Chapter 84 Family Shows Up

Chapter 84 Family Shows Up
Marcus’s POV

The car rolled to a stop, so abruptly my knee screamed in protest.

“We’re here,” Damian said, already killing the engine.

My heart was pounding too hard to register the pain. Peter was out of his seat in an instant, yanking open the back door before I could even unbuckle.

“Easy,” he said, gripping my arm as I shifted forward. “Don’t be a hero.”

“Too late,” I muttered.

Sirens wailed somewhere behind us, close enough that the sound vibrated in my chest. Red and blue lights flashed through the trees, painting the narrow road in frantic color. Damian slammed his door and ran around the front of the car, scanning the clearing ahead with sharp, frantic eyes.

Then I saw them. Anna and Courtney stood huddled together near the edge of the road, arms wrapped around each other like they were holding themselves upright by sheer force of will. Their faces were pale, eyes wide, hair mussed by wind and panic.

And Liam—

He stood a few feet away from them, swaying slightly, his expression unfocused and wild, like he’d run out of places to run inside his own head. Relief hit me so hard it nearly knocked me flat.

“There,” I breathed. “They’re there.”

Peter tightened his grip and helped me out of the car. My foot hit the ground, pain shooting up my leg, but I barely felt it. All I could see was Anna.

Police cruisers screeched to a stop behind us. Doors flew open. Officers poured out, hands already hovering near their belts, voices sharp and commanding.

“Police! Nobody move!”

Liam startled like a spooked animal.

He turned—and ran.

“Liam, stop!” an officer shouted.

He didn’t make it far.

His foot slipped on the loose gravel, and he went down hard, arms flailing as momentum betrayed him. He hit the ground with a dull thud, groaning as officers were on him in seconds, forcing his hands behind his back. I barely registered any of it.

Because Anna had seen me. Her eyes locked onto mine across the clearing, and the look on her face—shock, relief, raw emotion—cut straight through me.

“Marcus!” she cried.

She broke free from Courtney and ran.

“Anna!” I shouted, panic flaring. “Wait—!”

Too late.

She crossed the distance in seconds and threw herself into my arms without hesitation. I barely had time to brace before she collided with me, arms wrapping around my neck, face buried against my shoulder. The impact jarred my knee viciously. White-hot pain flared—and I didn’t care.

I wrapped my arms around her as tightly as I could manage with the crutches, holding her like she might disappear if I didn’t.

“I’ve got you,” I said hoarsely. “I’ve got you. You’re okay. You’re safe.”

She was shaking. I could feel it—deep, uncontrollable tremors wracking her body as everything she’d been holding in finally broke free.

“I thought—” she sobbed. “I thought we were—”

“I know,” I murmured into her hair. “I know. I’m here.”

Behind us, Damian reached Courtney at the same time. She launched herself at him with a choked sound, burying her face in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her protectively.

“Hey,” he said softly, his voice breaking despite himself. “You’re okay. You’re both okay.”

Peter stood a few steps back, watching all of it with his jaw clenched tight, fists curling at his sides. Then he huffed out a breath and muttered, “Great. Guess I’ll just hug myself.”

Despite everything, a shaky laugh bubbled out of me.

Anna pulled back just enough to look at me, her hands gripping my jacket like anchors. “Your knee—what are you doing here?”

I smiled weakly. “Coming to get you.”

“You’re not supposed to be walking,” she whispered fiercely.

“I wasn’t supposed to let you get taken either,” I replied.

Her eyes filled again. She leaned her forehead against mine carefully this time. “You scared me.”

“Right back at you.”

Sirens faded as more officers arrived, the scene slowly shifting from chaos to control. One officer approached us, speaking calmly, asking if we were injured, if we needed medical attention.

Anna shook her head. “No. Just—just shaken.”

Courtney echoed her, still clinging to Damian.

I nodded. “They’re okay.”

Peter, however, had gone very still. I felt it before I saw it—the shift in his posture, the way his shoulders squared, his gaze locking onto Liam, who was now kneeling on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back, head hanging low.

“Peter,” I warned quietly.

He didn’t look at me. He took a few slow steps toward Liam, boots crunching deliberately against the gravel. An officer noticed too late.

“Sir—”

Peter closed the distance and swung. His fist connected with Liam’s face with a sickening crack. Liam cried out as he fell sideways, blood already blooming from his nose.

“Don’t you ever,” Peter snarled, standing over him, rage shaking his entire frame, “mess with my family again.”

“Peter!” Damian shouted.

Officers rushed forward, grabbing Peter by the arms and pulling him back.

“That’s enough!” one of them barked.

Peter didn’t resist, but his eyes never left Liam. “Worth it,” he said flatly.

I exhaled slowly.

Anna flinched at the sound but didn’t pull away from me. Instead, she tightened her grip, as if grounding herself.

“He told us things,” she whispered. “About Ramsey. About the camp.”

My chest tightened. “I figured about Ramsey, but what about camp?.”

“You'll need to sit down for that part,” she said softly, pulling back to look at me.

“When we get home then,” I said. “But I do know this isn’t over.”

An officer approached again, more gently this time. “We’ll need statements from all of you. But first, let’s get you somewhere warmer.”

I nodded. “Please.”

Damian guided Courtney toward the car, keeping an arm around her shoulders. Peter shook off the officers and joined them, muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like another threat.

I shifted my weight carefully, bracing on my crutches as Anna stayed close, one hand firm on my arm.

“You don’t have to hold me up,” I teased softly.

“Yes, I do,” she said immediately. “You’re terrible at listening.”

I smiled despite the ache in my leg, despite the adrenaline still roaring through my veins.

As we moved toward the car, I glanced back once.

Liam sat on the ground, dazed, blood dripping onto the gravel, officers speaking to him in low, firm voices. For the first time, he looked small. Not powerful. Not dangerous. Just broken by choices he could never undo.

Good. I turned away.

The ride back was quiet, heavy with aftermath. Anna leaned into me, her head resting against my shoulder, her fingers laced tightly with mine like she was afraid to let go.

“You came for us,” she said softly after a while.

“Always,” I replied.

“And you found us.”

“I would’ve torn the whole state apart if I had to.”

She let out a shaky breath. “I believe you.”

When we finally pulled into my driveway, exhaustion crashed over me all at once. My knee throbbed mercilessly now, my body finally registering everything it had powered through.

Peter helped me inside, then promptly declared, “I’m getting ice. For everyone. Possibly whiskey.”

Damian snorted. “You’re seventeen.”

“Details,” Peter replied.

Courtney managed a small smile.

Once we were settled, Anna knelt in front of me carefully, her eyes searching my face.

“I’m okay,” she said, as much for herself as for me. “We both are.”

I reached out, cupping her cheek gently. “I’m sorry you were scared.”

She leaned into my touch. “I’m not sorry you came.”

Neither was I. As the night closed in around us—police reports, quiet conversations, the long exhale after danger passed—I held onto one truth with everything I had:

They’d tried to use fear against us. And it had failed.

Because family—chosen or blood—shows up.

And we did.