Page 56 of His Lair
As far as I’ve been able to find out, Antonia’s father is the one gunning for Carlo. Apparently he has some intel on the guy. All I know is I have no intention of letting this shit touch that little girl. Or Sammie.
My phone buzzes in my pocket and I pull it out, expecting another one of E’s rants to pop up on the screen. It’s not him, though.
Sammie:
Can you come back over to Carlo’s and watch Jazzy for a bit?
Me:
On my way.
Do I want to be babysitting while the “boys” are out hunting down the people after them? No. But it’s the role I’m stuck playing right now.
By the time I make it back to Carlo’s apartment, everyone is there. Charlotte and Evie are in the living room, and I find Louie and Sammie in the kitchen.
“Hey, is Jazzy asleep?” I ask, fighting the urge to run and sink into Sammie’s embrace while keeping a professional distance.
“Yeah. E’s in there with her,” Sammie says. And this is where my training comes into play because the thought of Emmanuel sitting with a six-year-old is… unusual. You wouldn’t know it by my face, though.
“Thanks.” I turn and make my way down the hallway to Jazzy’s bedroom. Where, sure enough, Emmanuel is sitting on the floor, holding a sleeping Jazzy in his arms. I go and sit across from him. “Want me to take her?”
“I want to know what caused her nightmares,” he whispers.
“Yeah, you and me both,” I tell him.
“Has she said anything to you about them?” he asks.
I shake my head. I’ve tried to bring them up to her. The nightmares that have her waking up screaming every night. I have no idea what they’re about and she refuses to talk to me about them.
“I’ve got to go and do some shit. You know the drill. Evie and Jazzy are your top priority.” Emmanuel stands and places Jazzy on the bed.
“You know, I might start thinking you have a heart soon,” I tell him.
“I do have a heart. It beats in another body. Make sure nothing happens to it,” Emmanuel says as he walks out of the room.
I pull the blankets up over Jazzy and quietly close the door behind me. Sammie is waiting in the hallway.
Shit, how long has he been there? Did he overhear my conversation with Emmanuel?
“Hey, there will be guys stationed in the elevator and on each floor. No one is getting up here,” he tells me.
“Okay. So we will be safe, but will you?” I ask him.
Sammie smirks. Cocky bastard thinks he’s untouchable. “Always. You worried about me, babe?”
“I am,” I admit both to him and myself. “Don’t let anything happen to you.”
“I won’t.” Sammie leans in and presses his lips to the middle of my forehead. Usually, I would pull away from his touch when we’re not alone. Right now, I don’t have it in me to do that.
Something isn’t sitting right. You know that feeling that shit is about to hit the fan? Yeah, I have that feeling. And there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.
That feeling hasn’t gone away and it’s making me twitchy. I left Jazzy in the room with Antonia. She wanted to lie down with her stepmom. Which leaves me sitting in the living room with Charlotte and Evie. It’s a little weird. I don’t know these girls well, and I just don’t feel like I belong.
Not because of anything they’ve done. They’re doing their best to include me in the conversation. I just don’t have a lot to add. They’ve asked me about school, about boyfriends, and all of that. And my answers have been a lie every single time. Lying—or being in a role—doesn’t usually bother me. But with this group, it really is making me feel guilty.
“I’m going to go check on Antonia, see if she needs anything,” Charlotte says, leaving me alone with Evie, aka Emmanuel’s heart.
No pressure at all, asshole.
