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“I’m very likeable,” I teased.
“That you are,” he agreed. “Give me a hug?” he asked as he opened his arms wide. I smiled and stepped forwards, pressing myself into his front. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly. “Call me if you need anything, yeah?”
“I will.” I lifted my head and reached up on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Be safe.”
“Always am,” he told me with a wink that made my heart stutter. He looked so sexy in that moment. It was hard to let him go. But I did. I needed to take this slow and I knew it, even if my libido didn’t.
I stood at the window and watched him drive away like some love sick teenager, then gave myself a shake and hurried off upstairs to get ready for the day. These men were driving me crazy!
CHAPTER 23
EVIE
“You ready to head out, honey?” Aleks asked, pulling my attention from the computer screen I had been staring at for the last two hours. I had made my way through a ton more military personnel files, but none of them had been Soloman, and my nerves were frazzled from searching for him.
“Huh?” I looked up, startled.
“You still want to come with me to get Zack?” he asked.
“Oh yeah. Definitely. I really need a break anyway,” I sighed as I closed the lap top and got to my feet.
“You don’t need to push yourself so hard, you know? It’s okay to take a break when you need one. What you’re doing isn’t easy,” he told me as he came to my side and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me in for a half hug.
“I just want to find him. He has those girls. Time is running out for them, and I know what they’re suffering every moment he has them,” I explained.
“You’re so amazing. Do you know that?” Aleks said.
“I’m not. I should have done something much sooner.”
“You did what you could. You were fighting to survive, Evie. Cut yourself some slack.” We stopped at the door to pull on boots and coats. Aleks pulled out a huge child’s car seat too and headed for the door.
“Do we need anything else?” I asked with worry. Would Kayla have left a bag at the day care? Would we need snacks and food for the little guy? I had never had to worry about any of this with my nieces and nephews. Whenever I had taken them anywhere they had a bag packed for every single possible scenario, their parents all incredibly overprotective.
“Nah. We’ll just pick him up then come right back here for lunch,” Aleks assured me. I checked I had my cell in my pocket since it was the only thing I could possibly need, then followed Aleks out to his truck.
“Do you need permission to pick him up from daycare?” I asked once Aleks had the car seat fitted in the back, and was up front beside me.
“I have it. Nick put all of our names on the list they have when Zack first started going there. The staff know us all pretty well now.” He started the car and carefully navigated the snow covered drive.
“How long has Zack been going there?”
“Since he was born, pretty much. Kayla tried to put him in this cheaper, shitty daycare to start with, but Nick put his foot down. We did some research and found this place he goes now. It has great facilities and the staff are all fully vetted. Nick still hates how much time Zack spends there, but at least he knows he’s safe.”
“Kayla puts him in day care a lot then?”
“Every morning during the week. She’d send him on weekends too if she could, but they’re not open. She doesn’t give a shit about Zack. He’s just an imposition,” Aleks declared.
“Nick needs to take custody. He’s an awesome dad. You’re all amazing with Zack. He’d be so much happier and better off with you guys.”
“We’ve tried to tell Nick, but he thinks Zack’s better off with Kayla, and nothing we say can convince him otherwise.”
“Yeah, he shut me down when I said I could recommend a great attorney.”
“Maybe things will change.. He’s stopped drinking this week and he’s been sleeping. Having you around is helping him.”
“He stopped drinking?” I asked, surprised. I hadn’t really thought about it, but I hadn’t seen him holding a bottle of liquor for a while. He’d mentioned it the other day, but I hadn’t considered it much at the time, too shocked by the guys revelation that they liked me.
“Yeah. He hasn’t touched a bottle for the last few nights. That’s big for him. He’s been drinking for a while now. We were all really starting to worry he had a problem.”
