Rebuilding Stone (The Stone Brother Series Book 2) (22 page)

Maddox, Eli, and I are in the DCFS waiting room. I’m so
nervous since it’s the first time I'm meeting Gavin. Over the past couple of
weeks, we'd hit a couple of snags with the background checks, training, and
finding a place big enough. It took longer than we'd hope, but none of that
matters now that we're sitting here.

Natasha opens the door. Smiling at us, she asks, “You
ready?”

Maddox gives me a comforting squeeze and I exhale. “Yes,” I
affirm.

Natasha briefly walks out of the room, and when she returns
with Gavin, tears of joy begin forming in my eyes. I feel my heart overflowing
with love, but as I watch him run to a corner, looking confused and afraid, my
heart instantly shatters for him. To make Gavin feel comfortable, I take Eli
from the stroller and I rock him briefly in my arms. See, Gavin? Eli feels safe
with me, and I hope you will, too.

 
Slowly, I walk
over with Eli towards Gavin. Maddox was right; he does look like Lane. He has
dark black hair, with eyes just as dark. He also seems similar to Lane with his
calm nature, unlike Landon, who's usually out of control. This little guy just
quietly watches us.

I kneel on the floor in front of him and reach out to sweep
his hair away from his face. Gavin immediately throws his arms up and cringes
back to protect himself. I have to keep the tears from flowing. I pull back my
hand and gently greet him. “Hi, Gavin, I’m so happy to finally meet you.” I say
it softly and make no sudden movements. He doesn’t reply and just stands there
regarding us.

Up until this moment, I haven't been sure of how I felt
about all of this. A mixture of emotions, but it's more of happiness than
anything else.

“Hi, Gavin. My name is Maddox,” I introduce myself.

Natasha had disclosed that he doesn't talk. He hadn’t said a
word since he'd been removed from his home. She said that’s typical - it could
be due to his age or that he's possibly behind on the learning scale. He didn’t
exactly have the type of parents who took care of him, let alone spend enough
time with him to learn much. Still, I have no doubt about it; this kid is
smart. He’s instinctive.

“This is our son, Eli, and you'll be staying with us,” I
inform Gavin. He looks up at me. He still doesn't speak, but the look in his
eyes communicates a plea not to hurt him. I kneel on one knee, getting down to
his level to assure him. “You’ll be safe with us, I promise.” Again, he doesn’t
say a word, but his eyes wander over to Eli.

Natasha asks to meet with me outside. She explains that
Gavin's father has been arrested and is facing ten years in prison. He's
willing to sign over his parental rights, but a DNA test needs to be done to
ensure he’s the father. The mother is in a drug rehab program, so it’s possible
for her to get Gavin back if she successfully completes the program. Natasha
asks that Kerrigan and I keep everything in perspective, knowing there’s a
possibility that Gavin could be returned to his mom or turned over to a family
member that agrees to take him in. Even though I've only known Gavin for thirty
minutes, the thought of losing him hurts.
 

We’ve taken the past couple of weeks to get Gavin settled
and get a little routine going. For the first week, he constantly woke up
during the night screaming. He was unable to communicate his dreams, but I know
they were nightmares. It took Maddox or I an hour or so to get him back to
sleep.

Last week wasn’t too bad. There were a few times he woke up,
but went back to sleep easily. I found he really enjoys learning and he is most
fond of learning through music. In the car, it’s nursery songs, which may have
been a little too much for Maddox. He told me he has been tempted to bang his
head against the steering wheel on several occasions. I have to laugh.

Another change we had to get used to was switching to a
mini-van. Maddox refuses to drive it, so a few days later, he went out to buy a
Yukon. Maybe he doesn’t realize it, but it’s not a manly vehicle either.

To complete the transition, we have to move to a bigger
place. Fortunately, we were able to find the perfect house. Well, maybe it
needs some major renovations, but, at least, we got it for cheap. Brady is
coming to look at it and offer his advice on where money will be best spent.
When the remodeling work is done, we will officially be suburbanites and living
in Oak Park where Brayden is. Or was. He moved in with Missy.

I look around at my friends and think how far we’ve come in
just a few short years. Just between Molly and me, there are already six
children. Almost six anyway. They found out the twins are boys. So, it’s six
boys. That’s six more Stone boys. In fifteen to sixteen years, Chicago isn’t
going to know what hit them. At least there won’t be any more babies on either Molly’s
part or mine. She told Noah they aren’t going to keep going until they have a
girl. She swears she will only end up with ten boys. Of course, Noah told her,
in his usual cocky way, “We will see.” I think there was an exchange of words
involving a threat of castration.

Today is Evan’s birthday. We are going over to Hanson’s, of
course. Ari is watching her nephews. She is so good with them. She teases us,
though, that it’s the best form of birth control. She’s young though; she
celebrated her twenty-second birthday a week after our wedding.

Gavin tries to be a big help. We encourage him to play, but
he keeps constant watch over his younger brother. Yes, Eli. Some kids know what
they will be when they grow up. Gavin, no doubt, will be a police officer or
join the military. Protecting others is in his nature.

We’re at Hanson’s. It feels so nice to be out without the
children. I love my boys, but they are exhausting, and excellent at
cockblocking. I’m getting a little grumpy; it’s been a whole week without being
inside Kerrigan. A week. Who the fuck lives like that? I swear, if I have to
pull the car over later on the way home just to get a few minutes inside her,
that’s what I’m going to do.

The whole gang has two tables pushed together. Noah and I
were talking the other night about how surprised we were at the friendships
we’ve developed. Brayden is easily a best friend, a brother. The girls have
unbreakable bonds, and we are all the luckiest men to be with them. I tried to
talk with Evan after the wedding to ask how the dance with Lani was. Kerrigan
and I sat back and watched it. We both saw something shift between them. We had
hoped it was a good thing, but he won’t talk about her. Either he is fucking
her, or he hates her. I’m leaning towards he’s fucking her. Or has.

“Who’s up for a game of darts?” Evan asks.

“I am, but only if Noah is on my team.” I hate getting stuck
with Brayden. Let’s just say you’re on the losing team if he is on your team. I
assume he never played anything that required accuracy. Now, if we were in a
street fight, I’d definitely want him on my team.

“Hey, I want you to know Missy and I threw darts last week
and I hit the board three times.” He laughs.

We draw straws to see who gets stuck with Brayden. My luck.
Just as I was about to start bitching, I see Lani jump up. She rushes towards me,
takes me by the arm, and leads me outside.

“What?” I ask. I know instantly something is wrong.

“Michael is here,” she says.

Shit. “Okay,” I tell her. “Do not tell Missy, and whatever
you do, please do not tell Brayden. Let’s play it by ear.”

Missy is having a difficult pregnancy. She’s had a few
scares with cramps and was only told last week she could get off bed rest. If
Brayden catches wind that his girlfriend’s rapist is a few feet away, well, I
will be arresting him tonight for murder. Actually, we don’t know if Michael
was the guy, we only know for sure of Jackson. Missy remembers three guys but
she doesn’t remember what they look like or what they sounded like.

I have no idea what’s going on with Lani and Maddox right
now. I do know that Brayden, Evan, and Noah won’t allow us girls to get up to
go to the damn bathroom. Wondering if I'm missing something, I start looking
around the bar.

It’s a bit difficult to figure out exactly what I’m looking
out for, though, because there are so many people here tonight. I’ve already
forgotten the kind of characters that hang out at this bar. The funniest part
is that ninety percent of its patrons are young professionals, who, after a few
beers, act anything but that. It’s all harmless fun, though, and it’s one of
the things I miss most when I worked here.

I keep looking around, and my eyes slide past a guy.
Something in me makes me pause shortly, and then I keep going. But I’ve learned
to listen to my gut, so my eyes go back to that man.

“Where’s Maddox?” I whisper to Brayden. He looks at me and
just shrugs his shoulders. Missy doesn’t have a memory of that night, but I do.
I was drunk, but I wasn’t drugged. I know who this man is. SHIT! I’m guessing
Lani knows too, since she took Maddox with her. What aren’t they telling me?
Missy seems clueless as well. I decide to not say anything right now because I
don’t want to upset her.

“I need to use the bathroom,” Missy says to Brayden.

“Molly, can you go with Missy?” Brayden asks.

“What’s gotten into you? I don’t need an escort to the
bathroom!” Missy snaps back.

“I’ll go,” Molly says. “I've got twins sitting on my
bladder.”

I start to stand up to go with them, but Brayden glances
down at the seat, letting me know to stay put.

Molly turns to me and asks, “You coming?”

“Nah. I don’t have any babies on mine.” I don’t look up
because I don’t want both of them to get suspicious and feel like something is
up.

After they get to the bathroom, Brayden wastes no time.

“Who do you see, Kerrigan?”

“The guy who was holding Lani that night, I think, but I’m
not certain he was one of the three who raped Missy. I don’t know. I do know he
had a hold of Lani. He was the one she elbowed.”

Shit, Maddox, get back in here. Brayden and Evan both jump up;
ready to fuck up that man. I look at Noah as he throws back his glass of
scotch. He puts the glass down, leans back in his chair, and then crosses his
arms.

Now I know for sure that they’ve known something for a long
time and have formed some sort of idiotic plan. Noah is a nice guy, and if he
isn’t rushing to stop these two, then he must be a part of whatever MORONIC
plan they’ve formed. I give Noah a death glare, and with that same damn cocky
grin Maddox has, he shrugs his shoulders. IDIOTS!

“What are you guys doing? Sit down.” I say.

“No. Go to the bathroom. Keep the girls in there.” I’m so
torn, but decide to go to the bathroom because neither Missy nor Molly needs
any added stress.

Lani and I walk back inside. I notice the girls are no
longer at the table, and neither are Evan and Brayden. Seems they’ve made their
way to the bar. Noah is sitting relaxed at the table. Shit. I make Lani go to
the bathroom with the girls. She doesn’t question me because she knows she
shouldn’t be seen.

Michael is hitting on a girl who clearly isn’t interested.
She is scooting away from him. It takes Brayden all of two seconds to start
talking to Michael.

“Man, it seems like you’ve had a lot to drink.”

“Nah, man,” Michael replies, “just a couple of beers.”

“Well, why don’t you leave this lady alone?”

Michael replies in a threatening tone, “Why don’t you go
find someone else to hit on? There are plenty of women here.”

“You're sure you haven't had too much to drink?” Brayden
asks again.

“No. Want to smell my breath?”

“Yes.” Brayden responds.

What, Brayden? You sick bastard.

Michael moves to let out a breath into Brayden’s face, and
without warning, Brayden head-butts Michael right in the nose. Michael grabs
his nose. As he starts falling to the ground, Brayden delivers punishing
punches to his face. It takes both Evan and I to pull Brayden off of him. I
rush Brayden out the door before the cops are called. Not too long after, Evan
is pushing Michael out the door.

“What the fuck, dude?” Michael literally cries.

I can’t believe this bitch is crying. I start laughing.

“I’m calling the cops,” he says, still crying.

“Yeah. Go ahead,” Evans says. “When they get here, I’ll tell
them a story about that time you raped a chick in high school and how you
haven’t stopped since. I also plan on sending a letter to your wife.”

The guy goes straight-faced, realizing that we know his
secret. Still, he tries to deny it, but we continue telling him details of what
happened that night.

“Call the cops,” Brayden says, handing Michael his phone.

“Nah. I can tell this is all a misunderstanding.” He tries
to make nice and get us to believe him.

Evan calmly walks towards Michael, and out of the blue, he
knocks out Michael with a sharp blow to the chin.

“Evan!” I yell. “What the hell!”

“What? It was my birthday gift to myself,” he says, and
walks off.

We’re in the car and I’m happy to be out of there. The anger
has been building up in me since I realized they've been keeping something
major from me. It takes me no time before I rip into Maddox.

“What was all of that about tonight?” I ask.

“Nothing you should worry about. We have it handled,” he
says.

“It didn’t look like you had it handled. Tell me, Maddox.”
I’m giving him one shot to open up to me.

“Kerrigan, it’s our only night out. Leave it alone.”

“No, Maddox. I know who Michael is. I know what he did. I
know my friends are in danger. How long have you known?”

“Kerrigan, stop,” he says, “Evan, Brayden and I have it
handled.”

“Maddox, pull the car over.”

“Why?”

“Because we are about to have our first fight, and I want it
done before we get home.”

Maddox cocks his eyebrow and just keeps driving.

“Maddox, pull the fuck over! NOW!”

Again, he looks at me, but finally pulls over into the empty
mall parking lot.

I know and appreciate that Maddox wants to protect me, but I
hate that part of him still sees me as weak. I’m not weak. I’ve faced the devil
and lived to tell about it. He needs to understand that I want an equal
partnership. I want to know when I should be worried and when I shouldn’t be.