For the first time, Doctor Saladinya places his hand on my back and I don't react. His touch is soothing and for once, I need to use our time to get all this shit off my chest.
"Jax sent me into an assignment blind," I say, looking up to meet his eyes.
36
~Lily~
The last three nights were spent catching up on sessions with the good doctor. Part of me feels better, but the worries and anxiety of the future are still here. Tonight we sit around the formal dining room table, more laughter going on than ever.
I stare around at my team, the Masons, Doctor Saladinya and Teresa, all smiling and acting as if nothing is amiss in our lives. Teresa prepared the best dinner I've seen . . . maybe ever. The table is laden with authentic Mexican and Spanish foods. Everything from paella, enchiladas, tacos, empanadas . . . you name it, she made it.
I haven't touched a single bit.
Nothing has changed, and there lies my agitation. I want this to be my life, fully. Not just some fleeting moment scattered through an eternity of pain and misery. I love Blake and somewhere in the back of my mind, I picture this lifestyle with him.
At the same time, it scares the shit out of me. How, in these few months, has he turned my world on its head? I lie in his arms at night, wondering how I got so lucky, and praying morning will never come. It does though. Each new day, I look in the mirror, hardly recognizing myself anymore.
"Lily," Blake's voice snaps, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Your cell phone is ringing."
It finally registers in my ears. I pull it from my pocket and stare down at an unknown number.
"Hello," I say calmly.
"Lily, help me please. They found my parents. They're going to send me back. I don't want to go back," a young female voice cries.
"Sorina? What happened? Where are you?"
"I'm at the halfway house. Please, Lily, don't let them take me back to those men," she sobs.
"I'm on my way," I snap, standing.
I run to my office and grab my guns and my keys. As I blaze through the living room, Blake and Dresden get to their feet.
"Lily?" Dresden says.
"Sorina's parents are at the halfway house. They're going to sell her back to the Taurus."
"We'll meet you there," he calls as I run out the door, heading for the elevators.
This can't happen to her. She deserves a chance, something my parents never gave me. The elevator doors open to the lobby and I jog through it, shouting apologies to the people who get in my way. I jump into the front SUV and take off, not bothering to worry about other drivers.
I pull my phone out of my pocket and call the main number for the halfway house.
"Mason House, this is Julie."
"Julie, it's Agent Williams. Are Sorina's parents still there?"
"Yes, ma'am. They're fighting with Nurse Slybeck."
"Tell her I'm on my way. Don't let them leave there with Sorina."
"Yes, ma'am."
†††
"Te duci înapoi! Destul! Ia-ți lucrurile!" a man yells, grabbing Sorina by the arm.
You're going back! Enough! Get your things!
I stand inside the door, unnoticed, watching the exchange with her parents. Her mother stands, rigid, her face cold as she glares at her daughter. The father has enough anger pulsing from him to set off a box of explosives. Blake and Dresden enter and stand close behind me.
"No Papa, please. I don't want to go. I want to stay here," Sorina begs, trying to pull free of her father's grasp.
"De ce ar vrea ca tu să stai? Nu ești nimic. Nimeni nu te vrea." He sneers at her.
Why would they want you to stay? You're nothing. No one wants you.
I take a few steps forward. "I want her," I say loudly. Their heads whip in my direction, Sorina's eyes as large as saucers. "She's everything, and I want her."
Her father stalks toward me, pulling Sorina next to him. "You know nothing, bitch," he says with a thick accent.
I carefully open my jacket and reveal my guns, hanging under my arms. I point at the badge lying against my stomach. "I know everything. I also know selling her into slavery can earn you a life sentence in prison. The choice is yours. Leave Sorina, or after I beat the shit out of you, I’ll arrest you, and she'll stay anyway."
Her parents exchange a few hushed words in Romanian. After, her father glares at me, pushes Sorina away and stomps from the building, his wife in tow. I sigh deeply. Opening my eyes, I'm almost knocked over as Sorina wraps her arms around my neck and sobs.
"I got you, kiddo," I whisper into her hair, tightening my arms as she shakes, uncontrollably.
"Did you mean what you said?"
I push her from my arms and stare into her brown eyes. "Yes. I'll figure it out. For now, I need you to stay here. When this is all over, I'll come get you." I pull her back into my arms and hold her until the tears subside.
Lily, you have lost your fucking mind!
One of the nurses stops beside us, glancing from me to Sorina. "Why don't you come rest, Sorina?"
She stands straight, wiping the wetness from her face and nods. I keep my eyes glued to her as she walks from the room with the nurse. Blake's hands press down on my shoulders and I have no idea how to explain what I've just agreed to. He is part of my future, but so is she.
"Once Interpol clears this case, I'll have one of the rooms at the apartment converted for her," he says in a steady, authoritative voice.
I twist around and look up at him. "What?"
"Don't act surprised. I planned on asking you to come live with me too," he says, gently grasping my neck in his hand.
"You want me to live with you?"
He chuckles. "I thought I made it clear. I want you, forever, if I can have you. Did you think I was going to just let you leave when this was all over?"
I reach out, gripping the sides of his head and pull him to me, pressing our lips together. My body tingles at the contact, and as the kiss deepens, I pull away. This isn't the place for my hormones to get the better of me. He stares at me, his eyes wild with need. Taking his hand, we join Dresden by the door.
"You know it was foolish running over here without back-up," he says.
"Yeah, I know. Let's get back to the apartment before someone tries to kill us."
†††
We walk into the apartment to find everyone still sitting at the dining room table, laughing and carrying on. My stomach rumbles and as much as I want to contemplate my outrageousness, I'm starving.
Blake and I take our seats, his gaze on me as I finally fill my plate and begin eating. After a few mouthfuls, I can't take it anymore. I sit back and turn toward him. His gaze never leaves my face.
"What?" I say, huffing.
The edges of his mouth turn upward. "Nothing."
"You've been staring at me since we got home."
"Am I not allowed to stare at my beautiful girlfriend?" He raises his eyebrows in amusement.
I laugh, catching several people's attention. "Maybe your girlfriend would like to finish her food without a damn audience."
"Okay, I'm sorry." He turns his gaze to Dresden and they grin like schoolboys.
Their bro-mance is annoying.
"You guys should've come with us. First time Lily hasn't punched someone before asking questions," Dresden quips, taking a bite of his food.
I throw my spoon, hitting him in the chest. "Shut up."
"What? I was shocked. I think Blake was too."
"I said, shut up."
"I think what you're doing is nothing short of amazing, baby," Blake says, trailing his fingers down my cheek.
"What are you doing, Lily?" Doctor Saladinya asks, setting his silverware down.
I sigh, and set mine down next to my plate. "It's nothing, really."
"Yes, adopting a kid, that's no big deal," Dresden says sarcastically.
Every eye focuses on me and the blood rises to my face. I run my hands through my hair and stand. "Yes, okay, as stupid
an idea as it is, I care for that girl. If she doesn't stay with me, her parents will sell her back to the sex trade," I say, my words jumbled.
"Breathe, Lily. That's such a selfless thing to do. You're an amazing woman," Doctor Saladinya says, smiling.
I stare at him, wide-eyed. "Thanks," I whisper. "Alright, enough of this. I'm exhausted."
"Where are you going?" Blake says.
I glance back at him, a sly grin playing at my lips. "To our bedroom. See you when you come up."
†††
Making love to Blake is something I'll never get tired of doing. My emotions are all over the place, but in bed with him is the one place where everything makes sense. I close my eyes, the soothing rhythm of Blake's shower pulling me toward sleep. He sings, not overly loud, but enough that I can hear him. He's pretty good.
I smile to myself— half dazed, as he gets out of the shower and moves around the bathroom. He whistles the song I sang to him at the piano a while back. There couldn't be a more perfect song for us. Well, from me to him.
The bed indents and my eyes flutter open. Blake's staring down at me, his face impassive. I raise my eyebrows, pushing myself up onto my elbows.
"What's wrong?"
"I want to talk to you about something," he says his voice soft.
"Okay. So talk."
"I'd like to organize a charity event in honor of Shannon's return. Nothing too big," he says, sprawling out next to me, propping up on one elbow.
"Blake, you know that would be very dangerous. You hosting an event is sure to attract the people we're trying to keep away from you," I say sternly, rolling onto my side to face him.
"I know, but it's important. I want to have some of the girls from the halfway house come. Sorina, for sure. Some of the people I know from Interpol."
I sigh. His lips press into a thin line, his features softening. "Talk to Vlad about security and Sammi about location and surveillance. I'll call Monroe and get the okay from my side."
"Seriously?" His eyebrows shoot up and his mouth gapes.
I laugh. "Yes, Blake. I can tell this is important to you, so we'll figure out how to make it happen."
"There's something else I thought about while I was in the shower," he says in a hushed tone, looking down at his fingers, trailing patterns on the blanket.
"What else?"
"I'd like Sorina to come live with us now." He looks at me through his eyelashes and I stare at him, stunned.
Now?
"Blake . . . I . . . "
"We can do more for her here," he says, determined.
"When?"
"Tomorrow," he says, cupping the side of my face.
"You don't think we're moving too fast?"
"Do you want to take care of her?"
"Yes," I answer with vigor.
I never thought of caring for another person, but Sorina's a lot like me, and I wasn't given a real chance. I want more for her. She's still young, and she could make a real life for herself. Get an education and make herself happy.
"Then it seems like the obvious thing to do. You're not going anywhere and neither am I. What's the point in waiting?" he says, leaning in to kiss my lips.
"She has nowhere to stay here," I argue.
Oh, he's going to make my head spin.
"Teresa, Shannon, and I can convert a room. I can have furniture dropped off by noon. Trust me."
"Are you sure?" I search his face for some ulterior motive, but the only thing I see is determination.
"Yes, Lily. You love her, even if you can't say it yet. You love me, and I you. We can't have kids, but we can raise Sorina. She'll never want for anything again. She'll be safe here, and loved. Between my family and your team, she'll damn near drown in it."
"Okay."
"Okay. I love you," he says, pulling me into his arms.
We lie down, holding each other. "I love you, too."
"Oh, by the way. My father called Shannon this morning."
"Yeah? How's the vacation going for them?"
"Turns out they haven't went yet. Carmen decided she wanted to wait."
"Ah, that means I should put on my happy face around them."
He chuckles. "I may not care for them, but, they're family. Plus, They're the only grandparents Sorina is going to have. Unless you'd like to find your parents."
My face hardens, turning into a statuesque picture of rage. "I really hope you meant that as a joke," I say through gritted teeth.
"Not at all. I think you need to find them and get closure, Lily."
"They sold me. End of story. If that isn't closure, I don't know what it is."
"Bullshit, I— "
"Blake, don't. Let it go. I don't want to remember them or find them, or have anything to do with them. I know you want to fix every shitty thing about my life, but please, let this go."
He leans down and kisses me gently. "I'm sorry, I want to help you."
"You have. More than you'll ever know."
37
~Lily~
Sorina's room is almost complete. The only thing it’ll need is a new paint job. The walls are white, for now. Blake wants to let her decide on the color, which seems only fair. The girl's had little in the way of decision making for the several years. I know how that is all too well. Spending years having everyone else tell you what to do, who to be. It's nice to decide things on your own after a life like that. Even the simplest choice feels like a great feat.
"Lily, Mr. Mason, lunch ready," Teresa yells from the kitchen.
I've been standing in the doorway as Blake and Dresden try to assemble Sorina's daybed. They've been at it for over forty-five minutes and still don't have any of it actually put together.
"Guys, go eat. You can finish this when you come back," I say trying to hide my amusement.
They both glare at me, but stand anyway, leaving their tools on the floor. Thank God Hayato put together the desk and Vlad took care of the dressers. We've got to head over to the halfway house soon and I've still got a phone call to make.
"You coming, hon," Blake says, stopping in front of me as Dresden heads for the kitchen.
It smells like Teresa made chicken and dumplings, which happens to be Dresden's favorite.
"No, you go eat. I have some work to do in my office before we can head out later."
He reaches up and runs his fingers through my hair, gently caressing my earlobe. I shudder at the touch. Today's not a day we can afford to get sidetracked with sex. I lean forward and press my lips to his; breaking the kiss before it can start something I don't have time to finish. Blake winks at me, and struts to the kitchen.
I stare at the bedframe, shaking my head. He could've easily paid someone to put all this together, but he was adamant about doing it himself. The most amusing part of all this is the fact Dresden can break down and reassemble an AK47, but can't fit the pieces of a girl’s bed together.
I walk over, scoop the directions off the floor, and read through them twice.
Seems simple enough. Don't see what their problem is.
I keep the directions close and quietly start assembling the frame. It takes me about a half hour. The box spring is light and fits perfectly. Sorina is sure to love the soft pink bed skirt and matching blankets. Blake called Nurse Slybeck this morning to ask what color Sorina would like. Turns out its pink, go figure.
The mattress is sturdy, but comfortable. Blake bought a pillow top to go over it. The pale pink sheets look nice with the dark pink comforter. I hope Sorina agrees to live here, and likes everything we've gotten her. Not that we can't go out and buy something else, but we've both been a ball of nerves all morning.
I sit on the perfectly made bed and bounce a few times, making sure the whole thing doesn't come crashing to the floor.
"How the fuck?" Dresden snaps.
He and Blake stand in the doorway, mouths open, glaring at the finished bed and me.
"Wasn't that hard once I followed the directions," I say smirking.
<
br /> "Have I told you how much I hate you," Dresden says playfully.
"Not recently."
"Well, I'm going to shower. You all are supposed to leave in like an hour."
"Yep. Shower time it is," Blake says, a smile on his face.
I follow him out, winking at Teresa as we near the kitchen.
"I thought you had to finish da bed, Mr. Mason?"
"Lily got it," he says, heading straight for our bedroom.
"Oh, nice job, Lily. You know how to read directions, yea?" She laughs openly, sitting a handful of dishes in the sink.
"Yep. And here I thought they were the smarter ones."
I roll my eyes and we both laugh again. Sitting at the island, she hands me a bottle of water before turning to do the dishes. It's still early.
Hmm . . .
The echo of rushing water resounds through the bedroom. Stripping out of my clothes, I saunter to the bathroom door. It creaks, swinging inward. Blake's silhouette through the steamed shower door sends my blood racing through my veins. Stepping in behind him, he's standing under the spray, hands pressed against the wall in front of him, rippled body decorated with water droplets giving the illusion I've been transported to Olympus and am in the presence of a God.
Gently, I run my fingers up his back, loving the way his muscles move under my touch. He tilts his head to the side, and I trail light kisses across his shoulders, running my hands down his chest. He hums, low in his throat, straightening up.
He turns slowly and captures my mouth with his. We might end up being late today.
†††
"Can you and the others meet me there in twenty minutes or so?" I say quietly into the phone.
The breeze on the balcony is heavenly. After the impromptu shower sex, I hurried to finish setting up a surprise for Blake and the girls at the halfway house. I'm praying they like the arrangement, but I'm nervous beyond belief.
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