Page 107 of Short, Lethal & Claimed

“I know you do, sweetheart,” Jill said, unable to help but smile as she leaned down and kissed the top of his head.

“I miss Daddy,” Caleb mumbled sadly as movement next to her drew her attention to find Emma signing, “Me, too.”

“He’ll be back soon,” Jill said, ignoring the way that her hand trembled as she wrapped her arm around Emma and pulled her closer so that she could kiss the top of her head.

“You said that yesterday,” Shane pointed out on a bored sigh from the other side of the surprisingly comfortable bed.

“And I meant it,” Jill said, flexing her right hand as she tried to work the phantom pain out of it.

“Where did he go?” Caleb asked, tilting his head back to look at her.

“I don’t know,” Jill said, wishing that she knew what was going on.

He’d left without a word, not even telling Tomas where he was going. The only clue was the rage that tore through her and the sensation of her right hand being battered, leaving her absolutely terrified that something was going to happen to him. The only thing that was keeping her sane at the moment was the children and the constant pain shooting through her right hand, letting her know that Logan was still alive.

“I like Daddy’s bed,” Caleb announced with a satisfied sigh as he returned his attention to the book that they were reading.

“Is that why you’re hogging it?” Shane asked, sending his little brother a glare.

“Yes,” Caleb said with a solemn nod, making her lips twitch as she watched Shane glare at his little brother for another minute before muttering to himself and placed his book on the nightstand and dropped back against the pillows with a long-suffering sigh.

As soon as his eyes were closed, Caleb was closing his book and tearing a pained grunt from his brother as he climbed over him and placed his book on the nightstand before dropping back on the bed between them and-

“Kissy!”

-making her lips twitch as she leaned over and kissed his forehead. As soon as she was done, Emma was climbing over her and laying down next to Caleb.

“Goodnight,” Jill murmured softly, leaning over to kiss Emma’s forehead while she ignored the throbbing pain in her hand and tucked them in.

“Goodnight, Mommy,” Caleb mumbled sleepily as he curled up on his side and-

“Why?” Shane groaned when the move caused Caleb’s knee to lodge itself in Shane’s side.

“Comfy,” Caleb said around a yawn while Shane muttered to himself as he rolled over onto his side. Smiling, Jill rolled over onto her side and watched them as they fell asleep, still trying to wrap her mind around just how unbelievably happy they made her.

After her transition, reality set in and she realized everything that she’d lost, her ability to eat food, go in the sun, and walk into a church without bursting into flame, but it was the realization that she would never have children that broke her. It had taken her time to accept the fact that she would never have a family of her own, but then one day, she spotted an adorable little girl watching her and everything changed.

Now, she had three wonderful children that she loved more than anything and a mate that she missed so damn much that it hurt, Jill thought as she closed her eyes and felt herself relax when she found herself surrounded by Logan’s scent. Within minutes, she was lulled into a deep sleep only to awaken sometime later and found herself staring into a pair of silver eyes.

Without a word, Jill pushed the covers away and climbed off the bed, her eyes never leaving Logan’s as she reached over and took his hand. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before he released it and made his way around the large bed. She watched as he pulled the comforter higher, tucking in all three children before he leaned down and kissed the top of Shane’s head. When he stood up, he-

“Kissy.”

-smiled as he carefully leaned over Shane and kissed Caleb’s cheek. Once he was done, Logan walked back around the bedand did the same for Emma before he took Jill’s hand back in his and led her into the hallway.

He gently caressed the back of her hand as he led her down the hallway towards her room. Logan didn’t say anything as they walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind them. He-

“He’s dead.”

“What?” Jill asked, frowning in confusion only to swallow hard at his next words.

“Kitchener,” Logan said, making her stomach drop as she stood there, trying to make sense of what he was saying. She just…she just…

“He’ll never hurt another child again.”

“Angel?”Logan said as Jill slowly exhaled and-

“Good,” Jill said, clearing her throat as her gaze dropped to his hand while he stood there, struggling against the barrage of emotions that were slamming into him, shock, disbelief, anger and something else that he couldn’t quite make out. “What happened to your hand?”

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