Page 103 of Otto: The Hawthornes

Without a word, Noel shot toward me, wrapping her arms around my torso, her forehead pressed against my neck. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” she whispered.

“I missed you,” I replied, my eyes watering as I kissed her hair.

There was a good chance that I wouldn’t see her again for a very long time. Even after my parents found out I was still alive, there was no way they’d let her visit me, not when I was marriedto Otto. She was sixteen. She wouldn’t even be a legal adult for two more years and who knew if she’d be brave enough to try then.

“I’ll come back,” she whispered, reading my mind. “I promise. Titus will bring me.”

She seemed very sure of that and suddenly I was very sure that this wasn’t the first time she’d snuck off with Otto’s little brother.

“You need to be careful,” I warned, pulling away from her.

I’d been deliberately refusing to believe that my dad would try to blow me up. I couldn’t accept it. But as I stared at my little sister, the truth hit me in the face like a bucket of cold water. Hehadplanted those explosives and if he’d done that to me, she wasn’t safe.

“Don’t do anything that’ll get you into trouble.”

Noel rolled her eyes.

“Promise, Noel,” I said sharply, my hands digging into her shoulders. “Promise.”

“I promise,” she gasped, yanking away from me.

I looked at Titus, rage simmering under my skin. “Stay away from her.”

Titus’s eyes widened.

“Get her back to the library, son,” Tommy ordered.

“I love you.” Noel threw her arms around me again and hugged tightly before letting go almost as quickly.

“I love you, too.”

“Name your baby after me, okay?” She grinned, even though her eyes were filling with tears.

“I will.”

“I love you,” she called again over her shoulder as she and Titus passed through the front door.

As soon as the door closed behind them a gut-wrenching sob escaped my mouth.

“Esther?” Otto called, stepping toward me.

“She’s alright, bud,” Tommy murmured, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as I gasped, struggling to control my breathing.

“Doesn’t look like it,” Otto shot back.

“She just had to send her sister back to that nest of vipers,” Tommy replied, rubbing my back. “And I think that’s sinkin’ in. Give her a minute.”

“They tried to blow me up,” I said, straightening as I glanced up at my father-in-law. “They actually tried to kill me.”

“Glad to see you’ve caught up.” Tommy grimaced. “Sorta.”

“It’s not safe for them to know you’re okay,” Otto said, sitting down with a sigh. “You get that now?”

“You think they’ll come after me?” Why? “I was just collateral damage, right? To make sure you couldn’t get your stuff back.”

“That’s what we’re thinkin’, yeah,” Tommy replied, giving me a little shove toward Otto, who was looking a bit worse for wear. “But better safe than sorry.”

“She won’t say anything,” I choked out, sitting next to Otto. His arm shot out instantly and jerked me against his side.

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