AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We’ll discuss this later,” she said pointedly.
For several seconds, he didn’t move. She wondered if he would push the issue, which he was fully capable of doing. He never backed down from a fight.
“This isn’t over,” he said.
She watched him stride to his office and shut the door. At the meeting with Alice and Janice, the fear and worry lifted, giving her a glimpse of life outside the underworld. She wanted to be a part of it so badly that her eyes burned with tears. Couldn’t she tiptoe into the light for a couple of hours without being shot at? They needed to live in spite of the dark cloud hovering over them. How long would she have to live in isolation?
She took a deep breath and tried to smile at Nora who was watching her with rapt attention. “Why is life so complicated, baby?”
Nora splayed her tiny hand on Lyla’s cheek and regarded her mother seriously. She kissed her daughter and burped her before she headed upstairs. Carmen ambled in during Nora’s bath.
“How’s my goddaughter doing?” Carmen asked Nora who flapped her arms excitedly.
“I’m going to freak out when she starts walking and talking,” she said as Nora sat in the tub with only a hand braced against her back for balance. Babies were amazing. They were intuitive, intelligent, and observant. She loved watching Nora respond to her surroundings. She wanted Nora to be around people like Janice, Marcus, and Alice, not locked up in this house.
“She’s growing up fast, isn’t she?” Carmen sighed. “I can’t believe we were babies once.” Her eyes widened. “I can’t imagine Gavin as a baby.”
Lyla snickered as she imagined Gavin as a stern-faced baby. Carmen chattered to Nora who listened to every word with large eyes. Carmen carried Nora to the nursery to change her. She started to follow, but came face to face with Gavin who blocked the doorway.
“Can you watch Nora?” Gavin called.
“Sure,” Carmen said from the nursery.
“I need to talk to Lyla.”
He closed the door. She stared at him for a moment before she turned away and went back into the bathroom. She drained the tub and hung the damp towels.
“I watched the surveillance videos,” he said from behind her. “Blade said you had a panic attack, but he didn’t mention that a man came up to you.”
She stilled. Gavin was too damn thorough.
“Did you know him? He followed you through the casino.”
With dread coating her stomach, she turned to face him. “He’s an old acquaintance.”
He regarded her with an inscrutable expression. “Who is he?”
“Someone I used to know.”
“Who?”
She realized with a sinking heart that he wasn’t going to let it go. “It doesn’t matter.”
“If it doesn’t matter, why won’t you tell me?”
“Because I don’t want you to freak out.”
He folded his arms across his broad chest. “I don’t freak out.”
She threw up her hands, completely over this fucked up day. “Fine, Hulk out, but I don’t want to deal with it.”
“Tell me.”
“It was Jonathan.”
His expression didn’t change. “Jonathan?”
She could see it didn’t register. “My ex.”
