“Mommy!”
They came running, throwing themselves at me with the full force of their five-year-old bodies. I caught them both, pulling them close, burying my face in their hair so they wouldn’t see the tears threatening to spill down my cheeks.
“Hey, babies,” I managed. “How was school?”
“It was AMAZING,” Thea announced, pulling back to look at me. “We learned about dinosaurs and I drew a T-Rex and Mrs. Patterson said it was the best one in the whole class!”
“That’s wonderful, sweetie.”
Rowan was quieter, studying my face with those too-perceptive eyes. “Mommy, are you okay? You look sad.”
My heart clenched. Even at five years old, he could read me like a book.
“I’m fine, baby,” I lied, smoothing his hair back from his forehead. “Just tired. Work stuff.”
“Where’s Daddy?” Thea asked, looking around. “And baby Blake? I want to show Blake my dinosaur picture!”
The question hit me like a physical blow. I forced a smile onto my face, hoping it looked more convincing than it felt.
“Daddy had to go somewhere for work,” I said carefully. “And baby Blake is with him. They’ll be back soon.”
It wasn’t a lie. Not really. They would be back soon. I would make sure of it.
“Oh.” Thea’s face fell slightly, but she bounced back quickly. “Okay! Can we show them when they get home?”
“Absolutely. They’ll love it.”
I stood up and took their hands, leading them toward the car. “Listen, I have to go to a very important meeting. I might be working very late tonight. So I arranged for you to stay with a friend of mine.”
“What friend?” Rowan asked suspiciously.
I gestured toward Jasmine, who was standing by the car, a warm smile on her face. “This is Jasmine. She’s very nice, and she’s going to take care of you tonight.”
Jasmine crouched down to their level, her green eyes gentle. “Hi there. You must be Rowan and Thea. Your mom has told me so much about you.”
Thea immediately perked up. “Do you like dinosaurs?”
“I love dinosaurs. Did you know that some of them had feathers?”
“WHAT?!” Thea’s eyes went wide with amazement. “Mommy, did you know that?!”
“I did not,” I said, managing a small smile. “See? Jasmine knows all kinds of cool things.”
Rowan was still watching Jasmine with wary eyes, but when she pulled out a small bag of candy from her pocket and offered him one, he softened slightly.
“I guess she’s okay,” he muttered.
That was about as good as I was going to get.
We loaded into the car and drove to the guest house where Jasmine and Ryder had been staying. The building was already surrounded by guards, their presence visible and reassuring. More protection than I had ever seen for a single location.
Good. I needed them to be safe. I needed at least one thing to go right today.
I walked the twins to the door, Jasmine beside us. She was chatting with Thea about feathered dinosaurs, her voice light and cheerful, and I felt a rush of gratitude for her ability to distract my daughter from the tension in the air.
“Be good for Jasmine,” I told them at the door, crouching down to their level. “I’ll come get you as soon as I can. Okay?”
“Okay, Mommy.” Thea threw her arms around my neck. “I love you!”
