Page 10 of The Tiger's Secret Baby (Savage Shifters Special Ops 4)

Stephanie raised her hand. “I will. I will be your inside guard for the night if that’s okay?” she said.

“Perfect,” I answered. Then, I turned to the men. “And you?”

They smiled and said that they brought their meals. They had to get to their posts. They had just seen Duggers being a jerk and intervened.

“I appreciate your help,” I said.

They went on their way. The kids had a double treat: Stephanie and the ice cream. We didn’t get too many guests out here. I practically had to carry each of them to their beds.

Finally, I was able to get to bed.

I was exhausted. Every muscle in my body were lead weights, and I couldn’t have moved if the house was on fire. However, as tired as I was, I couldn’t sleep. Thoughts flew around my head in a flurry of words.

First, how was I going to survive with Damian being under the same roof? He had hurt me so much when he left.

I doubted that I had crossed his mind too much during the last ten years. However, I thought about him every day, since I had carried a part of him in my body, and now she is the most important thing in the world to me. She looks a lot like him.

I never stopped loving him. Correction, I never stopped loving the Damian that he used to be. After ten years apart, neither of us are the people we used to be.

The other big concern that wouldn’t let me sleep was the thought of Duggers. He was evil and he had been humiliated by the security team. That was going to make him doubly dangerous. Even with the team here, would they be able to stop Duggers before he hurt one of my kids?

Perhaps I was being foolish for standing my ground. The second that thought flew through my brain, I banished it. I had never given in to bullies, and I darn sure wasn’t going to now. There were Duggers everywhere in the world, and I had to let my babies know that there are times when you have to stand up and fight for what you believe in and for yourself – no matter what it costs you.

My biggest worry was Rose. She did look a lot like her father. He didn’t know about her. I couldn’t exactly just blurt it out as soon as they get here. I didn’t want to tell him when I got pregnant with her, because I didn’t want to make that a reason for him to be with me. If his love for me wasn’t strong enough to stay, then I wasn’t going to blackmail him with a baby. He would have resented the both of us, and no one would have been happy.

My final thought that floated through my head before I dozed off was -How soon would he figure it out and how angry was he going to be?

4

Damian

We arrived early the next morning. Steve briefed us on the situation that was occurring when they arrived and how they intervened. I told him that he did a great job. Steve said that the security teams would be working in twelve-hour shifts. The day shift had already been briefed. Then, he took his tired self home to get some well-deserved rest.

The kids were already working hard on the barn when we arrived. The tallest of the kids was obviously in charge. All of them listened to him. He was a great leader. He talked to the kids gently and gave even the youngest kids jobs to make sure everyone knew they were important.

I was impressed with the fantastic job that Ember was doing with these kids. She had always wanted to work with kids and make a difference in their lives, but this was absolutely amazing.

“Ember, this is fantastic,” I said. “Whatever magic you have with these kids, keep using it.”

She smiled. “I just let them know that they are loved. That’s all I can do.”

I stared into her eyes. They reminded me of the lush forests atop mountains that have been left untouched by man. They were pure and good.

The spell was broken when a little girl, about ten years old, approached and said, “Mom?”

Ember jerked her head as though she had just been woken up from a deep sleep.

“Yes, Baby Girl?”

“There is a man on the phone for you. He says it’s important that he talks to you.”

A look of resignation crossed Ember’s face.

“Okay, thank you.”

I went into the house with Ember and listened to what the man said on the other line. “Don’t think for a minute that your thugs have scared me away. Make things easy on yourself and just sell me the land. Name your price. You can go anywhere.”

Ember rolled her eyes. She decided that she wasn’t going to let this man get her goat. In her best version of a southern belle’s accent, she said, “Why, Mr. Duggers. I surely don’t know what you mean by calling my friends as thugs. They are perfectly nice, upstanding citizens. As for your kind offer, Sir, well, I just don’t know what to say. Except, no.” Then her voice got hard. “I’m not selling, and I’m not giving in to your harassment or your bullying. The next time you step foot on my land, I’m filing trespassing charges.”

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