Page 122 of Sacrifice the Knight (Checkmate 6)

Chuckling behind me, Mac unsnaps his belt and leans forward, which makes me worry that he’ll strain his healing incision. He drops a lingering kiss on my forehead, then pulls back and meets my eyes. “I love you, Mom. More than you know.”

“I love you too, honey.”

“You need to relax.”

“No, I need to buy a bubble for you to live in.”

With an adoring smile, as though I were the child and he the adult, he shakes his head and opens his door. He slides out gingerly, slowly because, despite his speeches about being fine, he knows he has to take it easy. Steadying himself, he slams the door shut and flashes a cute grin through the tinted windows.

Before I can climb out after him, Eric grabs my chin and pulls me back. “I love you.” Despite Benny coming out to stand by the waiting girls, Eric leans forward and presses a gentle kiss to my lips. He’s brave, considering Ben’s threats of dismemberment. “I’m not going to lecture you on babying him. It wouldn’t make a lick of difference anyway, so I’m just going to tell you that I love you, and that I’m here when you start to freak out. I’m not going anywhere, so you’re kinda stuck with me now.”

“I don’t want to be unstuck,” I whisper. “I love you too, and…” I hesitate as a million thoughts race through my mind. I almost lived through what hehas. I almost knew what he knows. And the only reason my son is with us is because he wouldn’t give up on us. “I want to thank you.”

He leans back and lets his eyes flicker between mine. “For what?”

“For helping him that day. I haven’t taken a single moment in five weeks to say thank you. If you didn’t do what you did, then he wouldn’t be here. If you didn’t do it so fast, he wouldn’t be here. If you weren’t there, and I was all alone, I wouldn’t have known what to do. My son is alive because you love us. I’ll never forget what you did.”

The corner of his lips quirk up just a little. It’s a shy smile, but a smile that tells me he’s thinking of Gemma and Callie. He couldn’t save them, but he was placed in my life for a reason. There was a higher calling, and the universe answered it that last time in this gym.

“Our stars paired, babe.” He drops a kiss on the tip of my nose. “We’re stuck together forever.”

“Good.” I smile and slide out of my side when he pulls away. Walking toward the group of friends at the front doors, I study each of them in turn. The girls are still sheepish, traumatized, no doubt, by watching their friend die right in front of their eyes. But they’re here, and the fire in their eyes makes it clear who’s going to walk with him into that gym today.

And it sure as shit isn’t going to be his overprotective mother.

I nod my permission, standing back when they turn and move inside. The gym is packed to the brim, so the walkways are lined with fighters and family. They each clap my son on the back and silently cheer him toward his destination. The girls stick close, Benny possibly even closer. I accept hugs and kisses from several of the women we pass, and Eric gets sly thumbs up from the men as though our relationship status is still up for discussion.

Eventually, the kids stop at the side of the ring in the very place Eric stood and watched my son fight and fall. They look around as though uncertain, like they’re scared of going in there again.

Like it might be haunted.

A chair has already been placed there, so Mac can easily climb up. Swallowing heavily, he glances around with uncertain eyes until they finally meet mine. The vulnerability in his gaze brings tears to my eyes and wars with my decision to stay back. I’m supposed to let him do this on his own, to let him be a man and face his fears, but my instincts scream at me to run to him.

He’s my baby, and I promised to always hold him up when he needed it.

“He’s fine.” Eric presses a gentle kiss to the side of my head. “He’s scared, but he’s safe.”

“I know.” My voice cracks, but he doesn’t tease me about it. He wraps a secure arm around my torso and pulls me in as one of the fighter girls takes Mac’s shaking hand and pulls him up.

She’s always been brave, too much attitude for her small body, too big for her britches. Whatever you want to call it, she was never afraid to step up to a challenge. So she climbs up first and pulls him up to stand on the chair, then she parts the ropes and holds them while he climbs through on shaking legs.

I press my fist between my teeth before I cry and make a dick of myself.

There must be fifty or more people here, but everyone remains silent.

When Mac and Lucy Kincaid stop in the center of the ring, they turn to face their crowd. Some people smile. Some bow their heads. Some cry.

It’s me.

I cry.

But no one cheers when Lucy lifts Mac’s hand above his head to finish the victory lap he started so long ago. Heads are bowed for a moment of silence. A show of respect for the man whose heart now beats in my son’s chest.

I hated Zeke Douglas with all of my being for deserting us when we needed him the most, but now I love him too. I can’t ever stop loving him. Iwon’tever stop loving him. Because his sacrifice saved our son’s life, and the note he left for me says that he knew exactly what he was doing that day he ended up in the same ER as us, with a heart that was still beating, even if the rest of his body was not.

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