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They weren’t wrong about the first part, but I had no interest in the second part. And since Nolan knew I was an escort and had likely told Dallas as much, I suspected the money they were offering, which was overly generous, had a lot to do with them not wanting me to be forced to sell my body. When I’d been talking to Nolan the night I’d arrived about the fact that I was an escort and not a prostitute–a point of difference that really didn’t exist, especially not when it came to me–I knew I hadn’t been fooling him, despite my supposed lack of shame about the matter. But while my pride was telling me to reject the offer, the mere thought of how close I was to needing to find some more clients like the john with the lipstick was making me ill.
“Can I think about it?” I finally asked.
“Of course,” Nolan said. There was an awkward silence between us, then Dallas stepped over the barrier and began picking up the kittens and handing them to Nolan, presumably so the pair could take them back down to the building they lived in. “Do you need help with him?” Nolan asked as he motioned to Newt.
“No,” I said. “I’ve got him.”
I watched as Dallas collected the last kitten. Before he straightened, I watched him run his fingers gently over Newt’s temple. Both men stared at my brother for a moment before Dallas stepped back over the barrier. They headed for the door, but Dallas suddenly stopped and turned to face me. His hands were full of kittens so he maneuvered them so they were tucked against his chest, then looked pointedly at Nolan and made a motion with his hand. I didn’t get what he meant but Nolan seemed to because he said to me, “He’ll look at your car in a bit. We just need to feed the animals first.” Nolan hesitated, then said, “But you know you’re more than welcome to stay another night, right? It’s supposed to get really cold tonight.”
The reminder about my car should have angered me, but surprisingly it didn’t.
I didn’t really know why.
I glanced at Newt. Another night in a warm bed wouldn’t hurt. “Thank you, we’d appreciate that. And tomorrow is fine for my car.”
Both men seemed relieved and quickly said their goodbyes. I finished what I was doing and saved the file on the computer, then got up and went to collect Newt. He barely stirred when I picked him up. Loki licked my face when I bent down to lift Newt and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Loki,” Newt murmured as I lifted him.
“He’s here, buddy,” I said.
The wolf hybrid jumped up to follow us. I stopped at Dallas’s truck long enough to grab the lunch bag I’d left tucked behind the front seat and then carried Newt along the path toward the house. His mouth was pressed up against my neck and his little arms were wrapped around me super tight.
“Isaac,” he said softly, still half asleep.
“Yeah, buddy?”
“I miss Mommy.”
It wasn’t unusual for Newt to mention our mom out of the blue like that, but it still killed me every time he did it.
“I know you do, buddy. Me too.”
“Isaac?”
“Yeah?”
“You think she’s lonely in heaven?”
“No, I think she’s got lots of friends with her.”
“Animals too?”
“Definitely animals,” I said. “And plants and bugs and rainbows.”
“And angels?”
“Lots of angels.”
He sighed, and I’d thought he’d fallen back asleep at first.
“Isaac?”
“Yeah?”
“Can we stay here till we gotta get lost again? It’s nice here.”
“It is?” I asked.
“Uh-huh.”
“Don’t you want to go see New York? Check out the Statue of Liberty? Climb up to the top of the tallest buildings so you can see if you can touch the sun?”
He was quiet for a moment. “Can Nolan and Dallas and Loki and Gentry and Mad come?”
“You want all of them to come? Even mad Mad?” I asked as nerves skittered through my belly at the mere thought of Maddox.
Newt nodded against my neck. “I think he’s family.”
“You mean part of Dallas’s family?” I asked. “He is. He’s Dallas’s brother.”
“Like you and me are brothers?”
“Exactly,” I said.
“Then yeah, he’s gotta come. He’s family, even if he’s mad. ’Cause he’s not mean, right?”
I heard the fear in Newt’s voice and I knew the cause of it. “No, buddy, he’s not mean. None of them are mean.”
“Like him,” Newt whispered, his voice so low I barely heard it.
“Right, not like him,” I reassured him. “And remember what I said about him?”
“He can’t find us when we’re lost.”
“Right,” I agreed and hugged him tighter.
Newt sighed after a moment and his head lolled against my neck, proof he was drifting off again. “If Loki and Dallas and Nolan and Gentry and Mad get lost with us, can they be our family?” he asked tiredly.
