“Shut up, stupid.” I mumble into his shirt.
Gray takes a deep breath, his hands hanging on his hips. “Did you get a look at him?”
Shaking my head against Mason before I push away, I say, “No, it was dark, and I think he was wearing a mask.”
“How do you know it was a man?” Agent Abbot asks from the kitchen.
We all look in his direction, and I pull my eyebrows together. Good question. “Well, he was big and built like a man. Wide shoulders and tall.”
He nods his head and walks into the living room to stand in front of me. “Would you be comfortable closing your eyes to put yourself back in the moment?”
I flick my eyes to Mason and Gray. I’m not sure what I’m looking for, but I think Agent Abbot reads my uncertainty. “It’s okay, there’s no threat, and we’re all right here. But you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
Moving my eyes back to his nearly black orbs, I hold his gaze, looking for any kind of deception, but only understanding looks back at me.
Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and verbalize what I’m seeing.
“A small shake of the bed woke me up. At first, I thought that I might have just jerked in my sleep from a dream, but when I opened my eyes, there was a shadow hovering overme.” I suck in a breath. “Oh God, he had something in his hand. I think it was a syringe.” My eyes fly open, and Agent Abbot’s eyebrows have pulled together into an angry V, his forehead creased. “He was going to inject me with something.”
He turns to Mason and Gray. “I can’t protect her like this. I need to take her somewhere I have more control.”
“She already said she doesn’t want to go, and I won’t make her leave her home.” Mason’s voice is sharp.
Gray is still looking at me like I’ve seen him look at Lainey Rai when she’s arguing with him, something she has started doing a lot. “It’s not up for negotiation, Kins, you need to stay close to us.”
What if Ihadbeen in the big house? Would he still have found a way in? What if he had gone through the wrong window? What if he had hurt one of the babies?
The hairs on my neck stand up as the realization slaps me in the face. He knew I was here instead of at the big house because someone was watching. Someone has been watching me since I came home.
“I have a team of people at my disposal.” Agent Abbot says, his voice just as sharp as Mason’s.
“So do I!” Mason steps toward him. “I won’t make my baby sister leave her home to depend on someone she doesn’t trust.”
Panic grips my spine, squeezing my chest. I could never live with myself if something happened to one of the babies.
“Her being here is endangering everyone in that house as well as herself.” Abbot yells.
Iamendangering everyone. The back of my nose burns, and I blink back tears as I realize I need to leave my home to keep everyone else safe. Slowly looking up at the agent next to me, I realize he’s my only option.
“I’ll go.” I whisper as I turn toward Mason and Gray. They stop talking and turn toward me.
The crickets outside are suddenly deafening as everyone stares at me. My mouth is dry, and I look at Mason. “I have to go.”
He and Gray step toward me at the same time, like they think I might run or something. “No, you don’t. I’ll make some phone calls, and we’ll take care of it,” Mason says, his eyes pleading.
Shaking my head, I step closer to him. “Mason, if anything happened to any of the babies, it would kill me. I can’t be the reason anyone gets hurt. Think of Bennett, I won’t let him be collateral damage.”
Gray links his hands behind his head and turns away from me, walking in a slow circle. I know he’s thinking of Laney Rai and his pregnant fiancé.
“She’ll never be alone.” Agent Abbot says behind me.
Mason’s eyes don’t leave mine as he ignores the man behind me. “Are you sure, Kins? This is your home.”
I nod my head. “It’s everyone else’s home, too.”
Mason’s eyes flick over my head and zeros in on Agent Abbot. “I want to be included in the intel. I want to know where she is, how she’s doing, and what she’s fucking eating.” His face is turning redder and redder with each word. It takes a lot to upset Mason like this, so I try to diffuse it.
Taking his hand, I pull his attention back to me. “I’ll be fine. I’ll have my phone.”
