Page 65 of Hey, Daddy

“Are you okay with that?” I asked.

“I’m okay with just about anything short of cold-blooded murder after what Eddison did,” she admitted.

That still made me sick to my stomach to think about.

Something that I hadn’t quite even been able to digest yet, really.

“Okay, well, I’ll be there as soon as I can,” I said. “And, if you’re feeling frisky, and want to start looking for houses for us…” I left that hanging, knowing it’d get her excited.

She didn’t disappoint, squealing like she used to do for ice cream when she was little.

“Okay!” she called. “What time?”

“Probably in a couple of hours, baby doll,” I drawled. “Love you.”

When I looked up from the ground I’d been studying while on the phone, it was to find every pair of Semyonov—and two Carters—eyes on me.

I studied them for a long moment before saying, “What I have to say isn’t for cop ears.”

Haunted by my TBR.

—Nastya’s secret thoughts

NASTYA

My brows rose as I turned to look at Auden.

“That means you, bro. Sorry,” I teased.

I knew he wasn’t leaving.

Maven would never leave after everything that had just gone down.

My heart was still palpitating.

I kept seeing my brother go flying straight into a trash can that was luckily plastic and full of bagged leaves.

The good thing was the leaves had broken his fall. The bad thing was he’d already been hurt, and we were pretty sure he’d rebroken the ribs that were already broken and healing.

Auden grunted and said, “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Then you’re gonna have to turn the cop off,” Maven said. “Because I get the feeling we’re about to hear something juicy.”

“You don’t just turn the cop off,” Auden grumbled.

“This time, you will, or I won’t talk to you,” Haze said, surprising us all with his forcefulness.

My gaze focused on Haze as I said, “He’ll be good.”

“It has nothing to do with being good or bad and everything to do with not having to denounce your morals and question whether or not you should go to the police with what you just learned,” Haze said. “Especially if you learn something about another police officer that you feel might be a threat.”

Auden and Haze studied each other for a long moment before Shasha broke in and said, “Everyone but Haze, Nastya, and me out.”

“What about me?” Dima asked. “I feel like maybe I should be here since I just rebroke three ribs.”

Shasha studied him before saying, “If I feel like it won’t get you in trouble, then I’ll tell you later.”

Dima sighed and said, “Can we still go to Jack’s, though? I was really looking forward to their pretzel and beer cheese sauce.”

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