Double Tap (Code 11-KPD SWAT 2)

While she was offering her body to make money on a street corner.

When the cops had been called, the stepfather had turned his gun on the child, thinking that would get him out.

But it hadn’t.

The Kilgore SWAT had been there.

SWAT was always there. Even when they had to put their life on the line to do it. Those kind of situations didn’t always turn out as well as the one did today.

I smiled as I turned down the road that our house was on. Liking the view of my children in my rear view mirror. All fast asleep in their seats.

I pulled into my driveway and smiled when I saw Nico outside swinging on the porch swing.

I got out as quietly as I could and walked over to my hero.

“Hey,” I smiled. “I heard what happened. Are you okay?”

As I came within reach, he pulled me down into his lap and wrapped his arms around my waist.

His lips skimmed along the outside of my breast as he answered. “No. Yes. I don’t know. The kid was fucked up. Nobody thinks he’s going to make it.”

I didn’t doubt it.

A child as small as that wouldn’t survive that being done to him for a prolonged period of time.

“I’m sorry, Nico,” I whispered against his forehead.

He squeezed me tighter. “It’s not your fault, baby love. How’d the appointments go?”

I started scratching Nico’s head as I told him about how his son’s had to go through hearing as well as vision screenings today. How Bell had thrown up all over the exam room and we’d had to move during the middle of the exam. And how Bell had been put on yet another antibiotic after they’d worked her in to the schedule and discovered she had strep throat.

He sighed. “Guess it was a good thing she went then, wasn’t it?”

“It was fate,” I agreed.

That was usually how our life went, though.

Things we didn’t want, happened, but every single time, it worked out in the end.

I was happy.

My kids were happy.

My husband was alive and in good health.

My brothers and sister in laws were fantastic.

Nico’s parents were doing well.

There was seriously not one thing I could ask for that I didn’t already have.

My life was everything I’d ever wanted it to be, and Nico had made sure of that.

The one and only thing we ever fought about was how many kids we would have.

He wanted to stop at three. I wanted as many as God would give me.

For now, we were leaving it up to fate.

Although fate would be delivering us three more little miracles. One after the other. For a total of six children.

A perfectly rounded, magical number.***Lolita

My heart was full to bursting.

I watched as my son, his wife, and two of their three kids ran around their backyard, playing soccer.

It was three against one. Boothe, Bourne, and Georgia against their daddy.

“I think he’s finally met his match,” Sol said, coming up from behind to wrap me in his long arms.

I melted into him, happy. So happy.

I’d only thought I was happy when my kids were born.

But now, seeing my kids with kids of their own, I was full. Seeing my grandbabies running and playing with their father, something I’d used to do with him when he was a young boy, made me so exultant.

Boothe, the four year old love bug, executed a perfect sliding tackle and cleared the ball from his father’s feet.

It was done so flawlessly, so amazingly, that my jaw dropped open.

Then Bourne took the ball up the field as not just Georgia, but Nico stared in shock.

“Holy guacamole!” Nikki exclaimed in astonishment.

Boothe and Bourne passed the ball expertly to each other until they reached the small goal Nico had built in the corner of the fenced in yard.

Then, like they’d done it a million times before, Bourne lobbed it perfectly. Booth expertly headed it into the goal. Then they celebrated. Just like their father did by running around the goal area with his hands over his head.

My eyes went back to Nico to see his expression, and I could do nothing but laugh as Georgia laughed in his face.

Nico had a chagrined expression, as if he’d finally realized how obnoxious he looked before when he celebrated excessively like his sons were now doing.

“You think that’ll make him cool it the next time he scores?” Sol asked me.

I snorted. “Yeah right. Our boy? He’ll do it till he can’t score anymore.”

Sol laughed. “You’re probably right.”

“Are you happy, mami?” Sol asked me.

I looked up into my husband’s eyes and nodded. “Yes. I never thought this would happen after the Valentine’s deaths. I saw it when they were younger. Hoped that something would come of it when they were both of age. But then that senseless act happened, and I thought they’d never find it again. I’m so glad they found their forever together. No two people deserve it more.”

We turned as one to watch as Nico ran towards his sons, scooped up each one underneath an arm, and ran yet another circuit around the goal area.

Each boy laughed, and Bell, one not to be left out, started crawling as fast as her arms and legs could move her.

Nico caught sight of her as she crossed half way across the field, and dropped his boys, taking the ball, and running towards her.

He scooped her up and ran with her, dribbling the ball slowly all the while the boys chased after him with abandon.

Full to bursting, indeed.