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His warm voice immediately took effect.
Throwing my arms around his waist, I clung to him and started bawling.
“Milla!” he gasped, patting my shoulder. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying? Corey?”
“Noah got shot,” Corey said bluntly.
“What?”
“Bill Beckett shot him,” Corey said without hesitating. “His son, Luke, kidnapped them both.”
“What are you saying?” Brian bellowed. “Milla and Noah were kidnapped?”
Brushing my tears away, I grabbed his hand tightly. “You’ve got to stay calm.”
“How can I stay calm?” Brian said, looking troubled. Bending down, he took a closer look at me. “Did they hurt you?”
I shook my head. “I’m fine. It’s Noah...”
Brian turned toward Corey. “Where’s your brother?” he asked in a grim tone. “I want to go see him immediately.”
“He’s probably undergoing surgery right now,” Corey said in a tired voice. “Caleb’s with him. I brought Milla home so you can see she’s okay and not be worried.”
Brian gave him a look. “I’m glad Milla’s safe but how can I not worry? My son took a bullet. I need to know he’s okay.”
“You think of him as your son?” Corey asked with a suddenly lost look.
“I’ve always thought of you kids as my sons." Moving toward Corey, he hugged him.
Corey stayed in his embrace, quietly soaking up Brian’s unconditional affection.
Over the past months, a kind of warmth came into their relationship with Brian but this was the first time I was seeing one of the Amhurst brothers accepting Brain’s love.
“Come on,” said Brian, stepping away. “We’ll go see Noah right away. I’m sure you want to be at the hospital too.”
“I want to go too,” I said at once.
“You should stay home with Irene,” said Brian. “She’ll be upset when she wakes up and no one’s around. Someone needs to break the news to her gently.”
There was a knock on the door.
Hubert stood at the door with Irene in his arms. She was still dressed in her pink pajamas and her long, dark hair was a mess. It looked like she’d just gotten out of bed.
“The little miss came to see us in the kitchen,” Hubert explained. “One of the maids said you were all here, so I brought her here.”
Irene came running to me as soon as Hubert set her down.
“Did you even come home last night?” Irene asked me at once. “I missed you in my sleep.”
A tired chuckle escaped me at that silly comment. I pulled her onto my lap. “Sorry, sweetie,” I said, trying not to let her hear the exhaustion in my voice. “I got a bit carried away at work.”
“Are you sleepy now?”
I gave a slow nod. “You have no idea how tired I feel.”
She slid off my lap. “You’re coming with me,” she said, tugging on my hand. “It’s time for breakfast. You can have a nap with me after that.”
“Ahh...to be young and to nap right after breakfast,” Corey mused, playing with her mussed-up hair.
