Page 45 of Marx

“Will do, brother. You just get better.” I squeeze his shoulder, and turn to walk the rest of the way to the farmhouse.

I may want to take Lovely on a date, but first things first. Shower, breakfast and then tighten up plans to take down two fucking cartels. Child’s play.

Chapter 15

Lovely

By the time Bee and I wake, Marx’s side of the bed is cold. I feel a slight pinch in my chest until I check my watch and realize that it’s well past ten in the morning. Bee makes grumbling noises and I know she must be starving, but this little girl has never been an early-to-rise type of kid.

“Come on, little Bee, let’s get you some brunch,” I smile down at her, running my hand over her thick, dark hair. Every now and then I’m amazed at how much she looks like Blanche’s kids, but then I remember that they all have the same father, even if Sage, Cove and Elio’s mothers are different. The Landry genes are damn strong. I suppose at some stage we should be worried about them having issues, given they’re all related in more than one way. Maybe I’ll ask Chewy about it. She would know. Heck, Elio probably does too.

“Mark?” Bee asks, pointing to where Marx slept last night.

“He’s gone to work, and we should too. Come on lazy bones!”

I let Bee bounce around on the bed as I get dressed. Usually I’m in one of my brothers’ oversized flannel shirts and jeans, but today I decide to put on a pretty purple tank top I boughtwhen I went shopping with the Girl Gang one time. I have lots of prettier things than what I normally wear, it’s just that I never felt the need to wear anything different. Now though, I think it is time to try something new. It’s warm out but not warm enough to only wear a tank with jeans, so I throw the flannel over it and leave it unbuttoned. I’ve seen Nat wear the same type of thing and it makes her look effortlessly cool.

Staring at myself in the mirror, I decide to try and do a messy bun look. Normally I leave my hair long, or in a single braid, but not today! Today is a good day. I slept all night with a man and I didn’t wake up in a cold sweat. In fact, it’s the first time I’d ever justsleptwith a man. I feel triumphant and strong and I want to celebrate with a new look.

“Mommy pretty!” Bee coos from the bed.

I rush toward her with tickle fingers, attacking her sides before I scoop her up carefully with my good arm, and my heart flutters when she throws her head back, messy hair and all and lets out a loud squeal. She really is the cutest little girl and the light of my life. Although I guess there are lots of little lights around my life now.

I set her in her little booster at the island and prepare her favorite breakfast - oats and strawberries. It’s a good nutritious breakfast and something I ate everyday as a child. Not all the memories I have of the Keep are terrible. In fact, up until I was a teenager my life was pretty idyllic. Kids at the Keep got to have childhoods, playing outside, entertaining themselves, good food that was grown by the men and women of the Keep. We were healthy and thriving. It’s just as you got older and pulled back the curtain you realized things weren’t all as they appeared.

A quiet knock pulls me away from watching Bee demolish her breakfast, so I check to make sure she’s all secure before moving the short distance to my front door and opening it to find Kaia on the other side.

“Good morning! How are you?” I ask her, turning back to Bee and gesturing that she follow me.

“Um, I’m good.” She stands awkwardly at the edge of the counter, before she drops her wringing hands and clenches them. “Actually, no, I’m not.”

I hesitate for a moment, not sure what to say, but thankfully, Kaia carries on her train of thought.

“Look, I’m not an idiot, I know that what the DRMC gets up to isn’t always above board. I’ve done my research, and I know that while you guys do good stuff, charity and things, you also do bad stuff to keep people in Rose Grove safe.” I nod my head. I don’t interject because she seems to be talking through whatever it is that’s upset her. “The twins and I, we heard a snippet of the bad last night. I was looking out the window and saw Leo, um, Judge leaving that barn out the back, and the scream, I could hear it from the trailer.”

I reach out and lay my hand on hers. “Kaia, sometime-”

“It made me mad.”

“Huh?”

She flicks her blue gaze to mine, “It pissed me off. Everyone got to go down there and beat on the men that threatened us. He had bullets withmybabies names on them. I wanted to be there with you and I felt, I felt, like an outsider.” She raises her eyes to look at me and all I can see is doubt and sadness. She swipes a tear away, “It’s OK, I mean I’m used to it, it’s just -”

“You’ve been alone with the twins for a long time, haven’t you?”

Kaia drops her head, nodding, letting out a huff. “After we left town it was just me and my dad. Then the twins came along and it was just the four of us. I had a boyfriend, well, a failed relationship, and ugh, I never wanted to be put in that position ever again.” She looks wistfully out the window, where I can see the twins are hovering just outside my cabin.

She doesn’t say it in as many words, but I know that this woman has been through the wringer.

“Kaia, the DRMC is a family. I know this situation isn’t the best way for Judge to get to know the twins, but trust me, those kids belong to Judge, and they and you, belong to DRMC now. No matter what happens. Last night was something that doesn’t happen a lot,” I try to hide my smirk, “and you’re new at this. So, give it time.”

She nods, sniffing, “OK, I was just really pissed and wanted to get a few licks in, you know?” she peeks at me and I can’t help but laugh.

“Oh, you’re gonna fit in perfectly! Hey, come back tonight after dinner. I’ll get all the girls together and we’ll watch a movie. What do you say?”

She makes out like she’s thinking for a moment. “I’ll see you then.”

Marx

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