“Hey, I don’t have chicken legs.”
I giggled as I wrapped my arms around him. “Come here, handsome.”
And as he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close, I noticed something I’d never realized.
Natty even hugged like her father, too.
Seventeen
Frost
I had no reason to be upset with her, that much was for certain. But I couldn't help the anger that rose up within me the second she confirmed what I had first thought when I saw that little girl through the window of her apartment. The shock of it all made me sick to my stomach. All that time I was out there gallivanting around and chasing down that cell, Lexi had been across the world raising my daughter.
I had no right to be angry. I had no right to be pissed off at the fact that Lexi had kept this from me up until this point.
Because the truth of the matter was… she had no other choice. She did try to contact me. She did try to track me down. And in some ways, I ignored her. I ignored the chance I was given to send her a letter, documenting the fact that I was alive and that I wouldn’t be home for a while. I had the opportunity, and I didn’t take it under the guise of “saving my energy” for an oncoming attack.
The only person I deserved to be angry with was myself.
“I’m so fucking sorry,” I whispered into her hair.
The regret threatened to drown me. I blinked back tears and swallowed hard, trying to contain myself as Lexi wrapped her arms around me and held me as tightly as she could. But we were also out of time. I had to get her to safety sooner rather than later.
Then, Lexi and I could keep talking about all of this.
“Hold on,” I murmured.
Lexi released me. “Is everything all right? I didn’t hear anything outside.”
I held up my finger before I dug my phone out of my jacket pocket. I shot a text to West, telling him to pick up whatever Natty and Chloe might need at the last minute before taking them straight to the warehouse. I told him that I’d bring Lexi on the back of my bike, but I wanted to get them out of there as soon as possible.
Because my daughter wasn’t going to be a sitting duck while I tried to sift through my emotions.
“What’s going on?” Lexi asked.
I waited for West’s confirmation, and when I got it, I heard his bike engine strike up. “I’m having West guide Chloe and Natty to the warehouse. You can come with me on the back of my bike.”
“Is there any reason why they’re leaving now and we’re not?”
I slid my phone back into my jacket pocket. “Because I’d like to keep talking before we go back to being in a crowded situation, if you don’t mind.”
“Is Natty going to be safe?”
He nodded. “I trust West with my life on a daily basis. So, I absolutely trust him with Chloe and Natty.”
She smiled. “Okay, then.”
As the engine of West’s bike merged with the engine of whatever vehicle they had pulled up in, I listened as they made their way out of the complex. I didn’t dare move, or speak, or even breathe heavily, until I knew they were out of the complex and soaring down the road.
Then, I allowed my anger to overwhelm me as I whipped around and punched my fist through my living room wall.
“Dean!” Lexi exclaimed.
I pulled my hand out and shook it. “It’s fine. I’m not bleeding.”
But she still rushed over and inspected every knuckle on my hand. “What the hell was that for?”
“I’m just so fucking angry at myself right now.”
