Page 65 of But For You

“So, you’ll be safe, huh?”

“Yes, I will. You need to take care of Hannah and Pa and Chilly for me, okay?”

He nodded, and Sam pulled him close and hugged him tight. Kola looked miserable, but he turned and pressed his face into my stomach and leaned.

Sam stood up, took my chin in his hand, and stared down into my eyes. “I’ll be home shortly.”

“Okay,” was all I said.

He looked at Dane, who nodded.

Sam walked away and didn’t turn back around.

Regina tried to take Hannah to hug her goodbye, but she wasn’t having it, as overwrought as she was. So, she ended up hugging me and my daughter together. Thomas embraced us the same way. I waved to Sam’s sisters and Michael, and both Regina and Thomas squeezed Kola.

Once the goodbyes were done, Dane reached down and swept Kola up into his arms, and I saw a man grabbing all our things from the chairs where we had left them.

“Is that your driver, Uncle Dane?” Kola asked him.

“He is today, love.”

Milt stopped me. “Jory, it was great to meet you. This is my card with my email address.”

“Thanks,” I said softly, wrung out all of a sudden.

“You know”—he smiled at Dane—“you and your brother look nothing alike.”

“Oh, no?” Dane glowered at him. “Everyone thinks, but for the hair color, we could be twins.”

“Don’t be an ass,” I said under my breath.

“Come now,” Dane said sharply.

Kola put his head down on his uncle’s shoulder, and I followed my brother out of the hotel. I didn’t look over at Sam.

Kola and Hannah thought that first class was the coolest thing ever. They had their own video monitors, the flight attendants brought warm cookies and milk, and they got to pick what they wanted for lunch. They sat in front of Dane and me, and we talked about everything on the way home. I explained about the witness and what had happened and how there had been a man in our room. Dane listened and nodded, taking it all in.

I really wasn’t surprised when we weren’t driven home.

The loft in River North was one of Dane’s many investments. He had places in the Gold Coast area as well, which was considered very trendy and up-and-coming. Dane bought real estate, fixed it up, sometimes did the interior design himself, and sometimes hired someone. This one had been done by someone else, as exposed brick, exposed pipes in the ceiling, and all-wood floors were not Dane’s aesthetic. If you were going for an urban feel, a concrete floor was more him or wrought iron or tile. It was nice though—two huge bedrooms, two bathrooms, one guest washroom with just a toilet and a sink, an office, a kitchen, a great room, and a sort of reading nook area. The patio was small but secure with no access other than through the loft. It was smaller than our house, but still, for me and the kids, enormous. Chilly was already asleep on the rug in front of the fireplace when we got there.

I groaned and let my head roll sideways to look up at Dane.

“The kids have to share a room, but for the short time you’ll be here, that should not be an issue. Their room is at the back end; you and Sam have the first one closest to the front door. I had most of your clothes brought over, but honestly, who needs that many shoes?”

“This isn’t⁠—”

“There’s a doorman out front and two security guards that check people in and out. You need to give them a list of who gets access to the apartment. I gave them Sam’s name already. There are four apartments per floor. On this one, the eighteenth, you have Mrs. Garcia and her son, Ramon, in 1801; the Patels in 1803; and Gabe Fukushima and his partner, James Garrett, in 1804. The walls are thick; you shouldn’t hear anyone. The garbage chute is out the door to your left, and your minivan is on the basement level in stall B44. Any other questions?”

“We’d be fine at home.”

“Next Friday, you plan to have my kids with you, right?”

“Yes.”

He squinted at me. “I don’t feel comfortable with you alone in your house without Sam. The idea of you putting not only your kids, but mine in danger as well … Jory, use your head. You lock that front door, and you set the alarm, which is zero-zero-seven-one when you disarm it and zero-zero-seven-two when you arm it. Then I know you’ll be safe and sound in here.”

“Double O seven? Really?”