AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Greer nodded with a dip of his chin. “Of course. And if Lucian calls tomorrow?”
Fuck, I hadn’t thought that far.
It would be easy to say that it was Cam’s choice whether to answer the phone or not, but Greer had asked the question for the same reason I didn’t respond right away. Cam would cave before he was mentally ready. If Lucian begged Cam to come home, he would.
“You have my permission to take Cam’s phone,” I replied. “You know Lucian—he would never do anything to hurt anyone, least of all that boy. But…”
Greer nodded once. I didn’t need to elaborate.
In Lucian’s time of need, it was possible he couldn’t see what his actions had already caused. Furthermore, how his requests might unintentionally manipulate Cam emotionally. We needed to prevent that from happening.
“You can let Cam know that I will tell Lucian to give him some space,” I decided. “Even if I have to take Lucian’s phone in the process.”
“To be a fly on that wall,” he chuckled quietly.
I huffed.
He ran a hand through his hair and jerked his chin at my car. “Go home and get some rest, buddy. We’ll look after Cam—he can stay for as long as he needs. And let me know when I can see Lucian. I’ll bring Penelope with me.”
Oof, the heavy artillery right away. “You were infantry in the Marines, weren’t you?”
He let out a laugh. “You know it.”
Good timing for Noa to come running down the stone path. He didn’t arrive empty-handed either. He was carrying a brown paper bag.
“Archie gave us road snacks, Daddy,” he announced, out of breath. “Homemade chips, lemonade, and two sammiches!”
“Those chips are lethal,” Greer said. “They’re supposedly not overly unhealthy either—in case you wanna let Lucian try ’em.”
“Oh, I don’t think he’s earned homemade chips yet,” I answered. “It’s best Noa and I eat them.”
Noa giggled and hurried back into the car, this time parking his butt in the passenger’s seat.
I turned to Greer again. “Please thank Archie for us. And thank you for—fuck, everything.”
He smirked and offered a two-finger salute. “Anytime. Just keep us posted.”
“Will do.”
CHAPTER 2
Lucian Leroux
Smile and breathe through the pain.
I took a steadying breath and felt KC’s eyes on me. I didn’t know if he could sense something was wrong, or if it was because of what Santiago was saying—some harangue about taking it easy, about focusing on the people you loved—and I should be listening. I felt that with every ounce of my being as the pain spread throughout me, spiking my anxiety levels to new heights. Holy fuck, was I having a heart attack?
It couldn’t be. I was too young. I was too fit.
A few extra holiday pounds had never killed anyone.
I broke out in a cold sweat when an intense wave of sharp twinges and bursts of discomfort washed over me. My fingers prickled with numbness that quickly spread to my hands and up my arms. My God, worst fucking timing. We were having dinner with friends! A relaxing evening, as my doctors had fucking suggested. And yet, there was nothing relaxing about this.
Santiago’s words went on repeat. Or a few of them.
“It’s about who will take care of me when I’m sick. When I’m old, when I come home from work. Who will remember me when I’m dead. It sure ain’t coworkers and clients. They don’t care if I work myself into an early grave.”
He said something else too, but I couldn’t hear the words. KC grabbed my hand. A low whooshing sound invaded my senses, and only the sight of Cam appearing in the doorway could steal my attention.
