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22
It was quiet. Too quiet. Despite the lack of activity or threats, they felt trapped. The building was so locked down it was suffocating… all in the name of survival. An extreme sacrifice that left them no closer to answers.
It had been two days since they were attacked, and Killion’s nerves were still just as frazzled as they were the moment he realized Rainy was in the atrium with the babies while a couple of bastards had their sights on them. Enough time had passed for him to recall the order of events and how he reacted to them –– a reaction that required Wit to talk him down before he completely lost his mind and walked too hot into an already heated situation. It was reckless of him, and that alone could have cost him everything.
The more he realized his triggers, the more he realized there wasn’t any sense of calm, only seas of storms headed right for them. He loved her. He loved their babies. That would never change. That fear, anxiety, and pure primal instinct wouldn’t change either. They were his to protect, and any threat, big or small, would provoke any of those emotions at any given time. The only thing he could do was try to control how big or small his reaction was. Try being the operative word there.
It was frustrating to be Killion O’Reilly. Smartest guy in the room, but also the one who didn’t have a clue half the time when it came to basic common social skills. How does that make sense? It also didn’t make sense that he could both struggle with emotional cues and responses, then have them so large he couldn’t control them –– even more frustrating was that he didn’t entirely understand them.
Killion O’Reilly was a literal genius, complex, had a solution for everything… except when it came to Rainy and his children. He knew he loved them but didn’t know why love hurt so badly. He knew he wanted to protect them at all costs, but he didn’t know why he did it in such a destructive and monstrous way. It was frustrating… being Killion O’Reilly.
Being Killion O’Reilly brought danger to their doorstep. He was the source of his own pain and agony. He was the source of the threats to his family. He was the source of his own fear, frustration, and anger. He was the source…
And it hurt.
Rainy didn’t seem to see him that way. At least, she didn’t let on that she did. None of them did, really. They rallied behind him like he was some golden boy champion. There was a time when he’d roll his eyes and say, I know. Now he was asking, why me? They all said it wasn’t his fault, and he wasn’t to blame, but how could he not be to blame? He made everything used against him. The very thing their unnamed enemy was after… was him. They were liars… it was all because of him.
He'd watched Rainy roam about the apartment, which had ample room. She’d even step outside the apartment –– which was more of a penthouse –– and roam the halls of their floor with the babies knowing there were plenty of armed guards to keep them safe. It was important to her recovery. She couldn’t go outside. She couldn’t even go to the atrium anymore as it was still under construction and there was quite a bit to clean up. The rest of the building, well, it was just best she stayed close to the apartment. Just in case.
He hated that for her. He hated that he was the cause of it even more. After all she’d done to support him, make sure he was okay, and never blame him once… he had to do something for her. Make her feel special. Despite their circumstance, she wore a smile like there wasn’t a thing wrong in the world, much less in their small piece of it. She came back into his life just when he needed her most… and didn’t even know it. Here he was, planning to take care of her, protect her, and maybe even love her, but it was Rainy doing all of that for him. He was broken, but so damn lucky and felt that as deep in his soul as he’d felt everything else of late.
If they couldn’t go for walks, play in the park, or even hang out in the atrium as the next best thing, he wanted to do something they could do. Like a date, he supposed. Just the two of them –– sort of –– after the babies went to sleep for the night, or at least until their middle of the night feeding. Killion planned a date night in, dinner, just the two of them. After they put the babies down for bed, he told her to take some time for herself. Maybe take a bubble bath, put on a pretty dress, or simply read a book uninterrupted. He didn’t care what, just as long as she enjoyed it.
Now he sat at the candlelit dining room table with the meal he’d planned under silver domed plates to keep them warm. There was even a fancy dessert he’d wrangled up in the refrigerator. Crème brûlée. Her favorite. The romantic in him, or closest thing to romantic he conjured up, dimmed the lights throughout and dropped a trail of petals to lead her right to him where he had a bottle of sparkling cider waiting on ice. Not a dream date, but decent considering their current circumstances and his limited experience at sweeping women off their feet.
When he heard her coming down the hallway, he began to sweat as he stood, awkwardly waiting to pull out her chair for when she finally found him. He heard her call out his name, albeit quietly, clearly stunned by the mood lighting and rose petals across the floor. Killion remained silent, unsure if that was the right thing to do, or if he should call out her name. When she walked into the formal dining space, she took one look and grasped her chest.
“Killion,” she murmured. “Did you do all this?”
He nodded.
“It’s so sweet.” She walked into the room and took in every detail. “Flowers? Folded linen napkins? You really went all out.”
“I, uh, wanted to do something… special,” he stammered. “You’ve been so great with everything, and I just… wanted to show you… how I feel. About you, of course.”
“Of course.” She giggled as she took her seat, and he pushed in her chair. “This is so thoughtful. It’s been so crazy around here. How’d you manage to pull this off?”
He shrugged. “Called in favors. It’s all your favorites. At least I hope they’re still your favorites.”
“My favorites?” she questioned, lifting the dome lid. “You’re kidding me. Is this…?”
“Luigi’s. Yeah,” he said. “I know you love their lasagna. I also have this.”
He lifted another dome that sat between them, and she gasped.
“No, you didn’t.” She covered her mouth in surprise. “Roberto’s?”
“That’s the queso you love from there in the middle with all three kinds of tacos around it.” He reached behind him and grabbed a bowl of tortilla chips from the banquet. “These are for the queso. Unless you’d rather dunk your tacos in it instead. I wasn’t sure which you’d prefer tonight.”
“Both.” She laughed. “So lasagna and tacos. This is seriously the best date night ever.”
“I have all the side dishes too. They’re in the bowls here in the middle.” He took the tops off the dishes and revealed a wide spread of Italian and Mexican foods.
“It’s going to take days to eat all of this,” she said, taking it all in.
“Oh, and when you’re ready, there’s crème brûlée in the refrigerator. From that place downtown.”
“I’ve never had better crème brûlée,” she whispered. “I can’t believe you remembered that place.”
