His heart ached because he couldn’t reach through the screen and touch her. “I care,” he vowed. “About both of you. Now tell me what you need. Whatever it is, it’s yours. Tell me where you are and I’ll be on the first flight there.”
But Rose shook her head. “No, no. Nothing like that. We’re on the tail end of this, and honestly,” she rubbed her son’s back, “I think once we get some sleep we’ll be good. But I need you here, Keys. I don’t know what we are or can be, but I’m tired of calling you my friend.”
“You took the words right out of my brain. These past few days of not knowing where you were, or how you were, has been driving me nuts, and I realized just how essential you are to my everyday life. So how about we don’t define it. We don’t put a label on it or announce it to the world. But we don’t hold back anymore. We’re just us, and we’ll be there for each other, however the other one needs, and if it leads somewhere, then it does, and if it doesn’t, then we simply remain as we are.”
Rose’s smile was bright as her chin shook with emotion, and he saw her shoulders sag like a huge weight had been lifted off them. “I’d love that. Really and truly.”
“I have one request, though.”
She blinked, “Yeah?”
“I want to know where you are. You’ve mentioned moving before, which I can respect your need to do. But I want to know where you are and where you’re heading. If something happens, if things are that bad that you need to constantly move and hide your son’s identity even from me, I need to be able to get to you.” Keys tipped his chin towards her chest. “Get to him.”
Rose bit her lip, uncertain. “If you can track me, so can someone else.”
“Everything is traceable, if you know what you’re doing. Youand I know that better than anyone, but they would also have to know to look, and I think if we put our heads together, we’ll be smart enough to come up with a protocol that will protect you without making you vulnerable.”
As Rose hesitated, Keys waited with bated breath. Finally, she nodded before dipping her face down to kiss the top of her son’s head. “Thank you, Keys.”
“We’ll figure this out together, Rose. You’re not alone, not anymore, and I’m sorry it took so long for me to make that clear.” She raised a hand to quickly wipe at her right eye. “Tell me where you are and go get some sleep. I’ll have dinner waiting for both of you when you wake up. And if you try to thank me again,” he added when she opened her mouth, “I won’t add the cookies to your order I was going to get you as a surprise.”
Rose laughed. “How about I unthank you then?”
“Sounds good,” he told her with a crooked smile. “Message me when you’re awake. Sleep well, Rose.”
After disconnecting the call, Keys pulled up a browser to research what the hell a kid was supposed to eat after being sick. He already knew he was getting her shrimp scampi and caprese salad. They were her favorite, after all.
CHAPTER 7
WiseWave620: Good morning. I hope you and OS had a good night. I’m sending Grimm your way with your latest shipment.
Gl!tch.OS: You need to stop doing that. I’m used to not taking much with us when we leave.
WiseWave620: & now you don’t have to. You won’t wear a tracker, which means one of my guys has to be with you when you move. That’s the deal.
Gl!tch.OS: You’re going to spoil me. OS is already asking if he has a fairy godmother after you got him that LEAPFROG system.
WiseWave620: I wave my wand proudly.
Gl!tch.OS: Don’t say that! It can mean something very different.
WiseWave620: Crap. I have nephews who are gay. What did I say wrong? I didn’t mean to offend.
Gl!tch.OS: No! No! I didn’tmean that you had said something derogatory. I meant “wand”. Some people refer to a penis as a wand, especially in romance books and stuff.
WiseWave620: Seriously? I thought that was “sword”. Like sword crossing.
Gl!tch.OS: Caspian Davis! What do you know about crossing swords?
WiseWave620: I just… I hear things.
WiseWave620: Jesus. Can we change the subject please?
Gl!tch.OS: No way! I want to hear more about your WAND.
* * *
Rose laughed so hard she nearly peed her pants. “I’m sorry. You what?”
