“You’ve been through a lot, too.” I kicked off my shoes and socks and slid under the covers. The bed was so soft, and the room was cool, but perfectly warm under the blankets.
Rayna reached out and dimmed the lights. “Watch this?” She flipped another switch, and star-shaped lights danced across the ceiling.
“Oh, wow, so pretty.” My eyes darted around, trying to follow the path of one star as it zigzagged.
“Everyone says that. I guess so, but I think I was more naïve about the world before I came here, and I was content with that.”Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Then I spent four months back in my old life, and I was scared all the time. I hated it. I’m so relieved to be here. I’m so much happier.” She yawned again, which caused me to yawn. We both giggled. The light show mesmerized me.
After a few minutes of silence, I flipped to my side to look at her. “But don’t you have dreams of your own? Things you want to do? You don’t want to live in a hotel for the rest of your life.”
Rayna didn’t answer me. I rose to see if she was sleeping or ignoring me. She was fast asleep.
I flopped back down and shifted onto my back. The show on the ceiling was comforting in a way. It made me sleepy. I tried to keep my eyes open, but eventually I drifted into a calm slumber.
Maybe in my dream, the world wasn’t so complicated.
CHAPTER 16
PATRICK
We arrived back in Vegas around four am. The streets were eerily quiet. No holidays orNASCARraces disrupting the city. Kyler drove us back to the hotel. He was anxious to get to Rayna. I was anxious to get back but to what? My empty apartment?
We pulled into the private entrance, parked and rode up in silence. Kyler checked his phone.
“Rayna still in her playroom?” I asked. While Kyler reluctantly offered her some privacy in her room unless we were on lockdown, the locator in the necklace she wore gave her location down to the foot. It was important to know her whereabouts for our own safety. Rayna was known for her surprise attacks.
“You make sure your. . . Kylie got home okay, or are you not in themonitoring-her-every-movestage?”
“An alert for when she uses her key card isn’t crossing the line, is it?” I chuckled and tapped on my phone, but the expected key card alert wasn’t there. Kylie hadn’t entered her room allnight. A quick search showed her entering Kyler’s place with Maddox and Tyler—but there was no record of her leaving.
“What’s wrong?” He looked back at me.
“Rayna mention anything about Kylie staying over?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Maybe she just fell asleep.”
“Not after the discussion we had earlier.” My stomach tightened. “Something is off.”
The elevator took an impossibly long time to get to the top floor. We stepped out and jogged toward Kyler’s door. He burst in and ran across the living room and down the hallway to the playroom. The door remained open as Rayna preferred when she was home alone. Kyler stopped inside the door.
I looked around him.
Rayna lay in the twin bed nearest the door, under a thick white cloud like comforter, with one foot sticking out. She was curled on her side, facing the other twin bed, which was occupied by Kylie.
“Mystery solved.” Kyler whispered and stepped into the room. He knelt beside the bed and pushed Rayna’s curls off her head. He bent and kissed her forehead, his lips lingering on her skin.
I stayed near the door, afraid of what I might do if I got close to Kylie. She was mostly on top of the covers, her little frame curled into a ball on her side. The lace comforter got caught between her bent legs. She had on the same outfit she wore today. Her shoes and socks sat neatly under the bed. Her right hand tucked under her chin, and her left hand curled at her mouth, she slept with her teeth grazing her knuckle. I wondered how little her little was.
I stepped closer, stood at the end of the bed. Her eyes moved behind her closed eyelids. The cutest little snore escaped from between her lips. She looked so calm and sweet, as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
Her falling asleep here raised a dozen professional red flags, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. I was just happy to find her comfortable, her worries forgotten long enough to find rest.
“She can stay the night.” Kyler shook Rayna. “Hey baby girl.” He kissed her again. She reached out before opening her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. Rayna had on a black onesie with little white swords all over it. Where did she find her outfits? Or did Kyler find it for her? I felt so out of practice at being a daddy.
What would Kylie’s favorite little things be? Rayna loved ninjas. Tinley loved puppies. What did my Kylie like? Maybe guns or food? The girl loved to eat.
“I better wake her up.” She would feel embarrassed if she woke up alone and ran into Kyler Grant first thing in the morning. A strange version of a walk of shame.
I’d spare her.
