Page 118 of Nyx

"I'm relieving Recon," I tell them before they can get to him and take over.

Thumper chuckles as if I just told a joke, but before I can glare at him, Legacy speaks.

"Kincaid thought it would be a good idea to have two on the front and two on the back today," he says. "I'll head out back."

"Me too," Thumper says, walking in that direction.

"Looks like you and me up front," Bishop says. "Gonna be hot today."

"Nothing to note," Recon says as we walk up, updating Bishop. "Victoria has called and should be able to get back later this afternoon."

"Have a good day," Bishop tells him before heading to a spot on the other side of the sidewalk parallel to the one I take when Recon steps away.

I keep my eyes open, constantly scanning, wondering if Juliet is even going to let me into her apartment this evening after standing in this hot sun for the next ten to twelve hours. My deodorant from yesterday is working triple time right now, and I bet it wears off long before the shift is over.

I make a mental note to grab some necessities at the grocery store when she does her shopping after work.

"Kincaid is keeping the women back at the clubhouse," Bishop offers. "Normally, they'd be here helping prep for the fundraiser."

"So he is worried about their safety," I mutter.

"Always. We always worry about our loved ones. It never ends."

Chapter 30

Juliet

The day started with me walking into an argument between Kayla and Caroline. They have different opinions on the rules for supervised visitations. I have no idea how the conversation started or how it ended up with them all but screaming in each other’s faces.

Caroline insists that supervision means the supervisor should be physically in the room during the visitation.

Kayla said that she should be able to get alone time with her daughter, and the supervisor being outside the room should be enough to be considered supervised.

I did my best to settle them down, but they still glared at each other during breakfast and were unable to see how their behavior and attitudes affected those around them.

Thankfully, Caroline had to leave for work after being asked to work a swing shift today instead of her usual earlier shift.

"Can you believe her?" Kayla asks as she follows me to the office after breakfast has been cleaned up.

"I know you want me to choose sides, Kayla, but I'm not going to do that," I say, trying not to let my exhaustion come through in my tone, and feeling like I'm failing miserably.

"Because you agree with her?"

I sit in my desk chair and look at her. "The rule is in the title. You can't supervise someone from outside the room."

She huffs, crossing her arms over her chest like a child who isn't getting their way.

"I told you from the first day you came that there would be hoops you would have to jump through and rules you'd have to follow to regain custody of Aleah."

She sighs again, her chin wobbling with emotion.

"I'm not the one who hurt people. Why am I the one who's getting punished?"

"It's not meant to be punishment," I assure her. "You have to prove that she's safe with you. Attend your visit and just pretend like they're not even there."

"Except they are there, and taking notes just to find something wrong with how I act around her."

"They will point out issues they see, and that's a good thing. If you're acting in a way that may cause her harm later, don't you want to know and correct those issues?"