He nodded while staring at his brother. “They found us at the safe house place we were put in. We were moved two days ago. And then I overheard a conversation that they were going to separate me from my brother and sister and I couldn’t do that. I know it’s for their protection but they’re the only family I have, besides my grandmother.”
I knelt in front of him. “You are not losing any more. Do you mind me asking what happened to your dad?”
“Cancer, six years ago.”
He didn’t need to say more. He had lost every parental figure he’d ever had, and he was forced to go to the ones who had given him up in the first place. “I take it you know what I do for a living.”
“Yes.” A half smile touched his lips. “I couldn’t find your address, so I came here instead.”
Okay, I still couldn’t lose it. There was lots to do. “Nothing’s happening tonight, so we’ll get some sleep. In the morning, I’ll get Jake to come here. I’m not leaving you guys unprotected. I’ll go and speak to my family. I have more questions but first I need to find out what we’re dealing with.”
Chapter Six
LOGAN
I watched as Bex took the little girl from me. She held the baby close and turned to Dominic. “If you don’t mind, I would like you to sleep in the guest room with the little ones tonight.” She took charge in a way that was both sexy and loving. “Tomorrow we’ll get a crib. If I can’t get to a store, I’m sure Julie will have something for us upstairs.”
“Who’s Julie?” Dom’s frown showed his suspicion.
I stood between him and Bex. “She is the reason this is the safest building for you to be in. She has two kids. The youngest is just a little older than Landon.”
That mollified him.
“Is it a twin bed in the guest room?” Dom looked like it bothered him that Bex was holding Victoria. Not that Bex noticed. She was totally entranced by the bundle in her arms. “Landon kicks a lot and I would rather sleep on the couch.”
Bex looked up and shook her head. “Not tonight. He’s been through a lot over the last while. And tonight, he is in yet another unfamiliar place. He needs you.”
Of course she was right. I didn’t think she or Dom noticed that Landon had not said a word since they arrived. There was a lot happening. But usually when I did an exam on a toddler, theywere more vocal and wanted to play with all my instruments as if they were toys. Not Landon, though.
It wasn’t that I was overly concerned. He’d been traveling all day. And he’d been through so much, it was normal to be weary of his surroundings
A trip from San Francisco had to be at least twelve or thirteen hours. Not that I could remember. The last time I had taken that trip was when Dominic was born. And to be truthful, I’d had bigger issues than watching the clock.
There was no way Dom would’ve been able to carry both kids for a prolonged period, and I had no doubt the trip took much longer than usual. But that was a story for another day.
“Look, kid, you came to me.” I knew he was exhausted too, but there were things he needed to hear. “But with me comes Bex and her family. And to be honest, those are the people you want surrounding you when trouble comes knocking. You will be safe but you need to understand that we are in charge.”
Dominic narrowed his eyes. “Are you two, like, together?”
“No.” Bex frowned and continued to pace with Victoria.
I glared at her and raised a brow before turning back to Dominic. “Not yet.”
“So did you break up?” I wasn’t sure if he was annoyed or curious. Or if that scowl had more to do with the fact that he was a teenager. “I mean, after me?”
The details didn’t seem pertinent to the discussion. The last thing he needed to know was that Bex had dumped me as soon as he was born.
“We broke up while we were still in high school.” It was vague but truthful. “I was headed to Columbia and Bex joined the Army.”
“But you’re still friends or something now?” Yeah, the kid was curious.
“We are friends for now.” I wasn’t going to lie. I needed his trust. Besides, there was no harm in being honest with the kid. The last thing we needed on top of everything else was for him to discover we were lying to him. “But we were… Uhm, we’ll see. You don’t need to worry about that.”
Well, that was less than truthful. I mean, we would go on our second first date at some point but that was so not what we were thinking a few hours ago. Though, that would not be happening now. Not with three kids in the house. I mean, I knew parents had sex with children in the house all the time. And I’d even heard how they attempted to keep things quiet. Noah, who had a teenage girl, had mentioned that sleepovers were great since he could make his woman scream.
I planned on making Bex scream the first time we were together.
“So, if you’re not together, that means one of you will take the couch.” He folded his arms as if he was the parent and we were the wayward teenagers. Which means I will be stuck in the room with Landy and Victoria until all this is over.
