Page 116 of Saving the Last Heir
Pulling her close, I kissed the top of her head. “I love you already.”
A flash of what Joseph had said about hurting her washed across my mind, and I wished I had that bastard in my hands right then. I’d onlythoughtI hated him before, but now? After he’d threatened this precious tiny life,andtaken the woman I loved? How could I?—
I froze, blinking in confusion. Love?DidI love Shyanne? Racking my brain, I thought back on all that had happened, and with slow realization, I understood that yes, I did love her. The thought brought a smile to my face.
Christian must have noticed my change in expression.
“What’s up?” he asked.
Shaking my head and gently rocking my sister, I said, “Just thought of something. That’s all.”
She snuggled in my arms, twisting and writhing. The months she’d spent growing in her egg had made her stronger than any human baby.
Her eyes finally opened. Squinting against the light of the fires behind us, she gazed at my face, and I nearly started crying again. God, she was the most beautiful thing in the world.
Before I realized what she was doing, her left hand shot up and grabbed the tip of my nose, tiny nails digging in hard.
“Ow!” I cried.
At the sound of my voice, she threw her small head back and cackled like mad. Christian burst out laughing.
After gently prying her fingers away, I rubbed my nose and glared at my friend.
“It’s not that funny,” I grumbled.
He wiped tears of laughter from his face and said, “So what are you going to name her?”
“I’m not naming her. I won’t take that privilege from my mother,” I said, then glanced down at my sister once more. “Though she does already seem like a little butthead,” I added with a chuckle. “We’ll call you that for now.”
“Butthead?” Christian said, gaping at me. “You’re nicknaming your baby sister Butthead?”
I glanced at him. “What? You prefer Beavis?”
Christian snorted a laugh and waved a hand at me. “All right, whatever. It’s your family.”
It was. Itwasmy family. Again, I looked down at my sister, and that warm sense of belonging, love, and hope filled me once more. The smile died on my lips when I remembered that not everyone was safe, that there was someone else I loved who was in danger. Tearing my eyes from the baby, I looked at Christian.
“Shyanne.”
His smile slipped away as well, and he turned to look back at the raging inferno the house had become.
“What are you going to do?” he asked.
My eyes darted from my sister to the house and back several times before I finally said, “I don’t know.”
“Let me take her home,” Christian said at last, holding his arms out. “I’ll get her there safely.”
The last thing I wanted was to hand her off to someone else. I’d spent all this time and effort trying to save her, and now that she was in my hands, giving her away—even if it was to someone I trusted with my life—felt a bit like a betrayal. Christian must have seen my indecision. He knelt and put a hand behind my knee, pulling my forehead to his.
“You’re my brother in all but blood,” he said. “That means this little girl is family. Look at my eyes.”
I tilted my gaze up to meet his.
“I willdieto protect her,” Christian said, hissing the words through clenched teeth. “Do you believe that?”
There was no mistaking the brutal seriousness in his tone. He would do anything to make sure she made it home in one piece. He’d be the one to put her into my mother’s arms. With that knowledge, I handed her over, my heart aching as he took her from me.
“Damn, you’re a chunky little thing, aren’t you?” Christian said as he nestled her in his arms.
