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There was that slow exhale, and then…
“Nothing’s going on,” Chloe said, keeping her gaze locked with his as she lied her adorable little ass off.
“I can see that,” Cole said as he thought about the night that she’d agreed to this deal.
He thought about that night a lot over the past three months.
He thought about the way that she’d walked back into her room looking completely lost, the way that she mumbled, “Okay,” as she crawled back into the small bed without a word and laid her head against his chest, but it was the way that she felt in his arms that he thought about the most.
She’d never fallen asleep in his arms before, but that night, she’d held onto him like she never wanted to let him go and then the next morning…
It was like nothing ever happened.
That was followed by her uncle suddenly becoming stricter overnight. He wasn’t sure what Nick said to Chloe, but whatever it was, it had her following his rules to the letter. She refused to let him in the house and just to make sure that he followed the rules, she kept her bedroom window locked at night along with her sister’s and every other window in the house. She also kept the doors locked and anytime he tried to come over, she intercepted him, making sure that he never set foot in the house. He was only allowed to come over to work on the Jeep and that was only late at night when Katie was in bed.
Every time he came over, Chloe was already there, sitting on the bench with a tray filled with drinks and snacks along with the first-aid kit, wet wipes, extra towels, and a can of WD-40. She always made sure that he had everything that he needed to ensure that he didn’t need to leave the shed and just in case he tried, she watched him while she pretended to study. He could feel her beautiful blue eyes watching him while he worked, leaving him with absolutely no doubt that she was up to something and making him wonder about a few things…
“What are you hiding?” Cole asked, watching Chloe’s gaze flicker to the little girl standing in the window before she reached over and took the cookies from him with a forced smile and an absently murmured, “Thank you,” before disappearing inside and leaving him standing there more determined than ever to find out what was really going on.
CHAPTER28
“Why don’t you bring Braxton upstairs and get him settled in Mathew’s room? We’ll talk in the morning,” Trevor said as he tightened his grip around the edge of the kitchen counter until the back of his knuckles turned white and-
“That sounds like a good idea,” Mikey said with a firm nod as she climbed onto the kitchen counter next to him. That was followed by her shifting to get comfortable, clearing her throat, and then gesturing for him to get on with it.
“Sebastian?” Trevor said, sighing heavily as he pushed away from the counter and turned around so that he could lean back against it.
When Sebastian grabbed her so that he could throw her over his shoulder, Mikey shook her head in disgust as she muttered, “Sending your henchmen to do your dirty work? Shameful,” making his lips twitch despite the fact that he was struggling to keep it together.
He couldn’t get the image of that kitchen out of his head, he just…
“Tell me what happened,” Zoe said as he watched Sebastian leave with Mikey grumbling over his shoulder and Braxton reluctantly following them.
“He’s not going back to that house,” Trevor said, shaking his head firmly as he reached for his wife, needing to wrap his arms around her to stop himself from doing something that he knew damn well that he wouldn’t regret.
“That bad?” Zoe asked as she wrapped her arms around him and laid her head against his chest.
“Yeah,” Trevor said hoarsely as he kissed the top of her head.
“I got your text about Braxton. What the hell happened?” Jason asked as he walked in through the back door with Haley’s grandmother in his arms while Reese pulled up the rear with her wheelchair.
“Where’s my grandson?” Mrs. Blaine demanded as soon as they set her wheelchair down by the kitchen table and carefully placed her in it.
“He’s upstairs,” Zoe murmured against his chest.
“What the hell happened?” Reese demanded as he closed the door behind him.
“Braxton’s been home alone since July,” Trevor said, watching as Jason and Reese’s expressions turned furious while Mrs. Blaine sat there, looking lost in thought. “They’ve been punishing him since then by taking everything away, his phone, internet, video games, everything, and making sure that he didn’t leave the house unless it was for school. They call him once a month just to tell him that he’s still grounded. The staff was supposed to look after him, but it seems that they couldn’t be bothered with him.”
“How did you find out?” Reese asked.
“He had to let himself into a twenty-million-dollar mansion,” Trevor said dryly.
“The Blaines are all about appearances,” Jason said, sighing heavily as he dropped down in a chair.
“I was told that his brother and sisters were taking turns staying with him. His parents decided to retire early and allowed Braxton to stay home at my request instead of sending him back to boarding school. I never thought they would…” Mrs. Blaine began to say only to shake her head with a quietly mumbled, “I should have known better.”
“It’s not your fault,” Jason said, looking exhausted as he rubbed his hands roughly down his face. “What else?”
