“Yeah.”
“I’ll send Charles to represent her, and of course we’ll get there as soon as we can.”
“Okay, I’ll try to let her know. She was a hellcat, Gid.”
“She protected the kids—she’s a keeper. I’ll be there soon.”
I was already up and getting my shoes on. If Gideon thought he was going alone, he was insane. He didn’t argue when I followed him. Danny was with us and only a couple of other guys, and since there were a bunch of security at the restaurant, bringing a full entourage could come off as aggressive to the police.
It only took us ten minutes to get there. Mila and Alex had taken the twins to their favorite diner. Before I got out of the car I saw Alex with Olivia in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder and her eyes bloodshot. The door to the car in front of him was open, and I could see Owen’s legs swinging back and forth.
Gideon got out and moved fast toward the twins. Olivia saw him first.
“Daddy!”
Alex turned and, upon seeing Gideon, he put her down and she ran right into his arms.
“Hey, baby girl, it’s okay, you’re okay.” She was crying again.
“Da…Daddy, they said mean things about you.”
I gently patted her on the shoulder but went to where Owen was. His eyes were downcast, and he was playing with a loose thread on his pants.
“Hi, bud.”
He glanced at me but returned his attention to his thread.
“Scary night?”
He shrugged.
“What did you have for dinner?”
“Nuggets, fries, chocolate milkshake.”
I nodded. “Classic.” I placed my hand on top of his, stopping his fidgeting. “Look at me, Owen.” He did and I could see the fear, sadness, and even a hint of anger in them. “It’s gonna be okay.”
“They said bad things, Penny.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t. You weren’t there.”
I moved even closer until I blocked out everything behind me and all he could focus on was me.
“Wanna tell me about it?”
He shook his head. “They said bad words.”
I smirked. “How about without the bad words?”
“They said my dad was a killer. He hurt people and that Livy and I should be taken away from him.”
Those motherfuckers. “Owen, nobody is going to take you away from your dad. He won’t let that happen. I won’t either. You believe me?”
He didn’t answer right away, which upset me. “Yeah.” His voice was small.
“Your dad loves you.” I made sure Owen was making eye contact with me. “Do you think what those guys said was true?”
