“I did this for us,” Jules says in a whisper, and if I had a gun right then I would have put a bullet in her.

“Whatever the f**k you did, you did it for yourself,” I growl. “Now where the f**k is she?”

“Come on, man, your daughter is in here,” Jim says. He takes me into a pantry off the kitchen. When he opens the door, he shines a flashlight into the small space, and there is my baby girl asleep on the floor. I rush over, picking her up. She is out cold, her body completely limp.

“What’s wrong with her?” I ask in a panic, lifting her higher up on my chest.

“They roofied her. I checked her over already. All of her vitals are okay; she is just asleep,” he tells me. I swear I can feel my body expand with rage.

“I’m going to f**king kill her.”

“You’re going to have to wait in line. Where she is going, they don’t take too kindly to people hurting kids, and I’m telling you that everyone in the prison will know what she did. I will make it my personal goal to let everyone she has contact with know her history.” His face is devoid of any emotion, and I don’t give a f**k what they do to her. I don’t care if that makes me an insensitive prick, but I hope she gets what’s coming to her.

“What exactly was her plan?” I ask him, looking down at the sweet face of my baby girl.

“She was going to sell her to me.”

“What?”

“We have been working this case for a while. The man in the other room is part of a child trafficking network. I have been undercover for a while now. He told me he had a piece of property for me to pick up and to meet him here. I did, and when I got here, the woman and child were here with him.

“You’re f**king with me.”

“No, man. I wish I was, but this shit is a lot more common than you think, and the sad thing is that normally the kids don’t have people out looking for them,” he says, and I hear sirens off in the distance. I say a prayer for all the kids who don’t have anyone searching for them. I would be lost without my kids.

“Thank you,” I tell him, my voice gruff with emotion. He pats my shoulder before giving it a squeeze. We walk back out to the kitchen; my ex and the guy with her are still sitting at the table. I don’t even look at them. My dad is there with a couple of his officers, but I walk past them all, heading outside. Once I clear the door, I see there are three black SUVs filling the driveway. Jim, who comes outside as well, goes to talk to some of the men exiting the vehicles. I sit on the steps of the porch holding Ashlyn. I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to her, or if I had lost her permanently. I would be devastated. I look up to see Nico holding out a phone to me, and when I put it to my ear, I know exactly who is on the line. “Baby, I got our baby girl. She’s okay,” I tell her.

“Jax?” she questions.

“He is with Asher and Trevor.” I can hear a loud thud and I know that she has fallen. Tears start to fill my eyes. I hold Ashlyn a little tighter, closing my eyes.

“Please bring them home soon,” she cries. I can hear her mom talking to her, and I know that she is comforting her, which makes this a little easier.

“I will. Love you, baby,” I tell her. An officer comes over, telling me that an ambulance is coming and that we should wait in one of the SUVs. I look through the front window of the SUV, seeing that Nico is standing with our dad on the front porch. His phone is to his ear, and I hope that he called Trevor and Asher. I need my son, but I don’t want him to see what’s going on. I watch as they escort Jules and the man out of the house and into the back of one of the vehicles. The vehicles carrying them takes off and an ambulance pulls up, along with Asher’s truck. I hop out, taking Ashlyn to the ambulance. When I get her inside, they start looking her over. All of her vitals are fine, her O2 level normal. They hook her up on fluids and get her comfortable. I get out and take Jax from Trevor, who tells me that he had fallen asleep crying.

“You gonna take him with you in the ambulance to the hospital?” Trevor asks.

“Yeah. Can you call Lil’s dad and ask him to bring the girls to meet us at the hospital?”

“You got it. Do you want one of us to ride with you?”

“Nah,” I tell them, walking away. I get back into the ambulance holding my son and looking at my daughter. They are both so small and defenseless. When we get to the hospital, there is a blur of activity. We’re escorted into a room, and the doctors run more tests on Ashlyn, who still hasn’t woken up.

“Cash!” I hear yelled, and I stand with Jax still in my arms. He still hasn’t woken up either. I had the doctor look him over and they said that he is fine, probably just crashed from having an adrenalin rush. When I clear the doorway, Lilly is running towards me still yelling out my name. When she sees Jax and me, her eyes close and she stops in the middle of the hall. I go to her, needing to touch her.

“Baby, they are both okay,” I tell her, holding her with one arm. Her arms wrap around Jax and me, and we stand there for a few minutes before I kiss her forehead and grab her hand, leading her to Ashlyn. Once in the room, she goes right to her bedside, looking down at our daughter who looks so fragile.

“Why isn’t she awake?” she asks.

“They don’t know, but they said she is fine. Her vitals are all normal and she doesn’t have any injuries; it just looks like she doesn’t want to wake up yet. Neither of them wants to wake up yet.” We wait for what seems like forever in silence for Ashlyn to wake up, and when she does, she doesn’t even know what happened to her. She has no recollection of Jules at all. The police and everyone believe she was drugged while in the yard. My brave son, who had the courage to follow his sister, woke up not long after her. I can tell he’s still upset about what happened, but he’s happy to have his sister back, and us all together. That night, when we finally get home, and after getting everyone tucked into our bed, I thank God for keeping my family safe and together. None of us are going to be out of each other’s sight for a while. I think Lil and I both need to be able to see the kids at all times for about the next six months.

Ironically, that happens to be around the time that Jules gets sentenced to twenty years in jail without the possibility of parole. The crimes against her are numerous, and she is proven guilty with each and every one of them. I sit down on the couch, and Lilly cuddles into my side while Jax and Ashlyn argue over which movie we are going to watch. I don’t care what I do with my family; as long as we are together, I’m a happy man.

“Thank you for giving me this,” I whisper into Lilly’s ear. Her head turns towards me, her eyes searching my face.

“You know that you give us everything, right? You are the like the moon to our family ocean. You’re magnetic; we will always follow you and try to give you back what you give to us.” She leans up and kisses me before laying her head back against my chest. I don’t know what I did to deserve her or my children, but I will always do everything within my power to keep them safe and happy.

Epilogue

Sophie

“Mom, Dad, can you guys stop being so gross? No one wants to see their parents making out,” Ashlyn says walking into the living room.

“Yeah that’s some sick shit,” Jax says, following behind his sister and ruffling her hair. She punches him in the arm in response.

“Hey, mouth,” I scold.

“Sorry, but really, why don’t you guys try acting like normal parents?” Jax complains flopping down onto the couch.

“If you don’t like it, you got a room,” Cash says and Jax rolls his eyes shaking his head.

“I had to come in here, I need some extra money. I’m taking Becky to homecoming.” Jax says, his eyes lighting up and I inwardly growl. I hate that Jax is grown up. I was putting is his laundry away the other day and found a half a box of condoms. Condoms, I didn’t even want to think about him having a penis let alone him using it on anyone.

“Chris asked me to go with him,” Ashlyn says jumping up making Cash’s eyes narrow. I know exactly what’s coming so I sit back on the couch.

“You are not going,” Cash says.

“Good luck with that, sis,” Jax laughs, getting off the couch and leaving the room.

“Dad, if Jax can date, then I should be allowed to date too,” Ashlyn says, her eyes narrowing on her father. I try not to laugh, but it’s funny watching Cash try to come up with an excuse for why his sixteen-year-old son can date, but his sixteen-year-old daughter can’t. His eyes meet mine and narrow. I give him my best ‘I’m innocent’ smile, making his jaw tic. After everything that happened, we agreed to not have any more kids. We both just wanted to enjoy Ashlyn and Jax without adding another baby to the bunch. Besides, everyone had gone baby-crazy, and there were plenty of Mayson children to occupy everyone.

“I have told you before that you’re a girl.”

“I know I’m a girl, Dad, but I really wanted to go to homecoming with Chris. It’s not fair that Jax gets to go and I don’t.”

“You want to help me out here?” He looks at me, and I shake my head no. He mouths the word ‘spanking’ and I tighten my thighs in response. I don’t know how it is for other married couples, but for us, our sex life has only improved with time. He knows exactly how and where to touch me, or what to say to have me craving him all day, so that when we finally connect, I jump him. I think it’s why he does what he does.

“Dad, this is not fair,” she whines, then looks at me. “Mom, tell him that it’s not fair.” She stomps her foot.

“Cash, this is not fair,” I tell him, trying not to smile.

“See, Dad? Mom agrees that it’s not fair.” Cash looks at me over her head, and I know that whatever punishment I get tonight is going to be good.

“Honey, you have to agree that it’s not fair for Jax to go when she can’t,” I tell him honestly. I try not to get involved with things like this, but it’s ridiculous that he lets Jax do whatever he wants, while Ashlyn is supposed to be locked away in her room.

“She is younger than him. They are only the same age for a few months, so I do think it’s fair,” he growls at me, and I hold up my hands.

“I never get to do anything!” she cries, and that is a total crock. She gets her way, just like now. The only thing she has to do is wait it out, and her Dad will crack and agree to let her go.

“I’ll think about it,” Cash says, and just like that, Ashlyn won another round and she knows it. She makes it obvious by throwing herself at Cash.

“You’re the best dad ever!” she cries. He wraps his arms around her, kissing her forehead, and then she’s gone, bouncing to her room.

“You know that your daughter is a f**king handful,” he grumbles, his hand coming down on either side of me.

“She is your daughter too,” I tell him.

“She is all you, baby, so sweet when she needs to be, but a dog with a bone when the time calls for it.”

“I think those are your traits.”

“You know that you’re getting punished for going against me in front of her, right?”

“Cash.”

“No, don’t you Cash me, baby. You earned this shit.” I don’t know why he always says it like a threat, when in reality, it’s a reward and makes me want to be bad and go against him all the time.

“Did you talk to Jax about the condoms?” I ask him.

“I had the bird and the bees talk with him. And I know that you don’t like it, and you still think of him as your baby, but he is growing up; he will be seventeen soon.” I do still think of him as my baby, because he is. Jules has been in jail since she kidnapped Ashlyn. I was afraid at first, but my boy is so strong that he pushed through everything and ended up shining even brighter because of it. Jules is still in jail and has never once tried to contact him or Cash, or if she did, I don’t know about it. Cash nuzzling my neck brings me back to reality.

“Hey, what are you doing?” I try pushing him away. “And what the hell do you mean that he’s all grown up? I still buy his underwear, so until I stop doing that and he starts doing it for himself, he is not grown up.” Cash starts laughing, his whole body shaking mine, and his face goes into my neck. I roll my eyes, running my hands through his hair.

“I love you, baby,” he says once he gets control of himself. He lifts his head, looking at me. He still looks at me like I’m the most important thing in his life. Yes, he feels the same way about his kids, but each of us gets a different look from him.

“I love you, too,” I whisper, looking into his handsome face. He was even more handsome than he was a few years ago. Age has made him even sexier, and I think having a happy home life makes his soul happy enough to shine through.

* * *

Cash

“Drop the towel and get on the bed,” I tell Lilly as soon as I walk into the room. She doesn’t even hesitate; her eyes darken and she walks right to the bed, lying down. “Good girl, now spread,” I command her, and she does as I say, her breath increasing. “You know, I should spank you for not agreeing with me about Ashlyn this morning, but since I know that you like that shit so much, I’m just going to give you a different kind of punishment,” I tell her, stripping off my clothes. I walk to the edge of the bed, my hand on my dick working myself in smooth strokes. Her eyes are watching, and I know she loves to see me touch myself. She always thinks she can get away with everything, and most of the time that is the truth, but not this time. This time she is going to pay. I’m not ready for my daughter to date, and I need Lil onboard with me. I get up off the bed, kneeling near her head. “Open,” I tell her, and she does what I say, her mouth opening eagerly. I feed her my c**k inch-by-inch; her eyes light up when my hand goes to her breast and I pull on one nipple, then the other, getting them hard. Her body is writhing, wanting more contact. I move my hips, f**king her mouth. “Fuck, yes, just like that,” I encourage her. “Now lift your h*ps so I can play with your pussy, baby.” She does, and my fingers make contact with her cl*tbefore sliding two inside. “You’re soaked,” I growl and she nods, grinding her pu**y against my hand. I play with her some more, then pull away when I feel her body tell me she’s close. She whines, but she doesn’t stop sucking me off. I pull her ni**les again before going back to her pussy. She is in a frenzy; I can see it in her eyes. I pull my dick out of her mouth and position my head between her legs, propping her feet on my shoulders. My mouth latches onto her; my whole face is soaked with her arousal. I add a finger, and when I know she’s close, I sit up. I want so badly to f**k her, but not yet; she needs to learn.