Page 89 of Bulletproof Love

Two simple words, but they reach into my body and fill every hollow space that years of loneliness had claimed. I’d forgotten what it felt like to belong somewhere, to have people claim me as their own. The fierce protectiveness in Leon’s voice, the pride in their eyes. It’s everything I never knew I was missing. I blink rapidly, fighting back tears.

“Thank you,” I whisper, “for letting me in.”

“You’re Jasper’s girl and Blake’s sister. That makes you ours.”

A family. It’s what I’ve craved for so long that I don’t even know how to process their words. For years I kept my walls up high, convinced that control meant safety. That if I never let anyone close enough to hurt me, I’d never have to feel that crushing sense of abandonment again. My parents left. My mother died. My father chose a life of liquor and law. Never staying in one place too long, staying busy. It kept my heart from breaking.

But looking at these men, at Blake, at my family, I realize control was just another wall I built. Another way to keep myself from the terrifying, wonderful feeling of belonging. Of being claimed and loved exactly as I am.

Jasper.Please God, if you ever cared about me, make him pull through. I can’t lose him. I make my way over to the side of his bed again, taking in every detail of his face. His perfect jaw, lined with stubble. His straight prominent nose leading to full lips. Those dark lashes and thick brows. This face I’ve grown to need more than air.

I don’t know how it happened. How this insufferable, beautiful man slipped past every defense I’d so carefully constructed.

The weight of it has me sucking in a gasp.I love him.I love him in a way that pulls the air from my lungs. I love him the way I swore I’d never love a man. The type of love that means giving up control. Being vulnerable. Risking everything. Somehow the only thing that scares me is not being able to tell him.

I brush a kiss across his cheek as my heart races, and cross past the guys to get some air. They ask if I’m okay, but I can’t find the words to tell them that despite this situation, I’m great. I finally feel whole.

Blake, Damon, Leon,him—they’re the family I need.

I want it all. To fight, protect, and love each other without any guarantees.

My whole life, I’ve been searching for my birth parents, desperate to understand where I came from. But maybe finding where I belong matters more than finding where I began.

“Hey, you alright?” Blake’s eyes widen as she heads toward me. I must look like I lost my mind as a smile lifts the corner of my lips.

“Yeah,” I say, swallowing the emotion clogging my throat. “I love you, Blakey.” I wrap her in a hug, feeling the overwhelm of gratitude for my best friend.

“I love you too.” She pulls back to look at me, and feels my forehead with the back of her palm.

“I’m fine, I promise.” I smile to show I mean it.

“Just checking. You went through it tonight. We all did.” She’s quiet for a moment while the events of the night must play through her mind. “But good news,” she forces her tone to sound upbeat, “they’re moving Jas to a different floor soon. He’ll be here for a few days, but the consensus is that he got super lucky.”

“We all did,” I say.

Not Ray or his guys though.

Now that we know Jasper will recover, some of that anger comes to the surface again. Realization hits me—Bailey.

I hurry back into the room with Blake close behind. “I forgot to tell you.” The words stumble out of my lips faster than my brain can conjure them. “Alex—he said, before he fell—he?—”

“Take a breath, we’re right here,” Blake says. I glance between Blake and Jasper’s unconscious form and blink.

“Bailey’s in London. Or at least, she might be.” All three sets of eyes widen, urging me to go on. “Before Alexander fell, he said some things… about her. We were right, Orlov is involved. They have her, or had her… I don’t know.”

“London?” Leon asks. “You’re sure?”

“Yes.” My head swims trying to think of Alexander’s exact words, but most of it is a blur already. “I wish I could have pushed for more but?—”

“I’ve been thinking about this since you told us he’s dead. His uncle won’t let this go,” Damon cuts in, his voice low. “You realize what killing Alexander means? Ivan Orlov will burn the world to get revenge.”

Blake grabs his hand. “With everything that happened, I hadn’t thought of Ivan.”

“Ivan built his empire,” Leon begins. “Politicians, judges, traffickers across the world. They all answer to him. Alexander was just a small player compared to his uncle.”

My body goes cold as Damon adds, “And now we’ve killed his blood. His heir. On top of everything else.”

“So we go to London,” I say. “Find Bailey before he moves her or worse.”

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