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“It’s true.” He shrugs. “Sometimes she’s here on her own. It’s for her protection.”
“What’s he called?” I ask.
“Princess.” Victoria beams.
“Princess?”
“Yep.”
“Probably why he wants to kill then. He’s gotta step up, having a name like that.”
The dog growls at me and everyone at the table laughs.
“Oh please, he doesn’t understand what I said.”
“Does too. Last week, I pissed Tor off, and she told him I wasn’t allowed in the bed. The fucker would not let me pass until she gave the go ahead.”
“And you couldn’t handle him?”
“I could, but I want him devoted to her and he is.”
Somehow, a Doberman fits them as a couple.
“I take it he’s got good enemy radar?”
“So far so good.”
Digging out my pack of smokes from my pocket, I light up and inhale deeply. Looking around, I take in the place, now I’m not seeing through red mist, and Luca’s done well here. The place is looking more like a club than an abandoned warehouse.
My phone pings with a text and my heart races, expecting Holly. It’s from Jay, wanting to know when I’ll be back.
My brother is settling in well here and I can leave, knowing he’s holding his own. That Dad’s decision and foresight to put him out here was one decision made for the right.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Holly
He said he would be gone a couple of days. My bags have been packed and in the trunk since five this morning thanks to not being able to sleep. I’ve accumulated more than I thought since I’ve been here but it’s still hardly anything. Leo will never be who I need him to be and it’s time I look out for myself. I make sure Rayna’s buckled in and slide in behind the wheel. I haven’t heard a thing from him all night, nor this morning. I thought he’d at least call to speak to Rayna but there’s been nothing. He will never be able to move on from India, butIcan move on and accept Leo is not my future… mainly because I have to.
“Where are we going?” Rayna asks as I take one last look at the cabin. I didn’t see it till now but this place has been my home. The first place I’ve felt like I belonged. I thought my heart broke last night before he left, but I realise now, that’s it been slowly breaking since he first held me after one of my nightmares.
“Grandma Alannah’s.”
The lump in my throat makes it unbearable to swallow. This sweet, amazing little girl has no idea how the day is going to play out and the parts of my heart that have already broken, keep being chipped at.
The Jacksons’ property isn’t a long drive from the cabin, and I listen to Rayna tell me about a frog she found the last time she was there. I make the right noises to keep her talking and save me from having to lie to her. As much as I’m going to miss Leo, I’m going to miss her more.
Alannah’s watering her potted plants on the wraparound porch when I pull up and Cas is working on his bike.
You can do this, Holly.
I’d like to believe I never saw this day coming but I have. I knew it would arrive, and I knew it would hurt.
It would hurt so much that it would blind me to seeing any kind of future without her. I climb out of the car and remind myself, I’m just the nanny and nannies come and go all the time. Leo has plenty of help around the club with the old ladies. I don’t even know why he’s kept me around all this time.
“Hey, you. You ready to help Grandpa with his bike?” Cas asks, walking over, wiping his hands on a rag from his back pocket.
“Yep, yep, yep,” she chirps, jumping out of the car.
