34. Jace

He was thanking his lucky stars that Nash and Damian had been working at the party. What would have happened if Nash hadn’t seen her?

“We called nine-one-one and they have an ambulance close by that they’re sending. They’ll get here quicker than we can get to the hospital, and they’ll be able to treat her,” Zane told Nash.

“Baby, this is going to hurt for a second, but it will make you feel better,” Jace said.

Lifting up her dress to her thigh, he stabbed the epi-pen into her leg and waited as the medication flowed into her.

As soon as he pulled the pen away from her leg, she sucked in a breath, and he noticed her eyes seemed to focus.

“That’s it, baby. Just breathe. Breath for Daddy. We’ve got you,” Jace said.

Zane was now holding her in his arms, cradling her and talking to her quietly.

“What is all of this?” a woman’s voice screeched.

Jace knew without even an introduction that the woman was Ruby’s mother. A crowd of people followed her out to the foyer as the sound of sirens approached.

“Ruby had an allergic reaction and we had to administer her epi-pen. An ambulance is on the way to treat her further,” Jace said as calmly as he could.

The plastic looking woman looked Jace up and down with a disapproving expression. He smiled at her, not giving a shit what she thought of him. Turning her gaze to Ruby and Zane, the woman narrowed her eyes.

“Who are you and why are you holding her like she’s a baby? I told you not to make a scene over your silly allergic reaction,” her mother hissed, quietly enough that the people standing behind her couldn’t hear.

Ruby stared up at her mom in shock but didn’t say anything as the woman turned and waved her friends back down the wide hallway.

Tears flowed down their little girl’s cheeks, making Jace feel such rage that he could barely see straight.

EMTs rushed into the entrance of the house, surrounding Ruby and pushing the men back to give them space to work.

“I’ll be right back,” Jace said.

Following the path he’d seen Ruby’s mom walk, Jace turned and looked around the enormous ballroom. Who the fuck even had ballrooms in their houses anyway? What was this, the mid-evil days?

“You don’t deserve your daughter,” he thundered.

The entire room went silent as every head turned in his direction, including her mom’s.

“You almost killed your daughter tonight. She’s severely allergic to peanuts, which has been an allergy she’s had since she was a child, and you couldn’t seem to remember such an important fact about the one person who is supposed to be the most precious to you.”

“You and your husband use your money and your power to force her to live a life that she doesn’t deserve. You’re more worried about your social status and your image than the mental and emotional well-being of your only child. You’ve neglected her all her life and left her in the hands of strangers to raise her.”

“If you even took a second to get to know your daughter, you would know that all she’s ever wanted is your love and attention, and you would realize how fucking amazing she is. Because she is goddamn amazing.”

Jace stepped further into the room and realized Zane was right next to him, moving forward.

Narrowing his eyes, Jace continued, “How dare you tell your daughter to cut off her hair just to attend this atrocious, tacky party. And threaten to cut her off financially if she doesn’t do what you tell her. You haven’t allowed her to have any meaningful contact with the outside world because she doesn’t fit into your little box. Well, guess what, your box is bullshit.”

“She is bright and sweet and caring, and she has more class than either of you. And the best part is, she now belongs to us.” Jace motioned toward Zane and then himself. “We will love her and cherish her and care for her in a way you lousy people could never seem to do. We will give her everything she needs without conditions. And you people will never be a part of her life again unless you pull your disgusting heads out of your asses.”

Her mom gasped and looked to her husband, who had come to stand beside her.

“George, get security,” she hissed.

“Security won’t be helping in this matter. I’ll be tearing up the contract and returning your deposit,” Damian said from behind Jace and Zane.

Another gasp escaped the woman. “She’s just being dramatic! She’s always been such a dramatic child.”

“She was turning blue when I found her! She couldn’t fucking breathe!” Nash roared.

Oh, shit. God help the person who crosses Nash.

“We’ll be moving Ruby in with us first thing tomorrow. The keys to her SUV will be left in the apartment. We’ll take care of her from now on,” Jace said coldly.

“What the hell does that mean? You her pimp or something? Is she slutting herself out to you two?” her father asked.

Both Jace and Zane sucked in a breath, and then Jace stepped forward until he was only inches away from her dad.

“If you ever talk about our girl like that again, I will fucking end you,” Jace ground out, pinning her father with his gaze.

The older man opened his mouth as though he was going to say something, but then seemed to think better of it.

“Now if you’ll excuse us, we are going to go take care of the woman we love and make sure she gets the medical care she needs so she can continue breathing. I hope you all have a nice night, and maybe when you head home after this, re-evaluate your friendship with these monsters,” Zane announced as they turned to walk out of the room.

“Where’s Ruby?” Jace asked Nash and Damian.

“Hudson, another one of our security team, is with her, and the ambulance is giving her medication now before they load her up in the ambulance,” Nash told him.

Jace and Zane hurried back to her and let out a sigh of relief when they saw her sitting on a stretcher with a lollipop in her mouth as she jabbered on to the other security detail.

“Really? A lollipop?” Zane asked Hudson.

The large man shrugged. “She was sad and I didn’t like seeing her cry.”

Jace chuckled and shook his head. Seems all Daddies had one thing in common. A soft spot for sweet Littles.