Page 20 of Merciless
“No, it wasn’t your fault.” I sniffed against his shoulder. “None of it was your fault.”
“It all came back to me today,” he explained, just as sniffly as I was. “It felt just out of reach for the last several days, but it all finally came back to me. I remembereverything.”
“What’s better,reposadoorañejo?” I asked in a shaky whisper near his ear, hardly able to believe it. If he could tell me his favorite type of tequila, I knew it was true.
A peal of laughter burst out of him. “Alwaysañejo, you silly girl.”
Our bone-crushing, tear-filled hug stretched on, neither of us prepared to let go. The only sounds we made were laughs and sobs. When I finally felt a bit lighter, my hold on him loosened and my dad pulled back to hold my face in his hands.
“Look at you.” He beamed, eyes bouncing all over my face. “My beautiful daughter. Are you a nurse now?”
“No, that’s still not allowed,” I laughed, wiping my nose. “Just a medic.”
“Justa medic,” he repeated with a scoff. “I’ve seen you running around and working your ass off. I’m so proud of you,mijita.”
“Oh, Dad…” I reached for his face. He was still the same but had changed so much. A weariness had settled into his eyes, I couldn’t begin to fathom what being under the Sha’s control had done to him.
“Mom.” I remembered suddenly, my pulse shooting up. “Did she ever find you? Has she been in touch with you at all?”
Dad frowned, his brow wrinkling. “I…I don’t know,mijita. That part of my memory still isn’t all the way there. I remember seeing her face, I’m just not surewhen.If it was the last time I left home or…”
“It’s okay.” I smiled at him through the tightness in my chest. “Do you want to sit down? Maybe have some breakfast? I could have Jandro bring us something.”
“Ah yes, Jandro.” Dad smiled teasingly at me. “He’s certainly been helpful. How long have you two been a thing?”
I put a finger on my chin as I thought back to the beginning. “Seven or eight months, I think.” It felt like I’d known all of my men for years already. Our time spent together might not have been long, but circumstances had forged our bonds deep.
“He seems like a good guy, but what’s with that vest he wears?” Dad headed for the small break room table to sit down. “He’s not part of an actual gang, is he?”
“Well, kind of.” I followed him to the table, my feelings somewhere between nervous and amused. “But that’s not the most shocking part about our relationship.”
My dad’s eyes narrowed, lips pressing together into a frown. “What do you mean?”
“I’m with him and three other men.” I swallowed and stifled a laugh at my father’s wide-eyed, scandalized expression. “We all consider ourselves married. I have four husbands, Dad.”
“What?!”
I spent the next hour explaining the nature of my relationships and answering his many probing questions. Time slipped away and it was just like catching up with him on his weekends home on leave. Only this time, he’d never have to step foot on a battlefield again.
“And General Bray, the leader of the Four Corners Army, is Reaper’s father,” I explained. “I think you would like him. He and his wife are really sweet.”
“So they get one amazing daughter-in-law, and I get fourverydifferent son-in-laws,” Dad laughed. “Who’s really getting the better deal here?”
A soft knock on the break room door interrupted us, Gunner sticking his head in moments after. “Hey, Dr. Brooks is looking for you, baby—oh! Hello.” His blue eyes widened and he backed out toward the lobby. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“No, Gun! Come in.” I waved an arm, ushering him inside. “Come meet my dad. I just finished telling him all about you guys.”
Gunner’s eyes bounced back and forth between my father and I as he slowly re-entered the room. “Allabout us?”
“The important parts, anyway.” Dad smirked as he rose from the table, sticking his hand out toward Gunner. “I’m Javier.”
“It’s a pleasure, sir.” My husband grinned broadly as he shook my father’s hand. “Gunner.” He looked at me next, warmth shining in his eyes. “I bet you’re happy his memory’s back.”
“You have no idea.” Tears welled up in my eyes as Gunner pulled me into a hug, dropping a kiss in my hair. This was the good news I needed that I never imagined I’d receive.
“You deserve this, baby girl,” Gunner whispered, as if he knew what I’d been thinking. “This and so much more.”
“I’ve heard only good things about you so far,” my dad remarked, inspecting Gunner with that critical dad-eye.
