“Enjoy this place, Sera. You won’t be living here much longer.”
I’m half out of my chair when the caption of the legal papers catches my eye. Lucas hasn’t filed to overturn the will. The lawsuit papers request a custody determination and ask for the appointment of a guardian ad litem. Essentially, they want to take Asher away from Sera. Those fucking bastards. I crush the papers and charge out of the office, but Lucas and the other woman are gone. Only Sera is left in the foyer, hand over her heart, white as a sheet. She totters and then starts to fall. I grab hold of her and lift her to my chest.
“That’s Asher’s birth mother,” she whimpers.
“I know.”
“What do they want?” she asks, but the tears in her eyes tell me she already knows.
“Don’t cry, darling. I’m here.” And I will save you and Asher from the wolves.
16
SERA
Jericho holds me while I weep. This can’t be happening. How can life be so damn cruel? My whole life I’ve been alone, and then I was gifted with Asher and Michael. Now they want to take them both away from me.
“No one is taking Asher from you, sweetheart.” Jericho whispers into my ear. I want to believe him so badly, but life is never kind to me. “Your tears are killing me.” He cups my face in his hands, making me look into his eyes. “This is why Michael made sure I was here. I’m going to protect you both. I promise.”
“We could run,” I suggest. It’s the only thing I can come up with at the moment.
“If that is what it would take, then yes, we could disappear, but it’s not going to come to that.” He sounds so sure. I want to have the same faith as he does.
“Why are they doing this? She never wanted Asher. Can we pay her off? I don’t care. They can have everything. I don’t need any of it as long as I have him,” I plead. Jericho swipes at my tears.
“They will get nothing.” Something dark flashes in his eyes. It’s a look I’ve never seen before. Which is saying a lot, since I thought he disliked me at some point. But that was nothing compared to what I’m seeing right now.
“Don’t do something that will get you taken from me either.” The last thing I need is him being some knight in shining armor and going to jail for it. Asher and I have already lost too much. I couldn’t bear to add Jericho to that list.
“Let them see what happens to someone who thinks they can take you from me again. You’re mine, and so is Asher. End of story.” I know this is absolutely the worst time to be getting turned on, but that’s exactly what is happening here. Jericho’s possessiveness tends to have that effect on me.
“I love you.” The words slip right past my lips. I can’t contain them anymore. Not after this. I, more than anyone, know how quickly life can change. I don’t want another second to go by without Jericho having heard those words from me.
“Good, then you won’t fight me on this next part.”
“What?” I shift in his lap so that I’m facing him completely. It doesn’t go unnoticed by me that he didn’t say those words back, but it shouldn’t matter.
You can’t only give love to demand it back. That’s not how it works. What if he’s like Michael and can’t get that deep? They are cousins. I find it hard to believe, though. Not with the passion he’s shown me when it comes to us.
“Michael was wise with how he set up the will. When he made it, he appointed me to allocate your money. I thought—” I cut him off.
“That Michael thought I’d burn through his money?” I shake my head. As odd as I found what Michael did, I never thought it was that. The only thing Michael and I ever fought about was that I would hardly spend any money.
“I was an asshole with a broken heart and a chip on my shoulder. You’re not that kind of girl.” Did he just say a broken heart? I know he said so much more, but my focus lingers there. “He was worried they would come for you. Now you couldn’t give them the money even if you wanted, but he still kept it so you would be more than taken care of.”
“He knew I’d hand over every penny if it meant they would leave me alone,” I whisper in understanding. “But what do you mean about fighting you on something?” I circle back.
“We’re getting married.” I gasp. I push on his chest, needing to get out of his lap. Jericho’s hands grip my hips. He turns, pinning me to the sofa beneath him. “You don’t want to marry me?” Tears start to spill down my cheeks again. “You did it before.”