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“Nice to see you, too, kid,” he said.
Aaron gave him a quick, fierce squeeze then shoved away while Storm sauntered over, Mariah suddenly calmer and making excited chattering noises. Storm rose on her toes and kissed Travis on the cheek, then pushed the baby at him.
It had been a few years since he’d juggled a baby and having Brooklyn in one arm while he adjusted to Mariah’s softer, smaller body made it a little more interesting, but in a few seconds, he had both of the girls cuddled in close. Mariah patted his unshaven cheeks while Brooklyn snuggled against him and sighed in satisfaction.
“She wants Ms. Bella to send us away to another foster family,” Brooklyn pronounced. “Don’t let her, Mr. Travis.”
Travis looked up and found all three Steele sisters staring at him.
But a familiar voice rang out from down the hall before he could speak.
“Nobody is sending you kids to another family, Brooklyn. You’ve got my word on that.”
Brooklyn turned that heart-melting smile on Miles Hawkins for a long moment, then, without a blink, looked at the woman squaring off with Isabel and stuck out her tongue.
Travis bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.
But then he got a good look at his mentor, and all humorous thoughts evaporated.
As Rye put a hand on Miles’s arm to steady him, Travis said, “What the fuck, man ... you look like shit.”
“You cussed,” Brooklyn whispered.
Travis barely heard the girl.
“I know,” Miles said, waving a dismissive hand. “But I’m upright and mobile and my brain is still functioning. My replacement is en route and I’m not abandoning these women until I know they’ll be comfortable with who takes over for me.”
“If he trustshim, I don’t see how I can trustanybodyhe brings in,” Ellison snapped. “Not to mention how he thinks it’s okay for thesekidsto be here.”
“People know about the kids,” Travis said, catching her eye when she tossed a dismissive look at him. He stared at her, a hard, challenging look, and as he’d expected, she didn’t look away. “Save for one, they’ve all lived here for months. People know their names, and what they look like, enough to identify them. Finding secure places for them—allof them—would be a logistical nightmare. You want your sisterandMiles to abandonfivevulnerable kids? Is that what you’re saying? And do you think she would? Do you know her at all?”
She opened her mouth, then snapped it closed.
“That’s what I’ve been explaining to her,” Isabel said in a cool voice. Then, after a withering look at Ellison, she came to Travis, took Brooklyn in her arms and planted a smacking kiss on her forehead before putting her down. “Why don’t you ask Aaron to help you set up the PlayStation? You can play games for a little while.”
Brooklyn looked like she wanted to argue. Aaron caught her hand and tugged. “Come on. We can do that racing game you’re always beating me on.”
Storm offered to take Mariah, but the baby had fallen asleep against Travis’s chest and he shook his head. So the older girl disappeared up the steps. In the relative silence, he pinned Rye and Ace with a hard look. “Why the hell weren’t you two out here?”
“Bossman had vapors.”
Miles gave Ace a disgusted look and the pretty, petite Black woman with the curves of a movie star from Hollywood’s golden years and a mouth like a sailor gave him a sunny smile.
“What else you going to call it, sir? You all but swooned on me and unless I’m even hotter than I think, it wasn’t because ofme.” She winked at him.
Despite the playfulness of her tone, Travis heard the worry in Ace’s voice. Judging from the grim way Rye was watching Miles, the other person here on security detail wasn’t having good vibes, either. Ace, like Rye, worked private security and had done highly specialized work with Miles. Travis had done more than a few ops with her and would trust her at his back in any crisis.
But he didn’t need her sharp eye to know Miles had gotten weaker since Travis had seen him.
He had lost even more weight, so much that his clothes hung from him. He hadn’t bothered with a suit, just pulled on a dress shirt and trousers, the belt cinched in so tight, Travis wondered if he’d had to punch extra holes in it so it would fit.
But the man’s eyes were sharp as ever.
When Miles inclined his head, Travis knew it was a silent message.
I got this, son. I’m going to see this through.
Travis gave a short, sharp nod, then cleared his throat. “My family is all squared away, settled with their teams.”
