by Ann, Bry
“What do you do?”
“I’m a pediatrician.”
“Oh my gosh, wow! You’re so young.”
My blush deepens and my gaze goes to the floor.
“I really wanted school over with.”
“That’s humble people code for ‘I worked my ass off.’”
I glance up to see Lacey smiling softly at me.
“Thank you.”
“Sage and Wulf or no Sage and Wulf? Totally up to you. Honestly.”
“What’s two more people?”
“You sure?”
I shrug.
“Alright. Before they come in…” We both glance down when we hear Rose humming softly. That earns a laugh from both of us. Lacey leans in close. “I want you to know you’re safe here. Now’s not the time with the kids all awake, but later, we’ll talk. Both Sage and I can relate to what you’re feeling.”
She gently squeezes my wrist.
“I’ll go grab the crazies.”
As soon as Lacey turns to the door, Rose bombards me. It’s needed. Her bright demeanor lessens some of my fear, confusion, and general feeling of being overwhelmed.
“Mwom said we could watch a show I like, too. I wanted Radar here, but…” Rose rolls her eyes. It’s so grown up on such a little girl, it cracks me up. “I’m mad at hwim.”
“Who’s Radar?”
“My old fwiend.”
“You’re not friends anymore?”
“Nope.” She emphasizes the last part of the word.
“Why?”
Her beautiful grey eyes furrow.
“He let his frwiends be mean to me. He’s mwine and he… we’re just not fwiends.”
My heart hurts for her. “Are people making fun of you, sweetie?”
Before she can answer, Lacey walks back in next to a woman with deep green eyes, medium-length black hair with a unique green hue, and perfect porcelain skin. In her arms is a large baby boy. His eyes are roaming around the room and his face is set in a frown.
This must be Wulfric!
“Hi, I’m Sage!”
The other woman comes up to me.
“You must be Isla.”
I nod. Sage looks me up and down with a sad face.
“I want you to know—”
“Dada, dada, dada…”
A little boy with shaggy blonde hair and big green eyes comes frantically crawling into the room.
“Dada, dada, dada…” he continues, looking right at Sage with what can only be described as a smirk on this probably one year old’s face.
Sage gives him a flat look and turns to me.
“He’s one and he already teases me! He knows how to say mama. I’ve heard him say it before! Little brat,” she mumbles, picking him up tenderly. “He refuses to call me mama…” She looks right at him, face scrunched. “But you know who I am, Damien Briar-Rose!”
With a little smile, he snatches a wad of her hair and tugs. Hard. Hard enough that both Lacey and I cringe.
“DAMIEN!” Sage shrieks, prying his fingers off of her and huffing at him. “Why do you do this?”
If I’m not mistaken, she looks emotional. Lacey comes over to distract me so Sage can have privacy with her son when her baby son fixes it all on his own by curling into her chest and placing his little hand over her beating heart.
“Mama,” he blubbers quietly.
Sage lets out a choked laugh. “He’s gonna kill me,” she huffs, curling her hand protectively around the back of his head and kissing there. “All I survived and this one year old is gonna kill me.”
While we all laugh, my mind drifts to Nia. Where is she? Is Seven with her?
I shake my head and look around the crowd that’s growing by the second.
“Let’s put on the movie now,” Lacey says, coming to my side with a gentle arm squeeze. The gesture grounds me a bit.
“Kids, Damien, Rose, you have to be good. Ms. Isla is not having a good day, so this is about her.”
“‘Cause she get hurwt, Mom?”
Lacey’s eyes soften as she takes a heavy, deep breath.
“Rose, what did I say about saying stuff like that?”
“It’s okay,” I start to mumble, but quickly realize how rude that is and stop myself.
“Sowwy, Ms. Isla.”
“It’s okay,” I whisper.
I want to know about her lisp! The doctor in me is going crazy now that I know she is being bullied. Do her parents know?
“Alright then. Isla, do you like Frozen?”
“Love it.”
Sage smiles at me. There’s still a tinge of sadness in her eyes when she looks at me that she’s trying to cover.
Knock. Knock. “I have your food, miss.”
What. Is. Happening?
Chapter Ten
Seven
“Seven, open up. It’s Lacey.”
I open the door. “How can I help you?”
She shakes her head at my stoic tone. It really bothers her.
“You need to go see Isla.”
I stiffen. “What happened?”
Lacey looks me up and down with a curious look on her face before a hidden smile I don’t understand plays there.
“Nothing bad. She’s okay. She’s with Sage, Rose, and Damien. I trust them all, but she looks two seconds from a having a nervous breakdown. She’s trying not to freak out and I don’t want to embarrass her by stopping anything on her account. You should go save her.”
“She doesn’t need saving.”
Why am I blushing?
Lacey, of course, notices and smirks, but doesn’t embarrass me further by mentioning it.
“She’ll be grateful. She needs out of there. Take her outside of here for a minute. Outside. A coffee shop. I don’t care where. She’s really freaking out. Let me enter first. Come in ten minutes later so it’s not suspicious.”
With that, she turns on her heel and goes back to the room. I pace the office, unable to work anymore. I just got back from talking with Danny and was putting plans in place, but now I can’t focus. This is my fault. Shit. I’ve been spending too little time with Nia to add to it. My criminal lifestyle is only balanced by the fact that I know I’m not a piece of shit outside of it. Right now, I feel like a piece of shit.
The second my alarm rings at ten minutes, I stalk down the hall. When I get to the door, I take a deep breath and crack the door open. The lights are off. Rose and Damien are cuddling on the floor under a blanket. Both of them are gonna be trouble one day. Little baby flirts. Sage is on the couch, curled up in a ball. Lacey is rocking Wulfric to the left of Sage. Isla is on the floor, hazel eyes wide, biting her lip. She looks so lost.
“Hey, Isla.” I force my voice to be calm. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”
She sees me and relief floods her eyes. I don’t miss it.
“Sure.”
She jumps to stand. “It was nice meeting you all. Bye, thank—”
“SEVWEN!” Rose screams, interrupting Isla.
Lacey groans, and Sage laughs under her breath. Sage and I don’t really talk much, so she only sees my size and stoic nature—so naturally, she finds the fact that kids like me hysterical.
It kinda is weird.
Rose runs over and extends her hands. “Pick me uwp!”
I scoop her up in my arms. She pokes my chest and goes to my ear.
“I nweed to play bear. Like, it’s not a want to. I hawve to.”
She looks at me with big, sad eyes.
“Tomorrow, kid,” I whisper.
“Pwomise.”
“Yes.”
She nods at me sternly. She reminds me of her father sometimes in these instances. Stern, demanding.
“Gwood.”
She wiggles for me to let her go, so I do. She goes back to the blankets. Lacey meets my eyes and I instantly know we’ll be talking later. She’s my boss, too, by default, and her eyes are fire wanting to know what her daughter told me that made her eyes so sad. I nod at her.
> I don’t want to betray Rose, but I’ll think of a middle ground.
I glance over to see Isla by my side, staring at me. She’s kind of close to me.
“Ready?”
She nods slightly.
I walk out in the hall. We’re both quiet.
“You’re good with kids,” she murmurs, breaking the silence. I don’t say anything back. “How come?”
I lift an eyebrow at her. “Do I need a reason to be?”
She shrugs. “People as good with kids as you are typically have a reason.”
I pause, pushing open the back door for her. She stops and looks at me with fear in her eyes.
“Not gonna hurt you, hun. You need out of the house.”
She takes a small step back. I take the sign and shut the door.
“Alright,” I nod. “Whatever you want.”
She studies my reaction intensely and nods, heading back for the door.
“You’re right. I wanna go outside.”
I smirk. She’s learning from her mistakes. She was testing me.
“Whatever you want.”
Before she can open the door, I grab the handle and open it for her. She looks at me, cheeks red. She blushes easily.
“Thanks,” she murmurs, scampering outside.
“You’re welcome,” I mumble.
She runs out into the open air and gasps for breath only when she gets to the farthest tree. As much as I don’t want to, I give her the space. I plop down in a chair on the porch and flicker through my phone, giving her the backyard to feel free for a moment in the midst of all this chaos.
She can come to me.
* * *
It takes a while for that to happen.
It’s not until forty-five minutes later that Isla comes over, red faced and sweaty. I have no clue what she did; I seriously wasn’t looking. Maybe she was running?
I don’t know.
She takes a slow seat on the porch, exhausted.
“Thank you.”
I nod at her. “You’re welcome. There’s a chair.”
I drag it over with my foot. She turns pink and takes a seat in the chair instead.
“Seven?” she asks, staring intently at her lap.
“Hm.”
“Can I ask you something?” Her voice is quiet.
“Whatever you want.”
“Where am I gonna go?”
I exhale between my teeth. “Well, Boss and I planned for you to stay here in a spare room ‘til this blows over. I’ve already dealt with Danny. He’s safe. Not only have I ensured he stays away from you while it’s unsafe to be near you, but Boss has men on him and Frank.”
She slumps in her seat like a hundred pounds were just lifted off of her.
“Thank you. Thank you so much, Seven.”
“I have to say this. I promised I would. Danny’s a real good guy, Isla. He didn’t want to abandon you. He didn’t care that his life was on the line. I really think the only reason he agreed to stay away for a bit is ‘cause he knew how him being in danger would upset you.”
Her face goes soft and reverent. “I love him so much.”
I smile at her. “It’s nice to have a family by choice, huh?”
“Like you and Nia.”
“Yes, like me and Nia,” I say softly.
“Seven?”
“Yes, Isla?”
“Is there somewhere else I can stay? Can-can I go home and have someone watch me there?”
“No!” I bark. When her gaze flies up, I wince. “Sorry, but no. Until I know who this is we’re dealing with, unless I literally roomed with you, that ain’t happening. I have Nia. I can’t uproot her.”
“Of course,” she says quickly, not looking at me.
“What’s wrong?”
She bites her lip.
“Isla?”
“I— This is the mafia, isn’t it?”
I sigh. “What do you think?”
She nods vigorously.
“I always say, trust your gut.”
She bites her lip harder.
“I can’t stay here. I-I can’t stay here.” Her breathing increases.
“Isla.” I try to get her attention.
“Everyone is nice, but…”
She leans over her stomach and purges the contents of her dinner.
“Jesus, Isla!” I fly out of my seat and go over to her. She’s full on hyperventilating.
Fuck. I actually don’t know what to do here. I need help.
“Lacey!” I scream. Shaking, I reach for my phone, but I’m distracted when she clutches her throat and her face starts changing color.
“Isla, breathe!” I scream. “Yes, up, hun. Eyes up.”
“I can’t”—she gasps— “stay”—her hands tighten around her throat— “here.”
I grab them and tug them away. “You’re choking yourself, honey. Isla, do you work tomorrow?”
Her breathing evens out a bit.
“Good girl. Good job. Do you work tomorrow?”
Eventually I get a no. I breathe a sigh of relief. I thought she was gonna suffocate herself.
I rub small circles on her back while she catches her breath.
“Did the doctor tell you my cut’s infected?” she says in a tired voice, still chest to knee.
“Yes.” But that’s all he said. He just said it was infected and it was imperative he speak with Isla when she wakes.
Isla nods.
“I need supplies.”
“Let's get you out of your own vomit first.”
She doesn’t respond.
“Come on.”
I tug her arm.
“Isla.”
Nothing.
“Isla, you’re scaring me.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re really freaking me out here. I’m about to call for help.”
She spins her head. She looks off. It’s freaking me out. Her mood and demeanor are swinging left and right. I think it’s shock, but with her passing out earlier, I’m kind of spazzing.
She pushes herself to sit and slowly starts to lift up her top.
“What are you…?!” I stop. “Isla, what the fuck!?”
I grab her waist and lift her over her vomit. I keep one hand on her to steady her… and because it feels good.
The gash on her stomach is extremely infected. I won’t share the gory details, but it’s disgusting.
“I just want to sleep, but I can’t here.”
She looks dejected.
“You can sleep at my place, if that’ll help you.”
No, she can’t. What the…
“I couldn’t possibly.” But her shoulders have relaxed.
“You can, if you let the doctor deal with your infection.”
“Tomorrow, I promise,” she says, flashing me those big, beautiful eyes. I almost want to laugh at the way she’s trying to work me right now.
“Alright.”
“Let’s get you clean.”
She’s already shaking her head with fierce eyes. “I can’t go back in there.”
I look at her, knowing there’s more to this. Some kind of childhood thing, maybe. I get that we’re bad people, but we’ve been good to her.
“Let me talk to Boss.”
She nods.
“It’s dark and cold out here. You good?”
“I’m… safe?”
“Yes. No one’s getting in this house, but I can send a guard if you’d like.”
“No!”
“Okay.” I’ll be right back.
* * *
“So… not keen on the mansion, eh?”
“I— um…” Isla’s terrified stuttering rings down the hall.
I speed up. Goddamnit, Frances! I’m gonna kill that man. The capo I work with is what you picture when you think of a man in the mafia. Twisted. Psychotic. Gets off on the fear of others. I was certain Boss was gonna get rid of him last year, but then he went and met Marley and she changed him a bit.
Not enough,
though.
I throw the back door open so loudly it crashes against the wall behind it with a large BANG.
“Frances!” I roar.
He turns to me with a wry smirk on his face, gelled-back golden hair glistening. He’s leaning against a patio chair. Okay, I’ll give him this: he’s at least four chairs back from where he could be, evidence of the small change he’s made since meeting Marley. A year ago, he would have been all up in her space, probably making Isla die of a heart attack.
He’s just trying to get a rise out of me. ‘Cause he never gets anything out of me. Well, Isla post-vomiting, afraid, curled up against the chair I left her in, does it.
“Get the hell out of here.”
“Aw, calm down. I was just saying hello.”
“Does she look like she wants to say hello?” I extend my hand her way.
His smile grows. “Welcome to the club, man. I’ll see you around.”
He pats my shoulder on his way out. I swear to the heavens, I’m one more rile-up away from stabbing him with my sword.
“God, I hate him,” I grumble when it’s just me and Isla. Her fear slips away and a little smile graces her face.
“He seems like trouble.”
“He’s annoying is what he is.”
Her smile grows a little more.
“I’ve never seen you so worked up.”
“I try not to make a habit of it. It’s cool with Boss that you stay with me for the time being.”
Cool is a very loose term. He’s absolutely not cool with it, but when I told him about Isla vomiting and the weird reaction she had to staying here, he growled under his breath, jammed a finger in my chest, and said I’d better not fall for her or do anything stupid.
He used the words, “I trust you, Seven. Don’t make me regret it.”
I won’t. I’ve never broken orders. Not when they ripped fingernails off of my body or brought torches to my skin in the war camps.
I sure as hell can handle a woman.
But things are gonna have to change. Who I am with Nia and who I am with Isla have to be different. I look at Isla and shove her into the same box I put Lacey and all the other women of this outfit. I respect them, I honor them, and I serve them. Nothing else.
“Really?” she squeals. “Oh, thank God.”
Her shoulders slump and she glances up at me with full lashes. Her next words are whispered.
