Chapter Fourteen – Grayson
Grayson's hands clenched and unclenched as he watched the video feed from the camera connected to Henry's vest. He and Arabella sat in a café across the street, a laptop propped between them. Arabella had wanted to have a better setup, but Kennedy had only called them with the drop-off point an hour ago and they had just barely made it to the park on time.
"I don't see her," Arabella mumbled to herself. "But she might wait until after we're gone to pick up the cash."
His stomach twisted. "What if—"
"She'll come and she'll tell us where the twins are," Arabella interrupted. Her gaze was fixed on the screen.
"But if she gets what she wants—"
"Shh." Arabella pressed a finger to his lips, though her gaze didn't move from the screen. "She'll tell us where the twins are. She's not stupid enough to cross me now."
Grayson clutched her hand, grateful for her reassurances. She ran her thumb over his knuckles, and a soft sigh escaped from her lips. Despite what happened between them, he wanted to kiss her. It was ridiculous. Henry was right, it was Arabella's doing that they were here now in this situation. What happened between them was a lie. He shouldn’t be having these feelings – like he just wanted to pick her up and carry her to bed and forget about everything that went wrong between them. It was making him crazy.
Even if there weren't those lies hanging between them, she had made it clear that she didn't actually want anything. Hadn't she? He shook his head to clear his racing thoughts and pulled his hand away. There would be time to figure this out after his children were returned safely. Not before.
"There she is," Arabella whispered urgently.
A mousy-looking girl in a loose tank top and tight biker's shorts jogged over to where Henry was walking. Grayson tensed, his hand seeking out Arabella's once more. Kennedy stopped at a bench and pretended to do a few stretches before falling into step next to Henry. Her position was so that the camera couldn't catch her face.
"Is that my money there?" she asked in a bright, chipper voice.
"Give her the bag, don't say anything," Arabella coached. "Just keep walking."
He turned to face her. The growl was obvious in his voice when he spoke. "Where are Olivia and Hudson?"
Arabella groaned. "No! We went over this. You don't push her. Give her the bag, now."
"You're not getting this money until after we know where the children are."
"Stop!" Arabella hissed.
Kennedy grinned. "Is that so? Well. They're safe and sound. You'll find them here."
She dropped something to the ground. Henry bent over. Arabella gasped. Grayson didn't see what happened next. Arabella flew to the exit of the café and charged towards the park. The sound of gunshots came from both the laptop and from outside. Grayson threw himself from the booth and crashed through the door. He may have broken it, but he didn't care. He overtook Arabella. Henry lay on the ground as Kennedy's form ran away from him, carrying the bag of money.
Grayson wanted to go after her, but his friend was lying motionless on the ground. He skidded to a stop by Henry and was relieved to hear his friend moaning. There was no sight of blood, but Grayson still ripped off Henry's shirt, looking for the injury.
Moments later Arabella was next to them. She bent over Henry, then shook her head.
"Vest stopped it," she said. "You're lucky she didn't aim at your head, you idiot!"
"I feel like I was kicked in the chest by an ox," Henry gasped out.
"Getting shot close-range will do that." Arabella snatched the thing Kennedy had dropped and peered at it. It was a key with a tag attached to it. She read what the tag said and stood. "Storage locker. You should get him to a hospital in case he cracked a rib. I'm going after Kennedy."
"I'm going with you." Grayson scrambled to his feet. "My children could be with her."
Arabella shook her head. "Or she could be setting another trap."
Grayson grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. "Don't you remember how you survived last time?"
She hesitated and licked her lips. Her glance went to Henry, and the other dragon laughed.
"This isn't bad," he grunted. "Broken rib? It'll heal in no time. Don't use me as an excuse."
"I'm going with you," Grayson added, his voice low. "They're my children."
Arabella ran her hands through her hair then nodded. "Okay. Just do what I tell you to. No running off this time, got it? If Kennedy and I end up fighting, you need to take the children and run. Understood? No waiting around. Just get them out of there."
"Yeah," Grayson agreed, though his brow furrowed at her earnest expression. "I understand."
***
The storage locker was easy enough to get to. The information to find it and get in was all written on the tag attached to the key. Grayson kept the gun Arabella had given him in his hands and they walked down the line of lockers. It was an indoor locker, but worry still twisted Grayson's gut. Were his children warm enough? Had Kennedy fed them? What if the locker was air-tight? Dread filled him as they got closer to the locker number Kennedy's key would open. What if they weren't there? Or worse. What if they were there, but . . .
"Arabella," he blurted, hands shaking, eyes wide.
She knew what he feared, he could see it on her face. She swallowed hard, then with a shaking hand unlocked the door. Grayson's heart slammed into his ribs as she raised the locker door.
Inside was a single crib sitting in the middle of the room. The black hair of his children could be seen through the slots, but when he tried to run in, Arabella grabbed his arm, pulling him back. He remembered her earlier admonishment and stayed where he was, though it was physically painful not to run to his children. She slipped in at the side and viewed the crib from every angle, checking it closely.
"You can come in," she said, and both of them rushed to the crib.
Olivia and Hudson were inside, curled up against each other, eyes closed, chests rising and falling softly. Tears poured down Grayson's face as he tried to gather both of them into his arms. They had a single blanket over them and a stuffed bear at their heads, and that was it. Arabella picked up Olivia and cradled her while Grayson hugged Hudson to his chest.
"Wake up, Daddy's here," Grayson said, tears running down his face. "Wake up, Hud."
"I think they've been drugged," Arabella said softly, checking Olivia's vitals. "We have to get them to a hospital right away to make sure they're alright."
Grayson nodded. He hurried out of the locker, Arabella close behind. He had to resist the urge to just fly them to the hospital, but Arabella couldn't hold both unconscious children while riding on his back, so they drove. Hudson was beginning to wake by the time they got there, and Grayson hugged him tightly, sobbing in relief.
If he hadn't gotten them back, he didn't know what he would have done. There would have been nothing left for him to live for.
"Dada," Hudson mumbled. "Dada."
"I'm here," Grayson whispered, his heart so full of relief to have his children back he thought it might burst. "I have you."
Hudson smiled and drifted back to sleep. Grayson smiled up into Arabella's eyes. She smiled back and a rush of gratitude filled him.
It didn't matter what her past was. She had already gotten shot because she didn't want the twins to come to any harm. She had already turned against the organization that trained her to get them back. And it didn't matter if the reason she came to him was a lie.
The love they had found afterward was real. And he was going to help her see that, no matter what.
***
There would be legal repercussions to kidnapping and threatening to torture Senator White, but Grayson didn't care at the moment. He was still in jail right now, and by the time charges were brought against Grayson and Arabella, they'd have a plan to confront them. Right now he just wanted to be with his children.
It had taken them hours to bring the twins home from the hospital since the police were called and they had to tell their story a hundred times. Only after the investigators who were looking into the original kidnapping came by and confirmed Grayson's story that they had been taken were they allowed to bring the twins home.
Grayson, as anxious as he was to have his babies safe and sound, understood their precautions. Bringing two drugged toddlers to the hospital was bound to raise red flags, and the staff was only looking out for the twins' well-being. But they were safe and there would be no lasting damage from the drugs.
Once they were back home, Grayson spent hours just holding his babies, listening to Olivia chatter. Kennedy hadn't hurt them at all besides drugging them, and neither seemed to have any psychological trauma from the ordeal. At least, nothing that was readily noticeable. Both went to their beds just fine when the night started to fall. Grayson disabled the elevator, locked the windows, and made sure the house was secure. Kennedy was able to get in the first time because she had convinced the guards she was a maid. That wasn't happening again. Tonight nobody was getting into this house unless they could fly.
"I'll keep watch from outside," Henry promised. "I've got a great tree picked out already. Anybody who tries to come in on a helicopter will have to deal with my fire."
Grayson clapped a hand to his shoulder, grateful that he hadn't had to ask his friend for help with this. It would have made him feel guilty, especially since Henry still had all his health problems. Adding broken ribs to the mix and then camping out in a tree overnight? It would have been a terrible thing to ask of him. But Henry loved the twins as much as he did and Grayson knew him enough that if he tried to talk him out of keeping watch, Henry would pretend to back down and do it anyway.
"I'll take over at midnight," Grayson told him. "You still have to take care of yourself."
Henry shrugged. "I haven't had an attack in a couple weeks. No biggy. These blood transfusions I've been getting have really helped me bounce back. Doctors say my kidneys might start functioning again on their own."
Grayson shook his head but let it slide. Henry went out to the flight patio and shifted, lifting into the air. Grayson locked the door and went back in to find Arabella. She stood in the doorway to the twins' room, looking in on them. Tears streamed down her face, her arms wrapped around her middle.
"Hey." Grayson slid an arm around her.
She tensed briefly before turning and flinging herself into his arms. Sobs wracked her body and she clung to him like he was a life raft. Grayson pulled her closer, rubbing her back and whispering soothing words into her ear.
"They could have been killed and it's my fault," she whispered. "Kennedy only went after them because of this feud that we built between us. I don't care about her going after me. With the organization, I don't have a future anyway, but the twins—"
"No." Grayson pulled back slightly so he could look into her eyes. He kissed her gently and shook his head. "This isn't your fault. They're safe and that's because of you. Because you knew what to do. And as for you not having a future, that's ridiculous. You have a future here. With me."
Arabella shook her head, more tears streaming down her face.
"Yes, you do. Because I love you, Arabella. I never thought I'd love again, but I love you. And I will always protect you."
He kissed her again, and this time she melted into his arms. She kissed him back fervently, and Grayson picked her up, heart singing with the joy of having his family back together, and carried her to his bed.