“How’s your head?” Reaper asked.
“Fucked up. I killed a woman tonight. Put a bullet in her head. I felt nothing. I wanted to rip Hughes apart, and I would have if it weren’t for the police. I’m not done with him. Not by a long shot.”
“I would like you and Catarina to come back to California for a bit. You both need time to reacquaint Colin, and you won’t be able to do that in Chicago with Hughes there. Let your cousin handle him until you have your head on straight.”
“I need to finish him.”
“And you will, once you have the whole story.”
“What do you mean?”
“We can talk about that once we’re home. Right now, you need to get your head right because the second you walk through that door, you are no longer a single man, Player. You will be a father, and your woman is going to need you now more than ever.”
Nodding, I looked at the door in front of me and took my first step towards my future.
Standing there, with my brothers surrounding me, I stared at the sight before me. Sitting on the bed was Catarina rocking Colin as she sang softly to him. His little arms hugged her neck tightly. Slow tears gently fell down her face.
My whole body shook at the sight before me. Not for what I had just done, but for the immense love I felt radiating through me. Never in my life had I seen anything so fucking beautiful than my woman holding our son.
The fear I was feeling just moments ago fled.
Moving closer, I watched, enraptured by their embrace. My son’s head snuggled in the crook of Catarina’s neck as she lovingly rubbed his back. I could barely hear her soft voice as she held onto our son for dear life.
Kneeling before them, I stayed silent as I took them both in.
I wanted this moment seared into my mind for all time.
My heart pounded, settling into a rhythm of joy I hadn’t felt in a years.
“Thank you, Reggie.” Her voice broke through the raw emotions surrounding me. “I can’t thank you enough for this. For bringing him back to me.”
I was silent for a long moment as I drank her in. Her beautiful eyes glistened with tears, and this time they were happy tears, and when she looked down on him, her tears turned to pure joy and relief.
“I told you I would get him back, sweetheart. I said I would do anything for you. He’s our son, Catarina. For you both, I will always do what needs to be done. I love you both so much.”
“I love you too, Reggie. So very much,” she said, brushing a kiss on the top of Colin’s head. Fuck, he looked so small. How I ever created something so pure, so beautiful, I would never know.
Gently pulling him away from her, she turned him in her lap. He resisted for a minute, but her encouraging words eased his fears. “It’s alright baby. I want you to meet your daddy.”
My son looked up at me, and when our eyes locked, I felt as if someone kicked me in the stomach as I stared into my own eyes. He was magnificent. His shaggy blonde hair ruffled around his face. He was indeed the spitting image of me, right down to the little dimple in his chin.
I couldn’t stop staring at him, even when he reached out and lightly touched my face. I knew what he was seeing. The same thing I was. It was like looking in a mirror.
“Hi buddy,” I whispered, a tear falling down my cheek. “I’m your daddy.”
Catarina softly cried, rubbing her face in his hair.
“Can I hold you?” I asked, not wanting to pressure him, but when he reached out for me, I gathered him in my arms, hugging him close to my heart.
Standing up, Colin didn’t pull back as I moved his hair away from his face. I wanted to get a good look at him. I needed to make sure he was okay. Looking to Healer, my brother nodded. “He’s perfect Player. Not a scratch on him.”
Nodding, I found myself swaying as I held him in my arms. My brothers all watched, no one saying a word as they let me have this time with my son.
Holding him in my arms, my whole body reacted. Every cell, every organ cried out, claiming him as mine.
My blood.
He was my son.