Page 50 of Shield and Savior

He snorts a little and points to a box on the shelf. “We could try doing a puzzle.”

My Judas of a son says, “We can, but she always hides the last piece.”

“What kind of childhood did you have?” Lance laughs.

Drew shakes his head and peers out the window. “Traumatic.” A tad melodramatic.

The oven timer beeps, and Lance gets up from the table. He pats Drew’s shoulder as he walks by. “That ends now, Champ. I’ve got your back.”

Lance doesn’t see it—he’s already made his way into the kitchen—but Drew smiles as his eyes get all glassy. He gets the same way whenever he’s trying not to cry during a movie. He pulls his shirt collar to his eyes.

I didn’t know how much Drew needed someone like Lance. A male figure who cares about him for being him, not because of his last name or family ties.

There’s banging in the kitchen as Lance searches through the drawer for a pizza slicer. It’s the little things Lance does without being asked. Things I’d spent so much time doing myself—making dinner, finding ways to distract us, keeping peace in our house.

Until I met him, I didn’t think this was something I wanted. Or needed.

But Lance is completely unaware of his impact. And how much I want it. Need it.

He calls from the kitchen, “Hey, bet you could kick your mom’s ass at Minecraft.”

Drew sniffs and wipes his face. His eyes dance with an evil gleam. Oh yeah, he’s my son, alright.

The rest of the night, we eat pizza, and I’m chased around a world made of squares by a green penis-looking thing.

I thought the night couldn’t get better. But, after Drew is safely in bed, Lance and I fuck like bunnies.

ChapterTwenty-Five

Izzy

Not enough hours after we fall into a sated heap on the bed, the sun fills the room with a warmth only matched by Lance’s arm around my waist. I could get used to this. We fit together. And despite the looming dread of my ex, my heart screams everything will be okay.

Lance’s phone buzzes on the nightstand, and he lets out a groan. I hand him the phone and he looks at it and drops it on the bed next to my stomach. “Alana wants to see us after we drop Drew off. Probably to go over procedures.”

“We should get up,” I say, wiggling my hips against his body. “It’s going to take longer to get Drew to school.”

He buries his head into my hair and pulls me even closer, turning into a sexy straitjacket. “Five more minutes.”

“Get up.”

“You know, I vaguely remember telling you the same thing and both you and your spawn fell back to sleep.”

I laugh, “Yes, but you were waking us up at an ungodly hour, and this is my normal wake up time.” Squirming from side to side until I free myself from his grasp, I sit on the edge of the bed. “So, are we coming back here tonight?”

“Yeah. We’ll do a few car swaps before returning. The goal is to keep you and Drew’s lives as unpredictable as possible. The school has been informed and will increase security for him. And Joey already knows, so you’ll be well protected at work, but you’re moving to a different office space. That’s also what Alana wants to talk about.”

Once the plans are firmed up, I hop in the shower. Lance joins me a few minutes later. Soapy sexy fun occurs and puts me in a good mood as we drive to school. Drew doesn’t say much. He’s got his head buried in his video game. Drop-off goes without a hitch, and we drive to Mastodon’s home office.

It’s in an old brick building, nothing special about it. I expected glass walls and computer screens everywhere, maybe a few scan keys, eyeball scanners, laser beam maze. How disappointing.

I’m anxious to meet Alana. She seems like some sort of legendary god because even Joey’s a little afraid of her. We walk up the wooden stairs to the second-floor offices.

“Morning, Macie,” Lance says to a woman a few years younger than me, early twenties. She’s got the whole trying too hard to look professional vibe.

She smiles at Lance like it’s a habit and drops her eyes as she mutters, “She’s in the conference room. I’ll be out here if you need me.”

Lance’s shoulders stiffen, like he’s getting ready for battle—instantly focused and alert. He holds the door open for me. The shades are all drawn. Specs sits in the corner, his laptop out, refusing to take his eyes off the screen.

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