Page 94 of Fate and Family

She lifts up her wrists. “They’re a little red, but I’m fine.”

Lance wraps his big bear arms around Drew. “Hey, Champ. Anything interesting happen?”

Drew pushes his dark brown hair out of the way. “There were bullets and explosions, and I carried Maria out of the warehouse.” He turns to Thiago. “She’s too light. You need to feed her better.”

“That was very brave of you.” Lance pulls Drew into his chest.

Maria reaches for her father. “I slept the whole time and woke up in the car.”

Olivia adds, “Me too.”

Until now, I never really looked at either of the two little girls. They were always just kids to me. But now, seeing them in comparison to Drew, Shae, and Ian, they are so tiny. No wonder the effects of the knockout gas took longer to wear off.

Ian’s head is low, his shoulders hitched up over his head, trying to hide as much as possible. He stiffens as I put my hand on his back. “Ian.”

He shrinks up even more.

As I try to coax him to look at me, Shae says, “Aunt Alana, why did Ian get hurt but no one else did?”

Alana’s standing in the doorway, her arms crossed. “That’s what I’m about to find out. But I need Cowboy Dimitri and Ian to come with me.” She takes a few steps into the room. “Ian, one day you will look back on this whole interaction and go, ‘Oooooohhhhhhhh,’” she says with understanding, followed by, “then you’ll say, ‘Ooh nooo,’” with shocked dread. “And when you do, tell me, and I’ll give you another stamp on your trauma card. Seven stamps, and I’ll buy you a pony.”

He laughs, but my irrational anger takes over. “What the fuck, Alana, don’t say shit like that to him.”

Ian lifts his head. “It’s ok, I like it. She makes me feel normal.”

He turns in his chair, and I see the damage. His eye is already purple and swollen, with dried blood flecks on his cheek, and his lip is three times the size it was when he left the house. My stomach drops, and I want to throw up. My son is hurt.

But he won’t look at me, only Alana. “Where am I going to keep a pony?”

“Same place Dimitri keeps the cows.” Her lips curl, and she extends her arm and wiggles her fingers. “Let’s go somewhere and talk.”

He hops off the seat, grabs his ice cream, and follows Alana. I trail after him, and we head toward the elevator. He holds her hand as she pushes the button for the fourth floor. I keep my hand firmly on his back.

We walk into Alana’s office. It hasn’t changed much since the last time I was here. Ian sits in a spinny chair and does one full rotation before stopping.

“Why don’t you tell me what happened?” Alana says as she leans against her desk.

Ian plays with the chair, swinging his feet around. “We were in the car, all excited, singing, and then my body felt heavy, and I got really sleepy. When I woke up, I was in a room with only one light, and my arms really hurt. I couldn’t move them. There were a few guys in the room, but they were behind me. I glanced to my left and right, but Shae and Drew were still out. I don’t know why I woke up first.”

“Was your heart beating really fast, and not just because you were scared?”

“Yeah. And I really had to pee.” He flinches, like he’s said too much.

Alana nods. “You weigh a little bit more than Drew, probably from hockey practice, and you’re taller. Plus, you had your flu shot a few weeks ago.”

Now I’m confused. “Why does his flu shot matter?”

“Because Dr. Chakin is on my payroll and he administered your flu shots, which are enhanced with a chemical breakdown agent that helps with what happened to you. Plus, there’s a tracker that monitors your hormones, heart rate, and brain function, with a GPS linked to a private satellite.”

“You lowjacked my kid?”

She lifts one eyebrow in warning. “What are you bitching about? How do you think I found them so fast? And, hell, you’ve got one too.”

“I don’t recall consenting to any of this.” I cross my arms.

Alana gasps and covers her mouth. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” Her face returns to its typical glower and she rolls her eyes at me. “I don’t give a shit about your feelings when it comes to your safety. It’s almost like this is what I do for a living.” She focuses back on Ian. “What else happened?”

He gets quiet and starts playing with his fingers, watching his toes kick, swinging from the chair. “I heard them talking. About Shae.”

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