Our Fault (Culpable Book 3)

Finding out about what Michael and Briar had done while I was in another city, unable to do anything but catch a plane, had been torture. I couldn’t relax until I was finally home a few hours later.

Jenna and Lion were awake, drinking coffee and talking softly, when I opened the door. Everything had settled down: there were no police officers, no blood…none of what I’d imagined as I was on my way over.

“Where’s Noah?” I asked instead of saying hi. I couldn’t beat around the bush; I needed to see with my own eyes that the two people I loved most in the world were all right.

I went upstairs and looked into the baby’s room. When he wasn’t there, I went to our room. My nerves were raw. But when I walked inside, I breathed a sigh of relief. Noah was asleep, and next to her, our precious baby was awake and moving his little arms and legs.

I was nervous as I walked over. Andy looked up, sucking on his pacifier, his eyes swollen from crying. I grabbed him and squeezed him carefully.

They’d tried to take him from us.

Andy moaned a little, and I took him over to the sofa in front of the bed.

“Hey there, champ,” I said as he took one of my fingers in his tiny hand. “You were a brave little boy, Son.” I kissed his cheeks and sniffed that wonderful baby smell coming off him.

Andy smiled as if he’d understood me. As I held him, I couldn’t keep the tears from streaming down my cheeks.

How could they have done this to us?

Briar… Michael… That bastard was going to rot in jail. I’d make sure of that.

It must have been horrible for Noah. That never should have happened. Steve should have been there. I should have been there.

I thanked heaven I’d put the alarm in and Noah had known how to use it. Otherwise…

The next day, when things were calmer, Noah told me everything that had happened in detail. My heart pounded as she went through each moment.

It hurt, too, to learn that Briar had lost the baby when she was six months pregnant. I never found out. If I had… It must have been so hard for her to go through that alone. Her son had been mine, too, and I regretted not being able to be there for her when she miscarried.

I felt like I should visit her. Michael could go to hell, but Briar… She was sick. Two weeks after the break-in, I went to the hospital where she was locked up. She was being treated for bipolar disorder. I’d always known she’d been struggling, but I didn’t really understand.

Her life had been like mine. She’d grown up alone, surrounded by caretakers who didn’t love her. Her parents had ignored her until she showed up pregnant, and even then, they’d given her none of what she needed. I wanted her to get over everything that had happened, I really did. But I’d never forgive her for trying to steal my child.

At the hospital, I learned she was doing better. She was taking her meds and seemed calmer. I found her sitting on her bed reading a book. Noah had told me she’d looked ragged and unwell. The Briar I saw before me now was anything but.

She was wearing jeans and a blue cotton T-shirt. Her short hair was pulled back, and her beautiful eyes had an expectant expression when she saw me come in.

She was waiting for me. They’d told her I was coming.

“Hey, Nicholas,” she said, closing the book and putting it on her nightstand.

I asked her if I could sit down. “I don’t want to take up too much of your time,” I said, not knowing how to express my mixed feelings just then. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry about what happened with our child. I never knew; if I had, I would have supported you no matter what.”

She looked relaxed as she listened.

“Fate didn’t want that baby to be part of our lives,” she said. Her eyes misted over. “He was beautiful, though…”

I grabbed her hand. Her words hurt.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, and it was true. I adored my son and was counting the seconds to be back home with him and Noah. But that didn’t mean my heart didn’t crack when I learned my other son never had the chance to live.

“I’m sorry for what I did, too,” she said. “I don’t know what happened… I… Michael… I thought he loved me, you know? He said things…about Noah…about you… I thought…”

“Just focus on getting better, Briar,” I said as I stood up.

Her eyes widened. “Do you think one day I could be like you two? That I could find someone who would love me the way you love Noah…?”

I chose my words very carefully. “I think there’s someone for all of us. I never thought I’d love someone as much as I love Noah. You know better than anyone how damaged I was inside. So yeah, I think you’ve got a bright future ahead of you, Briar. One day you’ll get up, and someone will turn your world upside down.… You’ve just got to wait for it.”

I turned around but stopped in the doorway, keeping my back to her.

“I gave him your name,” she said. “I just needed to tell you that.”

I took a deep breath and walked out.