“Not yet. Wyatt was going to talk to him today.” She gestured toward the swamp. “It isn’t life-threatening, but Wyatt said he wanted Rubin to take a look. They’re at Trap and Cayenne’s, doing something in the laboratory. Trap wanted Joe, Wyatt and Rubin to look at something important he’s working on. I just got a text from Wyatt. They’ll be home soon.”
What laboratory?Leila tried to keep anxiety out of her mind, but she’d brought Grace to this place believing no one would ever experiment on her. Leila had gifts, and she was enhanced genetically, just as Grace’s biological father had been. She could already see how advanced Grace was physically. There was almost an animal quality to the way she moved, fluid like a cat, sure-footed when she was only seventeen months and should be off-balance occasionally. And she could climb anything.
Diego brushed his palm soothingly down the back of her head before settling his fingers against her scalp. “Trap spends a great deal of his time in his lab. Wyatt is like he is.”
“The girls would bite when they were teething or afraid,” Pepper said, lowering her voice. “Trap and Wyatt developed antivenom specifically so that no one here could be harmed if there was an accident. They’ve removed tracking devices Whitney put in a few of the women. They’re pretty remarkable.”
“Did they take the girls to the lab?” Leila challenged.
“Not Trap’s lab. The one here.” Pepper indicated the locked garage. “We talked to them first and explained what we were doing so they wouldn’t be afraid. It was hardest on Thym, but she does whatever her two sisters do. The best thing is always to convince Ginger first, and the other two will follow her lead. By the time we made that decision, they trusted Trap and Wyatt. They adore Zeke. Actually, all the men on the team.”
Nonny smiled and shook her head. “They get a little jealous when one of their uncles finds his woman. In particular, Bellisia, Ezekiel’s wife. They did their best to run her off, but it only lasted a day or two.”
“Zeke sings to them,” Pepper said. “And tells them stories. If Grace is having a difficult time sleeping or she’s sick, call Uncle Zeke. He has a gift for soothing a baby, although he’d never admit it.”
Diego’s finger and thumb found Leila’s chin, and he tilted her head back, forcing her to meet his gaze.No one will ever touch our children without our permission. You have my word, Warrior Woman.
It was impossible not to fall in love with him.
18
Leila clung to Diego’s hand as he pushed open the door to her new home. Diego held Grace against his chest, her booty tucked in tight against his arm. She was sleepy and cuddled against him, her eyelids drooping and her wealth of thick red-gold hair gleaming in the last light of the day.
The sight of her daughter held so protectively made Leila’s eyes burn with tears and her heart flutter. She involuntarily tightened her grip on Diego’s hand. This man. Handing her the world. She’d never thought she could be so happy. And it was all so unexpected.
The house was large and positioned back from the river, but where she could hear and see the water, just as Nonny could from her front porch. The covered wraparound deck added another dimension to the outside, expanding the house by quite a bit. Just as the Fontenot home had hand-carved rockers on the porch, so did this one. All cypress wood, the planks fit tightly into one another, matching the exterior of the house. She loved it, and she hadn’t even seen the inside.
The wind ruffled the surface of the river, turning the water into dark, shimmering jewels. Overhead, the sun had already dropped so that layers of deep purple, blue and orange streaked the sky. The beauty of the surrounding swamp matched the river as the wind set the branches swaying. Moss lace, looking like intricate shawls, swayed and danced, hanging from the twisting outstretched boughs of trees. To Leila, it looked like a scene out of a movie.
“Baby’s already falling asleep,” Diego said as he indicated for her to open the door. “Long day for her. Meeting new friends, Nonny especially, who loved to have her on her lap.” He stopped and looked down at Leila, meeting her eyes. “If Grace had been uncomfortable with her, I would have intervened.”
It was impossible not to see the sincerity in him. She didn’t say aloud that she would have stopped anyone from holding her daughter had Gracie objected; she didn’t need to. Diego had shown time and again that he understood her nature. Just like Grace, everything was new and a little overwhelming, but she was exactly what he’d named her—Warrior Woman.
“I know you would have, Diego.” And she did know. She’d known it the entire time they were with Nonny, and his teammates were moving furniture and stocking the house with food and other items.
She had been surprised when there was only Nonny and Pepper at the Fontenot home. At least, the only visible ones. She knew they always had guards on the property, keeping Wyatt’s family safe. Diego told her the others were ensuring their home was comfortable and had whatever was needed.
That had made her laugh. “Like towels? Blankets? A bed? What did you do in that house? Sleep on the floor?”
He’d given her his lazy grin, the one that could melt her so easily, and he’d shrugged. “Slept on the floor. Ate at Rubin’s. Toldyou, sweetheart, it was just a house. Now that you and Grace are going to be there, it will be home.”
That had gotten to her. Diego didn’t think he had a romantic bone in his body. He often told her he was no poet, the way Rubin was. She didn’t need a flowery speech. His abrupt words, always spoken in that low voice, enthralled her. That was poetry enough for her.
Leila stepped inside, and the interior took her breath away. High vaulted ceilings were built with cedar planking. Space. So much space. She could breathe in that massive room. It was sparsely furnished, but what was there was solid and nice. She had always appreciated craftsmanship and recognized that whoever had designed and built this home had done so to last. To fit in with the landscape and to keep it safe from the river, the swamp and invasive insects for generations. This was the house Diego was offering to her.
For some unexplained reason, her heart beat out of control and her mouth went dry. She hadn’t believed she would ever have her own home. Not ever. She was certain she would spend her life in the dorm apartment that had been her living quarters for so long.
“How many bedrooms did you say this house has?” She wanted to ensure her sister would have a place to stay until the healers and doctors had helped her enough that Bridget could choose where she wanted to live. Leila hoped Bridget would want to stay with her, but just because she felt that way didn’t mean her sister would. They didn’t know each other. Their relationship was one of the many things Pillar had ripped away from them.
Diego stopped in the middle of the great room and turned fully to her. “Why do you suddenly feel sad to me?”
That voice of his was enough to turn her inside out. “I was just thinking about Bridget. I don’t even know if she’s going to want to stay with me. We hadn’t had contact since they separated us.”
He stepped closer to her, warming her with his body heat. “Sweetheart, I guarantee Bridget is going to want to be with you. Did you see the way she readily sacrificed herself for Luther and you? She has no filters, and the violent energy had to be excruciatingly painful. She had to be terrified to be taken back to Whitney, but she still tried to draw attention to herself and away from you and Luther. She might not have your capabilities because of the things Whitney did to her, but she has your fighting spirit. She has your protective instincts and sense of family. When you were able to find her and got her out, she went willingly.”
Leila couldn’t help reaching up to touch his face. “You always seem to know the right thing to say to me.”
“And we have four bedrooms in this house and two bathrooms. If Bridget decides to settle here, we can either add her own bathroom or build her a house close to us.”
