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My heart thunders, and adrenaline pounds in my blood. A million worst-case scenarios played through my mind in the space of twenty seconds, but now I bend at my hips and heave through familiar terror.
It wasn’t all that long ago my baby’s life was in real, true danger… and saved by the vigilante killer.
She stepped in front of a man who’d intended to kidnap and murder my child. His plan was set, his net had been cast, and it would’ve been Mia who ended up on Minka’s steel slab, had the universe seen fit.
That bastard is dead now, and the world is a better place without him. But there are more like him out there, and fear still slams through my veins, in my psyche, at the thought of someone hurting her.
“Sera?” I pant for breath and work to dispel the anxiety pulsing through my body. “Shit,” I rasp. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“I’m sorry.” She takes a step away from my daughter, but their hands remain linked; Mia’s little fingers wrapped around the woman’s palm. “I saw her through the glass door on my way home,” she murmurs, uncharacteristically shy.
Sera still wears her work attire: skirt, silky blouse, pressed jacket, and heels that afford her an extra few inches of height. Her lips are still glossy, and her hair similarly defies how normal folks typicallylook at this point in their day.
“I live about three blocks,” she tilts her head to indicate the direction, “that way. But I saw Mia through the glass and worried she was alone.”
“She was with her babysitter,” I say quickly. Behind me, Penny hobbles down the stairs, while in front of me, Mia steps closer to Sera and almost—almost—hugs her leg. “I had some stuff to take care of in my apartment,” I grit out. “So I sent Mia to hang with the babysitter for a few minutes.”
“Mommy and Daddy were arguing,” Moo so helpfully adds, sending Sera’s brow arching. “My mom was being mean to Miss Penny. She called her a bad name.”
“Oh, well…” Swallowing, Sera nods seriously. “That’s a bit unkind, huh?” She turns to my daughter and lowers into a crouch—even in her tight skirt and tall heels—so they’re on the same level. “It was nice to see you today, Mia.” Gently, but firmly, she drags her hand from Mia’s, though she softens the blow with a sweet smile. “I don’t know how to be friends with a little girl. It’s a little weird at my age. But it made me happy to see you for a minute, so I guess that’s a good start, right?”
“I know how to be friends with big girls,” Mia assures her with a goofy smile. Reaching out, she fingers a lock of Sera’s long, brown hair and studies each individual strand. “I’m friends wif Aunty Minka and Aubree. It’s easy.”
“Is it?” she quips playfully. “I’m told I’m friends with them too, but I mostly find them tedious and annoying.”
“Nuh-uh!” Mia cackles, dropping Sera’s hair so it flitters down to rest on the woman’s shoulder. “They’re not annoying! They’re funny.”
“Agree to disagree.” Sera lifts her hand in offer, awkward and odd, and nods when Mia takes it to shake. “I’ll try to be your friend, Mia Fletcher. I like seeing you more than I like seeing Aunty Minka and Aubree, so I think that’s probably a good thing.”
“I’ve been brushing my hair twice a day every single day!” Mia doesn’t release Sera’s hand, though the first part of the traditional handshake has been performed—up, down…but no release. “Just like you said, so it grows faster and stuff.”
“Yeah?” Sera attempts to drag her hand back. “Is it working?”
“Uh-huh! Even if Mommy says you’re full of shit.”
“Mia!” I jump forward and swing her up into my arms, my hand clapping to her mouth, and my eyes shooting directly to the stunned, still-crouching Sera. “Baby, that was a swear.” I bring my gaze back to my daughter. “Definitely not something you should have repeated.”
Her eyes well up and water, her emotions already so close to the surface. “I didn’t know, Daddy.” She turns in my arms and looks down desperately as Sera rises. “I’m sorry, Fifi. I didn’t know it was a swear.”
“Well…” Humored, if not a little horrified, Sera straightens out and, mimicking Mia’s actions, curls a lock of my baby’s hair around her finger. “It’s okay. Aunty Minka says swears at me all the time.” Grinning, she gives the lock a gentle tug before releasing it and taking a step back. “I think your hair looks beautiful, and I can tell how hard you’re working on it.”
Nodding, Mia repeats, “Twice a day.” Then she swipes a chubby fist beneath her eye and sniffles. “And Daddy got me a new brush so the tangles don’t hurt as much.”
“Yeah?” For the first time, maybeever, Seraphina Lewis looks at me and smiles. It’s a kind gesture, genuine, and lacks any hint of sarcasm or the ‘Get this creep away from me’ scowl she so often wears.
Especially after our run-in at a club known for cage dancing.
“I think it was very nice of your daddy to do that for you, Moo. Sometimes, dads can be our very best friends.” Her eyes are willow-green and intense enough, in the way they watch me, to pack a punch that makes my stomach whoosh.
But she steals them from me and instead brings her gaze back to my daughter. “And sometimes, some grownups say unkind things about people they don’t know or understand. So I’m not mad at your mom for saying something unkind about me.”
“I’mmad,” Mia tosses back, her tone certain enough to replace my whooshing stomach with something akin to heartache. “We shouldn’t be mean about people. ‘Specially if we don’t even know them.”
“That’s a beautiful way for you to live your life.” Sera brings her hand up and brushes two fingers along Mia’s wrist before pulling away and taking a step toward the door. “I should go home now. But it was nice to see you, Mia. You made the end of my day happy.”
“We’re going to Uncle Tim’s for dinner,” Mia chirps suddenly, twisting in my arms as Sera steps into her blind spot. “You should come too. Uncle Tim can make you the sweet potato fries again, like how you like.”
Panicked, Sera’s eyes shoot to me.
