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I have a feeling it will be naps right after they finish, if the big yawns and tired eyes are anything to go by. They’re much quieter as they settle in on the floor and dig into their lunches. Cal takes one bite before stopping and searching for his dad. “When Trev going to be here?”
Ian ruffles his hair and takes his own seat on one of the chairs with a plate in hand. “I don’t know, buddy. Let me call his dad. Okay?”
Cal nods along and starts eating again. I smile as I watch Roe pick back up her own sandwich and focus on her food again too. Apparently all three of them had been wondering when Trevor was going to get here.
Ian pulls out his phone and makes the call only to pull it away from his face moments later with a frown. Just then I can hear a commotion coming from the back hallway.
“Couldn’t wait two more seconds to see my face?” Holden teases as he walks into the room, carrying a very sleepy Trevor in his arms.
Ian scoffs, “It wasn’t you we were missing. Cal needed his partner in crime.”
Holden feigns shock as Trevor rushes to get out of his arms and sit with the other kids. Charlene goes to get up to make another sandwich but Holden waves for her to sit back down, telling her they already ate.
I keep my eyes on Scar, watching how she eases back into herself when she’s surrounded by her people. The absolute mundaneness of today is a direct contrast to everything else we’ve been dealing with. The tension that has been riding her shoulders almost seems gone as she strokes Roe’s hair with her fingers and chats with Jade.
No one brings up the last few days. The things we’ve discovered, the work that needs to be done. No one asks any questions or volunteers any information about everything we’ve learned or what our next steps are. The past year has taught all of us just how important it is to turn that part of our lives off every once in a while. To relish the quiet moments.
It’s become obvious just how much Scar needs these moments to keep it together. To survive this world with her heart and soul still intact.
We finish eating and keep the conversations light. Time passes quickly and I chuckle as Roe starts to sway back into her mom’s touch, barely managing to keep her eyes open.
“Come on, Roe baby,” I call out as I get to my feet and pick her up and cradle her to my chest. “Let’s get you down for a nap.”
“I want Mommy,” she whines, fighting against me. My mouth drops open and I’m not the only one. Roe isn’t one to throw fits. Ever. Her wanting Scar is nothing new, but the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks certainly are.
Scar is quick to jump to her feet and smooth over the moment. “Come here, sweet girl. You must be tired.” She presses her face into her mom’s chest and cries for a few moments as Scar hushes her. Charlene watches the interaction with a knowing smile as Scar carries her out of the room. I hesitate as I watch them go, not knowing if I should follow, but Charlene waves me to sit back down.
The boys start to act up now that Roe is gone and Ian and Holden are quick to get them moving down to a guest room as well.
“She’s been missing her momma,” Charlene explains as she comes over and pats my knee. I give her a smile to reassure her that I’m not offended. I love that little girl something fierce and I know she loves me right back, but sometimes you just need your mom.
“Has she been having nightmares again?” I ask hesitantly. She’s been sleeping a lot better for months, but the continued separation from Scar and the rest of us can’t be good. We may do our best to shelter the kids, but kids are smarter than we give them credit for. It’s entirely reasonable they know something is going on, even if they don’t understand it.
“No nightmares,” Charlene explains. “Just asking for Scar a lot more frequently.”
“We’re close to eliminating Romano,” Luca tells her. “Once we do, we will be able to find our new normal. One where we aren’t so far from each other and get to spend more time all together.”
Everyone is quiet for a moment as we let his words sink in. Almost at once we all hop up to get back to our own tasks, ready for this break to be over so we can move that much closer to a life without Romano’s shadow looming over us.
* * *
I markanother property off the list.
A sigh escapes my lips as I crack my neck and run my hands over my face. Two weeks of endless digging into mostly empty estates. The monotony of the task is a much larger threat to my sanity than any of the shit I’ve been exposed to since meeting Scar.
Who knew the Donahues would have so many goddamn properties that could easily hide a madman like Romano? I underestimated just how many threads I would have to pull loose to unravel this mess.
My phone rings jarring me out of my thoughts. I look down as Charles’ name flashes across the screen and tilt my head to the side as I answer it. It’s only been a day since we last spoke and I’m really hoping he’s calling to help me narrow down my search rather than expand on it.
“Hey, I just wanted to let Char,” he coughs, cutting himself off, “Scar, know that I had that list she wanted.”
I tap my pen against my desk and wrack my brain trying to recall what she asked for this time. “Uh huh,” I hum, hoping Charles will fill in the blanks. This would be a lot easier if she would either just talk to him, or run all communication through me. Instead, she has taken to texting him from different burner phones and then throwing them away before he has the chance to even think about responding.
“She wanted to see if I could add anyone to her list of potential abusers,” he explains, picking up on my hesitations.
I snap my fingers. “Oh shit, yes. Send that to me. We’re looking for any business partners, friends, even associates, anyone that could have had a correlation with either your father, hers, or Romano. Even the James family. Just anyone that would have even the slightest reason to have been in that office that night so we can have a master-list to reference back to.”
“This list is a long one.” I can hear the warning and hesitation in his voice as he tells me. I try not to curse at the amount of work that I know is coming my way.
