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Chapter 12
Miguel
I kept my arm around Amelia’s waist as she watched Molly.
“I just want to go home,” Amelia whispered. “I want to take Molly and just go home.”
“Then that’s where we’ll go, baby.”
Amelia pulled away from my grasp. “No, I mean Molly and me alone.”
“Not gonna happen, love,” Niko whispered. “Wherever you go, Miguel goes.”
“I don’t need a damn babysitter, and it looks like Betty will be joining us,” Amelia huffed.
“This comes from Leo himself.” Niko tapped the side of his head. His eyes softened as he continued, “Leo wouldn’t command it if he didn’t think it was necessary for now. There’s still a threat out there.”
“Fine,” Amelia reluctantly agreed.
“I’ll just need to stop at my place to get a few things.” Amelia had slowed as we talked. Molly ran out of Betty’s house to me and latched onto my leg, leaving Betty standing on her porch watching us.
“No, don’t leave me, Uncle Miguel.” She squeezed her eyes shut and held on tight.
“I’m not leaving you, Molly. You and Aunt Amelia can come with me, and then we will all go to her home.” I hugged her tight. “But first, you have to let me go.”
“Pwomise?” Her eyes pleaded with me, unshed tears making them glisten.
“Promise.” I glanced up to Amelia, giving her a pleading look.
“Come, Molly. It will be an adventure; you can show me where Uncle Miguel lives and what it looks like. Then we’ll go home and bake cookies with Ms. Betty and maybe take a nap.”
Molly clung to Amelia’s outstretched hand, and we headed off. Betty waved at us as we turned heading to my place. My home was on the outer ring of houses Leo had built. As a guardian and as part of his elite team, I was placed there as the first line of defense if anything were to make it past the rest of Leo’s security.
“You have one of the bigger houses, don’t you, Uncle Mickey?” Molly asked. Her nickname for me warmed my heart.
Amelia raised an eyebrow. “Uncle Mickey?” She gave me a half-smile.
I shrugged. “It’s her nickname for me. She doesn’t use it often, mostly when she wants something she knows she shouldn’t have.” I ruffled Molly’s hair.
“I like it,” Amelia replied.
We reached my home, two houses down from Leo’s on the right-hand side of the compound. It wasn’t the largest home of his elite, but big enough for me and the potential family I had hoped for when it was built. A two-story, three-bedroom, open floor plan design. The main floor had a living room that flowed into a large kitchen. A half bath was off the kitchen, and then French doors led to the deck out back.
“Make yourselves at home. I’ll just run upstairs and grab a few things.” It felt right to have Amelia in my home. It felt complete for the first time since I had moved in.
I took the stairs two at a time and stopped in my office first to grab my laptop, messenger bag, backup radio, and charger, along with my backup cellphone and its charger. My phone was still in the backpack I had taken out with me and lost somewhere in the chase to Amelia.
“Uncle Mickey, can I come get a book?” Molly’s little voice called up.
I had a small shelf with books appropriate for Molly’s age in my office, along with a small rug and bean bag chair for whenever she wanted to come visit.
“Absolutely. Grab as many as you want to take.” Her hurried footsteps up the stairs made my heart constrict with the need to hear the steps of my own children run up those stairs. A new hope to one day see Amelia round with child bloomed inside.
Molly raced in and knelt down at her bookcase, grabbed the little tote next to it, and began to fill it. I walked out and across the hallway to the master bedroom just as Amelia crested the steps.
“I just need to grab a few clothes, and then I’ll be ready.” I smiled. “My home is your home whenever you like.”
I left the bedroom door open in case she wanted to come in. I felt her caution through our burgeoning bond. I stayed quiet and let her explore as she wished. I tried to see my room through her eyes if she crossed the threshold and walked into my room. I’d had it built larger than normal, which was why I had a three-bedroom home and not a four. A king-size bed took up most of the left wall. Straight ahead along the back wall of the house were three floor-to-ceiling glass doors. They opened onto the private deck outside the room. The deck sat above the main deck down below, separated by a metal awning in a deep green to blend in as much as possible.
