. These people don't deserve to live.
With no damn regard for their safety, Evan and Brayden bust out of the car.
SHIT!

“Which way are we going in?” Brayden asks.

“Cade said they sit on the front porch. We'll go through the
front.”

We're standing behind some trees about a hundred yards from
the house. Evan and Brayden are discussing what they’re going to do and I'm
trying to talk them out of it. I probably have a better chance of talking to
the tree in front of me. All I can do is back them up and pray no one gets
killed.

“I just want to go on record, saying this is the dumbest
thing we’ve ever done,” I state. I’m nervous, but not scared. It’s just
difficult not knowing a single thing about a place or it’s occupants before
busting in.

As we get closer to the house, we see a couple sitting on
the front porch. Before I know what’s going on, and before I can stop them,
Evan and Brayden both raise their guns and fire, both hitting their targets.

“You didn’t miss.” Evan smacks Brayden on the back.

“Nope. Been practicing,” he laughs.

“Forever dart partners?” Evan asked.

“Oh my fucking God. You two just shot and killed people and
you’re talking about darts?”

This is fucking bad.

“Alright, you two stay put. I’m going to get them,” Evan announces.

“Wait. You stay put, I’ll go get them," I counter.

“Maddox, remember when Kerrigan was attacked? You didn’t
want to leave. You wanted to be there?” Shit. He’s right.

“Go. Please, be careful. Brayden, walk to the east side of
the house. I’ll take this side.”

Brayden and I had been checking the surrounding area for ten
minutes when I notice a truck pulled back into the trees. Shit. That’s
Michael’s truck. Evan isn’t alone in that house. FUCK! As I'm motioning to
Brayden, I hear gunshots. Both of us race to the house. Brayden stays
downstairs while I run up, checking the rooms as I go.

I can hear Lani screaming and I know intuitively that Evan
has been shot. My heart is racing, worrying about my brother. As I wait, I try
to calm myself, taking a few deep breaths. Whoever's upstairs will be coming
down. As much as I want to go up there, guns blazing, I know I can’t. I’d be a
sitting duck for a bullet.

I look at the door with six deadbolt locks along with wooden
boards crossing it in three parts. Lani and Cade had been definitely trapped.
Time is passing slowly. I don’t know how long I've been waiting, but it feels
like forever. Finally, the attic door creaks open. It takes only a second to
realize it’s not Lani. He has his back towards me, so I’m able to sneak up
behind him and put Michael in a chokehold. As I’m about to put cuffs on him, I
think about how much pain he's caused and how much time he's stolen from the
people I care about. In a deliberate move on my part, instead of placing him in
handcuffs, I put the gun to his head and pull the trigger. With Michael on the
ground, I race upstairs, praying there's nobody else. As I enter the attic, I
see Lani crying and holding Evan’s head. I hear him groan in pain - he's alive.
That’s all I care about right now.

“Evan. Where are you hit?” I ask. His shirt is covered with
blood.

“Shoulder.” I rush over, trying to take off his shirt to
examine the damage.

“Don’t.” Evan says, raising his good arm to stop me.

“What do you mean, don’t?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“I let your dumb asses talk me into doing this shit. I’m
taking you to the fucking hospital and I'm stopping this bleeding now.” I rip
open his shirt and what the fuck?

“Evan?”

“What?” He asks.

“Why are you covered in tattoos?” When I say covered, I mean
covered. They’re everywhere.

“Are we talking tattoos or are you getting us out of here?”
Shit. I yell for Brayden to come up.

“Where’s the baby, Lani? I want to see him,” Evan says.

“Her, Evan. I’m keeping her. I’m sorry, but I can’t give her
up.” Lani starts crying as she goes to get a very limp baby. This baby
desperately needs medical attention.

“Her?” Evan questions.

“Yes, Evan, her. I’m not giving her up, Evan. I’m not.”

“Did Jase know you were pregnant?” I ask.

“Jase isn’t her father, I am.” Evan grinds out. This is a
total mind fuck. What the fuck is happening?

“Are you mad?” Lani asks hesitantly.

“No. I want to see her,” Evan says gently. Lani lays the
baby on his chest and Evan looks worried. I’m scared for the baby. We need to
go.

Brayden carries the baby down the stairs as I help Evan.
When we're all loaded in the car, the arguments start on where to go. No one
wants to go to the hospital since that leads to questions, but Harper needs medical
care. This is such a mess. Not knowing what else to do, we head to Noah’s. We
drop Brayden off to grab Kerrigan’s car. He's going home to check on Missy and
Cade and then meet us at Noah’s. Lani claims she isn’t producing enough breast
milk. She said it’s been over twenty-four hours since Harper ate.

“Lani, why didn’t tell me you were pregnant?” Evan asks her.

“I didn’t know until the night he took me. Kerrigan asked me
if it were possible that day at the party. I didn’t think it was. Later that night,
I had to know. I went to the store to get a pregnancy test.”

“Your fucking wife kept that shit from me. She better not
come near me!” Now MY blood is boiling.

“Don’t fucking take this out on Kerrigan. Don’t speak to my
wife. I don’t know why she kept it from you. I'll be the one to find out.” He
better not say a damn word to Kerrigan or I’ll put a bullet in his other damn
shoulder.

“She didn’t know, Evan. I wasn’t late. It was just a thought
she had. I assured her I wasn’t.”

I look in the rearview mirror and see Evan patting Harper.

“Why wouldn’t you tell me? I would’ve gone with you.”

“Because I didn’t know. I was going to make an appointment
for an abortion before I told you. I was scared you’d be mad, so I wanted to go
to you with a plan.”

“You were going to kill my kid?”

“Well, I don’t view abortion as killing. We slept together
one time. You don’t love me. I don’t love you. It was a mistake. I don’t expect
anything from you. I promise you don’t have to be in her life. I can do this on
my own. I’m so sorry, Evan.”

“Lani, you’re wrong. I do love you.”

“No, you don’t. And you don’t want Harper, either,” Lani
says quietly, looking down at her baby. Evan is silent. It kills me when I look
in the rearview mirror. Evan looks devastated.

When we pull up to Noah’s, I use the water from my water
bottle to clean Evan up as much as I could before giving him a towel from my
gym bag to cover the bullet wound. I remove my shirt and make Evan put it on.
Lani is barefoot, holding a naked baby. It looks like we've been a war and I'm
escorting refugees into my brother's home. I decide to call Noah and have him
bring a blanket down. He tells us to pull into the parking garage and he'll
meet us at the car. He has no idea what he’s about to walk into, but how the
hell do you explain this shit over the phone? Noah takes one look at us and
immediately goes into doctor mode. He carefully takes baby from Lani and rushes
off to the elevator.

Once we get upstairs, he shouts for Molly. His urgent tone
has her running out from the bedroom.

“Oh my God! What’s going on?”

“Molly, check on Evan,” Noah instructs, and she rushes to
Evan’s side.

“Brace yourself, Molly,” I caution.

“For?”

“Wait for it,” I say as she opens Evan's shirt. Her face
registers shock, but she immediately recovers and starts examining the bullet
wound. Why don't the tattoos surprise her?

“Lani, when was the last time she ate?” Noah questions.

“Yesterday, but I don’t think I’ve been producing much
milk.”

“Maddox, get the breast milk out of the fridge. Warm a
bottle up for her.” I do as I’m told.

“Lani, would you mind? I want to see if she's strong enough
to eat on her own,” Noah says.

“Not at all. Do it,” Lani consents, kneeling next to Noah.
After the milk is warmed, I take the bottle to Noah. We all sigh with relief
Harper starts to suck the milk.

“She’s eating. She’s eating, Evan,” Lani cries out happily,
gently stroking Harper's face with her finger.

“I see. She’s tough like her mommy,” Evan smiles warmly.
Noah hands Harper to Lani so he can help Molly tend to Evan.

“You look like a damn criminal,” Noah remarks taking in the
sight of Evan's tattoos.

“Well, after tonight, that isn’t too far off the mark,” Evan
jokes.

“Please, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know what you idiots
have done.”

The elevator door opens and Brayden rushes in inquiring,
“Everyone okay?“

“Looks like it, but I need to take the baby to the hospital
for a thorough exam. I can't be sure without proper medical equipment,” Noah
replies.

“That’ll lead to questions, Noah. And trust me, you do not
want questions,” Brayden expresses.

“There's also the matter of a birth certificate - she needs
to go. Plus, she could have serious issues going on that we don't know about,”
Noah argues.

“Come on, Noah. You can sign off as the delivering doctor
and I can sign as the assisting nurse,” Brayden insists.

Noah rolls his eyes, but I know he's going to do it.

“Fine," Noah relents. "Brayden, come with me.
We'll take her in and say it’s one of the twins. Just don’t let anyone get
close enough to her to see the size difference. You put her into the computer
system and get her birth certificate. I’ll say she was delivered at home."

“Sounds like a plan,” Brayden confirms.

“Lani, do you want to add Jase as the father?” Noah
inquires.

“No,” Lani replies quickly.

“Okay, but it's going to be a hassle if you change your mind
and decide to add him later,” Noah points out.

“Put me down as the father,” Evan declares.

“Evan, I’m not doing that,” Noah dismisses.

“Why? I’m her father.”

“Evan, you don’t have to do that,” Lani states.

“Lani, please don’t take this from me. You might not want
me, but I want you. And I want my daughter. God, Lani. When you were gone, I
allowed myself to hope that after I got you back, you’d love me and stop
fighting this thing between us. I now realize that’s not happening, but please.
Don’t keep Harper from me. She’s all I've got!” Evan pleads, grabbing his head
in anguish. He’s barely holding it together.

A glance at Noah tells me he shares my thoughts. They
consist of 'What. The. Fuck.' Lani is looking down at Harper, not saying a
word. She continues to stay silent and I worry for Evan. She can't deny him
this. She's not that cruel. It feels like an eternity before she finally looks
up at Evan and meets his eyes. She slowly nods her head and a few tears escape
from her eyes. Evan's eyes close and he lets out a breath of relief.

“We'll take care of the birth certificate," Noah
affirms, breaking the silence. "Lani, before I leave, I need to examine
you as well. We can go to another room, if you’d like."

“Not. Fucking. Happening,” Evan asserts, glaring at Noah.

“Evan, it’s my job. She could have an infection or worse.
She needs to be checked.”

“Not by you, she's not.”

“Evan, it’s fine. Really, it’s fine,” Lani reassures him.

“No. Molly, can you do it?” Evan asks.

“I could try, but I don’t exactly know what I’m looking for.
Noah should be the one to do it. I’ll stay with her,” Molly tries to convince
Evan. Frustrated, he finally assents with a nod of his head.

“Maddox and Brayden, leave the room,” Evan commands. He
doesn’t need to tell us twice, we quickly walk out. Once they're done, Brayden
and I return.

Before he and Brayden leave for the hospital with Harper,
Noah says, “Molly can you stitch Evan up? Evan, I'm think the bullet went
through, but you might have fragments inside. There's no way to know for sure
unless you let me take you to the hospital.”

“Nope. Molly, stitch me up.” Yup. He's a dumbass.

Maddox is on his way home. I’m so relieved that everything
turned out okay. I’m scared though, because Jackson is still out there and I
have no idea what that means for any of us. I'm not sure we'd all survive if he
does something like this again. As excited as Missy was to see Cade, I know
she's still frightened.

It was very emotional watching Missy with Cade as he relayed
what happened during his captivity. Lani would talk to him all the time,
comforting him and making up games with whatever they could find. His favorite
was a rock game. It was simple, similar to a bowling game. They’d stack stuff
and slide the rock into them to see how much they could knock over. I was happy
that Lani tried to make such a traumatic time for him less scary. He said no
one ever hit them and he was always with Lani. As a parent, I'm sure Missy was
relieved to hear that.

The minute Maddox walks in, he heads straight to the shower.
He doesn’t have a shirt on and is covered in Evan’s blood. I give him a few
moments to get the blood off before I strip down and join him. He wraps his
arms around me and we start to kiss.

“It’s all over babe,” Maddox sighs.

“No, Jackson is still out there. It’s not over.”

“Yeah, you’re right. At least, Cade and Lani are home now.”

“Maddox, I need you right now.” I implore. I do need him. He
turns off the water and we get out of the shower to dry off.

“I need you too, Kerrigan.” He kisses me with urgency. When
we finally pull apart, he grabs my hand and leads me into the bedroom. He
lowers me to the bed and parts my legs with his knee. God, I’ve needed him.
Missed him. He gets on top of me, covering me with his body. He pauses at my
entrance, saying, “Yes, I need you too, babe.” Then, he gently enters me.

He moves slowly and deliberately. He's propped on one arm,
holding himself up while he's stroking my hair with the fingers of his other
hand. “You’re so beautiful, Kerrigan.”

“So are you, Maddox.” My husband has a beautiful soul.
Tonight, he's taking his time, making sure it lasts. Each thrust is a sweet
caress. I can feel every delicious inch of him. He leans in to kiss me and
begins to increases the pace. It feels amazing! HE feels amazing deep inside me
and it's overwhelming. He kisses me with such passion and desperation that it
sends me over the edge. “Maddox, I'm cumming!” I feel him smile against my
neck.

“Me too, babe,” he grunts with one final thrust in me. “I
love you Kerrigan,” he whispers in my ear.

“I love you too.”