So when he saw her standing among people who were getting cut down by bullets, he couldn’t think. Couldn’t move for a second. He was frozen in terror. Only for a second, then he found his feet. Found his voice.
“Mia! Someone get Mia!” he screamed desperately as he watched her spin and sprint toward the stage. She dodged every one of his brothers easily, her movements desperate. He watched as Gage finally got a hold of her. He was never happier to see Mia in another man’s arms as he was in that moment. His terror translated to Lexie. His girl, who was on the fuckin’ stage. Every part of him screamed to be able to be there, protect his girls. His mind quieted slightly to see Killian shielding Lexie.
With them taken care of he moved his body, pulled out his piece and started firing. He didn’t even bother to crouch down. Fuckers were riding off anyway. He thought he managed to clip the last one to run off, but he wasn’t sure. As soon as the danger disappeared, he didn’t make chase like some of his other brothers did. He went for his girls. He tried to swallow the bitter fear that poisoned every inch of him. When he finally made it to Mia, when she struggled in his arms like a banshee, he relaxed slightly. She was struggling, screaming, fighting. Which meant she was alive. Once he had catalogued every inch of her gorgeous body to make sure it was unharmed, he felt like he could breathe slightly.
“Let me get to my daughter,” she demanded in a voice he didn’t recognize, a voice laden with terror. He flinched and felt that same terror inside him at the thought of Lexie. His eyes fell on her girl, climbing off the stage with the help of Killian.
“Mom!” she screamed, running over.
Bull let Mia go so she could hug her daughter. He watched in relief as Lexie hugged her back, unscathed. Unable to help himself, he touched her golden head, closing his eyes, thanking something that they were both okay.
His eyes met Mia’s. For the first time ever, his woman’s eyes were hard. He restrained a flinch at the sight of them, tried to communicate a silent apology, a silent declaration of how much he loved them both in his look.
Then he left. Because he had to. Had to punish the fuckers who killed his brother. Shot at his two reasons for living. Not existing. But living. Anyone who tried to extinguish that light was dead.
Bull met Cade at the front of the warehouse they were cleaning up. Or more accurately, the prospects were cleaning up.
“It done?” Cade asked with a hard glint in his eyes.
Bull nodded. “Took care of every last one,” he assured his president. He had taken pleasure in watching the life drain out of the fuckers. Great pleasure.
“We clean from this?” Cade added after nodding in approval.
Bull gave him a look. A look that said what he needed to say. No way Bull would let this blow back on the club.
Cade nodded, running his hands through his stubble, looking weary.
Bull didn’t have time to hash this shit out, he had a family to get back to. Cade gripped his arm. “Your girls, they did good today,” he told him.
Bull nodded.
“They’re strong. Both of them. Love you. Love the club,” Cade continued.
Bull looked at him a moment and Cade released him.
“Thanks, brother,” he muttered.
Bull had a shower before he went to Mia’s. Didn’t want to be dragging the filth of what he did into the house she made with Lexie. The home she made with Lexie.
He paused when he saw both Killian and Lexie asleep on the sofa. He struggled not to drag him out of the house with his bare hands. That would mean waking Lexie. Unbidden, the memory of Killian protecting her with his body came to mind. With effort, he walked past them both.
Everything melted away when he finally got into bed with Mia, got her into his arms. Then everything was fuckin’ shattered when he realized what she was doing. Didn’t blame her. Not for a fuckin’ second. Hell, he respected the shit out of her for it. Made him love her more. He knew how she felt about him. She was a crappy liar at the best of times, and her eyes didn’t lie, not when he was inside her. Not when she watched him with Lexie when she thought he wasn’t looking. So he knew. And if it was anything to rival how he felt about her, he knew it’d be ripping her up inside. Which was why he didn’t fight. He wanted to do, to the death. He wanted to never let her go until the reaper took him. Never stop loving her till the day he died. But he couldn’t. She was protecting her girl. Doing what he wasn’t strong enough to do. Because even though the fucks who shot at them were in the ground, they made their death blow right there in Mia’s bed.
After he had made love to her, memorized every inch of her beautiful body, she lay in his arms. Bull clutched her to him. When he felt her drift off, he finally murmured the words he had been aching to say.
“Love you, baby, to the moon,” he told her sleeping body.
Two Months Later
“Mom!” Lexie yelled up the stairs. “We’re leaving now!”
I hopped down the hallway, trying to put on my shoe without breaking my neck. I was late. Story of my fricking life. I reached the top of the stairs; Lexie and Killian were standing at the bottom. Killian had Lexie’s guitar case over his shoulder.
“You know the whole ‘don’t do drugs, don’t drink booze or you’ll be grounded for the remainder of your young adult life’ bit, don’t you?” I asked her and Killian.
Lexie nodded. “Gambling’s alright though, isn’t it?” she clarified.
I nodded. “Only if you win,” I deadpanned.
Killian chuckled slightly. Being a regular at our house the past four months, he was down with our brand of humor. And with our serious attitudes towards movie watching order, as he had learned in our Star Wars marathon last week. Idiot actually suggested watching it in episode order. I’d never look at him the same.