“Lyrius!” KO called my name as he tossed me on his shoulder.
“KO.”
“I got you,” he said. His hands were everywhere, checking me, rubbing the knot on my head, and pulling me against him.
“Cherry is Victoria,” I blurted, still trying to process it all. KO’s entire face hardened. I thought he was about to turnaround and go looking for her himself. Instead, he cupped the back of my head and pulled me closer.
“I got you, baby. I got you.”
“No!” Chassidy screamed, and I lifted my head briefly and spotted Jaylen with his gun pointed at Victoria’s head.
“Jaylen.” He looked over. “Don’t.”
“Lyrius . . .” His jaw tightened.
“Please.” For a second, nobody moved, and then Jaylen lowered his gun. “Let the police handle it,” I said as the sirens echoed in the distance. “Dakoda?” I asked, looking around.
“He’s safe,” KO assured me, and I buried my face in KO’s chest. His arms tightened around me, and for the first time all night, I finally felt safe.
“Daddy! Be careful!” I looked over my shoulder to see Dakoda standing in the middle of the living room with both hands on his hips like a damn shift manager. “Be careful with my box of dinosaurs.”
“Boy, I got it.” I shook my head.
“Those are extinct.” A laugh escaped my mouth as I carried the last box of things from Lyrius’s apartment through my front door.
The last two and a half months had been a blur of therapy appointments, press, police interviews, school meetings, and trying to figure out what life looked like after everything that had happened. The craziest thing was that Dakoda had somehow turned into a little celebrity overnight. Between the fight, thekidnapping, and that interview he gave to the sports channels, everybody knew who he was. It got so bad that kids were stopping him in the middle of class to ask for an autograph. I was a little happy it had happened because it helped Lyrius decide to quit her job and move to Azalea. Dakoda was going to finish kindergarten in private school at Azalea Prep.
For the first time since finding them, it felt like we were building something instead of surviving it. Lyrius and I had talked about getting a new place and starting fresh, but in the end, we decided this was already the best neighborhood in Azalea County. The house wasn’t the problem. It just needed Lyric and Dakota’s touch.
“Dad, you almost dropped it.”
“I did not.” I gazed at Dakoda. He was about to get the damn dinosaurs tossed in the trash.
“You did.”
“Boy, if you don’t take this box upstairs and unpack your dinosaurs before I change my mind and leave them outside.” I grinned.
Dakoda gasped then snatched the box out of my hands and took off toward the stairs. “They’re going to get Ali on you.”
I shook my head and headed toward the kitchen. Lyrius was standing by the island unpacking Dakoda’s dishes when I found her. The second she bent over to reach into another box, my hand landed on her ass. I couldn’t resist watching that big motherfucker jiggle.
“KO.” She jumped.
“What?”
“Would you stop?”
“Never.” I pressed my body against hers, backing her into the counter, and a smile tugged at her lips.
“Dakoda is literally upstairs.”
“Exactly. Upstairs.”
She laughed and shook her head. I stepped behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. For a second, neither one of us said anything. I just held her. After everything we’d been through, I found myself doing that a lot. Just holding her, making sure she was really here.
“You okay?” she asked softly, and I kissed the side of her head.
“Yeah.”
