Page 15 of Hartley

“Not right now. He’s still angry, or as angry as he can get.”

Jordan walked toward the front of the studio, then stopped before he reached the door. “Sheldon can be a complicated man, but don’t mistake his calm demeanor for him being heartless. He feels everything. He just does a better job of hiding it than most. It serves him well when he works for me. Sheldon is solid in his skills, will fight to the death—if need be—and will do anything I ask of him, which is why I don’t ask all I can. I won’t abuse the relationship we have. Men like him aren’t easy to come by.”

He turned to face Forest. “You might see me and the people I employ and think they’re cold, heartless killers. While they can be, because that’s what’s required at times, they’re people who have homes, places they find comfort. They have friends. Some even have families. I worry one day they won’t go home to them. But that’s the choice they made when they agreed to work for me. Sheldon’s been through hell and back, Forest. You’d do well to remember that.”

7

VAIL

My sister had been putting on a brave face since what happened with Gil. The kids saw little when it took place. When everything awful started going down and I was upstairs with Gil, Oleander grabbed Carson, tucking him against his chest so he saw nothing, while Sheldon pulled Cat and Ivy free from the home. Cat tried to shield them the best she could before Oleander and Sheldon got to them. Even Carson’s earbuds couldn’t muffle the sounds of what went on. They were also tucked into a part of the house that didn’t see most of the carnage.

I’d visited my sister and the kids since then, sat with them while Cat stayed close, and Carson played like it was any other day. There was no way to tell what kind of trauma would unfold later. Carson had already talked with a therapist and so had Cat. While Carson hadn’t been back, Cat went weekly.

Cat put on a brave face for everyone around her. Dana confided in me that, at night, he held her through her nightmares. She woke with tears streaming down her face as shecried in his arms. She cried for me and what I’d experienced. For her kids and the threat they’d been under. And she cried for herself. She couldn’t unsee or not feel what she’d been through.

My sister. My brave, tough as nails, would give a person the shirt off her back, sister.

And Gil destroyed part of her.

She’d even brought the kids to my home a couple times to play with Tahoe and just hang out. As much as Dana wasn’t a fan of Jordan, Cat felt safe there. It was one of the few places she did. Greer even outfitted their house with a custom security system. But when you were dragged from your home like Cat was with her children, I wasn’t sure she’d ever feel secure there again.

Then Ava came into our lives. When I shared the news with Cat, I saw glimpses of who my sister was prior to that nightmare. She was ready to do whatever she could to help us with Ava. Cat had a huge heart, always did.

Ava wasn’t ready to meet new people yet. That was, until today.

After school, I met Ava and Julia downstairs where we got into an SUV with Oleander and drove to my sister’s house.

“Are you sure you’re ready to meet my family?” I asked Ava for the third time. I’d been trying to slow the introduction of others to her, not wanting to overwhelm her.

“I have to get out of the building and do something besides going to school,” she replied.

“You’ve seen your friends.”

“But they look at me with sad eyes, not the way they used to. I don’t want to be around that all the time.”

“Well, Cat won’t do that. She’s excited to meet you.” My sister said she wanted this to be a fun experience and notfocus on the bad, though if Ava wanted to talk, Cat would be there. She just wasn’t starting the conversation.

“You’re going to love her,” Oleander said from the driver’s seat. “She’ll feed you, make you comfortable, and really give you a warm welcome.”

I smiled. “Ollie would know. Cat would let him move in if he wanted to.”

“Your sister is one of my favorite people.”

“Now I can’t wait to meet her,” Julia said.

Ava was warming up to Julia. They were talking more with each passing day to and from school. Julia was kind and didn’t anger easily, even when Ava had preteen attitude, which was something I’d come to not enjoy so much.

God, was I really like that at her age? Was I worse? The preteen and teen years were rough, I remembered that. Lots of highs and lows, especially for me and what I dealt with regarding my family and me coming out to them.

But Ava… A switch would flip, and she’d go from perfectly sweet to giving us attitude. I was sure some of it was what she’d been through, but it was hard not to punish her when she spoke meanly toward us. I’d seen Jordan clench his jaw while Hartley put on a forced smile. Then again, Jordan clenched his jaw over most things. I’d tried talking to her, letting her know I was there. The response was a slammed door.

“There they are,” Oleander muttered, his eyes on the rearview mirror.

I turned to see another Lincoln Navigator behind us, exactly like the one we rode in. “Who’s in it?”

“If I had to guess, I’d say Shel and Vinny. I was surprised Jordan let you go with only Julia and me.”

Julia scoffed. She had no love for Jordan; however, sherespected him for wanting to protect Ava. That was something they could agree on.

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