I raised the shotgun. “Where is she?”
He nodded toward the basement. “Stubborn. Like your mother.”
Red flooded my vision. I fired—taking his shoulder, spinning him to the floor. Not dead. Not yet.
I ran for the basement.
Julia lay on a mattress in the corner.
I dropped beside her, pulling her close. She was cold. So cold.
“I’m here,” I choked. “I’m sorry.”
Her eyes fluttered. “Jax…?”
“I’ve got you.”
“Lily…?”
“She’s safe.”
Peace softened her face. “She has your eyes.”
Her grip weakened. “Protect her…”
Then she was gone.
I came back upstairs empty.
The brothers held Pike down, begging now.
“You’re not family,” I told him. “You’re a memory.”
I didn’t use a weapon.
Two days later, the storm had passed.
I sat in a private clinic waiting room, bruised and hollow. Ethan stepped out and nodded. “She’s awake.”
Lily sat up in bed, Shadow asleep at her side.
“Is my mommy coming?” she asked.
I took her hand. “No, sweetheart.”
She nodded, quiet and brave.
“Who are you?” she asked.
I placed the silver heart in her palm. “I’m your dad. I was lost… but I found you.”
She squeezed my thumb. “Shadow likes you.”
For the first time in my life, I wasn’t just surviving.
I was living—for her.
