Wyatt was dumbstruck by that one, but Teslyn was not. “If you were in charge, would you let Mom into heaven?”
Ivy nodded earnestly.
“Well, I’m sure God loves her even more than you do, so he must’ve let her in.” Her answer seemed to satisfy Ivy. Teslyn nodded toward the stairs. “Come on. Let’s get you in that tub.”
Wyatt bent to put Ivy down, surprised when the little girl gave him another squeeze. “Thanks, Mr. Wy— I mean, Wyatt.” She kissed his cheek and scampered after Teslyn.
“You’re welcome,” he called after her, wondering if he might not be so bad with children after all. Teslyn certainly had a knack for it. Would she take on custody of Ivy now that their mother was gone?
His phone vibrated in his pocket and he took it out, clicking on a text message from Jax.
HAWK AND RALPH ARE INSIDE.
Adrenaline coursed through his bloodstream. He wouldn’t have made it to Colorado in time even if he’d tried, and a wave of ambivalence rose up within him. He could live with missing a mission, even one as important as getting Marco Steele. But if anything went wrong, he’d never forgive himself for not being there.
He squeezed his eyes closed.
Godspeed, brothers.
Stay safe.
The sharp blade of anxiety cut through his thoughts as worry coiled in his stomach like a snake. A deep sense of foreboding came over him. He was a man who trusted his instincts, and his instincts said the shit was about to hit the fan up on Warsaw Mountain, and Wyatt was too far away to do a damn thing about it.
CHAPTER16
Teslyn got Ivy ready for bed, borrowing one of Wyatt’s T-shirts for the girl to use as a nightgown, and taking her dirty clothes to the washer to get clean. She should have bought more clothing while she was at the thrift store, but securing a long-term wardrobe for her sister had been the least of her worries at the time.
Coming back from the laundry, she saw Wyatt walking back and forth in the living room, the picture of upset and stress. “What’s wrong?”
His eyes shot to hers, intense but unseeing. “What?”
“I asked what’s wrong. You’re pacing.”
“HERO Force is inside Steele’s compound. I’ve got a bad feeling about it.”
“I’m sure everything will be fine.”
“No,” he snapped. “You can’t be sure, and neither can I.”
She jerked her head back, unaccustomed to the harshness of his tone. “I’m sorry, I just meant you might be worrying over nothing.”
He shook his head, continuing to pace. “I trust my gut. My gut says it was a bad idea for them to go in right now. A very bad idea.”
“How bad?” She furrowed her brow, unsure what to make of this.
He exhaled on a huff. “Could be a run-of-the-mill shit show. Little things gone wrong, escaping with a margin of safety that made you lucky to get out alive. Or…” his voice trailed off.
A shiver ran up her spine, and she crossed her arms over her chest. “Or what?”
“Or it could be worse than that.” He looked at her pointedly.
Now she was concerned. “Do you get these premonitions a lot?”
“No. It’s not like I’m psychic or anything. I’ve just got a bad feeling, and I’ve learned to listen to that. When I don’t, bad things happen.”
She hated to see him tormenting himself this way. His team was a thousand miles away, and there was nothing he could do at this point. “Try to think positive. Maybe it’s something minor, and your mind is blowing it out of proportion because you feel you should be there.”
He came to a stop, hanging his head on a sigh. “Maybe you’re right.”
