Pierce was going to make sure of it. Sixteen stitches in his elbow weren’t much—but they were caused by a bullet. And maybe that would buy those two innocent kids a better future.
The fool was on his way to the locked ward now, feeling his own bruises. From the softball bat his girlfriend had used to defend her sons. A gun against a ball bat. And this time, this time the bat had won.
There had been one more round in the gun when the responders had arrived. Pierce was wearing the results of that bullet now.
Damn it. His arm stung.
Sixteen stitches, but it could have been worse. He could have left Kai an orphan today.
If that woman didn't press charges, Pierce certainly would. Shooting a cop carried a steep sentence. He was going to make sure the charges stuck. See that asshole went to prison long enough for those kids to grow up safe.
Those kids deserved that more than anything. Pierce always hated when it involved kids.
Domestic violence cases infuriated him. And always had. He'd watched his best friend deal with that when they'd been kids—Pierce had finally figured out enough about what was going on to tell his own father when he'd been fourteen. Pierce's father had spoken with the local sheriff. His friend's stepfather had left town after that and never came back. Pierce's friend had changed—for the good. Banton was a pediatrician now. He'd made a life for himself. His two younger sisters had, too. Pierce had never forgotten that.
He'd seen far too many DV victims that could never say the same. Hell, that dumbass had been lucky the Martin County deputies hadn’t pumped his ass full of holes for his stupidity. It had just been that close.
His phone buzzed on the desk. Luc's name flashed across the screen. Pierce cursed. He was not really in the mood for Luc.
His brother-in-law was the biggest pain-in-the-ass Pierce had ever met. That was saying something—Pierce’s brothers were all almost as bad. Pierce considered himself the quiet, easy-going one.
And then there was Luc. The man who had captured Pierce’s only sister. Literally.
He’d just sort of scooped her up and kept her—after his enemies had blown Payton’s car up the first night she and Luc had met. Pierce was still coming to grips with that.
His sister had almost died because of Luc’s enemies. A billionaire always had enemies, Payton had told Pierce that, as if he didn’t know money brought the monsters out. It had taken Pierce a while to forgive Luc for what had happened to Payton back then.
But…Luc adored Payton now. There was no denying that. So Pierce tolerated the man, as much as he could anyway.
Pierce stared at it. Let it ring. Once. Twice. The vibration rattled against the wood, insistent, demanding. Well, Pierce was making the asshole wait. Luc got a bit pissy when people didn’t answer him right away. All that green had spoiled him in so many ways.
The phone went silent.
He waited. Luc would try again in about five minutes. His brother-in-law was a bit predictable lately. Besides, Pierce knew what he wanted.
It all had to do with Texas.
Well, Pierce didn’t want to think about that right now.
He had an hour until he had to get to the sitter and get his boy. He didn't want to be late—Kai got upset when plans changed. The kid had a lot of anxiety in general. They were working on that. On trauma Kai had experienced even before Pierce had known his son existed, and then a few months after, when Kai had almost died because of his mother. Only that she was dead now kept Pierce from going after her with everything he had for what she had let happen, what she had caused, for their little boy. Kai would be struggling with the PTSD from his ordeal for a long damned time because of her. Pierce didn’t know if he’d ever be able to forgive that.
Pierce had had his son for about eight months now. They were going to figure this out for Kai together. Kai was five now. And he still had the nightmares at night about what had happened with his mother. Pierce needed to be there with him more at night. That was the only way he knew how to help his son through the nightmares.
His phone buzzed again. A text this time. Luc was so damned predictable.
Call me when you get a chance. Need to finalize the details.
Texas was supposed to be their new start. That's what he kept telling himself. Kai could get the help he needed there—and Luc had offered Pierce more than enough money to pay for it. And…the house. Luc had told him and Kai that every security upgrade imaginable was in that house in Hughes Heights. After two years of working for Luc, living in that house—it would be Pierce’s outright. Free and clear. If he continued to work for Luc, Luc would handle all taxes and insurances for the property and whatever technology it contained every year. It was a sweetheart deal, and there was no getting around that.
All Pierce had to do was pick which of three houses he wanted. Then Luc would send in a team to get it ready. A four-million-dollar home in the most exclusive neighborhood in Finley Creek—his. Free and clear, just for babysitting Luc’s sisters when they went to the mall? While helping his son heal in the meantime.
Pierce should be doing cartwheels for this.
So why did he feel like this was a crazy mistake? Like his life would change almost instantly if he stepped off Luc’s private jet?
What if Texas made everything worse? Kai was already freaking, thinking alligators in Texas would get him now. His son was afraid of every possible threat out there now. Nothing Pierce told him changed that. They had some stability here—Kai liked his babysitter and his preschool teachers, though he struggled so much. Payton was three hours away to the west, his brothers Pryce and Prescott were up in Kokomo now. Peterson was over in Ohio, just north of Cincinnati. The other three were all within six hours from where Pierce lived now. They all came in occasionally, made sure to see each other when they can.
They were family. His son knew them now.
