by Tijan
“But that was fast, wasn’t it? How did you get that all done?”
“It’s still in the process of being purchased, but the previous owners okayed us to move in ahead of the closing date. And it happened fast because I still know a lot of people in the area. I made calls.”
“Calls?” I didn’t let her finish. “Us?”
“You and Nate. Nate. And all the guests who are going to be here.”
Right. Because he had a tribe behind him, and I had Ricci and Emily.
“I have a small tribe, too.”
Phillip.
That was it. Those three.
Was that sad?
That was definitely sad.
I stopped and turned. “Am I wrong in doing this?”
Aspen’s eyes were wide, taking me in. She bit down on her lip and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. It was already there, so her movement was a nervous gesture. She seemed to rock back on her heels as she thought of a response, at least until her eyes suddenly grew more focused. “No.”
I waited to see if she had more to say.
She didn’t. It was a simple no.
I jerked a nod. “Okay.”
She nodded back, her shoulders loosening. “Okay.” She started forward again. “Nate thought you might want your own section with your own entrance.” She went past a large living room, going down the long hallway until it divided. She pointed to the right. “That goes to Nate’s bedroom.” She went left, and I saw that we stepped into an apartment. Or at least it looked like its own apartment.
There was a living room. A kitchen. A small dining room. Farther past was a small hallway. There was a big bedroom. She continued to the left, showing me another attached area.
She gestured toward a door and another door. “This is where your guest bedroom can be.” Emily stepped out from it, her bags now covering the bed.
“Do you need me to help with anything?” Emily asked, her eyes bright and shining.
Emily wasn’t staying here, but I guess I hadn’t informed Nate of that. I shook my head. “No. You can continue unpacking the bags, but those will all go in the other room.” I glanced at Aspen. “I’m assuming the big room is mine?”
“Oh! Yeah.” She frowned but pointed at the last door in this area. “That’s the guest bathroom. I’ll show you your room.”
My room was large, the bathroom extending off from the left side of the room. She went to the right to a closed door. Opening it, she said, “Nate thought this would be a good room for Nova.”
I was seeing that.
There was a crib, a rocking chair, and a changing station already in place. There was a chest of toys in one corner. The other corner was full of stuffed animals with a particularly large ostrich and giraffe almost stretching to the ceiling. There were even bookshelves filled with children’s books against one wall.
I glanced, seeing what I assumed to be a closet as well.
This room had its own little hallway going to the door, but on the other side of the room from where we came in was another door. I didn’t have any idea where that one might lead or what it would open to.
Aspen went to it, a faint smile on her face shadowed by something else. She opened it. “His room attaches to hers as well.”
She stopped just inside his room, not letting me walk around it.
That was fine.
I moved back into Nova’s room, already doing a scan to see if everything was kid-proofed and safe. She said it was, but I needed to see it for myself. The electrical sockets were covered. There were no sharp edges on any of the furniture. Furniture like the bookshelves and dresser were securely strapped to the wall. That was impressive.
“Who was your designer?”
Aspen opened her mouth, then closed it. She didn’t answer.
Okay, then. That wasn’t my business, I guess. As long as everything was fine for Nova.
“Would you like me to start unpacking Nova’s things in here?” Emily asked from behind me.
I heard the slight tremor in her voice, and irritation sparked in me.
I didn’t know why. It wasn’t irritation at her.
It was… at everything. At this situation.
I swallowed a knot, feeling it choking me, and spoke around it anyway. “Yes. That’d be great, Emily.”
“Do you… do you want me to stay the night as well?”
Tonight was an exception for Emily’s normal hours. Then again, nothing about tonight was normal. It was all an exception.
It was the beginning of my new life. And I had no idea how I felt about it.
“No.” I gave her a smile, knowing I couldn’t have done any of this without her. “Thank you for your help, Emily. If you could unpack Nova’s things, and then you could go home after that? Take a day off or maybe a week. I think I’ll need time with just Nova to start getting comfortable here.”
She dipped her head in a nod. “Of course.”
Aspen had fallen silent, moving back as I began to move toward what would be my room.
I had cleared the doorway and moved past her when Emily spoke up. “Quincey?”
I paused, looking back.
“No matter anything, this was the right thing to do.”
My eyes burned, but I gave her another smile. “Thank you.”
She blinked back some tears.
It hit me like a tsunami then.
He did this to her. He did this to me.
He had done this to so many.
It wasn’t right that my father could affect someone hired by us. It wasn’t healthy. It was toxic.
The lump in my throat lessened by a little bit.
“I’m sorry.” Aspen followed me, wringing her hands. “I assumed she was staying here.”
“Where are you and Mr. Kade staying?”
“I’m in the pool house, and Logan’s upstairs. He said he wanted to be in the house for Nate.”
Right. Because they were only here for the moment.
I would be the one staying.
Me. Nate. Nova.
Like how a family should be.
But that was the thing…we weren’t a family.
18
Nate
We were finishing up the bags when Logan said, “Heads-up.” He nodded to the street.
A line of cop cars had turned on the road leading to the house.
“Three.” Logan whistled. “Damn, he must be poker buddies with the chief.”
“Or the chief likes to go to his casino and gets the VIP treatment.”
Logan grunted. “I forgot about that place. That could be a connection we’ll have to get creative about.”
I didn’t want to ask what Logan meant by that. At this point, what I didn’t know might do better for me down the road.
I shot him a look. “Nothing illegal.”
He snorted, grinning. “It’s like you don’t know me at all.”
“Or that I really do know you.”
He gave me a veiled grin as the first squad car parked right behind Quincey and her friend’s vehicles.
I didn’t like that at all.
Judging by Logan’s growl, neither did he.
“Fuck,” he said, pulling out his phone and hitting a couple of buttons. A second later, he said, “Aspen. Come out here.”
“Why are you getting my sister involved?”
The first two officers had gotten out and were rounding the vehicle, starting over the lawn.
“You kidding me? Seattle loves her.”
Aspen came out, but if I’d been nervous about my sister, I didn’t have to be. Her jaw was firm. Her eyes were blazing, and she had her phone up.
“You’re going live?” Logan asked. The amusement in his tone was mixed with awe.
“No, but I’m recording, and if they make one wrong move, this is going to be uploaded to one of Blaise’s social media accounts.”
My brother-in-law had followers in the millions.
Also, considering how he didn’t give a d
amn what people thought of him, a video like this would be on-brand for him. His PR team wouldn’t have a problem with it.
“Officers.” I nodded to the first one.
Officer Gravers and Officer Diaz.
The first nodded at me. “You’re the owner of this home?”
“I’m in the process of buying it, yes. There’s a legal agreement between myself and the current owners.”
They didn’t say anything at first, their eyes scanning behind us, trying to see inside the home.
The speaking one motioned to the two vehicles they had blocked off. “You know the owners of these two vehicles?”
“I do, yes.”
“May we please speak to them?”
“Concerning?” Logan stepped forward, his lawyer voice on. It was no-nonsense, and he was just looking for them to fuck up.
The second officer seemed to sense this and took a step back.
“I’m his lawyer.” Logan gestured toward me, his tone sounding considerably more hostile. “What’s the basis of this visit? You’re required to inform us of the reason.”
The two cops shared a look, one stepping back and his hand moving to his radio.
He didn’t need to call for backup. Two other cars idled in front of my house, both with two officers and all watching this event.
Gravers nodded to the house. “We got a concerned call about a possible kidnapping. Is there a Miss Royas inside?”
“There is, but she’s playing with Nova.”
The two cops shared a sharp look at the mention of Nova.
I’d had enough. “If you were called by Quincey’s father, he wasted your time and effort. Quincey and my daughter have decided to live with me.”
Both their eyebrows went up at the mention of “my daughter.”
Gravers’ mouth flattened, and his eyes went hard. “This is a child custody dispute?”
“No.”
“No?”
“No.” Logan’s tone was harsh. “As of three days ago, Miss Royas signed a legal and binding agreement between herself and my client concerning the custody of Nova Nathaniel Robertson. You can call your supervisor up and make a request to my office and also to Miss Royas’ attorney’s office to obtain what legal documentation you need. Just know that any further errand you might be sent on on behalf of Mr. Duke Royas has no legal standing. And once this has been retained, any further action could be viewed and will be documented as harassment. I’ll be making the appropriate legal claims for that to happen.”
The one was squinting his eyes at Logan. “Where are you a lawyer from?”
Gravers’ radio went off as Logan clipped out, “Boston.”
Gravers stepped back, listening, and returned a moment later. He nodded to Aspen. “That Blaise DeVroe’s wife?”
“That’s my sister, and yes. She’s married to Blaise DeVroe.”
He reassessed me. “So you’re Nate Monson?”
I nodded.
Logan gave the other two squad cars an assessing look, smirking at the same time as he sighed. “We shouldn’t have to give you our famous connections or give you a ballpark guess at how much money Nate, Aspen, or myself have for you to return to your vehicles and continue with your evening’s normal activities. Mr. Royas sent you on a wasted trip.”
They shared a look, but Gravers held his hands out. “We need Miss Royas to come out and tell us she’s not here under duress. We can’t leave without that.”
Logan was going to fight it, but Quincey called from behind us, “I’m here.”
She stepped out, her face pale, but her chin up and firm. She stopped beside Aspen. “I’m here under my own volition. I’m no longer living with my father, and he has no legal standing over Nova. He would know this if he had taken the time to call his own lawyer before calling Bud.”
The two cops grimaced at that name.
I was assuming Bud was their boss, the Mr. Casino VIP.
Quincey’s eyes chilled. “Leave. Now.” She went inside without a second glance.
Logan was handing over two business cards as I took over. “My sister has a video of this whole thing if you’d like to give that to your boss? If not, get the fuck off my property.”
They bristled but didn’t dispute me. The three cars left not long after.
Logan murmured, “That was a bit too easy.”
“I know. Aspen gave you Quincey’s phone?”
“She did.”
I held out my hand. “I want it.”
He hesitated. “You sure? If he calls, I should talk to him.”
I shook my head. “He’s not going to call.” I nodded in the direction of the cops. “That was his move tonight. That was his only move, which means he probably guessed we’d have everything locked up tight, and he probably did call his attorney.”
“You think he sent them anyway?”
“Yeah. I do.”
“To make a point?”
I gave him a look, eyebrows up. “It’s something your father would do.”
Logan whistled. “You’re right. He’d do it to let her know that he can send cops to her new front door.”
“Psychological warfare.”
He grunted. “More like emotional abuse.”
“That, too.”
He was eyeing me, a dark look passing over his gaze. “Maybe I should stay longer than we talked about?”
“No. I need time with Nova and with Quincey to sort everything out.”
“You sure? I can have Taylor come here. She’d have no problem with that. They’re pretty flexible about covering shifts at her job.”
“I know, but I’m good.” He didn’t know that I was giving him and Aspen one week, and then both were being sent back to their respective loved ones. What I said, I meant.
I was going to take this time to bond with my daughter and figure Quincey out. I still hadn’t decided what role she would play in my daughter’s life, despite what I said verbally in our meeting.
We went inside, and I noticed Logan glancing at me. “What?”
He smiled. “You become a different beast when it comes to your daughter. I like it.”
I just shook my head. With Logan, I didn’t know if that was a good thing.
“Go and call your woman. I know you’re missing her.”
He smirked at me but headed upstairs right away.
Aspen was waiting inside, watching out the window. She sighed, turning back to me. “Are they going to be a problem for you?”
I went over to her. “No.” I pulled my sister to me, hugging her. “Thank you for being here.”
She hugged me back. “Anything. I love you, big brother.”
I caught the back of her head, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I love you, too.”
The first night’s battle was done. And we were victorious. I knew another one was coming, but first, I went in search of my daughter. I was needing some Nova hugs the most.
19
Quincey
We were here.
We were doing this.
Right?
Right.
Why was I asking myself?
It was done.
Here. Both of us.
And I couldn’t sleep. Like zero, zilch, nada. Not a wink of it.
One in the morning, and I went to the bathroom. I peeked on Nova, and she was good. Curled on her side, sucking her thumb still. So freaking cute. Her penguin clutched under her arm, her little ass in the air. I almost chuckled but clamped it down.
I didn’t want to wake her.
Two in the morning, and I was getting water from the kitchen. Then I peeked on Nova again.
I needed to stop. I was going to be the reason she woke up, but the little bug was sleeping soundly.
Good. That was very good.
I kept trying to reassure myself as I went back to my room, climbed into bed, and closed my eyes.
Three in the morning—was that a noise from Nova’s room?
I sat upright, the cover thrown off, a
nd I was hurrying over, more like scurrying. If she was sleeping, again, I did not want to wake her up. She had serious pipes on her when she needed to rally. Oh boy, could she rally.
I tiptoed in, and then stopped in my tracks.
Nate was on the floor next to her, sitting with his knees drawn up and resting his arms loosely around them. His legs were spread wide, his head turned so he could still see her.
She was sleeping, her blanket pulled up through her arms. Miss Penguin had been kicked to the side and a little snore was coming from her.
Maybe I made a sound? I didn’t know, but he turned and his eyes caught mine.
I almost stepped back.
I wasn’t prepared. Stark panic was in his gaze and he didn’t hide it from me.
I waited, expecting the mask to slam back in its place.
It never did.
He continued to stare at me.
Feeling a pull, I took a step forward.
Another step.
Nova was asleep so in a way, it was just us two in the room.
He held my gaze the whole time.
Awareness spread through me, making every cell in my body alert.
The air in the room was… it was… I couldn’t place it, but it felt more. It felt beyond us, as if something were wrapping around both of us, bringing us together.
Or maybe that was just me being foolish?
The moonlight was bright outside, shining through the curtains and spilling into the room, casting us both in light and shadow at the same time.
I shivered, not a bad one, but not a good one. Just an aware one.
He continued to stare at me, his eyes intense, piercing into me.
I moved forward again and slowly lowered myself down so I was sitting facing him. I pulled my knees up, my arms resting loosely around them. We were mirroring each other, and because he still hadn’t put a wall between us, neither did I.