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How that one word could make me tremble, I wasn’t sure. “Did you see anything when you went to my apartment?” I asked.
We hadn’t gotten the chance to discuss it. He’d only given me the bare details when he’d led me upstairs to the room, though Nolan had been with us, so he’d kept it short.
His exhalation was weighted. “No. Not a fuckin’ trace.”
I bit down on my bottom lip, not sure if I should find comfort in that or be worried. But being here? Within the safety of his walls? The fear of this afternoon felt distant.
My worries unwarranted.
So, I whispered, “I probably was making it up.”
A harsh sound rolled in his chest. “Don’t fuckin’ minimize it, Charleigh. If there is someone after you, I swear to God I’m going to?—”
His words cut off when Raven suddenly burst into the room, wearing a pair of baggy sweats and a tight tank, her black hair twisted into a wild knot on the top of her head. The makeup she’d been wearing had been cleaned from her face. “Are we gonna do this or what?”
She was all grins.
A clatter of little feet came banging in behind her.
“Got it!” Nolan was waving the stuffed puppy I’d gotten him over his head, excitement blazing from his sweet soul. “We can do it now!”
“What are we watching, Little Dude?” River asked as he pushed a couple buttons on a console on the wall closest to the door.
“Super Pets!” Nolan sent a fist sailing for the air, then he wasgrinning his sweet grin in my direction. “Because I’m gonna get me one of those real puppies one day, Miss Charleigh. Or maybe five of ’em.”
That time he held up five fingers.
River groaned, and Raven laughed.
“What did you think was going to happen, taking him to that fundraiser?” she goaded.
River sent her a glare. “And who forced me into going?”
She shrugged innocently. “It was for a good cause.”
“Yeah, Dad, it’s for a good cause. The puppies gotta have a house.”
“Thought we talked about this, yeah?” River tried to defend. “We need to wait a bit before we get a dog. It’s a big responsibility.”
“I already waited two whole weeks, and I got really mature.”
River gave him a look and Nolan dropped his head, scuffing his little feet on the floor. “Okay, fine. Least I got my favorite blue puppy.”
I pressed my fingers to my mouth like I could hide the laugh gathered in my chest, but it got loose, anyway.
Raven sent me a winning, knowing smile as she crossed the room and plopped onto the far side of the couch. She grabbed a fluffy blanket, brought her knees to her chest, and curled up under it. “Now bring me some of that popcorn, bestie!”
“Yeah, bring us some of that popcorn, bestie!” Nolan mimicked as he climbed up beside her.
River just shook his head, and God, I couldn’t help the smile. The smile that bloomed somewhere deep inside and erupted on my face.
I was sure this was the most genuine emotion I’d felt in a long, long time.
The speck of joy that pulled at my spirit.
And that was terrifying.
River reached out and flicked off the lights, and the only illumination in the darkened space was the screen that flickered to life.
