Page 143 of Once A Crime Lord

“What? What are you trying to say?”

Her mother said one word in a shaky whisper filled with pain. “Pat.”

Her heart stalled in her chest. Her father. Her mother loved him more than life itself. Of course, his name would be the first one on her lips. She bowed her head and tried to think of what to say. Her mother made urgent noises as she tried to say his name again. Her insides rebelled. She couldn’t look into her mother’s eyes and admit what she’d done.

“Lyla.”

Her mother sounded a little stronger but still racked with so much pain. Lyla raised her head. Her mother was watching her with tear-filled eyes.

“Pat,” she said.

Lyla shook her head. Her mother closed her eyes and averted her face. Lyla ground her teeth against the slap of hurt. She hadn’t even told her mother that she was the one that pulled the trigger.

“M-mom? Do you need water or—”

“Leave.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but one glance at her mother’s broken body made her obey. She kissed her mother’s brow and walked out of the room.

“How is she?” Gavin asked.

She collided with his chest, and he hugged her tight. He kissed her temple.

“She’s alive, Lyla. That’s all that matters.”

“She asked about Dad,” she said against his chest.

“What did you say?”

“I just shook my head. I couldn’t...”

“You did what you had to, Lyla.”

“But he was my dad.” She swallowed hard. “I can’t tell her.”

“She has a long recovery ahead of her. That’s enough to deal with right now.”

Gavin wrapped her securely against him. They stayed that way for a long minute. She thought of her father’s last moments, the fallen men in the sandy pit, and her mother’s uphill battle. The knowledge of what was to come weighed heavily on her shoulders.

“How are we going to do this?” she whispered.

“One day at a time.”

She looked up at her husband and saw that despite all that occurred, he didn’t look weary or uncertain. He was focused and ready to take on the world. He would never back down and would protect his own with his last breath.

“I love you,” she whispered.

His eyes heated. He cupped her jaw and kissed her long and slow. She clutched at him and felt his lips curve against her mouth. He hauled her into his arms and walked out of the ICU.

“Gavin, what...?”

“We’re exhausted, and I need to hold my daughter.” His gaze slashed down to her. “We’re spending the next week in bed. I don’t give a fuck what comes up.”

Angel snorted as he and Blade fell into step behind him.

“We’ll do what we can for your mom, but I won’t let you feel guilty for Pat’s death. I would have done him in myself and made him suffer,” he said as he stalked through empty hospital corridors. “We’re alive, and that’s all that matters. Vega’s gone, along with most of those who have been conspiring against me for years. Fuck ’em.”

He walked into the chilly night and deposited her into the back of the SUV while Blade and Angel slid into the front. He pulled her onto his lap so she straddled him. He looked at her, the only illumination that of passing streetlights.

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