Safe Haven

“Pack?” he questioned.

“Yes,” Briar said with a smile, holding her hand out to us. Tallon and I moved to her side, his hand resting on her leg while mine squeezed her hand.

“The baby?”

“A fighter,” she said before she burst into sobs. We all huddled around her, wrapping her in a gentle hug so we wouldn’t disturb her wound.

“Just like their mama,” I whispered, kissing the side of her head. I couldn’t find the strength to make myself move away. I needed another minute to breathe in her coconut and guava scent like it was the only thing keeping me going. At this moment, it was.

“I’m okay,” she said between breaths. “I just… It was awful.”

“She’s a lucky one. The surgery was quick and without issue. We got all of the bullet out, and recovery won’t be too terrible. She’ll just be very sore as it heals, and she’ll need her bandages changed twice a day. Keep an eye out for extra redness or swelling and come back straight away if she gets a fever. Either way, we want to monitor them both for another night, two if anything seems off,” the doctor explained in a practiced, calming voice. “It was a shock for the baby and her body, so we need to take this slowly and carefully. Even when she’s home, she’ll need to take it easy and stay off her feet. At least until her follow-up appointment.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Wells said, shaking his hand before he left. We all turned back to Briar, who was looking exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes.

“Ellis?”

“He was fighting the nurses when we found him, so he’s alright,” we reassured her. She laughed, the sound filling the room. Seeing her talking and laughing was a balm to my soul. It didn’t cure my insane anxiety, but it definitely helped. That, and knowing that my mates and our baby were going to be okay.

“I was so scared. Ellis was hurt, and that asshole was trying to force me to live with him, so he could use me and the baby for a PR move.”

“He what?!” Wells growled.

“Graham already got in contact with a lawyer. They’re working on finding security footage,” I said, holding back the rest.

“Don’t hide stuff,” Tallon accused me.

“It’s not my information to tell,” I argued weakly, but one glare from Wells had the rest spilling out.

“He’s also checking to make sure we can keep him from gaining custody,” I finished, meeting Briar’s eyes. Hers flared with panic, the monitor beeping rapidly until Wells reached over and took her hand.

“That man doesn’t get to touch my baby or me again,” she said vehemently. “I’ll kill him myself, first. He told them to shoot me and specifically said to aim for my stomach.”

“God, I wish we had audio of that,” I said. “Otherwise, it’s his word against yours.”

“Beckham said if we take her to the charity ball and flaunt our relationship in front of him, he might slip. We’d have to record the whole night just to be safe, but at least we’d get solid evidence,” I said softly.

“I’ll do it,” she said without skipping a beat. “If Graham thinks we can take him down, I want in. I’ll do whatever I can to help. If you heard the same things I did from his mouth…”

“Like what?” Wells asked.

“Apparently, the doctor’s office had called him for more information,” she admitted.

“Did you tell the doctor he was the father?” I asked. She had been so tight-lipped it surprised me.

“I did. He has a genetic heart condition, so the doctor needed to be aware. Though I adamantly told them to not contact him for any reason. Isn’t that a violation of patient rights?”

“Graham will sue him too, and you’re not going back to that fucking doctor ever again.”

“Oh, I know,” she agreed. “I’m over being treated like this, so I’m fully behind suing him. Then taking down the mayor. I want it to hurt.”

“Damn, that’s hot,” Wells said with a wink.

“See? Strong,” I added with a grin. She blushed and hugged her stomach as best she could.

“I’m going to check on Ellis now,” Wells said before he stood up, but he didn’t walk out until he brushed a kiss to her forehead. “Don’t leave her side.” It didn’t need to be said since we wouldn’t be letting her out of our sight for a long fucking time, but I knew he couldn’t help himself. We were just glad that both of our mates and the baby were all safe.

But that did beg the question… What would be the mayor’s next move when he found out they were alive?