by Dee, Cara
“Yo, hold the elevator!”
Gray knew that voice. He shot out his hand to prevent the elevator doors from closing, and then he waited.
Seconds later, Jayden appeared in front of him and quirked a little grin.
Holy hell, Gray couldn’t describe the relief. He quickly eyed the boy from head to toe and noticed not much had changed, except for one thing. He had a scrape along his jaw.
“What happened to you?” Gray exited the car again and got down on one knee before the kid. “I’ve been worried. You just took off.” He carefully touched Jayden’s cheek.
Jayden watched him strangely, then stepped back and created some distance between them.
Gray let his hand fall, and he rose to a stand again.
“Why were you worried?” Jayden didn’t get it. “Never mind. I had stuff to do.” He jerked his chin at something—or someone. He wasn’t alone.
Kellan Ford was watching them from ten feet away.
That fucker had made it sound like he merely recognized Jayden’s last name.
Gray became guarded and braced himself for anything. But the backpack Kellan was holding confused Gray. It was clearly one for children. It was small and had a superhero print on the front.
“Jayden came to us and asked for a favor the other day,” Kellan said conversationally. He walked closer and aimed for the elevator. “Favors for him are always free of charge.” He ruffled the boy’s hair before he entered the car.
“Not true,” Jayden huffed. “You stole my shoes.”
Gray hitched a brow at the two.
“I hid them so you wouldn’t leave in the middle of the night,” Kellan pointed out. “You have them now, don’t you?”
Jayden followed him into the elevator but didn’t reply.
“What floor are you on?” Kellan asked Gray.
These fucking… They didn’t come and go as normal people did. Gray was overwhelmed—and still goddamn confused. But he trailed in after Jayden and pressed nine. With the boy around, he didn’t deem any immediate threat.
“Jayden wanted us to do a background check on you,” Kellan said.
“Okay.” Gray glanced at the kid. How did a child his age even know what a background check was? He couldn’t imagine the life Jayden had lived.
It made Gray wonder if he was even equipped to help Jayden. Good intentions didn’t matter much if he lacked the ability to make a difference.
“That makes most people nervous,” Kellan mentioned.
Huh? Oh. “I don’t have anything to hide,” Gray answered.
Kellan nodded once. “Pretty much what I concluded too. That’s why we’re here.”
Jayden smiled unsurely and bit his lip. “I wanna go to the place I don’t gotta hide, the one with the pool that you showed me.”
Oh. Gray exhaled and felt a flood of relief wash over him again, more than before.
“There are some conditions, of course.” Kellan watched the numbers fly by above the elevator doors. “We don’t let someone from our community walk away with just anybody.”
Perhaps Gray had had enough of being apprehensive about everything; maybe he was done playing the weak underdog. Maybe he was tired. Or maybe he was just fucking done being controlled by others. Whatever it was, he wasn’t afraid of Kellan. At the moment.
“You may own the Philadelphia underworld, but you don’t own me, and judging by your success rate with bossing Jayden around, you don’t own him either.”
Jayden snickered at Gray’s response.
Kellan said nothing.
Once the elevator stopped, Gray took the lead and checked the pockets of his sweats for his keycard.
His room was only a few doors down the hall, and he let Kellan and Jayden in first.
Jayden snatched up his backpack and walked straight over to the unused bed, where he sat down on the foot of it and clutched his bag as if he was ready to settle down. Was that it? Was he staying here now?
Gray genuinely hoped so. He’d been really worried about the kid.
“Father O’Malley called the shelter in Washington,” Kellan said. “They’re expecting Jayden’s arrival in a few days.”
Kind of. Adeline had said Jayden was welcome, definitely.
“You won’t fly there,” Kellan went on. “You’ll drive.”
That was the plan. Gray wasn’t ready to face his hometown just yet.
Kellan turned to Jayden. “Remember the rules?”
The boy nodded. “I gotta call Malley and Sister Margaret a lot, I won’t run away, I won’t steal, I won’t sell my new phone.”
Gray’s brows went up.
Kellan chuckled. “Good. And you know how to find our numbers in the contact list now.”
Jayden nodded. “You showed me a thousand times.”
This was actually happening. Jayden was staying. Gray was bringing him to Camassia. He was fulfilling his vow to Jonas—or starting to. What he’d told Jayden was the truth. Gray didn’t take his promise lightly; he would be there for the boy.
It gave him a new sense of purpose. It also gave him some strength.
Kellan turned to Gray next. “I’d like a word with you out in the hall.”
“All right.” He grabbed his key again and let Kellan go first.
When it was just the two of them, Kellan leveled him with a serious stare.
“Your story checks out,” he said. “You seem like a good guy—lotta friends and family and all that—and I know what you went through last year. I read the report—”
“Excuse me?” Anger flared up. “Those records aren’t public.”
Kellan’s mouth twitched. “But they were available.”
To him and his mobster buddies with hacking skills. Fucking great.
“Look.” Kellan’s humor faded again. “Like I said, you seem like a good guy. You might be exactly what Jayden needs—God knows we ain’t. We can’t get the kid to stay in one place for longer than an hour. He’s constantly on the move, and he’s spent the last year going from one place to another while waiting for his brother to come back. He needs a break. He’s been through too much.”
Gray sobered and nodded once.
“That said,” Kellan continued with a pointed look, “we’re not backing off completely. Not by a long shot. For now, we’re your friends. You have our protection, even. I’ll be a call away. But if we find out you’ve harmed a single hair on Jayden’s head, what Alfred Lange put you through will be a post-fuck cuddle in comparison. Are we clear?”
Gray took a step closer, not intimidated—for once in his goddamn life. “Have fun watching me.”
Kellan smiled. “I will.”
Kellan left some twenty minutes later, leaving Gray and Jayden alone in the hotel room.
Jayden was inspecting the iPhone that the Irish mafia of Philadelphia had given him.
Gray had been instructed to stop by the church to let Jayden say goodbye to Father O’Malley before they left the East Coast behind. Other than that…Jayden was officially in Gray’s care.
It was scary, but not in an entirely unpleasant way. He needed things to do. He needed a direction. Helping a child had given him a good one.
“Do you have any friends who aren’t connected to the local mob?” Gray wondered, half amused.
Jayden scrunched his nose, then returned his focus to his phone. “What’s a mob?”
Damn. “Never mind.”
Jayden laughed. “I’m fucking with you. I know what the mob is. But I’m a kid. They’re nice to me.”
Gray stared at him. He had a feeling he had to up his game fast if he wanted to keep up with Jayden. He had street smarts in spades, making him quick on his feet and even quicker with smartass replies.
“Shit.” Jayden dropped his phone on the carpet and bent down to pick it up again. Which gave Gray an idea. They’d buy him a case for his phone tomorrow.
“I have to take a shower,” Gray said. “You wanna get some dinner after?”
“Sure.” Jayden no
dded and scratched his nose.
So Gray ducked into the bathroom with a change of clothes, and he spent the following five minutes hoping Jayden hadn’t bailed by the time Gray returned. At this point, he’d realized he had to be ready for anything with that boy.
Thankfully, Jayden was there. Still on the bed, playing with his phone.
Gray righted his T-shirt and buttoned his jeans, then used the towel around his neck to dry his hair a bit.
Jayden glanced over at him briefly.
“Do you wanna shower too?” Gray asked. “Or take a bath?”
Jayden shook his head. “Did that this morning.”
“Okay.” Even so, it was a reminder. Gray had to step up and be the adult; from now on, he had to make sure they both ate, cleaned up, got into bed on time, and…whatever else. Structure was important to children, and chances were Jayden hadn’t experienced much of that. “Let’s go grab some dinner, then.” He tried to sound a bit more upbeat. “You have to tell me if you need anything too. Maybe some new clothes? We could hit up an outlet on the way out tomorrow.”
Jayden shrugged and slid off the bed. “I have an extra T-shirt, underwear, and pants in my backpack.”
The kid should take a look in Gray’s twin brothers’ closets. They shopped more than most girls.
“I need a new toothbrush, I guess,” Jayden said on the way out.
Gray nodded to himself and grabbed his wallet, phone, and a hoodie. There was a burger joint across the street they could go to. Tomorrow, he’d try to find something healthier.
“Shit.” Jayden dropped his phone again, this time right before the carpet ended in the hallway. The floor by the elevator was hardwood and wouldn’t be as kind to the phone, nor would the pavement outside.
Gray pulled his phone from the case and pressed the elevator button. “Here, buddy. I have the same phone. Use my case until we get you a new one.”
“Can you help me put it on?”
“Of course.” Something fell to the floor just as the elevator arrived, so Gray picked it up and ushered Jayden into the car. Then he flipped the little…whatever it was in his hand and frowned. What the fuck? It looked like a microchip for computers, but without the green plastic. Thin wires were stuck to a transparent piece of tape, and it was no larger than a thumbnail. The wires connected at a flat, tiny metal box. Or maybe it couldn’t be called a box when it was essentially as flat as a piece of paper, but he could see the metal threads disappearing into it. Only the center of the metal piece was less flat. Three dots protruded from the surface.
Gray shoved it into his pocket for now and helped Jayden put the case on his phone. But on the inside, he was reeling. Why was “tracker” the first thing that popped into his head? Was someone tracking him? His immediate thought after that was Alfred Lange’s criminal organization, which caused a brick of fear to smash right into his chest, only it was followed by the next option. Kellan Ford. Had he come remotely close to Gray’s phone? Hell, had anyone who could be working for Alfred?
It seemed unlikely.
Then, what the hell did he know? Gray wasn’t fluent in Spy…oh. Oh fucking Christ.
Darius.
Darius was definitely fluent in Spy.
Gray narrowed his eyes at nothing and left the elevator with an oblivious Jayden in tow.
Darius had had more access to Gray’s phone too.
Yanking up his hood as the cold from outside hit them, Gray placed a hand on Jayden’s shoulder and guided him across the street. There was a 7-Eleven on the next block, he remembered. They’d go there after dinner and buy a toothbrush for the kid.
The burger place was fairly crowded, but Jayden came to life in here and he sprinted to grab the only empty table. Gray smirked to himself and hollered, asking what Jayden wanted.
Another shrug was what he got in response. The boy wasn’t picky, Gray guessed.
While he stood in line to order, his thoughts returned to the chip. And whether or not someone knew where he was right now. More than that, if someone was watching. Darius was the likeliest candidate, but Gray couldn’t shake the unease at the risk of it being someone else. Not even Kellan posed a very big threat. It was Alfred and the vile monsters who worked for him.
“Next!”
Gray cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Hi. Two cheeseburgers with fries and medium sodas, thanks.”
His food was ready a couple minutes later, and he made his way over to the soda fountain before he joined Jayden.
“I got one Coke and one Sprite,” he said and sat down.
“I like Coke.” Jayden grabbed his soda and punched a straw through the lid. “How much I owe ya?”
Gray shook his head, torn between mirth and sadness. “Not a dime, buddy.”
“But Kellan and Pat gave me fifty dollars each,” Jayden exclaimed. “Do you know how much that is? It’s a hundred bucks.”
How did one respond to that? If Gray were to venture a guess, Jayden never expected anything for free, and he probably knew way too much about consequences and the cost of things. At the same time, he knew how to take advantage too. He had to, with the life he’d led. You couldn’t be a sucker on the street. Either way, Gray was beginning to look forward to showing Jayden what it was like to be taken care of for a change.
“You spend that on something fun for yourself,” Gray replied and unwrapped his burger. “Or you can save it.”
“Can I buy pajamas?” He was too fucking cute. The table appeared to be a little too high for him, so in his excitement, he scrambled to fold his legs under himself, and he gave Gray the most hopeful expression. “I had to throw away my old ones. They were too small. Jonas gave them to me.”
Gray smiled and reached over to help him unwrap his burger. “We’ll get you a set of PJs tomorrow. We’ll make it a rule—if it’s anything you need, like clothes, food, whatever, I’m paying. If it’s just something you want for fun, we can talk about it. Deal?”
Jayden took a big bite of his burger and chewed quickly, as if he couldn’t wait to respond. “Do I need pajamas, or do I want them?”
“I think you need them,” Gray chuckled. “At least one set. And they gotta be soft. That’s when they’re the best—when you put them on after your bath and crawl into bed.”
Jayden’s eyes lit up. “Jonas and I did that. We lived with his friend once and shared a bed. I didn’t mind. He scratched my back till I fell asleep.”
Fuck, Jonas should be here. The loss hadn’t even begun to fade yet, and Jayden had probably not started processing.
“He was great at taking care of others.”
Jayden nodded and filled his mouth with more food.
“Do you like everything on your burger?” Gray went for an easier conversation topic. “I remember my younger brothers hated pickles and onions when they were little.”
“Food is food,” Jayden said around his burger. “I love food.”
Gray laughed softly. “There’s no rush, though. You’ll get a stomachache.”
“No, I won’t,” Jayden huffed. “I eat normal.”
He didn’t. But it was normal to him. Maybe because he was used to being on the move. He ate on the go.
Gray didn’t push it—for now. Jayden seemed to be in a good mood, and it was infectious. In fact, Gray felt tons lighter. He had his direction now; he knew where he was heading.
He just had to figure out who might follow.
The chip burned in his pocket.
The next morning was rattling. Gray was balls deep in nightmares about gunfire and Jonas’s choking sounds before he died, when Jayden shook him awake. Gray bolted out of the bed and went from facing one pair of pale brown eyes, filled with anguish, to another set. The same shade, a kind of brown that always had light in it, but this pair was younger and showing worry.
“You said Jonas’s name,” Jayden said. His hair was more disheveled than usual, and he looked entirely too innocent to be exposed to Gray’s nightmares. The boy was only wearing a pair of
briefs, revealing the youth he tried to hide underneath his attitude and experience. He had some minor scars along his torso that shoved more concerns into Gray’s head.
He swallowed dryly and scrubbed at his face. His heart rate returned to normal, and he blew out a breath.
“Bad dreams?” Jayden guessed.
Gray nodded minutely and tightened the drawstrings to his sweats. The clock flashed red and let him know it was eight in the morning. A good time to check out and get this day started. It wasn’t like he’d be able to sleep more anyway.
“Finn says bad dreams are unfinished business,” Jayden stated frankly.
Kinda hard to finish something when someone was dead.
“You’ve mentioned him before,” Gray muttered. “Is he a friend?”
Jayden shrugged lightly and jumped up to sit on his bed. “Sometimes. When he’s not trying to find me a family.”
Ah. “Do you have any friends your own age?”
He considered that and squinted as he scratched his shoulder absently. “Not really. Kids are whiny.”
Gray coughed around a chuckle.
“Are we going to Washington today?” Jayden asked. “Can we get breakfast before?”
“We’re starting our journey today, yes,” Gray replied. “It’ll take a few days to get there. It’s a long drive.” He eyed the coffeemaker on the unit where the TV stood. “We’ll get breakfast on the way to Father O’Malley—after you’ve showered or taken a bath.”
“But I showered yesterday,” Jayden protested.
Oh boy. Gray couldn’t wait for the conversation about laundry. Last night, Jayden had said he’d done laundry with Sister Margaret two Saturdays ago. In his opinion, that was very recent.
Considering he only had two sets of clothes, he was in for a few changes in his everyday life.
Five
Jayden was in high spirits after his goodbye with Father O’Malley, who had been admittedly amazing about the whole thing. He’d cranked up the excitement for the boy and focused on all the “cool sights” Jayden would experience along the way.