I sigh. “I’ll say.”
We both look at each other simultaneously and say, “Addie.”
I’ve never heard my heart beat that loud in my life. My feet carry me forward, but my brain seems to lag as I race with Tomas into the hallway. We sprint across the carpet, pause at the staircase, and flee into the foyer, where we hear soft crying.
The sound leads us to the rear of the house where Adelaide bends over her father, who’s limp in his desk chair. She looks up at us, face streaked with tears while whimpering, “He’s not breathing.”
“Addie, come here,” I beckon with my arms open. “Come on, princess. Get away from him.”
“No,” she protests. “I don’t want to get away from him. We have to call the police and…and…” She hiccups. “Oh, Tommy, there’s so much blood under him, and he’s just not breathing!”
Tomas softens his expression while putting away his gun. Security floods the scene, many of the men darting to the windows to keep us covered while the others rush outside. The attack happened so fast that we didn’t have time to respond.
My stomach flips as I realize just how close Addie was to getting shot. I wave her over, nodding as two of the security guards gently nudge her in my direction. “Come on,” I whisper. “Let them do what they need to do, okay?”
“But he’s…”
Tomas wanders quietly toward Gilbert, eyes scouring every detail. I hug Adelaide to my chest as she bursts into tears, gut-wrenching sobs causing her to slump into my arms. Clutching her seems to steady us both and I keep my grip tight, hoping to soothe her pain as she’s done for me many times.
She’s hardly aware of how her childish innocence and gentle heart have comforted me in the past. Such a wonderful girl, who has so much potential. She gave me the opportunity to do something that no one could do for me—she allowed me to teach her how to protect herself. While I had Coach Neill teaching me self-defense, I was already deep under the slutty waters of the alpha bullshit at that point.
With Adelaide, I got to her before anything could sully her sweetness. She can stay sweet while she toughens up, building armor instead of throwing up shields whenever people betray her. And I’m hoping she’ll never have to deal with it as I have. Realistically, she’ll need to deal with plenty of things that are part of this world, but at least she’ll be prepared.
It makes sense why Tomas is dedicated to protecting her. I want the same thing. I want to make sure she doesn’t have to go through traumatic experiences like me. While running my fingers through her hair, I let her claw at my back, writhing in my arms, and wail as loudly as she wishes. Whenever security approaches to check on us, I wave them away, insisting that she’s given space.
One of them hands me a water bottle. I nod gratefully and guide Adelaide to the hallway, where I can sit her down away from her father’s dead body while keeping an eye on Tomas. So far, Tomas is silent. He seems to be at peace, a sigh of relief exiting his body as he listens to the family coroner speak rapidly about the cause of death.
Tomas thanks the coroner and then joins us in the hallway, resting a hand on his sister’s back. Her eyes are swollen from crying and her lips are bruised from gnashing her teeth, but she’s otherwise calm, taking long inhalations and releasing them slowly. She doesn’t react when her brother touches her, staring off into the distance with a look of shock.
“We’ll need a doctor,” I whisper to Tomas. “She needs to be checked.”
“She’s fine.”
I shake my head. “No, she’s not, Tommy. She needs to be checked.”
“We’re free now,” he says. When I frown, he tucks me under his free arm and pulls me into his chest. “I’ll join you. I’ll take the vow. I mean that, doll.”
It’s good to hear him say that, but my faith in him is shaken because of what Gilbert told me. How much does Tomas know about my father’s death?
And how much did he possibly have a hand in it?