How he looked at me this morning when we were lying in bed together. How he jumped into action the second I said my boys were in trouble last night.
The door to the clubhouse suddenly bursts open with a bang, and my head whips around.
Dread stands in the doorway, my boys in his massive arms.
“Oh my God!” I slide out of the booth and run across the room, my heart pounding in my chest.
Tommy’s eyes are half-open, but Jackson appears to be asleep. Dread carefully transfers Jackson into my arms, and I clutch him to my chest.
“Thank the Gods,” I sob, burying my face in Jackson’s hair. “Thank the Gods you’re safe.”
It only takes me a second to notice that something isn’t right. Jackson’s body is too limp, his breathing too shallow.
Fear grips my heart again. I look up at Dread, panic rising in my throat. “What’s wrong with him? Where were they? Who took them?”
Dread’s green eyes meet mine, and I can see a storm of emotions behind them. “I’ll explain everything later. We need Doc to check them over first.”
As if summoned by his name, Doc appears in the doorway. “Bring them this way,” he says, already turning to lead us down the hall.
We follow him to a room at the end of the hallway with a gurney in the middle. Dread sits Tommy down while I keep Jackson in my arms, unwilling to let him go.
Doc examines Tommy first, checking his pupils and vital signs. “What did they take?” he asks Dread, his voice clinical.
“Cough medicine,” Dread answers, his jaw tight.
My eyebrows shoot up. “Someone drugged my sons?”
Jackson stirs in my arms, his eyes fluttering open. “Mommy?”
“I’m here, baby,” I whisper, stroking his hair. “You’re safe now.”
“Daddy took us from the reindeer,” he mumbles, his words slurred.
I freeze, my eyes darting to Dread. “Eddie had them?”
Dread closes his eyes briefly before nodding once.
When he opens them, I can tell by the look on his face that there’s more to the story, but I don’t press. Not here, not with my boys barely conscious.
Doc finishes examining both boys, taking blood pressure readings and checking their reflexes. “They’ll be fine,” he announces finally. “Just sleeping off the buzz. They might be groggy for a few more hours, but there won’t be any lasting effects.”
Relief floods through me, making my knees weak. Dread’s strong arm wraps around my shoulders, steadying me.
“Thank you, Doc,” Dread says, his voice gruff.
Doc nods. “Keep an eye on them tonight, but they should be back to normal by morning.”
“Let’s go home,” Dread says softly in my ear.
I nod, too exhausted and relieved to do anything but follow his lead. He scoops Tommy back into his arms, and we make our way back outside to his truck.
To my surprise, Dread pulls up in front of his house instead of mine. I stay quiet and watch as he hops out, rounds the hood, and opens my door. “Watch your step, baby.”
I slide out and watch as he closes my door, then moves to the rear to get both boys out of the backseat. Taking my hand in his, he says, “Come on, boys. Let’s get inside.”
With the nightmare behind us, I follow him into his house. It’s like stepping into a different world compared to my rental.
“Boys,” Dread says, crouching down to their level. “There’s a game room upstairs with an Xbox. Why don’t you go check it out while I talk to your mom?”
