The guys followed me out of my mom’s house and across the overgrown yard to the shack that was just a stone’s throw away from hers. Not much looked out of place as we stepped inside the front door, but my uncle’s bedroom looked like a bomb had gone off. A horrific bomb that had left everything broken and disheveled and splattered with my uncle’s blood.
“Your uncle didn’t go down without a fight,” my mom said, looking up at me from Uncle Jeff’s bedside as I surveyed the small room. “And he needs to keep on fighting for a little while longer until the ambulance gets here. Okay, Jeff?” She took his hand in hers and patted it reassuringly. “They’ll be here to help you in a few minutes. Just hold on with me, okay?”
His eyes were a little glassy as he looked from her to me and then finally over to my guys. “Did you... is Randy...” He closed his mouth and swallowed, then groaned in pain.
“Randy has been taken care of, sir,” Axel said quietly. “Everyone is safe.”
“Good,” Uncle Jeff nodded, then shocked the heck out of me by adding, “thank you.” He nodded at Micah. “And you boys. You two really did good. And you want to take... take care of her.”
“The three of us want to take care of each other,” Micah offered a slight correction. “We could never have stopped Randy without Jasmine’s help.”
“Yeah...” He swallowed, but his voice still sounded raspy and dry when he continued. “I’ve been an asshole.” He looked right into my eyes. “Jasmine, I’m... I’m sorry. For everything.”
I would have passed out again from shock if my guys hadn’t been right there to hold me steady. Never in my life had I heard my uncle apologize for anything, ever. Hearing him then—and apologizing directly to me—was more than a little surreal, like I might have imagined the whole thing.
“I forgive you,” I whispered, barely able to contain the rush of emotions that threatened to overwhelm me. I’d spent my whole life wondering if that man ever said those words. I’d lost track of how many hours I’d fantasized about the day I’d put him in his place with a snappy comeback.
That the day had come, and I didn’t want to gloat or rub it in his face. I just wanted him to be okay, so we could all put this horrible nightmare behind us.
“I was wrong about you,” Jeff continued, his voice weaker by the minute as he looked back up at my guys again. “About all of you. I made a promise a long time ago to protect these girls, and that’s what I was trying to do. It’s all I ever meant to do.”
“Hush now,” my mom whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks. “You’ve done a fine job protecting us for a lot of years. For too many years, probably. Now it’s time for Jasmine to find her own way.” She paused and smiled up at me. “And she’s doing a really good job with these two.”
“Gotta agree with you there, Mrs., uh, Stella,” Axel grinned. “We also can promise that we only want good things for Jasmine. Whatever happens, we only want good things.”
God, why did they both have to be so sweet all the time? I seriously didn’t deserve either of them, but I was so thankful to have them in my life.
And Uncle Jeff, too. I might not have understood him until... well, until right at that moment, if I was being honest. But I finally saw him through an adult’s eyes instead of as the hurt, fragile little girl he’d yelled and cursed at so many times.
I wasn’t about to give him a free pass for the hell he’d put me through in my younger days, but I was ready to forgive him and to move on with my life.
So, so ready.
“Thank you,” I said to all of them. “I only want good things for all of us. Starting right now.”
Chapter Nineteen
Jasmine Bailey
I could hardly stand to look in Randy’s direction as Vic hauled him away into the back of his police car. But I had to watch. I had to be certain Randy had gone, and we’d all be safe.
God only knew how many nights of bad dreams I had ahead of me after everything that man had put my family and me—not to mention my guys—through over the course of the weekend. Still, watching Randy being led away in handcuffs was an important first step in the healing process.
Spending more time with my mom and my guys was another vital step.
“Did Vic say anything about how the roads were on his way out here?” I asked Micah once the police car had disappeared back through the dense woods.
“He said the roads were still shitty but not as bad as they were last night.” He pulled me close and kissed the top of my head, then moved aside so Axel could do the same. “Do you want to stay here again tonight, or—”