“Peanut,” I answer. “What’s wrong? Is Emma all right?”
“She’s fine. Promise. Meet me upstairs.” And then the line goes dead.
“What’s the matter?”
“Rush is taking Emma out of daycare. She was crying,” I say, leaving all the papers as I spin toward the door.
She grabs the sheets from the copier, sprinting after me. “Need me to come with you?”
“No. It’s all right.” Running down the hall in my heels and skirt, I nearly knock into one of the lawyers we’d just met with. “Sorry,” I gasp, holding out my hands even as I keep moving.
“No apologies necessary. Big Bad Bossman is on a tear,” he mumbles as I pass.
I had no idea the nickname was so widespread. But I throw another apology over my shoulder as I race toward the bank of elevators. One elevator door slides open, several people get out, and then I jump in.
It’s only after the doors close, I realize that it’s going down.
Letting out a string of curses, I get off when it stops next and then push theupbutton, my toe tapping on the marble floor as I wait.
It seems to take forever, but one of the elevators finally opens. I slide my key in, choosing the penthouse.
The elevator whooshes up but my heart is still beating wildly in my chest.
I have no idea what’s happened with Emma or why Rush was called, but none of it is good, I know that.
The doors finally open and I’m racing down the hall again until I reach my door.
Two men pass me in the hall, carrying large metal cases. I give them a quick glance, but I’m too worried to pay them much mind as I reach my door.
I insert the key in the lock, but before I’ve even finished turning it, the door opens.
Rush stands in the doorway, Emma curled in his arms. I stop, staring, my eyes travelling down them both.
“Are you…are those…feathers?” I ask as I reach for his lapel and pull off a small, blue feather. There’s another in Emma’s hair.
He grimaces. “There was a bird that hit the glass of one of the building’s windows on the playground. Emma was very sad.”
I blink, sure I’ve missed something. “You brought her home from school because she was sad?”
Emma wrinkles her nose, her hand coming to Rush’s chest. “The birdie is hurt. He needs help.”
Killian appears down the hall, his trench coat flapping in some breeze that doesn’t exist for anyone but him, as he eats the ground between us. “Who is hurt?”
Emma wiggles out of Rush’s arms, and runs down the hall toward Killian. “Come see. My birdie is beautiful, but he hurt his wing.”
She grabs Killian’s hand and pulls him back toward the apartment. My fist comes to my mouth as I watch my daughter’s easy way with him.
Killian is the scariest looking man I’ve ever seen, but Emma treats him like he’s a giant teddy bear. I’m not sure if it’s the sweetest thing I’ve seen or kind of disturbing.
He lets her pull him along, even as he picks the feather out of her hair. “We’ll have to get him food, and a water dish,” he says as they pass, like he’s fully committed to help her care for this bird.
“Wait. Is the bird…in my apartment?”
Rush grimaces, as his hand wraps around my waist, pulling me into my own apartment and closing the door behind me. “It would have died in the heat.”
On the living room floor is a box that Killian is crouched over as he tentatively lifts one flap. “Pretty,” he rumbles. Then he clears his throat.
“Can we help him?” Emma asks, her hand on top of Killian’s.
