Chapter 23

Chapter

Twenty-Three

March 25th

2:40 P.M.

Panther was breaking every speed limit that existed to get to his family as fast as possible. There was no way he was giving up on Elle and Ruthie, he would fight for them, prove to them that they and his son were the future he wanted. The family he wanted.

As soon as he got the information he needed from Marcia, he was in his car and flying down the driveway. His team were with him. His family.

He had no idea how he could have thought—even for a second—that there would be any sort of happy family with Marcia.

Simply put, he didn"t love her.

Which meant he could never have created the safe, warm family home he had wanted to give his son.

Never again would he be stupid enough to think that blood family was more important.

Now as he drove as fast as his car would go down the quiet road that led away from the compound, he prayed he wasn't going to lose everything that was important to him.

Since Elle's phone had cut off mid-call, he had no idea if they were close to her house or his. Depending on whether they were in the city or the quiet country road, it would affect how he and his team approached things. In the city someone would call the cops, who could arrive in seconds if they had been nearby, but he suspected they were in the woods somewhere. It was a much better idea to ambush someone where you weren"t surrounded by many unknowns. In the city those unknowns would be exponentially more than in the forest.

"Did you get a location?" he demanded as he took a curve in the road way too fast. He'd already set up a program to hack Elle's phone and pinpoint her location, he was just waiting for it to tell him where his family was so he could go get them.

"About two miles ahead of us," Rock replied.

"We should pull over about a half mile out, approach on foot," Axe said, already taking over the op even though this was Panther's very life they were talking about. Without Andy what would he have? Without Elle and Ruthie his life would be bleak. He needed to get the three of them back alive and in one piece.

It was a good idea, would allow them to assess the situation before they jumped in which increased the likelihood of getting everyone out alive, but anxious energy was buzzing in his system, and all he wanted to do was get there as quickly as possible. In fact, he'd love nothing more than to drive his vehicle right up to wherever his family had been attacked and slam it into whoever dared to hurt what was his.

So even though every fiber in his body was screaming at him to get to Elle and the kids as fast as possible, he pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road a minute later. His team wasted no time, they all piled out of the car, weapons in their hands, prepared to run the final half mile and scope out how bad things were before coming up with a plan to get his family out alive.

They hadn't done much more than get out of the vehicle and start toward where Elle's phone was pinging when they all froze.

Footsteps.

Not the quiet controlled steps of someone who was out here hunting, but the chaotic kind of someone running for their life would make.

Muffled cries accompanied the footsteps, and Panther all but sagged with relief.

He would know that sound anywhere.

Since they didn"t know who had ambushed Elle and the children, although he suspected it was someone associated with Marcia's debts, he had no idea how many people were there or how well trained they were. So instead of calling out to his son to tell him that daddy was here, he waited, and pounced the second his son ran past.

"It's okay, my favorite son, it's Dad," he said immediately, keeping his voice low so it wouldn't carry.

"Daddy?" Andy asked in a wavering voice that made his heart ache.

"Right here, buddy." Panther hugged his son tight against him and looked over to see that Scorpion had been the one to grab Ruthie. Although the girl wasn't struggling in his hold, she was pale, crying, and holding herself completely stiff as though afraid that even breathing wrong might get her into trouble.

The ache in his heart grew. The little girl had already been through so much and now she was hurting all over again.

Wondering if she would reject him given how he'd kicked her and her mother out of the only place they felt safe, he reached for her anyway. "Give her here," he said to Scorpion who immediately passed the child into his arms.

Instead of yelling at him, or telling to let her go, the little girl did the opposite. Her small arms wrapped around his neck and she began to cry as she clung to him. Andy was crying, too, and for several minutes Panther just stood there and held onto the kids, so very grateful they were there and they were okay.

Preoccupied as he was it took him a moment to realize that the kids were alone.

No Elle.

Glancing up to find his team had formed a protective circle around him and the kids, he realized that all this time he'd spent bemoaning never having had a real family as a kid, he had been surrounded by the best family anyone could hope for.

"You guys were so brave, but I need you to be brave a little longer," he said to the kids. "Where's Elle?"

"Mommy said we had to do whatever she said with no arguing," Ruthie said.

"Dad, Elle told us to run because the man wanted to take me. I heard a gunshot as Ruthie and me were running." Never in his life had Panther seen the serious and mature expression that was on Andy's face. He might be only a year older than Ruthie, but he understood exactly what Elle had done for him and the price she might have paid for it.

The sacrifice Elle might have made for him had fear stabbing like a million ice picks into his skin. A decillion ice picks he thought with an ache inside him that would never leave if he didn"t get her back.

"You two are going to stay here with Scorpion and Trick while I go look for Elle," he told the kids, handing them off to the two men he knew would make Ruthie feel most at ease. Men he knew would protect his son and the little girl he one day soon wanted to officially make his daughter with their lives.

After kissing both kids, he left them behind and went to find the woman he loved.

As soon as he got her back, he was going to tell her how much he loved her. Who cared if they had only known each other a bit over a month? Actually that was longer than Tank, and Trick had known the women they were now with before they had declared their love.

Even before they reached the spot where Elle was they could hear a commotion. A man's angry voice yelling.

"You think I can"t find two stupid kids in the woods? You didn"t save them, all you did was make sure that instead of leaving the girl behind, I"m going to take her with me. She's pretty and I"m sure she'd sell for a bundle. And you, you"re a beautiful woman, I think you'd fit in real nice at the boss' club."

The man continued to taunt Elle as Panther crept closer. He could see her car stopped pretty much in the middle of the road, there was some smoke coming from the engine and he could see the front windscreen had been shattered.

As he got closer still he could see that Elle was on the ground, propped up against the side of the car, a man was on top of her.

"Maybe I better give you a work over now, show you what happens when you don't follow orders," the man continued. Elle's top was already ripped open exposing a pale pink lacy bra. As awful as it was to have the woman he loved being pawed at by a man who was threatening to rape her, it was the blood smearing her left arm that almost stopped his heart.

She'd been shot.

Protecting his son.

Put herself in the path of a bullet just to give Andy a chance at escaping.

If he didn"t already love this woman, that right there would have convinced him. How could he not love a woman that loved his son that deeply?

"I think I'll enjoy teaching you a lesson." The man shifted, covering more of Elle's body with his own, and for the second time in weeks he watched someone try to take something from Elle she wasn't willing to give.

People had better stop molesting his woman.

Angry, and every bit as lethal as the animal he was named for, Panther leaped at the man touching Elle.

March 25th

2:50 P.M.

For the second time in less than two months, Elle had been prepared to allow herself to be raped in order to protect her daughter—and this time Andy as well—and buy time for Rafe to get there.

For the second time in less than two months, mere moments before she was violated, the pressure on top of her was suddenly … gone.

Only this time, instead of a body dropping onto her, blood pouring down upon her, her would-be assailant was thrown sideways as another body connected with his.

Elle had to wonder for a moment if she'd hit her head when she'd fallen, or lost too much blood from what she was positive was a superficial gunshot wound, because she could have sworn it was an animal that leaped from out of nowhere.

A panther.

Dressed all in black, golden eyes glowing with rage, her panther attacked the man who had been moments away from raping her.

Dazed and relieved, she sank back against the car's hard side, closing her eyes and doing her best to ignore the sounds of the fight. The kids were safe. If Rafe was there that meant Ruthie and Andy were okay because she knew he would have secured them first before coming after her.

As he should.

The kids always had to come first.

It wasn't until a hand gently cupped her cheek that she blinked open eyes that suddenly felt much too heavy. Rafe was there, looking at her with what certainly appeared to her to be love shining from his gorgeous eyes.

But he didn"t love her.

Couldn't.

Because if he did, he couldn't have just throw her and her daughter out of his home when he knew it was where they felt safe.

Didn"t seem to matter how many times she told herself that, she couldn't be angry with him for doing what he thought was best for his child because she was angry with him.

Angry because her child had been hurt.

Angry because she had been hurt.

Angry because it wasn't the house that made her feel safe but the man inside it, and he'd taken away that security as though he didn"t know what he was doing.

But he did know.

And he'd done it anyway.

Which was why she couldn't seem to let go of her anger.

Anger which was now bubbling up under the surface, ready to explode at any second. Elle didn"t explode on people, she kept her feelings and emotions to herself, tried to be the good girl, to do what others expected her to do, and always do the right thing.

Only for the life of her, she didn"t seem to be able to stop what was coming.

"You made us leave," the words burst out of her with a strength that completely belied what she was feeling, which was exhausted and strung-out.

Rafe winced, but his hand didn"t move from where it cupped her cheek. "I know. I"m sorry."

"You knew Ruthie and I needed you," she continued completely ignoring his apology. Later she would listen to it, accept it, and do her best to move forward. But not right now. Not right now when she was scared, and tired, and shaking so badly her muscles were aching.

"I told you that my parents split up when I was young, created new families, and neither of them were interested in me. When Marcia found out she was pregnant with Andy I wasn't thrilled at first," he said honestly, seemingly unconcerned his team were standing around listening. "If I had kids I wanted to give them the perfect home. Everything I didn"t have when I was a kid. It was why I married Marcia even though I know now I never loved her. It was why it hurt so much when she left. That perfect life I wanted for my son was gone."

Elle could sympathize with that. She, too, had wanted to give her child the life she'd never had. Two parents who adored her, lots of family time, making happy memories, playing and spending time together, she never wanted her daughter to feel unwanted like her only goal in life was to follow in her mother's footsteps.

Still, even though she could understand, had even felt the same way, the anger raging inside her didn"t dim.

"I adjusted, gave Andy everything I could, but at the back of my mind, I guess I always felt bad about it. When Marcia showed up I didn"t want her there, I didn"t want to see her, I didn"t want to ask you to leave, but I felt obligated to try to give Andy everything I didn"t have."

She knew all of that, or at least had suspected it given the texts he'd sent.

The problem was, she could understand on some level where Rafe had been coming from, but if their situation had been reversed she would never have just kicked him and Andy out and taken her ex back. She would have sat down with Rafe and talked things through, at the very least explained where her head was at.

But he hadn"t done that.

He'd just acted.

Thrown her and Ruthie out knowing they would have to go to a hotel or back to the house that scared them both.

"I didn"t want you to go. I don't love Marcia and I didn"t want her back. I was miserable without you and felt like part of me was missing. I just … felt stuck. Trapped."

For once his presence wasn't a calming influence on her. If anything, it felt like gasoline on the fire of her anger. "Then why didn"t you talk to me?" she yelled in a voice that was very not Elle Cavey. It was too loud, too shrill, too angry. If both her parents and her ex could see her now, they would tell her she was overreacting, being a drama queen.

Fear of judgment always had her keeping her emotions bottled, but now she felt free. Maybe it was because she knew Rafe would never judge her, that he wouldn't hold an outburst against her. That even though he'd done something that had hurt her, he still cared deeply for her. Maybe even loved her.

"No excuses, honey. I should have. Absolutely. It was a mistake not to. I wasn't being a good partner to you, wasn't treating you like you were on my team. I messed up. Big time. I allowed my own insecurities and issues to trick me into believing I was doing what was best for my son but I wasn't. I was being selfish. Giving him what I needed when I was his age not what he needed now. I can"t take it back—even though I wish I could—and I know I have no right to ask, but I"m hoping my mistake hasn't cost me a chance at a future with you and Ruthie."

He sounded so sincere, and he was completely owning the fact that he had hurt her, and wasn't pretending otherwise. He had also articulated why he'd made the choices he had, and he had texted her every single day telling and showing her that he cared.

That he wanted her.

But it didn"t fix everything.

Desperately she wished it did but it didn"t.

A sob broke free even as she tried to take it back. "I"m still mad at you."

A half smile wiped away some of the anxiety from Rafe's face and he cautiously reached out to take her hand. "So is that a yes or a no on giving me another chance? I'm really hoping it's a yes because I really want Rock to take a look at your arm, you"re bleeding all over the place."

Oh yeah.

Somehow she'd forgotten about the gunshot wound, in comparison to sorting out her life and her and her children's future, it seemed insignificant. Although, now that Rafe reminded her it did hurt. A lot.

"It's a I don't trust you now and its going to take a lot of time and work to get that trust back but I"m not completely ready to shove my feelings for you aside and walk away. I guess since I"m having your baby I should give you another chance," she agreed.

Rafe's eyes about bugged out of his head. "Having my …?" His gaze darted from her stomach up to meet her eyes and back down to her stomach. "You"re pregnant? What? How? When? I … a baby? We're having a baby?"

Closing the distance between his hand still hovering in the air between them, Elle laced their fingers together. "Birth control must have failed, maybe because of the antibiotics, I only found out this morning. I wasn't going to keep it from you, I swear, once I brought Andy home I would have talked with you. Are you … okay with it? Having another baby, I mean. With me. It means whatever you want with Marcia won"t happen." Suddenly her anger fled leaving her shaky and uncertain.

Instead of answering, Rafe grabbed her and hauled her onto his lap, banding his arms around her. "I don't want Marcia. Even before I knew that she put Andy in danger. Before I knew Andy ran away, I was going to come and see you, I couldn't stay away any longer. You"re my future, Elle. The past is staying where it belongs. No more obsessing over my childhood. I have Andy, and now I have you and Ruthie, and a new baby." One of his hands covered her stomach, his fingers lightly caressing her bare skin. "Whatever it takes, however long it takes, I will earn back your trust, and Ruthie's."

Maybe it was time for her to leave her past behind as well.

Her parents might not have planned a child, then decided to attempt to mold the one they got anyway into someone who would follow in their footsteps, and her ex might have just wanted a slave, but Rafe wanted all of her. She couldn't hold the mistakes of others against him, he was his own person with his own insecurities. He would make more mistakes, she'd make plenty, too, but as long as they acknowledged them, talked things through, listened to one another, and were open with each other, they would never have to feel alone or unwanted again. The time and work it would take to rebuild trust and build a solid foundation for a future would be worth it.

"Mom!"

Elle looked up at the sound of Ruthie's voice, and the next thing she knew both kids were clambering into the embrace she and Rafe were sharing. Her kids, all three of them, because she knew she would love Andy every bit as much as Ruthie and this baby.

Every bit as much as she loved Rafe.

"To the future," she said, putting her hand out.

Rafe's immediately covered it. "The future."

"To the future," Andy echoed, adding his hand to the pile.

"The future," Ruthie added, then giggled and put her hand on top of Andy's.

Sitting in the arms of the man she was falling in love with, with two kids on her lap, surrounded by five big, tough warriors, Elle finally felt like she had found where she belonged. Never again would she feel like she had no one at her back, that she was doing everything all on her own, now she had people who would support her, love her, and be there for her.

Her family.