Page 65 of Sabre’s Guard

“No, you weren’t,” Linsey says firmly. “You sacrificed me and my child to save yourself.”

Her mother’s face crumples. “You don’t understand what it was like.”

“I understand that you could have removed yourself from this situation long ago. You chose to stay, just like you chose to help him abduct me and my son.”

When the deputies take her mother away, I place my hand against the small of her back, and she leans into me slightly. That small movement is as close as Linsey comes to accepting support in public.

Then we notice that Noah has slipped away. We find him standing on the front porch, demonstrating his tripod stance for a fascinated deputy.

Parsing through the evidence with the officers takes hours. They process Gerald last, because they’ve got questions about every piece of evidence they find. There are rows of chairs and flowers where someone has prepared the parlor for a marriage ceremony. They ask him about the bowl on the side table containing nine folded pieces of paper, each with a man’s name written on it. And most especially, they ask about the marriage covenant already drafted with Linsey’s name on it. They ask why is the space for the groom blank, wanting to know if it’s because the groom’s name hasn’t been drawn yet.

Harper opens Gerald’s case and finds a handwritten document titled Restoration Plan for the Boy. It contains schedules, spiritual tests and rules for Noah. One section requires ninety days of separation from maternal influence. Another outlines religious instruction, physical discipline and supervised contact with Linsey after she becomes compliant.

That’s when Linsey steps close and wraps both arms around me. “It’s over, Sabre. None of that is going to happen,” she assures me. “You and your club brothers saved us from that fate. We’re alive, we’re together, and they’re all going to jail.”

“Every person named in that bowl needs to answer for their part in this.”

“I know. They will. Detective Harper said this is the biggest trafficking bust this county has ever seen. He’s getting the FBI involved because they were trafficking across state lines. This is the tip of the iceberg. There’s no telling what they’ll find once they start digging into this situation.”

“Yeah, I know. Let’s go back outside. I could use some fresh air.”

I take Linsey’s hand and examine the abrasions around her wrists before asking the question that’s been weighing on my mind this whole time. “Is the baby okay?”

“They never knew. Nothing happened that would have interfered with the pregnancy. Look, I was going to tell you, but the phone rang. I didn’t know if you really wanted us or just felt the need to protect us.”

I take her face between my hands. “I want you, Noah, and this baby more than anything in this world. I fell in love with the two of you during all the ordinary moments we managed to steal amongst the chaos.”

A tear slips down her cheek, and I catch it with my thumb. “The emergencies gave us the opportunity to show each other what we’re made of. They didn’t create what we feel for each other. You know that, right?”

Noah appears on the step below us, totally oblivious about what we were talking about, and starts talking about their captivity. “Did Mom tell you what happened? I used two knives. The first one was to give Caleb a reminder not to try to touch my mom’s hair. Then when the Legion arrived, another guard grabbed her. I think he was gonna use her for a human shield. Anyway, mom gave me the signal, and I didn’t hesitate. I threw from about six feet and caught him in the eye. Can you believe that? I kept the third knife in reserve, but I didn’t need it in the end. It’s a good thing throwing knives come in sets of three.”

Tugging Linsey to my side, I tell him, “Here’s your debriefing. You did good every step of the way. Forwarding that message was the smartest thing anyone did during this entire operation. It put us on their tail early enough for it to matter. And every decision we made started with the information you sent.”

Noah’s expression turns proud. “You already said that once.”

He ain’t wrong about that. “Then I’ll add a new part. I like that you waited for your mother’s signal before throwing. A lot of grown men would have panicked and taken their shot. You had good discipline to wait until throwing was necessary. You respect blades and don’t treat them like toys.”

I pause, because I’m going to sandwich a bit of constructive criticism between two compliments to make it sting less. “Getting into that car alone wasn’t smart. I understand that they had your mom and were threatening to harm her, but you put yourself in danger. I’m equal parts proud of you and furious with you at the same time. Being on a team means everybody moves together. Sometimes you have to wait for backup even when someone you love is in danger.”

He opens his mouth to speak.

“Hear me out, son. This was your first mission, and you did well. If it wasn’t for your quick thinking, things might have been different.”

Noah considers the instruction. “I’ll remember the part about moving as a team. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“You did good. And you’re only going to keep getting better throughout the years.”

He nods slowly, filing the teamwork rule with everything else he considers important.

“I just knew you would come for us. It must be because you really do love us.”

I pull him into another one-armed hug. “Yeah, I love ya both. Don’t you ever doubt that, son.”

Noah pulls back for a second. Just when I think he’s gonna say something about being too old for hugs, he looks up at me and says the words that floor me. “Can I call you dad?”

“Course you can, son,” I say as I pull him back in for a hug.

Linsey’s hand covers her mouth and tears well up in her eyes. I have one of them on each side and suddenly have the urge to just get them out of this place. “Come on, let’s get outta here.”