CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

MAV

Apparently, I'm an employee of Gage's now or something, because when he told Sebastian and I to get dressed and get the girls to the car, we did. He's a bit of a firebug, so when he decided to snag the gasoline from the shed to bury evidence in flames, I wasn't surprised in the least. After all, it wouldn't be the first time. Once the driver comes to get us, we all pile in the car and watch cautiously and quietly. It seems to take longer than Sebastian thinks it should, and he gets antsy. "What's taking so long? I should go check on him."

Stella grabs his arm. "No. That's how we lose people; by deviating from the plan."

Did pregnancy make her hotter? It must have, because I'd be fucking her in this backseat if my best friend wasn't running from a burning house holding his arm up. He gets in, and the girls start crying immediately.

"Let's go," he says to the driver, who is his employee. His left forearm is burned, and I don't know what the fuck happened, but it doesn't look good.

Stella stares at him with tears in her eyes. "Gage. You're hurt."

I know him well, so I know this calm facade is just that, a facade probably for the sake of our women.

"Hey, baby, no tears for me. I promise it looks worse than it is. I'm okay."

Lucy tells him probably what we're all thinking. "You need to go to A I'm not going anywhere."

Stella swipes at the tears on her face, and Gage tells her to switch spots with him. Once she does, he wraps his uninjured arm around her and kisses her on top of the head. "My beautiful, brave, little mama. You should not be worried about me after what you've been through."

As if it's all just hitting her now, she sobs into his chest, causing my heart to swell with emotion. I glance over at Lucy and pull her in my arms. Sebastian is sitting on the end and leans in to kiss her, while I hold her around her waist. We need to figure out this marriage thing, and soon, because I want to make this permanent. There is no single day that I want to wake up and not have either of these four people in my life. I know there have been times when people thought I was only fixated on Lucy. It's true we have a special bond, but it's not just her, not anymore. Every single member of our family has made their way not only into my heart, but my soul.

SEBASTIAN

The trip to the hospital was boring and long. I know they see more urgent cases first but, Jesus, seven hours? That's ridiculous. Luckily, Stella didn't have a concussion. She had a small cut on the top of her head, covered by her hair, but it wasn't deep enough for stitches. They did an ultrasound after finding out she was pregnant, and it was amazing. Our woman is seven weeks pregnant with our second child. I'm pretty sure it's a boy, even though the doctor said it was far too early to tell. A dad knows. We are all going to be fathers and that's fucking awesome.

We pick up some supplies on the way back to the hotel for Gage's burn, which he swears is minor. After getting everything laid out on the bathroom counter, I put the latex gloves on as he snickers, "If you want me to bend over and cough, you don't need gloves, baby."

I roll my eyes as I spread the antibacterial cream on my hand. "Take a deep breath, this will probably hurt."

When I begin spreading it on the burned portion of his arm he doesn't react, so he's either being honest about it not being terrible, or he's far better at disguising his pain than I am. After I finish with the cream, I apply three medium sized bandages.

"Fuck, Pretty Boy. You're a sexy fucking nurse."

I smirk at him. "Need a sponge bath?"

He runs his tongue over his bottom lip, playing with his lip ring before he groans, "If you insist, but I'd much rather a blow job. That would make me feel a lot better."

I chuckle because that's Gage being Gage. "Maybe later, but right now we need to check on the women."

LUCY

We're exhausted by the time we get home from the hellish day we've had, and the soul-sucking hours of waiting at the American A&E. Gage self-diagnosed his burns, like the arrogant ass he is, so I really hope he's right, and Stella, thankfully, isn't concussed, but she is beaten, sore, and hurting emotionally.

When we get back to the hotel for our final night before we can get back home, and thank god, because I'm so ready to be there again, Sebastian takes Gage off to patch him up, while Mav and I help Stella shower, and tuck her in bed. Mav's idea of helping me shower her includes showering the two of us too, so after we tuck her in, he turns to me and insists I get in bed too. Then he insists on sitting in bed between us, so he can ‘hold his girls he almost lost today'. His warmth is comforting, and his freshly showered scent is so familiar that I think it soothes both of us. That doesn't mean we don't both cry, but this man who'd once been a source of terror, has become our safe place, all three of them have, and I've never been more relieved to see anyone than when they came for us.

Will I have nightmares about how they tortured and killed that asshole? Naturally, but I also know that one of them will hold me until I fall asleep again and have better dreams. Any doubts I had during that ridiculous trip are well and truly forgotten. This is where we all belong. Together.

Stella's asleep by the time Gage and Sebastian join us, and they're careful not to wake her, even as Sebastian slides in beside her, to ‘protect her from that side too'.

"How's your arm?" I whisper to Gage, who shrugs carefully.

"It's just a flesh wound, baby. I'm way too manly to cry about it." I lean over to look at Sebastian, to see if he'll confirm otherwise, but he's too focused on stroking Stella's hair back from her face and kissing her temple.

"It's okay if you're in pain and need comfort, Gage. You know we will. You can squeeze in here with us."

"On her other side," Mav adds quickly. "I like you, but not like that."

"Have you at least taken painkillers, or should I get you some?"

Gage moves to sit in the bed beside me, putting his injured arm safely on my other side.

"Chill, little mama, I'm all good. Pretty Boy is an excellent nurse, and I'm fine. Do you need to talk about what happened today?" He tucks his arm behind me, and Mav grumbles as he gives him room to do so.

I shake my head, leaning forward to check on Stella again. She's now curled up in Sebastian's arms and looks perfectly at ease.

"She got the worst of it. That fucker… because she was doing a live video. I guess she thought it might help get us rescued or something."

"It did. That's how we knew you didn't… that's how we knew you were taken." Gage's jaw clenches for a moment, and I can feel the tension in his posture.

"That's how you knew we didn't what? Jesus, Gage, you thought we'd left you? I know this trip buttfucked all of us, but you need to know we never will. The three of you are our home, our safe place. You saved our lives tonight. You saved us."

It kills me that any of them think we could have even considered leaving them. Have we not said enough how much we love them? Gage's fears of anyone leaving him mean that he'll always suspect the worst, and even if he did this time, he didn't hesitate to save us.

"Gage, I love you. We all love you. We're not going anywhere, I promise. Ever."

Gage leans in to kiss me, cupping my face lightly, being so gentle, it's damn near impossible to believe he's the same guy who poured acid on a man's dick earlier tonight.

"Just so we're clear, I love you too, man, but not in a way that gets anyone's dick up my ass, got it?" For once, Gage completely ignores Mav's attempt to bait him, and keeps kissing me.