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Once her diaper was changed, I lifted her intoher little hospital blanket on the bed I still couldn’t believe how tiny she was, especially when the added bulk of the blanket was gone She was so light, and she naturally curled into a ball,her seem even smaller

“Oh, come on,” I chuckled as I felt her fill the brand new diaper “We’ve only got a couple of these left, dude”

She stretched, arching her back, and I felt e of protectiveness and love That feeling still caught me by surprise every time it happened I hadn’t expected it When I’d first felt her start nore it I’d went about e toup space inhello with little taps of her fists and elbows and feet and knees It was safer that way I thought it would s easier

It hadn’t

“Okay, this one is going to piss you off,” Ifor the wipes

I was right The cold wipes es, and by the time I was done and picked her back up, she was so loud that I was sure the people in the kitchen thought I was torturing her

Popping one of the pacifiers in herfro the inside ofto calm the anxiety and tension that thrummed under my skin She was fine and I was fine

But Liv wasn’t

I cleared nore the way Liv’s scream seemed to echo in my ears The sound hadn’t been one of fury or surprise, it had been pure fear I sed hard, trying toelse She’d been so happy, practically floating out of the nursery when Cane had called her downstairs to help him with their sound system I huffed out a frustrated breath They’d wanted to listen to Christmas music It was the only reason she’d been downstairs

Maybe, if she hadn’t gone down there—no I shook my head as if to clear it No maybes No what-ifs I knehere that led, and it was nowhere good Logically, I knew that if Liv would’ve been upstairs with us, all of us would have died I wasn’t supposed to even be there tonight—but Liv was—and whoever killed her and Cane would have searched until they’d found her

Sucking in a sharp breath and then blowing it out throughout a birthday candle, I tucked rabbed the dirty diapers off the bed and ventured out of the roohts, even if I felt weird walking through Mark’s house

I didn’t belong with the people in the kitchen I didn’t know them Yet, they’d saved my life I didn’t know if there had been anyone in the house by the time they’d arrived, I’d ask for the details later, but in the end, it didn’t really matter They’d come for me For us It was a debt I’d never be able to repay

My stomach churned with anxiety as I made my way down the hallway

“Co out of it tonight”

“Subpar work at best,” a different voice stated