“Motherfucker!” Keegan curses. Startled, I whirl around to look at him, breaking my staredown with the officer. Keegan is glaring at his Camaro, and it’s obvious what the problem is—four bullet holes. Hell, I think Allesandro is going to have to get in line for revenge after the fuckers touched Keegan’s precious Camaro.
I don’t step forward to comfort him, not with the pissed off vibe rolling off him, but I keep him in my eyesight. Heavy footsteps draw my attention away from my lover, and I sigh as I turn to face the officer in charge.
“Congrats. You get to go downtown to make a statement.” His lips turn down in distaste. “Since you’re now a witness to what happened to my men.”
“And Jenna’s murder,” I grit out, reminding him who has lost the most here. Fucker.
“Right. The lawyer.” He shrugs and waves a young officer over. “Give them a ride to the station, and let them call whoeverthey need to beforehand—if they can find another parasite to come in. I’ll be there later to take their statements.”
“Yes, sir,” the young man snaps out as he watches us warily.
Keegan opens his mouth—likely to claim the Camaro can still be driven, even if he doesn’t know that for sure—but it’s a crime scene now. I shake my head, causing him to subside, even if the murder in his eyes makes the young officer nervous.
“Let’s go,” I say grimly, tugging Keegan along with me.
I tap Keegan’s cellphone so he can arrange for a lawyer to meet us there. I’m not staying there any longer than we have to, because who knows how long the assholes are going to make us wait. Fuck.There’d better still be cookies left after this…
Keegan and Marcus going out together makes me itch at not being with them, watching their backs. I trust them both, and know they’re good at their jobs, but fuck, so much has happened, it’s hard not to want to wrap them up in my arms and keep them safe. The bodyguard in me will never fully retire, and while my position on the Council now means I am the one who needs to be kept safe, that doesn’t stop me wanting to protect those I love either.
Entering our suite, still a bit in awe that I can call itoursnow, I brace myself for an excited toddler, only to find nothing but silence.
I told Cole’s nanny I would do naptime today, because the plan is to make cookies as a way to distract us both from Keegan and Marcus being out. Cookies, and then a movie in our bed, is on the agenda, but coming into an empty room is not.
Cole’s lunch tray is still on the table, as if he finished and then got up right after. I check the table for a note—it’s not uncommon for them to play hide and seek when they know we’re coming to spend time with Cole, but there’s usually a note to let us know the game’s begun. That, and Cole’s giggles can normally be heard from his hiding spot. Though, even those have tempered out lately as he’s gone quieter and quieter as the days have passed.
My loves say he’s doing better now I’m an official part of their family, but it’s clear to all three of us that the boy is struggling, and it kills us. As much as I am wary of the guy, maybe we should talk to Javi about any child psychologists he knows. Keegan and Marcus have one they could call, but with the Senator still out there, it’s safer to do everything in-house, rather than risk taking Cole out—even for something as simple as an appointment. Maybe. The idea of a serial killer around Roman is hard enough, but letting him get close to Cole is nightmare-inducing.
Doing a quick sweep of our rooms, there’s no sign of Cole in any of his usual hiding spots, and my chest tightens with anxiety, but I shove it down. There's no reason to freak out—yet.
Going downstairs, I check the kitchen, and then outside. Maybe the nanny forgot, and decided to take him out to burn off some extra energy?
When I come up empty in both locations, my stomach churns and I have to take a few deep breaths. There’s a reasonable explanation for this… Clearly, I’ll need to have a talk with the nanny about paying more attention to the schedule and when we tell her things, so we can make sure our son is where he’s supposed to be, but it’s fine.
I head to Hollis’s office. Rather than spend valuable time searching the whole house, simply asking Leandro will be faster. As much as the mimic has pissed everyone off lately, his inherent nosiness does come in handy sometimes, I’ll give him that.
I knock briefly on the door before swinging it the rest of the way open, looking straight at Leandro’s desk, only to find he's not there.
“Where’s your protégé?”
Hollis doesn’t turn around. “I sent him to bed after the meeting; the kid’s been working way too hard and was up for thirty-six hours this time.”
I wince, knowing both hackers have been working insane hours for months now, and Leandro has picked up the slack since Hollis’s breakdown. Gratitude for my nephew replaces the anger I still feel at him playing God where he shouldn’t.
“I need Cole’s location,” I tell Hollis. “I guess his nanny forgot I was going to take him this afternoon, and I’d rather not walk around the entire house like an idiot while trying to find them.”
Hollis snorts but brings up the surveillance feeds on one of his monitors, shifting through them and…coming up empty. “Are they outside?” he muses, pushing more buttons as I shake my head and walk further into the room.
“I checked the backyard, and there’s no reason for them to be in the front.”
“You left them in your suite for the meeting?” he asks, clicking a few more buttons.
With my heart in my throat, I respond, “Yeah. We had breakfast as a family, and then left him with the nanny. I told her I’d be back after lunch to take over… I wanted to distract him from thinking about Keegan and Marcus being out. He’s used to being with the nanny while we’re working, but it’s different because we’re all just a text or call away and can get to him in seconds if he needs us.”
Hollis doesn’t reply to that, but mutters to himself, “Fucking Leandro is getting too good at locking me out of things.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“Nothing…he has his surveillance encrypted, which is good as it means no one else can see or hear what he does, but it’s taking me longer to get through his protections as he’s gotten better at them.”
