Moving to the driver’s side, I slide in, starting the car and pointing it in the direction of the little home that used to belong to my father. It’s had a deep clean and a full renovation since Blanche went in like a hurricane and got rid of him. The prospects have spent the past two days getting it family ready so I have no issues moving in there for however long we need to be there. That was never my home anyway. After our mom died it’s where our father, the Prophet, would bring his young wives. I shudder at the memory of the first woman he took as his bride. Hopeful was my age, mousy and quiet. To know that your fatherwas marrying your childhood friend was not great. Finding out that he was marrying another woman, even younger than Hopeful, then another and another, well, that’s when I started to look at my father and the elders in a different light.
“What is this place?” Addy’s soft voice asks from the backseat.
“This is The Keep. Loyal and I grew up here.”
“Hey! There’s a playground!” Bree points out to her sister.
“Yup. You just let us know when you want to play there and Loyal or myself will take you.” My eyes flick to the rear view where the kids are busy looking out of the windows, Loyal’s eyes meet mine in the mirror and she gives me a brave smile.
I know being with the girls and knowing why they’re here is breaking her heart. She may be all take charge ballbuster when taking care of the rescues and getting them to where they need to be, but I’ve heard her sniffles from her office when she reads through their files. I know that whatever baggage these little girls are carrying is something that will break Loyal’s heart. And I’ll be there to put it back together again.
Loyal
We pull up to the Prophet’s old house and I brace myself to walk through those doors. I saw the mess that was left behind when Blanche and the DRMC men came through. I mean, they cleaned up as best they could, but sometimes there is no getting rid ofthe smell of blood once it permeates through soft furnishings. I know.
Shaking off my thoughts I look to the two little girls sitting either side of me. I have a feeling that whatever they went through will affect them for years to come. They may be somewhat relaxed now, but I know that trauma will show up when they least expect it. When it does I’ll be there to soothe their fears and Vex will be there to fight their demons.
“OK my lovely ladies in the back. This is us. Just let me unlock and then I’ll show you around.” Vex says, smiling over his shoulder before getting out of the car. I watch as his jeans mold to his backside as he walks away from us.
“Wait, why do you need showing around? Don’t you live here?” Bree asks. Of the two she is more outgoing I’ve noticed.
“Usually Vex and I stay in the rooms at the big house. But because we have you two little ladies to take care of, we’re going to live here. Is that alright with you?”
Two sets of dark eyes stare at me for a beat. “Will you be our new mommy and daddy?” Addy’s soft voice asks, almost a whisper.
“Oh sweetheart, come here.” I throw my arms around the girls, squeezing them into me, one on each side. “While we are keeping you safe, we will pretend to be your mommy and your daddy. We’ll make sure you’re fed and warm and safe and sound. You don’t have to call us that at all, unless we are out in public. But that is to keep you safe. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah. Mama Debs said that we had to pretend. We’re good at pretending, right Addy?” Bree says, peeking around me at her sister.
“Yeah. We pretended to be sleeping when mommy was being hurt,” Addy whispers, her bottom lip trembling.
“Yeah. But we weren’t.” Bree frowns.
Vex clears his throat, gaining the girls’ attention. “If you would allow me to escort m’ladies into the castle?” Vex sweeps his arm through the air before performing a low bow.
Little girl giggles break out and I welcome them. The tinkling sound sweeps away the darkness that was pressing down on me. How dare someone, somemanhurt a mother with her two little girls in the house? How dare he take a life he had no right to take?
A large hand moves into my periphery, snapping my attention to Vex, waiting just outside the car, hand outstretched. “Would my queen like to join the princesses outside the royal vehicle?”
I roll my eyes, trying to hide my smile as I lay my hand in Vex’s letting him help me out of the SUV. Once I’m on solid ground I hold out my hand. Addy takes one of mine, and Vex takes one of Bree’s which about makes my heart melt. This big, rough looking biker man, holding hands with a little girl and treating us all like princesses. I cannot wait to tell Joe about this.
“Welcome home,” Vex says, stepping through the door.
OK. This is not the house I remember visiting as a child. No way. This little house is warm. Cozy. It’s decorated in soft greens and calming blues. The furniture is big and poofy, not the hard, square wooden chairs that would hurt to sit on. There are cushions and throws and the lighting is soft and welcoming.
“Loyal? Are you alright?”
“Excuse my French, but what the hell happened to this place?” I spin in place, wanting to take it all in.
Vex’s low rumble has my attention back on him, hand in his pockets. “We had the prospects give it a little makeover so it was in good condition for you and the girls.”
“Good condition?” I squeak out. “This looks like a house from a magazine.”
“I never knew you read magazines,” Vex says, head tilted to the side as he looks at me.
I swallow, “Once, when I had to travel to the hospital. They ah, they gave me magazines to read while I recovered.” His fists clench at this news but I ignore them. I ignore the memory of that trip and how it felt. But I remember the magazines.
Walking through the living area I move toward the kitchen and gasp. Its bright white cabinetry looks so clean and fresh against the blue and white backsplash tiles. A laugh bubbles out of me when I notice the colorful letter magnets on the fridge spell ‘Vex smells’. Moving around the room I glide my hand over the surfaces. Who knew that my life could be like this? That in the blink of an eye the children and home I once dreamed about have materialized after one magical kiss. Shaking the thoughts from my head I try to remind myself that this is temporary. The girls will be called to testify and then they’ll go on to be placed with a real family. Vex and I will move out of this perfect little home back to the big house. Instead of feeling sad, however, I feel lucky. These little things, little tastes of things I could have in my life are like little beacons spurring me on to live the life I want to live. IwantVex in my life as my man. I want to one day have children and live in a cosy little cottage. I want to be an EMT and help people, both at work on the job and in my outside life working with the DRMC. And Iwillhave them because I know how good it feels now.
