I kiss my fingertips and then place them against Mila’s forehead.
“What?” I say, folding my arms over my chest as soon as I’m out in the hall.
“I … I got you emergency protective custody.”
Oh, so now she’s figured out how to get that done.
She places her hand on my arm, and I stare at it pointedly. She slowly pulls it away. “I hate to be the one to tell you, but when I went out to talk to Janet, she was gone.”
I snort. “It figures she’d run.”
“She didn’t run, Chase. She’s dead. She overdosed.”
The woman waits for me to react, and when I don’t, she takes a step back. “I’m sorry about this. You were right, but I really did try to get over there.”
I think we both know she didn’t.
“Anyway, this doesn’t mean you will get custody. There will be a process.”
“I’m sure there will,” I say, moving aside so my sister’s nurse can enter her room.
“Chase, the judge is going to want to see that you have a place for her in your life.”
My brows pull together. “I’ll handle it from here, but thanks for the advice.”
I walk away from her and head down to the room where my brothers are waiting.
Wolfe and Shelly are the first to stand. She hugs me, and her husband pats me on the back. “What do you need from us, honey?” she asks.
I shake my head. “I just need for you guys to take care of the Omaha Chapter while they’re here. Make sure they get settled over at the Inn.” I meet Wolfe’s gaze, and he nods.
He understands what I’m not saying. We also need to make sure the guns are secure until we hand them off to the buyers who are coming in from the west coast.
“I’ve already whipped up a big ‘ole batch of my famous chili. It’s on the fire over at the Trough,” Shelly assures me.
“The kind with the bloody mary mix in it?” I ask.
She laughs, patting my stomach. “I’ll make sure to send some out to the ranch for you.”
I give her a quick hug and kiss and then move on to my other brothers. Everyone is here. If only I could get the state to see how much love and support Mila and I really have. The Bastards have treated me better than anyone in my biological family ever has.
As Wizz gives me the low down on what happened at the trailer after we left, my gaze follows Serenity as she leaves the room.
“You can catch me up when I get home. I need …”
He notices what’s caught my attention and stops me. “No hurry. Just shoot me a text when you break out of here,” he says.
I nod, sidestepping everyone in the room. Cole places his hand on my chest before I make it past him. He’s leaning against the doorway.
“She’s been awfully quiet,” he says.
We both look around the corner and find her sitting in front of the windows at the end of the hall.
“Take her out to my place. Make sure she feels at home, and then I’m going to need all of you to make certain things go smoothly tonight.”
He sighs. “You know, I think this was all meant to play out this way.”
I chuckle lightly. “More of your dragonfly conspiracies?” I ask.