We’re ushered out of the car and into the elevator, two huge bodies bracketing us right up until the moment the doors slide open and a fluffy gray feline is clawing at my leg.
I huff out a laugh, bending over slightly to lift Pancake into my arms. “Did you miss Mama?” I murmur, burying my face into her soft fur. I’m rewarded with a headbutt and a purr, a sound I didn’t know if I’d ever hear again. “My sweet girl.”
Laken reaches for Pancake, giving her a scratch between the ears, which instantly puts her at best friend status.
Honestly, I wish being human was more like being an animal. Things seem so much simpler.
I don’t allow her out of my arms until we reach the couch, where Mom and Riley sandwich me between them, tears rollingdown their cheeks, and I have no choice but to let Pancake down, or she would be crushed.
“Thank God you’re okay.” Mom sniffles, her hold on me tighter than any hug I can remember from her.
“I’m okay,” I say softly.
“You can’t do that to me again!” Riley reprimands. “I just got a sister I actually like, you can’t go and leave me.”
I scoff. “You love your sisters, you just don’t have anything in common with them.”
“Exactly!”
I shake my head but allow myself to melt into their embrace.
These are the moments I thought I’d lost forever. When I was lying on the concrete floor, sweating out whatever the hell they drugged me with, I was preparing myself to never be held by someone I love again, and I vowed to myself that I’ll never take it for granted again.
I’ve wasted too much time, and I have no intention of wasting another second.
I glance over Mom’s shoulder to where Laken stands awkwardly with Nico a few feet behind her, looking at the girl like a lost puppy.
Good lord, does he have it bad.
I’m happy for him. He deserves to find his perfect match.
“This is Laken,” I say. “Laken, this is my mother, Mary, and my sister-in-law-slash-best friend, Riley.”
Mom doesn’t hesitate to tug the perfect stranger into her arms, giving her the motherly hug Laken clearly needed if her rough sobs are anything to go by.
There’s nothing like the safety of a mother’s arms, regardless of whether they’reyourmother’s.
“Lancaster?” Riley murmurs to me quietly, and I nod in confirmation.
There are more questions in her eyes, but she doesn’t voice them, instead pulling me against her.
“I really need you to never do that again,” she murmurs, emotion rife in her voice. “I don’t want to be stuck putting up with Cruz by myself.”
A watery laugh escapes me. “I’m surprised you didn’t kill him being stuck alone in another country for weeks.”
“It was rough.” She smirks, but she and I both know that Cruz is everything to her, and although they had a rocky start to their marriage, they’re now the happiest couple I’ve ever met.
Colten wraps an arm around my waist and tugs me against him, pressing a kiss to my temple. “It’s going to be a while before I can let you out of my sight.”
A smart-ass response plays on the tip of my tongue, but I swallow it. Because honestly, I doubt I’m going to be okay with being anywhere other than right here for the foreseeable future, especially when Grant and Jay are at large.
“What are you going to do with your stalking tendencies if I’m always with you?” I laugh softly.
“Oh, I’m sure I could get creative.”
The doctor comes and goes, declaring both Laken and me healthy other than some dehydration. He took some blood from each of us to identify what we were drugged with, but he didn’t seem concerned.
It’s not until he’s gone that Colten and Nico relax enough to sit down.
