“I could ask you the same thing.”
This doesn’t feel like practicing anymore, doesn’t feel like a role. It feels real.
CHAPTER 21
RHETT
The four adults sit on the back porch while the kids play in the yard. Mira has found a bottle of bubbles, and she blows them as the boys chase them around. I watch with a smile on my face, a small part of me wondering…
Can this ever have a future? Am I being too eager even thinking that way? I need to remember why we’re here. The bloody business we’re conducting.
Elle is telling Lucy about one of her photography projects, a portfolio on real people taken on the streets, with accompanying images oftheirfavorite photos. “It was my…” She claws at the surface of the table with her hand, biting her lip. “I guess it was my passion before—” She shakes her head as if she could dislodge the thoughts and think up something else in their place. “Anyway.” She sighs.
I take her hand and give it a squeeze. I shouldn’t even be doing this, but the more we play this role, the more difficult it becomes to stay a grumpy jackass. She’s brought something out in me, and there’s no running away from that.
When I see Marshall and Lucy watching me with small smiles on their faces, I know they see it too.
After we eat, Marshall leaps to his feet and begins chasing the kids around the yard. Mira still isn’t talking, but she lets out squeaks and gasps of excitement and joy as Marshall makes monster noises.
Lucy excuses herself to go to the bathroom. Elle leans close to me, lowering her voice. She’s talking to me, but her eyes are fixed on Marshall and the kids.
“She looks so happy,” Elle whispers.
“She does,” I agree.
Her hand tightens on mine, and she shoots me a quick, frantic glance. “I want to leave her here, Rhett. I want to do… what we have to do.” She gives me a nervous smile that lights up a soul I forgot I had before her. “But the thing is, I need toknow. You hear horror stories all the time. People, parents, and siblings thought they could trust before it all turned to shit. Can I be certain she’ll be safe here? I’m talking about one hundred percent, no doubt, not even a question of doubt.”
“You can,” I affirm without a moment of hesitation. “I wouldn’t dream of even suggesting this if I thought Mira was in danger. No one deserves what happened to you or her… but especially…”
Mira glances at me again and offers a soft smile. “Don’t worry, Rhett. I know what you’re trying to say. It was hell for me too… but ten times worse for a child.”
I nod, letting out a sigh. “Exactly. He didn’t follow us here. No, damn way. There’s no tracker on that car nor, in our phones orour clothes. He’s waiting for us outside my place, I bet, watching for his chance.”
She clenches her jaw. “And we’ll give him a chance,” she snaps. “One he can’t resist.”
“Exactly.” I pause, then lean in and gently kiss her on the forehead. “Listen, Elle. I’m more than confident. But if you’re not comfortable, we’ll drive through the night to take Mira back to LA to be with your aunt until this is over.”
She seems to consider it for a few moments. Then Mira giggles as Marshall lifts her onto his shoulders, proclaiming, “Nobody is getting past the big bad wolf!”
Elle smiles as if the words hit her with real impact. Sure, Marshall’s having some innocent fun with the kids, but he could also be talking about Lucian Conti. How wouldhefare against a fully prepared and ready-to-fight Marshall?
Not fucking well.
“We need to do this,” she murmurs. “For Mom. For Dad, and for Mira too. For what that poor little girl saw, what she’s been forced to tolerate. I know how this will sound, but she deserves better than me, than what I’m able to give her.”
“You’re wrong,” I say flatly.
Elle purses her lips. “You don’t think she deserves better than a sibling as her parent and no parents?”
“She deserves better than what she got; you both do.” I kiss Elle again, fiercer this time. “But I don’t like hearing you talking like this, as if you’re not enough. Because youareenough, Elle.”
She smiles shakily. “Maybe when Lucian is…” She swallows. “Gone. I’ll finally be able to let it go.”
“We’ll do this,” I tell her. “And then…”
Lucy returns, which I’m grateful for. I’m not sure how I was going to finish that sentence. And then… and then what? What happens after we handle Lucian,ifwe can even handle him? Or what if I’m overconfident and he somehow gets the jump on Elle and me?
I rub my thumb over her knuckles, watching her closely, thinking about the other route I could take. Drive her and Mira far, far away, lock them in a safe house under guard, handle Lucian myself so that Elle is separated from all the evil.
