Abel stared at his woman. She had gone pale. His mother was talking to her, whispering into her ear, calming her. Harper glanced up, and he watched her flinch. Seeing that one action was like a kick to the gut. He wanted to hurt himself for making her so afraid.
“I thought you ended the rift with the Coltons,” Jacob said.
“I didn’t kill them all. I guess they’re strong enough to take a hit. It’s okay. James has been working with the police. They will be searching our homes soon, and they’ll come out with nothing,” Maddox said.
“You’re not worried about another backlash?” Abel asked. He couldn’t look away from his woman. She looked so frightened, so out of place. He’d done that by defending her.
“There will be backlash, but you’ve proven that you can handle yourselves. I want the protection increased at our clubs. What happened at the red zone cannot happen here, got it?” Maddox asked.
They all agreed. His mother got through to Harper, and they moved away from the carnage toward the main bedroom. He didn’t want her here, watching them.
“Someone had to have told them where you live,” Jacob said.
“They tortured Deidre until she gave them something. I’m not mad,” Abel said.
“You’re not? What else could they have gotten out of her?”
“Nothing. Deidre was a whore, but she was loyal. We had a deal. She ever get tortured, death imminent, she was to give them this location, and I would know they were looking for us. It was a failsafe for the whole of the Dentons. It’s why we will be claiming Deirdre’s body, and taking care of her kid. I promised that.”
“Is the kid yours?” Maddox asked.
“No. The kid is ten years old, and I didn’t meet Deirdre until she already had the kid. If it had been my kid, do you think he would be unclaimed?” He may have just lost his woman. Abel wasn’t interested in having his character thought badly of. Turning to look at his family, he shook his head. “I may be an asshole, but any child I had, I’d have claimed it. I’m many things, but I don’t abandon my family.”
“She knows,” Oliver said.
“No shit! We need to clean this mess up, and then I’ve got to figure a way to stop my woman from flinching away from me.”
He was angry, hurt, and filled with so much anguish. Abel wanted to hurt something. “I shouldn’t have kept this away from her.”
“We all tried to warn you. Do you think it was any easier for your mother? No, it wasn’t. She ran from me. Be lucky you’ve got a family here to support you. Also, your mother happens to like Harper.”
“We’ve got your back,” Damian said.
Abel took some deep breaths and pressed his thumbs against his eyes. The tears were flowing thick and fast, and he hated it. This was all too much for him right now.
“It’s okay, son,” Maddox said, moving toward him. His father wrapped his arms around him, and he just broke down. He hadn’t sobbed like this since his dog died when he was a boy.
“I’m not crying.”
“I know, son. I know.”
“I can’t lose her.”
“You won’t. We’re here.”
****
Harper stood in Charlotte and Maddox Denton’s garden as the cops rummaged through their house. She wore a thick cardigan, staying outside to keep out of the way. The last thing she wanted was to talk to anyone. After Abel killed those men, Charlotte had taken her home with her. Tamsin had helped to calm her down. She couldn’t sleep all that well because of the nightmares. It had been a couple of days since the incident, but she still wasn’t sleeping, and her stomach wouldn’t settle. She was throwing up constantly. Betty and Lara had called her, and Harper had finally snapped. She had withdrawn from college. Right now, she needed a break, and had contacted her professors letting them know she was taking a break.
“Hello, miss,” a man said.
She turned to see a man dressed in a suit. He was clearly the one in charge of the search party on her in-laws’ house.
Maddox and Charlotte had taken her into the dining room and told her everything. They had trusted their family’s legacy with her. Charlotte had told her the truth about her own troubles in accepting what her husband did.
Harper was happy that she finally knew the truth, even if it did terrify her. She also knew that her parents were told as well. Everyone had known but her. Abel had kept her in the dark, and yet, she even understood why.
“Can I help you?” she asked.