Guarding Forever

She stepped out of his grasp and spun around, putting her own hands on her lips. She faced him again with wide, frightened eyes and said, “Oh, no. Do you think he’s going to come after me? Johnny?”

He dragged her back into his arms. “He’d be the stupidest motherfucker in the world to try it.” The fiery look of rage spread across Gage’s face. Tipping her chin, he promised, “I’ll kill that son of a bitch if he comes near you.”

“I know. It’s probably the only reason I’m not freaking out like crazy.”

“Good. Let’s just relax for the night. I’ve already secured the house like a fortress over the past year, but I’ll hire more security to keep tabs on Cummings.”

“Thank you. I love you.”

“I love you more. I want you to know I’d do anything for you. I’d lay down my life for you. Come on, now. No more heavy talk tonight. Let’s go give Johnny a bath and then watch a movie.”

“Sounds wonderful.” In the back of his mind, Gage wasn’t thinking about anything else but getting his hands on Cummings. With all his experience, he knew that Cummings wasn’t the kind of guy to take losing sitting down. Gage would have to be on guard, ready to protect his family at all costs.

“Hey, my little cowboy. You ready for your bath?”

He cooed and clapped his hands, so Gage scooped him up as Hope started the bath. He took it in their large tub with a small tub inside for him, although soon they’d have to work on trapping him in because he was getting too big.

For the next twenty minutes, they played and scrubbed their little boy. Laughing and splashing water around with his chubby hands, Johnny took away the stress of their conversation, if even for just a small moment. Once washed and dried, they dressed their little man before feeding and burping him. They lay down their sweet sleeping boy, turned off the light, and turned on their monitor for his room before walking out.

Settling down in their living room, they clicked on the television to see an episode of Cake Wars just starting. “Ooh, I want to watch this.”

“If that’s what you want. I could always go for some cake.” Gage rubbed his rock-hard stomach before kicking his feet up onto the coffee table. Hope nestled her head on his chest and her feet under her bottom. Twenty minutes later, Hope looked up to find her husband sleeping.

She sat up straight, unhooking herself from his grasp. “Come on, big guy.” She nudged his shoulder. “It’s time for bed.”

“Ah, man, who won?”

“No one. It’s only the first round of eliminations. You fell asleep.” He stood and walked to the door to check the locks one more time.

“Satisfied?”

“Yes.” They slipped quietly inside their bedroom and went to bed, hoping that little Johnny would stay asleep at least until Gage had to wake up at four.

Chapter 3

“What the fuck is his problem?” Gage roared, slamming his fist down on Dax’s desk. He’d come to discuss what they could do to put Cummings back in his cell so that he could get some peace of mind, but as soon as he walked into Dax’s office, all he could think of was killing Cummings.

“What do you mean?” Dax asked, unfazed by Gage’s emotional overreaction. He’d met many angry victims that were pissed at the system for moving slowly or just flat out failing them.

He shook his head and fell back onto the chair behind him. “He hasn’t tried anything. He lives in a hovel in Austin, scraping by with little to no outside contacts for the past two weeks.” He thrusted his hands into his hair, tugging at it violently.

“I’d quit doing that or you’ll go bald. As for Cummings, I can’t tell you why, but let it be our saving grace. Do you really want him to come after Hope again?”

Gage nearly hopped out of his chair. Instead he leaned forward and snarled, “Of fucking course not. You know damn well he’s not done with Hope. He’s going to want revenge on all of us. I can’t let him get to my family. The thought of him hurting her drives me nuts.”

Dax could see that without a doubt. Long gone was the cool, calm, collected friend he knew, and in his place was a man on the edge. Love had a way of doing that to a man, especially when danger lurked on every corner. “I don’t think he’s done with Hope, but you’re just letting him mindfuck you.”

“I can’t be caught sleeping.” Gage ran his fingers through his hair again, adding to his look of a mad man.

For weeks, Cummings hadn’t even hinted at any reprisal. Having been a lawyer, he’d seen witnesses disappear, especially when murder one was on the menu. Cummings wasn’t fit for life in prison and would do anything to stay out of it. The thought of him coming after Hope or Johnny kept Gage from sleeping more than a few hours a night.