Page 109 of Fade (Fighting Fate)

I blinked at her. Shit. One hundred days. So much time was slipping by.

“Aw, honey,” Kaeli said, giving me a quick hug. “Think of it in a positive way. She’s reached a wonderful milestone. It’s her happy this-was-when-you-were-supposed-to-be-born day.”

That did it. I laughed. “I’m beginning to think I’m not meant for ‘normal.’ ”

Amber scoffed. “Normal is boring. Why be a white sheep when you can be a rainbow one instead?”

I giggled, but it was strained. “I don’t know. White would be a whole lot less painful.”

Taking my hand, Amber linked her fingers with mine. “White sheep might not feel deep pain like you have, but they don’t get to feel deep love, either.”

Noah turned from the window he’d been peering out of. “Whoa,” he said, exaggerating a look of awe. “Deep . . . ”

Shrugging, Amber flipped her hair. “It’s been known to happen occasionally.”

Noah shook his head with a grin before pointing his thumb over his shoulder. “What’s with the rent-a-cops?”

We all glanced out the window at the large hulking men scanning the perimeter.

“Josh fired his entire security team after those pictures were leaked to the media,” Kaeli said.

I scowled, remembering seeing the tabloids at the grocery store. It hadn’t been anything bad. Just pictures of Josh by the pool with an actress he’d been dating at the time. But it was a private moment. Stolen by someone who was employed to protect him.

“So, he’s just going to hire a bunch of jocks from now on?” Amber asked, flopping down onto the sofa.

“Until I can convince some people I know to come work for me . . . ”

We turned at the sound of Josh’s voice, finding him striding in from the kitchen, a tray of food in each hand. Corey, Cain, and Ryan fi

led out behind him, all loaded up with food as well.

“Hey, we’re totally on board with it, man. You just say the word,” Corey said with a smirk.

“Oh my God. You’re seriously not going to get these clowns to do security for you,” Amber said, mock horror on her face. “You’re so going to die.”

Laughter filled the room as Amber was playfully pushed off the sofa, rolling onto the floor in a fit of giggles.

The front door flew open. “Who the hell said the party could start without us?”

I startled at the five new faces pouring inside. I had no idea they were coming. This was the second time they’d surprised me like this.

With tears of happiness blurring my vision, I jumped up to give Mia a hug. “I can’t believe you guys are here. Again.”

“We wouldn’t miss it for anything,” she said, squeezing me back.

Matt laughed before pulling me away from Mia to give me his own hug. “You can thank Mia and her super awesome skills of organization. We’d still be sitting on our bus eating Cheetos otherwise.”

Yeah, that sounded about right.

Matt chuckled before passing me to Aiden, who passed me to Dean, who passed me to Jace. It was perfect.

“It’s good to see you, pretty girl,” Jace said, pressing me to his chest. Releasing me, he glanced across the room, his eyes lighting up. “And here’s the girl of the hour.”

Sounds of oohs and awws echoed around the room as Susan came in, carrying a very cute little Mae. It had been hard to find an outfit that fit her, she was still so small. I almost resorted to buying doll clothes, but then Amber found an online store that handmade preemie clothes. I may have overspent, but I didn’t care. She looked adorable.

As we all found a seat and Mae was gently passed from one aunt or uncle to the next, I glanced around at these people who were now my family, and realized my heart was finally starting to soothe. For the first time since Daniel went missing, I felt a tiny piece of happiness. Photos were snapped. Jokes were made at Josh’s expense. Music was played and songs were sung.

When Mae woke, the first person to pick her up was Ryan. He smiled warmly at her before his eyes widened with horror. “Oh my God. What have you done?” he asked, trying to hold her away from him a little.

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