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“Family recipe,” Heidi said.

I stood up to thank her, but I ended up pulling her aside for a quick minute. “What are the chances this is permanent?” I asked. I knew she wasn’t a doctor, but she’d know more about these things than I would.

Heidi gave me a kind smile. “Not likely, Devon. Lucid days are rare, but they do come around every now and then. Chances are, she’ll revert back to her former state soon.”

“Can we prolong it? Like… until my wedding?”

She smiled again. “Probably not, but you never know. Stressful events can be a trigger, so steer clear of those, but it could be something as simple as sleep. If she falls asleep, her mind might reset and she’ll be different when she wakes up.” Heidi shrugged. “My advice? Just enjoy the time you have.”

I sighed. “Alright. Thanks for everything, Heidi. You wanna stay for dinner?”

“Can’t. I have some patients to go see. But thanks. It’s nice to see her smile.” She squeezed my shoulder, gave everyone a wave, and headed out.

I sat down with my family. Holy shit, my family. This was surreal. I had my fiancé, our brothers, the parents we had left, and myself. I didn’t want to take a single second of this for granted, so I sat back like a goon and admired everything around me while Maddox watched me.

Happy. Genuinely happy.

“Don’t tell me my invite got lost in the mail?”

My blood turned hotter than it ever had before, and my jaw clenched so hard it ached. My survival instincts kicked in, but my protective side kicked in harder. Standing in front of my mom, I glared at the intruder interrupting our one night with her.

“What do you want, Jim?”

Of course he’d show up now. Of fucking course. Maddox stood with me, one hand clamped around my wrist to keep me within arm’s reach and the other on my mom’s shoulder, ready to throw her back if my dad tried anything. I’d never seethed so hard. I’d never been so angry and so afraid at the same time. Not like this.

He stepped onto the deck, a gun in his hand and a crazed look in his eyes. There was a general weariness about him I’d never seen before, not even when he was at his lowest. I didn’t trust that dire look because it meant he failed, and this was his unthought-out backup plan. This was a revenge mission because we won something over him.

“Stay back!” Dad shouted when Nate tried to take a step forward. “Sit down!” His voice shook as hard as his hand. It made him twitchy, and I didn’t trust twitchy with a trigger.

“What do you want, Jim?” Seth asked, positioning Naomi behind him.

When Dad waved the gun around again, Nate moved to Mom’s other side and Maddox moved to mine. We all sat back down, waiting to see how this would go. How were we going to get out of this? We outnumbered him, but he had a damn gun and nothing to lose.

“I want what’s mine,” my dad seethed. “I know Harris has it and I want it back. Get it for me or I’ll kill your brother.” He looked at me, pointing the gun at Nate.

Why did our dad hate us so much? We were his sons. Nate always assumed it was something prideful, like he was the father and he was supposed to be more than us. Well, we were nothing, but we had friends and family, and maybe that’s what hit him hardest. His pride couldn’t take it that we were loved and he wasn’t. I didn’t know—probably never would—but this day would not end with me or my brother dying. That much I knew for sure.

“We don’t have any pull with Harris,” Nate told him, trying to diffuse the situation. “We don’t even know if he has it.”

“He has it,” Dad said, shaking. “And you’re going to get it for me.”

“Okay,” Seth agreed. “We’ll get it if you leave right now.” Naomi was shell-shocked and crying, but my mom hadn’t said a damn thing. Was she still here or had she checked out?

Dad’s gun waved around in the humid air and he let out a manic laugh. “Leave? This looks like a family celebration. I asked where my invite was, didn’t I?”

Oh, he’d finally lost it. All of it. His mind, his marbles, his sanity, his tether to humanity. If I thought my dad had been a monster all my life, this was him completely unhinged. He had one Hail Mary chance to get what he wanted, and this was it. I glanced at Maddox, but his eyes were on my dad with an unwavering level of focus. I knew he’d jump in front of me if my dad fired that gun, so I needed to make sure it didn’t go off. Nate trembled, red-faced and angrier than I thought him capable.

“Am I not invited to the wedding?”

“We’ll get you the shit from Harris,” Nate said. “Just go.”

“I ain’t going anywhere until I get what’s mine!” Dad pointed the gun at Nate again, cocking it.

I stood at the same time Maddox did. He tried to pull me behind him, but I stood my ground, needing to be the one to save him this time. Xavi protected my brother for me, shifting closer to Nate to be yet another Kane to block a bullet for a Sawyer.

“If I go, I’m taking you with me as collateral, boy,” Dad spat at Nate.

“Don’t. Touch. Him.” Xavi’s chest heaved.

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