I turn the phone over to my mom. “Oh, she’s lovely. Look at that smile.” It’s addicting and what initially caught my attention.
“Could you babysit tonight?” I regret the words as soon as I say them.
“She has a child?” The woman lights up like she’s won the lottery.
“Now you’ve done it,” Dad mumbles as he gets his coffee.
“No... Sort of. It’s her cousin Sawyer. He’s a cute kid. I took them to the carnival yesterday,” I explain, frustrated that I didn’t get Noelle to myself. Not that Sawyer wasn’t fun, but in order for him to trust me, Noelle has to first, and I get the feeling they’re a packaged deal.
“Her cousin? Why on earth would you need us then? Doesn’t the boy have parents?” Dad asks, and I can tell it’s more than curiosity.
“He does. I met the father last night. Noelle didn’t want to take the kid home after school yesterday, and I understood why afterwards.” My implication is clear.
“Of course, I’ll watch him. I’ll get Catalina and Meadow over here. They’ve both been going through baby fever.” She sighs, and Dad freezes, eyeing her up with caution.
“Baby fever? That contagious?” he asks, and she swats him in the chest.
“We’ll be ready whenever you are. You’ll bring Noelle, too, won’t you?” I love my mother; she’s one of the strongest women I know. She’s also protective as hell over Aria and me.
“You going to scare her off?” I counter.
“No. It sounds like you might be just what the two of them need.” Blowing out the breath I've been holding, I nod.
“We’ll be here around four. Do you think you could ask Meadow to raid Scotlyn’s closet for a dress? Noelle is about the same size as her.” My cousin is up in Maryland with a dance company. She’s one of the best ballet dancers on the East Coast, and her success has taken her all over the country.
“On it!” she replies, texting away as she leaves the room.
Dad nods his head towards his office, and I follow him. Mom has a rule: no business outside the mahogany doors. As the heir to the proverbial throne, I’m brought in on everything.
“I need you for a meeting tonight at eleven. At the docks. Danika and the boys have been given the green light to bring precious cargo over. They need security,” he explains.
“I’ll be there.” This is one job I’ll never miss. “Who else is coming?”
“Saint, Easton, and Nolan. Hendrix and Bishop are on standby if we need them. The twins will be at the safe house.” I nod. My cousins are some of the most highly-trained men out there. Nolan, Hendrix, Bishop, and I all served in the Army. Easton, Damien, and Santo run a successful protection agency out of California, where Santo and Damien live. They were trained by L.A. SWAT in all kinds of tactical shit. And the twins were trained by one of their dads, Dimitri, a former FBI agent who spent more time undercover than with the agency.
“Who will be here?” The main house is never left unguarded. Especially when my mom is here.
“Luther and Atticus. Carver and Castiel are working on tracking down a missing shipment of guns.”
“Shouldn’t Danny boy be in on that?” For as well as Daniel trained me in cyber shit, I’ll never be as good as him.
“If they need him, they’ll ask. You going to be focused tonight?” I frown. He’s never questioned me before.
“I’m ready. You know I wouldn’t fuck something so important up.” He nods and lets it go.
“How’d you meet this girl?” Mom interrupts, walking into the room.
“I’ve been watching her at her job.”
“Like father, like son, huh?” She laughs. I know all about how my dad basically stole my mom off the streets. Thinking she was some junky whore but wanting her for himself anyways. That’s how I know, even with my secrets, that I'll be able to keep Noelle. Nothing else matters if the love becomes strong enough.
* * *
Noelle
My body aches today. It feels like fire is running through my veins with every breath I take. Getting thrown around has left me a bit more bruised than I realized this morning when I woke up to find my temple black and blue. The surface of my head where I lost a handful of hair still stings too.
Last night, it took me three hours to get Sawyer to finally fall asleep, and then because of a nightmare, he wound up in my bed anyways.