Page 16 of Once A Crime Lord

“Blade will come with me. So will the other guards. I’ve been training—”

“You train in case of an emergency, not so you can attend parties.”

“It’s not a party!”

He slashed a hand through the air. “This isn’t up for debate. My answer’s no.”

“I already told Janice and Alice I would be there.”

“I’ll talk to them.”

She glared at him. “So, I’m supposed to stay cooped up in the house forever?”

“Not forever, just until I find him.”

“And when will that be?”

His eyes narrowed into slits. “What’s gotten into you?”

“I need something to look forward to.”

Her bottled-up emotions churned inside her. Jonathan’s appearance reminded her of a simpler time. She needed to be around good people and do something normal even if her life was far from perfect. Nora fussed, making her feel awful for raising her voice.

“You haven’t complained about being confined,” Gavin pointed out. “This morning, you were scared to leave the house, and now you want to attend a large public event?”

She closed her eyes and tried to rein in her temper. She didn’t want to fight. “This is important to me.”

“Like I said, there will be other events you can attend in future. I’m through discussing this.”

There was a short knock before Carmen poked her head in the office. “There you are.”

She welcomed the interruption. She got to her feet and slung the baby bag over her shoulder. “I want to go for a walk.”

Carmen looked back and forth between her and Gavin. “Sure.”

Gavin didn’t say a thing as she walked out of the office. Blade eyed her suspiciously as she made her way through the employee hallways. She placed Nora in the stroller and grit her teeth when Blade and the rest of her security detail surrounded them. Seeing Jonathan made her realize how fucked up her life was. Security guards, guns, and the constant threat of violence—that was her reality.

“What’s going on?” Carmen asked.

She gripped the handles of the stroller and attempted to smile at the employees she recognized. “I just saw Jonathan.”

“Who?” Carmen asked.

“My ex.”

“What ex?”

She gave her a baleful look.

Carmen’s mouth sagged a little. “Here? Did he see you?”

“Oh, yeah, he saw me.”

“Does Gavin know?”

“No.”

“What is he doing here?”

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