AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I saw Paul roll his eyes out of the corner of my peripheral vision. “That’s good to know,” I said, making a mental note.
Remus rumbled softly. “We’ll start looking into it right away. In the meantime, I’m going to ask you to keep a low profile. If someone did grab her, I don’t want them to get spooked and try to disappear themselves.”
“Of course,” Paul said. “Anything you need us to do, we’ll do it.”
“Anything,” Ann said, nodding enthusiastically. “Anything at all.”
“I’ll let you know,” Remus said, standing up so we could let ourselves out.
It wasdinner time when I got back to Remus’ safe house, and I actually managed to remember to pick up something to eat before I got there. I had forgotten to ask Iris what she was in the mood for before I left, but I couldn’t get her a bacon cheeseburger every single time, right? Even if it was her favorite.
Well, it couldn’t hurt. Besides, you can probably get Bella a kid’s burger at the same place.
We already knew she liked French fries, and what kid didn’t like a hamburger and milkshake?
When I got back to the house, Iris and Bella were sitting at the coffee table. There was a board game on the table, half set up.
As soon as I got through the front door, Bella lifted her head and sniffed. Her little eyes lit up and she abandoned her stuffed wolf on the table, racing across the house to stand in front of me. “Burgers!” she chirped, looking up at me expectantly.
I almost dropped the bag and the tray on the floor, surprised to hear her soft little voice. I glanced up, searching for Iris with wide eyes.
She stood, pressing a hand to her mouth as she tried not to smile at my bewilderment. “I think you’re right, Bella,” she said, winking at me. “Why don’t you come here so we can set the table and let Eli in the door.”
The little girl gave a firm nod and raced over to the kitchen, eagerly taking the placements from Iris to awkwardly shove them up on the table. I shot Iris a look over her head and she winked at me. “She said a few words yesterday. And earlier today,” she mouthed. Before I could ask any more on the matter, Bella was practically vibrating next to me again.
“Glad I decided on the burger joint,” I chuckled. Her excitement was practically contagious.
She didn’t say anything else as we ate, but she was clearly too enthused about dinner. There was ketchup on her face and I didn’t think I’d ever seen anyone happier. Iris told me what they’d been up to in the afternoon, and occasionally, Bella would pitch in with a nod or a happy hum.
“How was your afternoon?” Iris asked.
“Productive enough,” I said carefully, not wanting to ruin Bella’s good mood. “I learned some things. Hannah and Ashley knew each other, for one thing.”
Iris paused with her mouth open, a French fry poised between her fingers. “Seriously?”
“Mm.” I nodded, reaching over to wipe some of the ketchup off the table before Bella put an elbow in it. “I guess Catherine and Ann, Hannah’s mother, were friends before they were born. I don’t think we’ve had an association like that before, have we?”
“Nope,” Iris said, her eyes wide. I could tell she was itching to dive into this further, but she couldn’t exactly whip out her laptop while Bella was still working on her dinner. “That…that is definitely something to look into.”
“I can start while you get the ketchup monster cleaned up,” I suggested, grinning down at Bella.
Bella beamed back up at me. “Brownie?” she asked, looking over to the counter.
I raised my eyebrows at Iris and she laughed. “We made brownies last night.” She looked back at Bella. “Eli brought you a very nice milkshake already, didn’t he?” The little girl nodded and held the cup closer to her, chewing a bit on the straw. “I don’t think we need a brownie and a milkshake. That would be a lot. Right, Eli?”
I gave a grave nod. “That would be a lot. Plus, that means we have brownies to look forward to tomorrow, right?”
Bella seemed to consider this for a moment, and I started bracing myself for the kid to insist. Instead, she simply nodded, slurping up the last bit of her milkshake. Whoever her parents were, they had done a great job with her, despite the shit situation they’d found themselves in.I hope I get to meet them and tell them as much.
My heart panged.
Iris didn’t seem to notice, getting to her feet as Bella did. “C’mere,” she said, scooping the little girl up. “I think it’s bath time.”
I picked up the kitchen and closed up the house while Iris got Bella clean and ready for bed. After texting with Clay and Jaxon briefly, I slipped into Bella’s room, trading places with Iris. I could hear the shower running as I sat on her bed to tell her a bedtime story. The first wasn’t enough to lull her to sleep, but we’d gotten halfway throughToday Is Mondaywhen I heard her snuffle.
Bella was sound asleep, her mouth open slightly as she pressed her cheek against her plushie wolf. I couldn’t help but smile, waiting another moment before I stood slowly, setting the book back on her shelf before creeping out of the bedroom.
Iris was already on the bed in the other room when I returned, stretched out in a tank and shorts, wet hair around her neck. I shuddered at the memory of the first time I’d seen her like that, and she glanced up with a smirk. She gave me a onceover before looking back at her phone. “Did Bella fall asleep okay?”
