Page 83 of Fighting Salvation

“I love you, my good boys.” She slipped them each a peanut butter dog Kong and closed the door. Grabbing her supplies, she walked back in to see Niall sitting up with his iPad in his hands. “Novem?”

He nodded and smiled.

“How is she?”

“Doing okay. She adores Payton and Lopez and Addie too.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah.”

Val frowned. “So why do you sound like someone broke your favourite gun?”

He shook his head and rolled his eyes at her. “I don’t know.”

“Yeah, you do. Tell me.”

“Do you think I did right by her?”

Val was shocked by his question. “How have you ever done anything but right by her?”

“I’m her blood. Do you think I should have kept her with us?”

“And us raise her? Is that what you want?”

He shrugged and she handed him the pills when he winced. He took them and swallowed them down without water and she gagged and shivered.

“That is so gross.”

“No, letting those dogs kiss your face is gross.”

“Those dogs saved you.”

“Yes and I love them for it, but they’re not kissing my face.”

“Fine, whatever. Now stop stalling, it won’t work.”

“Stubborn.”

“Honey, I’m Italian. What did you expect?”

He lifted his arm and she settled against his chest. “Baby, I wouldn’t change a thing about you.”

“Again, stalling.”

He sighed and ran his hand over the back of his neck. “I just don’t want to shirk my responsibility. I don’t want her to think we don’t want her. That child has been through hell and I never want her to feel like she isn’t wanted or loved.”

“Niall, honey, she won’t. Lopez and Addie are doting on her and so are Astrid and Jack. But if you want her with us, then let’s make it happen.”

“You’d do that?”

Val lifted up so she could look at him. “Niall, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. If you want us to leave Shadow and raise Novem as our own, then we will. I can work with Eidolon and you can, I don’t know, write your autobiography.”

He chuckled and cupped her neck. “My autobiography would be a horror story.”

“Maybe but it would be a bestseller.”

“Hmm. Maybe we should speak to her and ask her what she wants to do?”