Sloan smiled at her screen. Okay, maybe burden was the wrong word. She was lucky so many people had her back.
Nothing physical.
I don’t want you to get arrested.
But I might take you up on that hex.
Done. I’m gonna hex the shit out of him.
Also. What happens to a surgeon when they
break one of their hands in a fist fight?
“Oh my god,” Sloan said out loud. “That motherf—”
They might find it hard to do the work
that pays for the children
they claim to want full custody of.
That. Take that to your lawyer.
Sloan hopped up and grabbed her laptop. She immediately pulled up the videos the young girls had sent her from the airport. She replied to Riley_Anne03 and yuriXviktor2k4ever@memail with a heartfelt thank you, then pressed play on the first video, with the volume on low. Somehow it was worse than she remembered. From where Riley and her friends were standing, they really did capture everything. Drew looked completely deranged and it was clear how hard Rafe had tried to deescalate the situation.
Sloan attached the file to a new email then started typing.
It was more than two hours after Rafe and the girls had headed up for their bath by the time Sloan felt like she had done all that she could do. Rage was a funny thing. It clearly made Drew lose his ever loving mind. It made Sloan sharper. Drew might never fully regret the day he lost his shit in front of their kids, but maybe finally he’d understand that Sloan meant what she said. She wasn’t under his thumb and he wouldn’t fuck with her life or her kids anymore.
Heartened by her own resolve and Xeni’s clear thinking, Sloan headed upstairs to see how things were coming along. Addison and Avery rarely missed out on the chance to rewatch one of their Disney favorites. It was quiet and when she poked her head into the girls’ bedroom, she saw that Addison was already sound asleep.
Rafe sat on the floor in between their beds, intently reading a copy ofMadeline’s Rescuein the dim light coming from Avery’s unicorn lamp. Avery was laying on the floor beside him, half heartedly playing a match game on the tablet. Rafe looked up at her, the corner of his mouth tipping up. Sloan gave him a little smile back, then squatted down beside Avery. She lightly touched the back of her head, over her silk bonnet. Her hair was damp.
“Hey, baby. Do you want to get in your bed?”
“Yeah, okay.” Avery closed out of the game and sat up. “I’m pretty tired.”
“Come on.” She let Sloan scoop her up and tuck her under the covers. “I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you, too. Did you eat all the cookies?”
“No,” Sloan laughed quietly. “There are plenty of cookies left.”
She and Rafe said goodnight, then stepped back into the hallway.
“How was bath time?” she asked.
“Fine. Their table mate Seth has a birthday tomorrow. We just talked about that and his party this weekend. And then I showed them cute animal videos until Addison couldn’t stand the cuteness anymore.”
“God, I’m gonna have to buy them a pony for their birthday.”
“It’s a possibility,” Rafe said.
“Did they let you wash their hair?”
“No. I didn’t do the whole routine. I just did a co-wash or whatever and detangled it as much as they would let me. Tomorrow is basic pigtail day. I’ll fancy it up with some ribbons.”
“That’s great. Thank you.”
