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“Thank you,” Mona replies.
We all quickly make our way out of Mona’s office and out of the house, walking past the many security people that are eyeing us like we’re the threat and it’s not one of their own. The whole way to the car, I can feel the guy's gazes on me, and I’m preparing myself for the questions that are likely about to be asked the second that the doors of the car shut and offer us a modicum of privacy.
As predicted, as soon as we’re heading down the driveway, Mal says, “R was the one that you got quite close to when you were kidnapped by Ever’s dad?”
“Yeah, that’s her. I’ve always been scared about what could’ve happened to her because I got moved on. As soon as I got back to D, with the help from Ever, I gave him the rough area and what I could remember, and he said he’d deal with it. I specifically asked that he didn’t tell me if he couldn’t find it. I was far too vulnerable at that point, and I wanted to live in denial, I guess, and just hope that she was okay.”
“I think that’s understandable,” Rome replies gently.
“I think I was a coward,” I reply, and then before any of them can argue with me, I add, “but it’s a relief that she’s okay, and I wasn’t lying to Mona. I really am more confident that she’s okay.”
“Damn unlucky to get kidnapped so soon after the last time though,” Mason adds with a frown.
“It comes with the territory of having a crime boss for a mother,” I point out.
“Yeah, good point,” Mase replies.
“When we get back, we’ll order takeout like we planned, and then I can hook the laptop up to the TV in the den, and we can go over some of the footage,” Ace interjects, sensing that I want to change the subject.
“That’s a good idea. I think we should finish going over the footage before we head over to check out where Rylie was taken from. It’s very unlikely that we’ll find anything that will aid us there anyway.” Rip adds.
“Good idea.” I reply, and then because my stomach decides to announce itself very loudly, I add, “I’m starving.”
Mase grins, “No shit, I never would’ve guessed.”
Sticking my tongue out at him, I reply, “Smart ass.”
His expression becomes angelic as he replies, “Yeah, but I’m your smartass.”
Sighing in defeat, I reply, “Yeah, you are.”
Finally, we pull up to the house, and all pile out of the car. I want nothing more than to go to bed, but not only did we promise Mona that we’d start tonight, despite it being ridiculously late, but also I now have a kind of personal investment in this. I may not have spent that long with R, but under those circumstances, any connections that you do make with a person become pretty fucking lasting.
**********
As we thought we didn’t find anything on the cameras last night, but we did start watching earlier than when Mona thought that Rylie had been taken. We wanted to see if there was anyone suspicious hanging around where they shouldn’t have been. Mason and I decided to look through the files of people who work for Mona to familiarize ourselves with their faces and what they do for her in case we saw one that was out of place. We didn’t get that far into it, all of us too tired to do much more, and knowing that we had a massive day ahead of us today, we called it a night and went to bed.
I meet Rome on my way down the stairs, my nose lifting in the air, “Did the guys cook?”
Rome frowns, “I doubt it. We’re up early, and after the late night last night, they’re more likely to have made bowls of cereal or just be chugging coffee.”
“Huh, well, I know we didn’t hire a cook, or Gerald would’ve told me,” I reply as we head into the kitchen, and I pause in shock at the food spread on the table.
There’s bacon, sausages, toast, eggs, pancakes, and pretty much every other breakfast food that you can think of, all laid out on the vast table with all of the men sitting around it looking confused and staring in the direction of the kitchen. From the angle that I currently am, I can't see what they’re all looking at, so I speed up, and when the kitchen comes into view, I feel my face fall into the same confused look as the others.
“Gerald?” I ask, curiosity saturating my tone. Asking the obvious, I say, “What are you doing?”
Gerald spins around, spatula in hand, wearing a dark blue apron with a frilly edge with a frown on his face, “Making breakfast, Jynx, if you all don’t start looking after yourselves properly, you’re going to burn out. When was the last time you had a proper cooked meal, not takeout?" Without waiting for me to reply, despite the fact that I open my mouth to do so, he continues, “Exactly, you don’t know. I will not have you all burning out or making careless mistakes because you aren’t looking after yourselves properly. Even your grandmother knew when to rest, and she was the stubbornest woman I knew.”
The whole room stays silent as we all watch him, absorbing what he’s saying, and I’m suddenly overcome with affection for this man that came into my life at such an uncertain time. He’s very quickly become a part of my family, and I know I can rely on him more than I have been able to rely on my mother, at least.
“I know. We just haven’t had the time recently. It's going to settle down soon, and then we’ll be able to ensure that we properly rest in between jobs instead of having one job after another with no break. We have to do the job for Mona, and then we’re resting. Thank you so much for looking after us and making sure we’re fed,” I smile, and his tension lessens as he returns it, his eyes filling with warmth.
“Good, in that case, eat up and get this job sorted so you can focus on relaxing and acting your ages for a bit,” Gerald commands, and then adds, “I’ve finished here now, and I have a meeting about the sale of the businesses, so I’m going to leave you to it. If you need me, I will be in my office.”
“Thanks, Gerald,” I smile affectionately and then take a seat at the table as he walks out, smiling happily at us all piling our plates high with the food that he’s made for us.
“That was nice of him,” Rome comments.
