Page 93 of Breached

“Thank you.” I took it from him as he held on to the side of the bed, feeling very proud of himself.

“I help.”

“Yes, you’re very helpful.” I looked around the room, wondering what I was forgetting, when I heard voices outside. “Let’s go, son.” I held out my hand, and he tottered headlong toward me. Savi assured me he was meeting his milestones. He was a little behind, but she said it was to be expected after all he’d been through. There was no doubt in my mind in a few months he’d be right where he should be, thanks to everyone in the house.

I found Olivia outside my door holding a paintbrush, laughing. She disappeared, giggling into the next room, and I heard excited whispers. Chase took off behind her, and I bounded after him. I found Olivia and her mother, along with Tabby and Mia. Mark’s daughter had paint all over her shirt. “What’s happen⁠—"

“Surprise!” they all yelled, and I laughed as I bent down to grab Chase, who was seconds away from diving into their paint can.

“Dada!” Chase shrieked in excitement. “Mopters!”

“He needed a boy’s room.” Savannah pointed to the hand-painted Blackhawks, Apaches, M1 Abrams, and different types of weapons with their names under them so he could learn what each one was. It was all very impressive. “It’s kind of an updated version of Daniel’s beloved flipbook.”

My heart warmed, and I leaned over and side-hugged her. I had to hold tight to Chase as he suddenly lunged toward her. I stepped back and admired their work. “This is,” I used my free hand to cover my chest, “extremely thoughtful, ladies.”

“He needed his own space.” Mia waved her arm around.

Olivia held up a huge helicopter. “And check out what we got for above his bed!”

“Well, now I’m jealous.” I admired it, and Chase kicked his feet in excitement. “Thanks. This is beyond cool and really thoughtful. I wish I could stay, but I need to drop this tank off with Gabby—I’ve got a meeting. I’ll check in later, though.”

“We’ll be here,” Savi said, grinning, and they went back to work. I took one last admiring glance around before I shifted Chase up on my shoulders, and we headed down to find Gabriella. Mike’s daughter loved helping with the kids.

“Don’t worry, Uncle Paul, I’ll keep an eye on him,” she assured me as I plunked Chase down next to Mia’s twins, Liam and Ethan. “These guys are just going out to play. I’ll be right behind them.” I was glad the boys were there to help distract my son. Ethan handed him a water gun, and they all headed for the door. I chuckled when the last thing I heard from Ethan was, “No, Chase, don’t shoot us. Shoot the girls.”

“Thanks, Gabby.” I gave her a hug then headed for my office. I took the stairs three at a time, swung around, then jogged down the long hallway of conference rooms and stopped outside Nicole’s office. I peeked inside and saw her untouched coffee and muffin on her desk. That was unlike her. I stepped softly inside the door and saw she was on the phone. She looked up with a smile. I gave a nod toward her food, and she scrunched her nose at it. I pointed to my stomach, as if asking if she was pregnant, and she made a pouty face and mouthed I wish.

“We’ll keep trying,” I mouthed back.

She rolled her eyes playfully then turned back to her call.

I closed the door with a chuckle and slipped into my own office and opened my computer just in time to connect to my meeting with Grim Gates. He popped up on the video call exactly on time. Grim was always prompt.

“Morning, Paul.” Grim’s low voice matched his usual demeanor. His sharp gray eyes missed nothing. “I know you have a lot on your plate, but we have a few things to discuss.”

“It’s not a problem. What do you have for me?”

He studied me for a moment, almost as if waiting for me to say something. “All right, let’s start with the good and ease into the shit.”

“Fuck,” I rubbed my head, not at all liking the sound of that, “let’s go.”

“First, check your email.” He tapped a button, and a second later, a wire transfer came through with an obscene amount of money.

“What the fuck is this?” I didn’t need money—I was well set thanks to being a part of Blackstone.

“This is for Chase, from his grandparents,” Grim explained, and my body grew hot. “It’s the money I’ve been siphoning from their bank accounts. Talya would have wanted her son to have it. Think of it as her gift to him.”

I rubbed my lips uncomfortably. “I can’t take it. It’s dirty.”

“Yeah, it is, so do good with it.” He shrugged, not at all fazed by blood money. “Now, see that amount at the bottom? That will come in monthly.” I did my best to lock my jaw in place because it was a disgusting amount of money for anyone to get. “If it helps, it hardly affects their bottom line, sadly. Not to say they aren’t upset about it. They do seem to be scrambling.” He chuckled darkly. “Oh, and I have a paltry sum being diverted into the San Diego border patrol.”

“I see.” I raised a skeptical brow when he said that, and he gave me one of his famous dark smirks that made my blood run cold.

“It’s always good to reward friends. One never knows when you might need them.”

“Okay, moving on.” I didn’t want to hear any more. “Give me the bad shit.”

The door behind me suddenly opened, and Grim instantly caught that we weren’t alone.