DECLAN RACED TO Lydia’s side, assessing her shoulder wound. “You’re going to be okay, baby. It looks clean. Just a good graze. I promise we’ll get Jax back. She said he was safe.”

“I believe her. She was always quite fond of Jax. He adores her, and I understand why now.” Lydia smiled rather than cried. A sense of relief, in knowing this was finally over, settled in.

Forever could finally begin. Declan was living in the same moment of realization. It was finally their time. Before he could get her off the ground and to the incoming EMT’s, Tom’s hand grabbed his arm. He had been floating in and out of consciousness, now struggling to breathe.

“Please don’t tell Liz and the kids. They’ve been through enough,” he said, speaking of his estranged family. “They deserve a fresh start. There will be a reward for my capture – it’s why I agreed to this. Please…”

Declan nodded, not needing further explanation. Tom escaped, knowing that he would never go back and his days were numbered. It was his way of taking care of them financially. “They will be taken care of – I promise you that. You did the right thing, man.”

Tom smiled ever so briefly before taking his last breath. Declan ran his hand over his eyes, closing them, granting Tom the peace he now deserved. “Goodbye, brother…”

A loud snapping branch had all weapons drawn on whatever was moving in from the south. With her weapon drawn, Felicity came into view, wearing head to toe black with her contrasting blonde hair pulled back in a tight pony tail. This was the badass Lydia suspected lived under that cardigan – this was City.

She holstered her weapon when she walked in and saw the situation defused, and said, “Please, like you’d shoot me.”

Luke was the first to speak up, looking her up and down. “City? What are you doing here?”

“Yeah. Marching in like that?” Liam added. “You could’ve been killed!”

“Please…I’ve been here for twenty minutes, saw the whole thing. Me, shot? You guys taught me better than that.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you’re here,” Declan replied, with a halfcocked brow.

“She called me.” Felicity nodded to Eva who was being led to a squad car by Blake.

“So a potential psychopath calls,” Liam reproved, looking to be sure Eva was out of earshot, “and you just…answer? Didn’t think to call…ohhh, I don’t know…us?”

“She said not to – too dangerous – she said you would come to me and blow the plan.” Felicity shrugged as though this banter was over something as simple as choosing a flavor of ice cream.

Liam was getting hot. “What plan?”

“Jax,” she quickly replied. “I have Jax. Well, had Jax.”

In a small voice, Lydia started to question whether City was a threat. Her answers were evasive and taunting. Was that all for Liam or because she was now their next obstacle? “City?”

“Don’t worry, Lydia. He’s safe…I promise!” Realizing her little game with Liam was coming off wrong to Lydia, she was quick to fix it. “I was supposed to take him back to Portland, to Watermark. Eva had heard you talk about it, and Jax talked about me, and well…here I am. When I realized what was going on, I couldn’t leave with him like that. I needed to warn you – I just didn’t get here in time, so I stayed back – in case it went bad. So I could…follow him,” she said, pointing to a now deceased Esteban Junior.

“City, where is my son?” Lydia had been as patient as she was going to be when it came to her son.

“The only place I knew to take him here where he’d be safe.” She smiled, looking to the brothers.

“Carigan,” Declan said, referring to their sister.

City smiled, “Yep. She has him, and he has no clue. Colton and Meg are there and a few others. They sort of called in their own little posse. That’s a tight little group watching over that little boy.”

Lydia burst into tears. “Thank you. Thank you, City.”

With the brothers each still side-eyeing her, she went on to say, “In my defense – because I know what you’re thinking behind those bad boy glares – we tried to reach you.”

Each looked at their smart watches, scrolling through data to see they each missed at least a dozen attempted calls.

Liam was still clearly irritated by her actions, more so than the rest. “So you thought you’d go all G.I. Jane and just skip out here to deliver a message…in the middle of a standoff…with a killer?”

Wylie was the first to succumb to surprise, ending in hysterics – he was both impressed with her and found it funny how she got under Liam’s skin. “How did you even find us, anyway?”

Smiling sheepishly, she tapped her watch, shrugged and said, “Same way you guys hunt. I tracked your watches – I always know where you are.”

As EMT’s loaded Lydia into the ambulance, Declan climbed in with her, leaving the brothers to start processing their crime scene. Eva was working both sides. Esteban thought she was committed to avenging their father when she was really committed to putting it all to rest and freeing everyone from the terror their father left. With Tom’s help in that effort, she reached her goal, and he found redemption for his past misdeeds.

Eva gave them an earful while still at the original crime scene, which led to several more immediate arrests. Because she was part of the original plan, when she gave their goons a change in orders, they listened and waited for further instruction, so as not to alert her brother to what she was up to. They all sat and waited as the authorities arrived and took them all in, confiscating drugs, weapons, and even a jet.

It quickly became obvious that Eva was on their side, despite how deceiving her method of insinuating herself into the group was. It was all in the name of justice and already forgiven. She was prepared to help in any way she could if it meant being free of the life she feared most, one influenced by her father, then brother. The contacts she was left with, however, would hold her hostage until every last one was dealt with.

On the way to the hospital, Declan proposed, not once but six or seven times. He vowed to always protect them, love them, and cherish them. This was his second chance and he wasn’t wasting it.

“I was…afraid, Dec. I was afraid he would win.”

“Never again. I will move you wherever you want to live – wherever you’ll feel safe. We can stay here too; McKenzie Ridge is a great place to raise kids and your sister is here…”

“How about Portland? Maybe we come here for weekends and summers, but I like Watermark.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Do you think you can keep us safe there? I mean there is a lot of potential shopping that could happen there compared to here,” she teased.

He rested his head on her hand, which he was holding after he had kissed it. “Absolutely.”

A buzz from his watch grabbed his attention and left him with a smile. “Carigan is meeting us at the hospital with Jax. She says he’s perfect.”

Lydia’s smile faded when she realized she was about to be faced with her son’s innocence. “I don’t want him to know. I know one day I’ll have to tell him, but…”

“We’ll tell him together.”

With a slow nod, she wandered into thought. “Eva. I can’t believe she is who…she is.”

Nodding in agreement himself, Declan said, “She saved a lot of lives, today, and put an end to something only she could. Those two were Esteban’s best kept secret and his revenge. We’re lucky she wasn’t poisoned by him like his son.”

“She was very brave, is very brave.” Lydia didn’t have hard feelings for Eva. If anything, she was grateful for her sacrifice. “What will happen to her?”

“Not sure, but she’s about to bring down the cartel. That won’t be easy, and I have a feeling she’s about to become a Brother’s Keeper client – she’ll need protection – a new identity. I’m letting the boys sort it all out though – I’m officially on vacation! My family needs me.” He leaned in and kissed her again. “Let’s get your arm fixed and your head checked out so we can plan…”

“Plan?” she asked with an odd expression, unsure what he was eager to plan given the day they just had.

“Our forever…you owe me one. Actually, you owe me a wedding first,” he teased, maintaining his macho bravado on a not so macho topic.

“I hope that doesn’t take long; we have dinner with your mom in two days,” she laughed.

“God, I love you,” he said, kissing her sweetly, “even if you are a spoiled brat.”

When Lydia arrived at the hospital, she was met by a team of waiting Doctors and nurses, Declan trailing close behind.

“Mommy!” Jax’s voice carried down the corridor, immediately grasping their attention as he slid out of Carigan’s arms and ran right for them.

Lydia was elated. Her son was finally within reach, but she didn’t want him to see her covered in dirt and blood. Pulling the blanket a bit higher to hide what she didn’t want him to see, she tilted her head to Declan, eyes brimming with tears. “Go to him. Go to him, Declan.”

Though Jax was unaware of what had been going on around him, kids were intuitive, and there was an obvious sense of worry about him. In that very moment, it struck Declan just how close they came to losing him. The emotion that realization provoked was nearly crippling as he scooped the boy in his behemoth arms and buried his face in the boy’s shoulder. Relief washed over him as he breathed him in.

“It’s okay, kid. Doc Charles is going to fix up mommy’s arm real quick. She needs a band aid, little dude.”

The little boy took Declan’s face into his little hands and stared him in the eyes. They had a moment of who knew what, maybe understanding, maybe a silent appreciation for each other – whatever it was, it was special. Declan broke their stare with a rare smile and kissed Jax on the forehead.

Jax whispered, “I love you, Buddy.”

With tears in his eyes, Declan replied, “I love you too, kiddo – let’s go find mommy.”

“Do you love mommy, too?” Jax asked in his little raspy voice.

“Yes. Very, very much. You okay with that?” Dec asked.

“Yep, cause I love her, too.”

It wasn’t long before they were able to see Lydia. Her injuries were minor, just an easy treat and release. A few stitches on her shoulder and possible concussion to watch for a day or two.

“Mama?”

“Yes, baby?”

Jax leaned in and whispered not so quietly, “Declan said he loves you, a lot.”

“Did he, now?” she questioned with a silly grin, to which Jax nodded.

“You told her, Jax?” Declan leaned back in a dramatic motion and covered his face with his hands, as if he were embarrassed. “Aaawwwww.”

Jax tossed his head back and laughed at Declan’s reaction.

“I suppose I better marry her now that she knows,” Declan said, shaking his head sarcastically

“That means you’re going to have to kiss her a lot! Ewww!” Jax giggled.

“I suppose it does… I guess if I have to…” Declan leaned down to kiss his lady, happy to spend the rest of his life doing just that.

THE END