Page 78 of Stolen Salvation

“Hey.”

“Listen, Charlie, I don’t do lovely dovey shit well, so I’m gonna say my piece and then leave it up to you. Noah loves you and you love him, and I don’t mean in a superficial way. What you have is rare and beautiful. Like Snow and Seb, Bein and Aoife, and Reaper and Lucía. We see a lot of bad shit, the worst humanity has to offer, so when you get handed the sunshine you should grab it with both hands and not ask questions.”

“Wow, you’re sure you’re not good at this because that was epic.”

Bás rolled his eyes and stood. “You have a job if you want it, in whatever capacity that is and obviously there’s no rush. You heal first, then decide if you want a place with Shadow.”

“Thank you, Bás, for everything. Helping with Andrea, all of it.”

“My pleasure and don’t forget without you we wouldn’t know Carter Cavendish was involved with Project Cradle, so thank you.”

Charlie nodded and relaxed back against the pillows thoroughly wrung out from the emotion and the hard work she’d forced on her body. She had a lot of thinking to do. Resting her hand over her flat tummy, Charlie knew one thing. She wasn’t giving up on her and Noah this time.

Chapter 26

Bishop could hear bickering in hushed voices when he woke with a start. Everything rushed back to him as he sat up quickly, his feet landing on the floor of a living room with lush navy couches and light hardwood floors. On alert, he let his eyes travel the room and didn’t see a threat. It was an elegant, classy room in what looked like a modern apartment.

Standing, he listened again to see where the voices were coming from and moving slowly, he stretched his jaw and rubbed the tender spot where someone had punched him so hard it knocked his lights out.

“You didn’t need to hit him so hard, asshole.”

Bishop frowned, he knew that voice, recognised the annoyed and controlled tone of it.

“He almost kicked me in the crown jewels, and I need those to produce more little princesses for the world to adore.”

Liam Hayes! What the fuck?

Bishop ploughed through the door and was confronted with Jack Granger, Liam Hayes, Alex Martinez, Mark Decker, and Calvin Blake, all sitting at the table drinking fucking tea like a bunch of pussies while he slept off his punch to the face.

“Ah, you’re awake.” Blake stood to grab a mug and began filling it with tea.

“What the fuck is going on? You kidnapped me?” Bishop ran his hands through his hair, pulling at the ends as he tried to figure it all out.

“Here, sit down. And it wasn’t a kidnapping, it was an intervention.” Jack glared at Liam as he spoke.

“I mean, strictly speaking, it was a kidnapping, boss man,” Blake interjected as he placed a mug in front of him at the table and motioned for him to sit.

Bishop sank into the chair because his brain was struggling to keep up with this amount of crazy.

“You’re fired, Blake.”

“Thanks, boss.” Blake seemed to be unconcerned that his boss had just fired him and dunked a biscuit in his tea.

“So wait, you kidnapped me, punched me, and brought me here? Why?”

“Liam punched you. We were trying to do this the easy way but fuck, man, you fought back hard.” Alex looked impressed as he curled his lip at Blake dunking his biscuits. “That’s a disgusting habit.”

“Hey, do not yuck my yum until you try it.”

“Never. I just don’t get the British sometimes.”

“Says the man who thinks snails are a delicacy.”

“They are.”

“Gross,” Decker interjected.

“Can we please focus and you tell me why the hell I’m here and not on the motorway heading home?”