Page 5 of His Paradise

“Sorry about that,” He winks, perking his head up to look at the name on her coffee cup and grabs her book to hand back to her.

“Aly? What a lovely name. Looks like your book survived. Stay down until you don’t hear anymore shots, okay?” Markus says, plucking glass from her dark hair. She nods, jaw slack and eyes wide as he beams a grin at her.

“Good girl.” Markus turns to me, “Let’s move.” He says as I jump up to follow him out. Wasting no time, we leap through the blown out windows and pound our feet onto the pavement while pulling out our guns. The parking lot is littered with broken glass from dark tinted windows, splatters of blood, but no bodies. A white car peels out as one of ours chases after them, and I know we won't have a chance to catch them in our massive SUV. Once we ensure the threat is gone, I kneel next to a crumpled piece of plastic with wires sticking out of it.

“The tracker,” I pick it up, staring at the only lead we had. Markus curses beside me, kicking a rock across the parking lot in his frog rain boots. Another time and I would laugh at the sight, but right now failure is dragging me down as I stare at where the vehicles have vanished.

Markus' phone rings, and he answers by saying his name as we climb into our car. A flash of rage contorts his face as he hangs up, slamming the palm of his hand onto the steering wheel.

“Our guys said they caught up to them, but they were dead by the time they got the doors open. Crazy bastards killed themselves.” Markus shakes his head, his usually carefree expression now tense. I groan, rubbing a frustrated hand across my forehead. Markus checks his watch, sighing as the sound of police sirens closes in on us.

“Time to go?” He gives me a cheesy grin, maneuvering us into the flow of traffic as I fight the oncoming headache I always get when I’m around the Barone’s.

When we finally get back home, we are greeted by the sounds of our children. Screaming. We both speed into the living room, finding a very distressed Alec holding both children and looking frantic.

“I was holding Leo while Nina was in the kitchen getting a snack for Amelia, but Isabelle had to run to the restroom. Amelia doesn’t like sharing Papa.” Alec grumbles, shifting a fussing Leo into my arms as I smirk at him. Amelia is clinging to him, her red cheeks covered in tears as she stares daggers at me.

“Mean old Papa,” Markus feeds into her dramatics, holding his arms out for her to dive into them.

“You’re spoiling her.” Alec grumbles, fishing in Isabelle’s purse until he holds up a sucker. Amelia giggles and shoves away from Markus, who rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, I’m definitely the problem.” He mutters. I hear a giggle and Isabelle runs to Markus, throwing her arms around his neck. Nina is much more reserved with guests here, but I step right up to her and hold her tight in my free arm.

“Did you miss me?” I ask, grinning as she blushes and nods when I press a soft kiss to her forehead.

“Amelia, you’re going to have to get used to sharing Papa and Dada. Being a big sister means you’ll have more responsibilities.” Isabelle says casually. I can see the moment everyone registers the news. Nina must have known, since she was watching the brothers with amusement.

Markus turns towards Alec, both of them pointing fingers at each other simultaneously.

“This is your fault.” They both shout, making Nina hide her face in my shoulder as she laughs. Isabelle was grinning, patting her stomach.

“Congratulations?” I say, raising a brow. Markus and Alec both broke, crushing Isabelle between them in a hug, Markus lifting her off her feet as Alec threw Amelia into the air.

“You’re going to be a big sister, princess.” Alec coos, the only time we see the softer side of him is with his daughter. I can see the excitement on everyone’s face, instantly lifting the sour mood I had come home in.

As we say our goodnights and the Barone family head home to celebrate in ways I didn’t need to know, Nina had become more quiet than usual. She took our baby to his room, and I found her still standing over his crib nearly an hour later. She startles when I brush her hair away from her neck and I take her hand in mine, gently pulling her to our room.

“Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you, or do I have to lock you in here with me until you give in?” I taunt, lightly gripping her throat as I brush my nose over her cheek. Nina trembles in my grasp, but it wasn’t from excitement. I quickly let go when she threw herself against my chest, burying her face against my neck as gentle sobs wracked her body.

“I’ve got you, sweetheart.” I say, picking her up and carrying her to our bed. I rip the covers out of the way, climbing in while still holding her tight. When I toss the blanket over our heads, she pulls away to give a choked laugh and I feel her swiping at her cheeks.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” She murmurs. Nina was lying to me, but I wouldn’t prod her. Not right now, at least.

“No, don’t apologize for your feelings.” I just hold her close, burying my face in her hair as sleep slowly pulls us both under.

Chapter four

Nina

When Aden is snoring, I finally creep out from under his arm and blow out a breath as I close the bathroom door behind me. I pull out the burner phone that had shown up in the mail today, and with shaking hands, I power it on. The screen flashes, one unopened message was waiting for me. Hesitation is beat out by curiosity as I click it. A picture of my sister, smiling bright as a man I had never seen before leans close, petting the big dog she was walking.

Her dog had pulled away from the man, his eyes wide and that told me more than anything how much danger she was in. Olivia was a soft girl, her skin a few shades darker than mine and eyes so dark I almost couldn’t see her pupils. She was beautiful and kind, which is why I did everything I could to protect her.

I found one phone number saved. The crushing weight that I had run from all these years had finally caught up to me, and if I don’t face this head on then my sister will suffer for my own mistakes. Leo’s fussing came through the baby monitor, and I quickly shoved the cellphone under the sink, inside of my makeup bag. Aden jumps up, and I hear his sluggish foot fall as he drags himself to our son's nursery.

I caught sight of myself in the mirror and tentatively touched my wet cheek, not even realizing I was crying again.

“Nina, are you alright honey?” Aden calls, our son's cries coming closer to the bathroom door. I splash some cold water on my face, quickly patting it dry with the puffy gray towel and hanging it back up as I compose myself. When I step back into the bedroom, Aden is bouncing in place, rocking our still unhappy baby. He turns to me, a look of relief on his face.

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