Page 22 of Hartley

“That’s not stupid. Come on, I’ll help you look.”

Forest’s head lifted. “You will?”

“Do you think I’m heartless? Moms are special. Of course I’ll help you.” Sheldon leaned forward to press the button for the elevator, then focused on me. “I’ll meet with Arden when I’m done, if that’s okay.”

I nodded. “Take your time.” If Sheldon wouldn’t have been here, I would have helped Forest look.

Pretty soon, I was going to need a rocking chair and a warm blanket so I could invite my guards to my home for chats and snacks. Maybe I’d even have a dish of hard candies.

Just the thought of that happening made me want to throw the nonexistent candy dish against the fucking wall, hoping it would shatter, and then I’d burn the damn blanket with the kindling I’d make out of the chair.

10

HARTLEY

I did my best. I really did. But I couldn’t sit still any longer. Minutes were ticking by, and my brain wouldn’t shut off. When my mind was moving, my body wanted to as well, but I had two people in bed with me who needed their sleep. They didn’t have the same problem passing out that I did.

Vail was mostly worried about Tahoe. We didn’t want to take him with us on our trip, so Vail asked Barry if he could watch him. Barry was more than happy to do so. He loved Tahoe. Given that Barry lived in the building and had access everywhere, Tahoe wouldn’t be lonely and would also be in a familiar space. He was already down there with Barry tonight, so Vail didn’t have to worry about handing him off in the morning.

Jordan’s only genuine worry was Vail, Ava, and me. Everything else he didn’t seem to care much about. He had enough people in place to handle things in his absence. There were a bunch of his guards going with us on the trip. Jordan didn’t like unfamiliar territory. He sent Sheldon and Oleander down today on a commercial flight to check out the houseand the property, to make sure the hotel we’d booked was safe.

We could have booked a place closer to where I grew up but then we’d be staying in a motel, and I really couldn’t picture Jordan walking out into a parking lot in the morning and staring at cigarette butts on the ground and empty beer bottles. The neighborhood wasn’t bad, but that motel wasn’t the nicest either. At least the hotel would be cleaner, with hallways and a continental breakfast. Although, knowing Jordan, he’d send one of his men out in the morning to pick us up breakfast or insist on taking us somewhere to sit down and eat.

At least Vail knew what he was walking into with the town. It was a rural area where the schools weren’t huge, and the bus rides weren’t quick.

Jordan was a different story. He was used to the city life and being in control of where he rested his head at night. Being in unfamiliar surroundings would surely put him on alert. In the morning, I was certain he was going to have guns locked up in his luggage. I doubted he could just carry them onto the jet, even though he owned it. Then again, I didn’t know shit about flying like we were tomorrow. I had to remember this was Jordan Altair Sr. He did whatever the fuck he wanted.

We’d spent the night packing for our trip tomorrow. No, we weren’t going for long, but I was a contingency packer. I packed in case something happened. Like ruined clothes or what if one of us didn’t feel well and needed something for an upset stomach? What if someone cut their finger and needed a bandage? What about bug bites? On and on the list went of things I packed. Hopefully, we wouldn’t need any of it. If we did, I’d have it.

Fortunately, we didn’t have to worry about our luggage getting lost. I still couldn’t believe he had a private jet. Not only that, but we were going to fly on it. I was like a celebrity; except I was a mafia boss’s partner. Whatever, same difference. Maybe I was more excited about flying on his jet than I was about the trip.

That was the other thing… The trip. We were going down there to check on my grandfather’s house. Or should I say my house? I had no idea what the condition of it was with no one to look after it. Jordan suggested contacting a local company that specialized in property management. This way, I could have another person take care of it. But the house was a mess. I was going to pay someone to look after a run-down house that had more issues than it was worth?

I couldn’t bear to think about tearing it down though. The bones in it were good. They held memories for Forest and me. Good and bad, but the good far outweighed the other. It was our home for years. To think of getting rid of it didn’t sit well with me.

Sighing, I lifted my leg out from under the sheet. Thankfully, I was on the side tonight with Jordan in the middle and Vail beside him. Then I rolled onto my side and faced away from my men. My phone was begging me to pick it up off the nightstand to scroll to occupy my time. I could also use my tablet.

This was ridiculous. I just wanted to sleep. Even if it was for a few hours, it was better than nothing. So, I closed my eyes and tried to will my mind to calm down and let me drift off. That didn’t work. Then I tried counting sheep. That was pointless. What if I counted backward from a hundred? Or was that only when you were being knocked out for surgery? Meh, I’d try anything at this point.

One hundred, ninety-nine, ninety-eight, ninety-seven, ninety-six, ninety-five, ninety-four… sheep walking inside my brain, grazing on grass, being noisy as fuck while they chewed. Oh look, there was a border collie running around, trying to herd them.

Jesus.

I rolled onto my back again. My eyes were wide open, focused on the darkened room. There was no sound in the house outside of the air rushing through the ducts now and then.

Okay, enough of this. There was no point in me lying in bed any longer. I could tiptoe out of the room and go downstairs to watch TV. At least then I could make noise and not have to worry about waking up Vail or Jordan.

Except when I slid my lower half out of the bed first, Jordan’s arm snaked around my waist, and he pulled me toward him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he rumbled against my hair.

“Go back to sleep,” I whispered. “I’m going downstairs.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I can’t sleep. There’s no point in keeping you up.”

Instead of answering, Jordan’s hand slid down the front of my body until it got to my waist where my boxer briefs were. No more sleeping naked with Ava in the house. If god forbid we had to get up in the middle of the night suddenly, we didn’t need her seeing far more than she should.

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