36. Adam

I sat beside Wyatt on a fallen down tree. “I can’t fucking believe this,” I muttered.

Wyatt slung his arm around my shoulders, his touch strong and solid. “Mike knows what he’s doing. Griffin and Kenan are right over there, and Rhys and Blake are on the other end of the only way out for Rich. That’s not even counting the police.”

“I love Tessa and Eric,” I said simply, my chest aching.

“Of course you do. One way or another, it’ll be okay.”

I took a slow breath. “I hate men like Rich.”

“Yeah. And we know men like him, including our grandfather who’s sitting in prison.” Wyatt’s tone was dry and almost matter-of-fact.

I paused internally for a moment and tried to call up that old anger—my childhood twisted, confused, and helpless anger. All I felt was a void.

“I’m pretty sure Rich will be in prison soon too,” Wyatt added.

My mind skipped back about a half an hour.

“Tessa, I love you,” I’d whispered in her ear. I’d brushed her tangled curls away from her face. I hadn’t wanted to let her go. At that moment, she had more strength than I did.

I took a shaky breath. She’d left with the police chief.

“How much longer do you think it’ll be?” I asked.

Wyatt glanced at his watch. “Ten minutes, give or take.”

I was having trouble focusing. I kept trying to picture Tessa’s eyes, the wisdom and courage held there.

Her love for her son was carrying her through this. I was feeling selfish. I wanted them both.

The wait felt endless. Out of the quiet came a loud shot. I recognized Rich’s voice. I leaped to my feet, every muscle ready to move.

Within a second, I ran through the forest with Wyatt hot on my heels.

Rich was at a distance waving a gun. I didn’t see Tessa at first. Adrenaline was pouring through me. My body felt nearly electrified as I looked around for her. I kept my gaze locked on Rich once I circled back around.

Just then, he raised his hand, and another loud shot rang out. Rich spun. There was a blur of motion, and Rhys was suddenly beside him. After a quick tussle, he snatched Rich’s gun and immediately emptied the bullets into the dirt.

Rich swore up a storm. I still didn’t know where Tessa was until I heard her voice. My heart literally felt like it might crack my ribs as it flew upward in my chest and lodged high in my throat.

My gaze circled until I saw her. I bolted to her side, ignoring the commotion of the police, Rich, and my brothers.

“Tessa!” I reached her, stopping beside her and instantly checking her over.

“I don’t know where Eric is.” Her voice was trembling.

“Here!” a voice I didn’t recognize cried out.

Spinning again, I searched out the voice to see a woman I vaguely knew, Barb, Rich’s mother. Eric was beside her, holding tight to her hand.

Tessa cried out and ran for Eric. She fell to her knees and folded him in her arms. I followed closely but gave her space. I knew she needed this moment. “Mom. I’m okay,” Eric insisted.

She rocked back on her heels and ran her hands down his cheeks before they landed on his shoulders. “Sweetie, I’m sorry.”

“Mom, it’s not your fault. Dad’s a jerk. I didn’t even know what he’d really done until we drove out here,” Eric explained.

Tessa clapped a hand against her chest, balling it tightly into a fist.

“Do you need a minute?” I asked.

Eric was starting to look scared as he stared up at his mom. She couldn’t even speak. “Hug her,” Eric ordered me.

I could definitely do that. I wrapped Tessa in my arms and held her as she shook.

Gradually, her trembling slowed. I glanced over her shoulder to see Rich’s mother comforting Eric. Obviously, I didn’t know Eric the way Tessa did, but he seemed remarkably okay. Considering he’d just shared that he didn’t realize what was happening until moments before this, I suppose that helped him.

“Eric’s safe,” I murmured into Tessa’s hair.

Her shoulders shuddered with her ragged breaths. One of her arms was banded tightly around my waist, with her other palm pressed flat against my chest. After a few more moments passed, she lifted her face to peer up at me. The look in her eyes nearly broke me. A combination of deep sadness mingling with fear and intense relief flickered through her gaze.

“Eric’s safe,” I repeated.

She glanced around, her eyes tracking to Eric immediately. He was gesturing wildly with his hands. Kenan and Rhys had walked over.

“He’s safe, and so are you,” I said.

She blinked and brought her eyes back to mine.

“I love you.” Those three simple words were my promise. “Now, go to him.”

I could feel her trying to gather herself together as she turned. She reached for my hand. I knew I needed to let her lead this, but I was heartened that she reached for me. She could handle all of this herself, but I wanted to be there for her, to be there for them.

When we reached him again, Eric looked up. “I’m fine, Mom.”

Still holding tight to my hand, she reached down to smooth her other hand over his hair. “I can see that. Tell me what you need. A hug?”

He blinked up at her, and I could see the tears shining in his eyes. With a soft sound in her throat, she released my hand and lifted him into her arms. She held on tight, telling him over and over that she loved him and he was okay.

The police had already gotten Rich out of sight, which was the best for Eric and Tessa. Eric finally lifted his head from her shoulder. She kissed him quickly on his cheek as he smiled at her. The storm of tears had already passed for him. I knew from my childhood that the trauma of moments like this could subside quickly.

The scars Rich had inflicted on Tessa and Eric would always be there, but they would heal. With the police handling the situation, the next span of time passed in a blur. They were placing Rich under arrest. Mike assured Tessa that they would argue against him being let out on bail.

When I looked at Tessa’s face a while later, the release of tension she’d been carrying for years at this point was evident. She looked exhausted, but the tight anxiety had faded from her eyes.

After checking in with my brothers and hugging all of them, I turned to search out Tessa again. I realized, with the momentum of the urgency ever since she had called me earlier, I didn’t know if she wanted me to be with her and Eric tonight.

She was stepping back from a hug with McKenna, who’d somehow materialized here in the midst of all of this. My sister met my eyes. “You take care of her.”

“As if there’s any question of that,” I said softly. Glancing at Tessa, I held her eyes. “Always.”

“Do you want me to stay with you tonight?” I asked her a moment later.

We were still surrounded by others, but Wyatt, Griffin, and Kenan had gotten Eric occupied with a game of trying to hit a mark on a boulder with a rock. While it seemed maybe out of tune with the past few hours, I knew Eric needed to focus on something other than the intensity and fear of these moments.