Walker Revenge (The Walker Family Series Book 5) (23 page)

The officers took her to the other waiting
car.

Phillip handed Chelsea her phone. “I’m going
in for Lucas. Keep that phone with you. I’ll pick up Dominic’s
inside. Lucas is going to want to hear your voice.”

Chelsea stood there behind the car door, and
Russell moved, and slid out of the car to stand behind her.

She listened as Phillip entered the house.
Then she heard him pick up the phone. “Are you there.”

“Yes. Is he okay?” she sobbed into the
phone.

“I don’t have him yet. I’m walking down the
hall to his room.”

She could hear him screaming for her, and it
was tearing her heart into pieces.

“I’m opening the door and turning on the
light,” he said, as the light in the room illuminated and she could
see his shadow from outside. “Lucas, I’m here to take you to your
mommy,” she heard him say, and a moment later she could hear him
cry into the phone.

Russell wrapped his arms around her waist
and pressed his chest into her back. She could feel his sobbing as
his body jerked next to her.

A moment later, Phillip walked out of the
house with Lucas in his arms.

Lucas hid his face in Phillip’s neck as he
walked toward the bright lights.

Without thinking, Chelsea ran from Russell’s
protective arms and straight to Phillip. Lucas lifted his head and
jumped into her arms.

“Oh, my baby. My sweet baby,” she cried as
an ambulance pulled up in front of the house.

“We have to take him to the hospital to have
him checked out,” he said.

“He’s fine. Can’t I take him home?”

Phillip turned her to him. “Chels, we have
to examine him. Anything could have happened, even though Dominic
gave him up that easy. Let’s be real, okay?”

She nodded and started to the ambulance.

Russell watched as Chelsea climbed into the
back of the ambulance with Lucas and the doors were closed. Damn,
he didn’t even have crutches.

A few minutes later Phillip came back to the
car and those members of his family who had kept a vigilant circle,
walked toward him as well.

“What’s going on?” he asked, as Phillip
moved in.

“They have to take Lucas to the hospital and
check him out."

"He hurt him? The son-of-a-bitch hurt him?
I'll kill him."

Phillip shook his head. "No. He doesn't
appear hurt. Just because Dominic gave him up that easy doesn’t
mean Lucas is out of the woods. We’ll know in a few hours.”

“I want to go to them.” Russell pleaded.

“C’mon,” Lydia’s voice broke through the
crowd of family. “I’ll take you. I’m parked the closest.”

Russell nodded. “I’ll need help getting over
there.”

A moment later he felt his body leave the
ground as Eric and Gerald picked him up and carried him to Lydia’s
truck.

By the time they got him in the seat, she
was climbing into the other side and revving the engine.

“Buckled? Let’s go,” she said, as she sped
off down the street leaving the horror behind them.

The hospital was only a few minutes away,
but as the sun peeked over the horizon, Russell felt the pain of
the drive and wished they could get there faster.

“I hope he’s okay,” he muttered, and Lydia
reached for his hand and held it.

“He’s going to be fine. Phillip knew what he
was doing, and he was scared to death for him. There’ll be a wrath
to pay if anyone did harm him.”

“You knew what was going on, right? I mean,
he said we were going to your house when we left the hospital. He
said he’d talked to you.”

She nodded as she turned down the next
street and gunned the engine to go faster. “I don’t like the man.
Despise talking to him. But when he rings my doorbell at five in
the morning, I assume he’s not there to harass me.”

“You should give him a chance,” Russell
pleaded on behalf of his friend.

“No way in hell.”

~*~

The waiting room in the emergency department
was full of Walkers.

Russell took what strength he’d had left to
wheel himself out to the room and address his family. Dane walked
in just as he came through the door.

“Mom’s doing great,” Dane said. “They might
let her go in a few hours. So I’ll stick around and make sure they
get home okay.” Gia moved to him and wrapped her arms around
him.

Russell looked at his cousins and brothers.
They were all weary from the night before.

“Lucas is okay. He doesn’t even have a
scratch on him.”

He saw Lydia clasp her hands as if a prayer
had been answered, and Bethany put her arm around her and pulled
her close.

“We’re staying for observation. Nothing
physical was done to him, but…”

Gerald moved in and hugged Russell. “Best to
make sure.”

Pearl and Tyson moved to him, and each
hugged him. "So Dominic broke parole just to save his kid?"

"My kid," he corrected. "And yes. Seems he
didn't want that on his conscience."

Pearl kissed his cheek. “You get some rest.
We’re going to postpone the party too. Until you’re all on your
feet again.”

“Oh, no. You denied these women a wedding.
You’d better keep the party. Besides, I think we’re all ready to
celebrate and put this behind us.”

Tyson rested his hand on Russell’s shoulder.
“If you’re sure, then New Year’s Eve it is.”

~*~

Chelsea was dressed in a new dress which
Pearl had brought for her, and Russell thought that every day she
got sexier.

He stood as she walked out of the bedroom
and toward him and Lucas, who were dressed alike because Lucas
wanted to look like his daddy.

“You two are handsome,” she said, scanning a
look over them.

“Two cutest men at the party,” Russell
laughed as Lucas ran to her, and she scooped him up.

“I’ll be the luckiest girl there.”

Russell pulled the crutches up and tucked
them under his arms. It certainly had been a week from hell, but he
was happy to be going out to celebrate with his favorite two
people. This new year certainly was going to start off being his
favorite one.

Epilogue

The air had the crispness of winter to it,
but the freshness of spring. Russell held his wife in his arms as
their feet dangled from the back of the pickup truck on their
corner of Walker Ranch. Lucas ran back and forth in the bed of the
truck, pretending to ride a horse.

Russell let out a cleansing breath as he
took in the sight of their new house being secured onto its
foundation.

“Do you think it’s big enough?” Chelsea
asked.

“Three-bedroom house. What more do we
need?”

She shrugged. “I just see all this land and
think big.”

He kissed her cheek. “I see a smaller house
and all this land that is big. Lucas will grow up here with room to
run, play, grow. If Susan and Eric ever get off their asses and
have kids, they can run back and forth between houses.”

She laughed at that. “Their house isn’t
close enough for that.”

“Sure it is. They can ride horses or bikes,”
he offered. “Trust me.”

She rested her head on his shoulder. “I
thought this dream had passed me by. I can’t believe I’m here now
with you.”

“It’s where you always belonged. Just like
my mother said, it’s fate.”

“You know what’ll be nice? Next Christmas
we’ll have our own tree.”

“We could cut our own,” he offered.

“Lucas and I already know what we’re getting
you for Christmas.”

Russell laughed as Lucas ran toward him and
climbed on his back. “You know what I’m getting for Christmas?
That’s months away,” he said, toying with his son.

Lucas nodded and then wrapped his arms
around his neck.

“We’re giving you a baby sister.”

Russell laughed. “You’re giving me a…” He
stopped and thought about what Lucas had said.

He turned to Chelsea, who was smiling wide,
and her eyes lit with love. Then he turned back to Lucas. “You mean
you’re getting a baby sister?”

“Uh-huh, but I want a baby brother,” he said
before riding off on his imaginary pony.

“Chels, we’re having a baby?”

“Yeah, we are,” she confirmed as she pressed
her head to his. “I’m extremely fertile. You’re going to want to
make sure you get fixed when you’re done having babies with me,”
she joked, and he let out a hearty laugh as he climbed down from
the truck and pulled her to her feet.

“You’re right. We might need to add to the
house,” he said. “A baby. I think I might be in shock.”

“You’re happy?”

“Can’t imagine I could get any happier.” He
pressed a kiss to her lips. “My mother is going to cry.”

“Well, Susan and I will tell her at the same
time, then.”

Now his eyes grew wide as he stared at her.
“Susan?”

She shrugged. “I guess it’s time each branch
of the Walker family started to grow.”

He pulled her close and held her. He was
right. This might just be the best year ever—for all of them.

We hope that you enjoyed reading

Walker Revenge

By Bernadette Marie

Please enjoy this excerpt from the next book
in the

Walker Family series.

Book 6

Georgia summer beat down on Jake Walker’s
neck as he ripped his helmet off his head and climbed from the race
car which had slammed into the wall.

The yellow flag of caution waved as his crew
ran toward him. The other cars slowed, and it always made him feel
as though he were trapped on the highway with busybody onlookers
trying to get a glimpse of an accident.

But when the bright pink Chevy passed by, he
knew the grin of the driver was hidden behind that equally bright
helmet. God, she was a pain in the ass.

“Holy hell, Jake.” His crew chief Bud ripped
off his cap and wiped the bead of sweat from his brow with his
sleeve. “Get ‘er moving,” he hollered to the crew as they
maneuvered the car from the wall and pushed it toward pit row.

It wasn’t the end of the car, Jake thought,
as he examined the damage running behind them. But it sure as hell
was the end of the race. And didn’t that just piss him off
royally?

As his team cleared the car from the track,
he turned to see the race resume and that damned pink car pulled
into second. She didn’t deserve to be that close to the lead, he
thought. Missy Sheridan was a princess with an attitude. The sport
didn’t need her.

Her daddy paid for her car and her body paid
for the entry fee.

Running his fingers through his damp hair,
he shook the thought from his mind. That wasn’t fair to her. That
was rumor and of course it circulated in a male dominated sport.
But damn it, he was pissed at her, so he’d let it stir in his head
that she didn’t belong.

The fact of the matter was she’d pushed him
out of three races now, and it was getting old. She was a damn good
driver and oh what a looker. But she had a mouth to go with that
driving skill, and most of the men on the track didn’t take to
it.

As soon as she was pushing her beast to the
back of her truck, he’d be right there giving her an ear full. This
wasn’t going to be a habit, him being run off the track by some
broad in a pink car. No, sir. She was going to rue the day she
started crap with him.

Missy watched as Jake Walker’s team loaded
up his car. It had been a fine car she thought as she eased hers
behind the leader for the next few laps.

The vibration from the speed and the roar of
the engine made her whole body come alive. It was no wonder word
around the track was she’d slept her way into the race. But it was
the race which was her lover and gave her more pleasure than any
man could.

As she turned the corner, she saw the sign
she’d been looking for. The white flag was up, and this meant she
had to make her mark.

Missy focused on team Justice’s car. She got
Walker out of the way, now Justice needed to step aside.

The engine revved as she pressed it to go
faster, shifting into the next gear and pulling to the inside of
the track.

Justice moved to block her, and she quickly
adjusted to go high and pass him—but he countered.

Fine, she’d try again. This time, she’d aim
high and see what he did.

Taking the next turn, she poised to pass him
on the outside, but the red car in front of her mocked her and kept
on course as a green car moved in next to her.

“Damn it!” she hollered.

“Missy, what the hell are you doin’?” Her
brother’s voice crept into her ear. “Maverick is pushing you out.
Get the hell out of there.”

“What do you think I’m doing?” she grunted
as she gripped the steering wheel tighter on the third turn.

Her mother would have warned her that karma
was a bitch. She’d forced Walker out of the race, so now Maverick
was going to secure Justice a win by pushing her out.

Judging the gap between herself and Justice,
and Maverick and the wall, she gunned the engine and pushed the car
as hard as she could.

She would take Justice going on the
outside.

Just as her bumper cleared the back end of
his car, Maverick moved in right behind Justice.

With every foot traveled, they pushed her
closer and closer to the wall. She gritted her teeth and gripped
the steering wheel tighter.

Just as the checkered flag came into view,
she felt the slightest nudge from Maverick’s car which caused her
to lose what little control she had. The front end of her car hit
the wall and ricocheted her back onto the track backward barely
missing Maverick.

The world was spinning now, and her
brother’s voice was buzzing in her ears as her car turned from the
wall, through the cars on the track, and hit the grass before
flipping and landing on its wheels.