“Stop it, Riley. Please stop.”
“It’s his … time … to take … care of you.” Riley did his best to smile. “Love you.” He stroked her cheek, and Jacob saw the brotherly affection there. A second later, his hand fell. He took a breath, and all was silent.
“Riley? No, no, no, Riley.”
The doors opened, and Jacob grabbed Lou, pulling her off the body and holding her.
Riley was dead, and he wasn’t coming back.
****
Later that night, Lou sat in the waiting area at the hospital with her knees drawn up against her body. She was tired, but she felt nothing. Part of her was empty inside, and when she stared down at her hands, she s
aw his blood, her twin’s. Abel and Gideon were watching her, and Jacob was taking care of everything. She felt nothing other than relief that she still had him. He was the only rock in her life, the man she loved.
But Riley was dead.
Dead.
Her throat was thick, and she rested her head against her knee.
“Oh, honey,” Charlotte said, coming to kneel in front of her.
She couldn’t even bring a smile.
“Hello.”
“Has she seen a doctor?” Charlotte asked.
Abel shook his head. “There’s no need for her to. This is how to—”
“To deal with losing a loved one,” Lou said.
“Would you like to stay with us tonight?” Charlotte asked.
“What happened to my parents?” she asked.
“They’ve been taken into custody,” Maddox Denton said. “Would you like us to see about getting them released?”
She shook her head. Her parents were the reason Riley was dead. Lou couldn’t order their deaths. She wouldn’t want that on her own conscience, let alone that of her man. She shook her head. “I want you to make sure they can never get out.”
Jacob entered the room. She felt him, and looked up to see the concern in his eyes, and the guilt. No, she didn’t want his guilt. This was not his fault. She needed his love, and to know that everything was going to be okay with his arms wrapped around her.
“Everything is done.”
“You don’t want your parents to get out?” Charlotte asked.
“I want them to rot in prison for the rest of their lives.” She got to her feet, and Charlotte stood. “Thank you for your concern, but I’m going to go home to bed.” She moved toward Jacob, taking hold of his hand. Her rock. He squeezed her. “Thank you all.”
Lou didn’t remember the drive home, nor did she recall the shower, and how she got to sitting on the end of the bed with a brush in her hand. Jacob came into the room, kneeling in front of her.
“I’m so sorry, baby, I broke my fucking promise.” He placed his head in her lap, and she stared at his bent head, frowning.
“What?” She stared into his eyes as he lifted up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’ve got nothing to be sorry about.”
“I made you a promise to keep Riley safe. It was the only thing you asked of me, baby. That’s all you wanted, Riley to be safe.”
“You think he died because of you?”