Page 41 of Claimed in the Dark

She rolled her eyes. “Just giving you a nickname is all it takes, Nik?”

I stopped, letting her crash into me. I caught her and slammed my mouth over hers, stealing a sample of her plump lips. “It’s a start,” I told her smugly, turning to jog after the boy.

I wished I could’ve seen the reaction on her face to that kiss, but there was no time.

“Put the call on speaker,” I told her, knowing I’d get carried away with putting this bike together.

“What? Oh. Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Brady had already burst out the door.

She put it on speaker and I reminded the man that I was still on the other end. “Anything else you needed to add?”

“Yes, one last note. It seems that Elena has found trails of money passing between an assistant on Rico Johnson’s campaign and an old account that belonged to Owen Bilsen’s ex-girlfriend.”

We’d reached the garage, where a guard was already helping Brady to open the box.

I took Louisa’s hand to slow her so we could continue this call. She held the phone as I kept her to the side of the large garage. Her furrowed brow proved that any emotion from my kiss was gone.

“Go on,” I told him.

“That’s it,” he confirmed. “Elena has Igor looking into that angle, to determine if there is a valid connection between Owen Bilsen and Rico Johnson.”

I took the phone and thanked him for the update. Before going to the assembly of the bike, Louisa frowned at me. “What does that mean? Isn’t Rico Johnson one of those guys running for office?”

I nodded. She was aware that we were looking for intel about her former boss. “Yes. Rico Johnson is also the one who told us about someone being killed. It was what prompted Adrik to want to avoid loose ends with that video being out there.”

She furrowed her brow, still confused. Maybe it was time to give her more information.

“We’ll talk,” I told her, squeezing her hand. She flinched as if she was only now realizing she still held it.

I turned to Brady and shifted gears to help him assemble the bike. The guards resumed patrolling, but Louisa said she was going to go in and get us some drinks since it was so hot.

I didn’t mind. The more I spent time one-on-one with Brady, the more I learned about him. The more I could see how different it was to be here for him. Not as the man who protected him and his mom, but as a male role model.

We put the bike together and talked about everything and anything. As usual, he asked about a million questions a minute, always so curious. Then, once it was assembled, I helped him get on the bike and figure out how to pedal without training wheels.

It was an afternoon of small things. Of showing a boy how to use tools, then teaching him how to ride a bike, as well as being patient for all his intrigue.

Louisa stayed close. Her son was always under her watchful eye, but in light of this slow approach to her warming up to the fact that I would keep her under my watchful eye, she smiled and supervised with Paloma under the shade of another awning on the patio.

“Mama!”

Brady screamed it with glee.

He started off wobbly, and I ran alongside him to break his fall. But he had it. After trial and error, he got it.

“Mama! Look! I’m riding it!”

She cheered and clapped, celebrating this small thing. Paloma hooted and applauded too, recording it on her phone. “Go, Brady! Go!”

I jogged with him, smiling down at him as he glanced up nervously. The biggest smile stretched across his face. “I’m doing it! I’m riding a bike!”

“You are,” I said, laughing and unable to wipe this smile off my face.

Over and over again, he practiced on the driveway. Adrik showed up with Elena, and then he joined in on the path, too.

When Brady looked too hot, I suggested we take a break and head inside. Adrik smiled as we all trooped inside to seek the air conditioning. Even though the weather was technically mild, the desert heat was proving to be a deterrent to more outdoor time.