Page 57 of Assassin's Heart
“We just needed to catch our breath, Mommy,” Remi said when he got close. “Right, little one?” He turned so I could see Brooke’s face.
I reached up to brush the hair back from her eyes. “Okay?”
“I’m scared, Mommy. But Remi says it’s okay to be scared.”
“It is.” She’d had so many scary things coming at her the past few days. I couldn’t ask her to be brave again. I leaned close so only Brooke and Remi could hear me. “Wanna hear a secret? I’m a little scared too. Being on an airplane is a brand-new thing, and brand-new things can be scary. But we’ll get through it together, okay?”
A lingering tear trailed down her cheek to wet Remi’s shoulder. My mommy instinct had me reaching up to wipe my baby’s nose for her. Brooke jerked back, just like every child in the history of parenthood has done.
“Mommy!”
I laughed, a little watery. “Okay?”
She gripped Remi tighter as if he could give her courage. “Okay.”
“Ready?” Remi asked.
“Ready.” We walked toward the stairs, and Remi took my hand. I glanced down at our entwined fingers and wondered how I would ever go back to doing things on my own, without this man at my side. Because with him there, I felt like we could conquer anything that came our way.
OceanofPDF.com
Chapter Twenty-Four
Remi —
Eli had booked us into a hotel off the beaten path on the Virginia side of DC. My brothers and I were waiting when Leah exited the bedroom into the living area of one of the suites we’d commandeered.
“She’s asleep?” I asked, noting the dark circles under Leah’s eyes, the strain she couldn’t hide. Brooke’s pain was taking a toll. Dealing with the rest of this bullshit while being the best damn mother I’d ever known was sure as hell hard to handle. My arms ached to gather her up just like I’d gathered Brooke into them at the airport, to become the guard standing between her and the rest of the world. Some things, though, Leah needed to do herself, and tonight was one of those things.
“Yeah.” She pushed the heavy fall of her hair back from her face. “Elliot sat with us while we read a book so Brooke could get used to her. She has a stepdaughter close to that age.” Her gaze darted to Abby where she stood talking to Levi. “I still want Abby with her in case she wakes.”
“She’ll take good care of her, Leah. You know she will.”
Frustration roughened her voice. “Of course she will. The point is, she’s not me. I should be with my daughter, but I’m stuck cleaning up Ross and Angelo’s fucking mess.”
I did take her in my arms then, because I couldn’t stand not to. Her smaller frame against mine made that protective instinct surge even stronger, and I curled myself around her, blocking out the rest of the world to give her a moment, however short, where it couldn’t crowd in and tear her in any more directions than it already had.
“I’m just tired,” she mumbled against my chest.
“So that’s no to sex when we get back, right?” I asked, hoping for a smile.
Instead she nipped my pec, drawing a totally embarrassing yelp from me.
“Definitely a no,” I confirmed, laughing.
“What the hell was that?” Eli asked behind me.
I groaned against the top of Leah’s head. “See what you started? You’ve made me look like a pussy in front of my brothers. I’m gonna have to get my revenge later.”
She raised her head, her gaze lighter, an almost smile on her lips. “I regret nothing.”
I wanted to make her smile forever. Unfortunately, if things went south tonight, I might end up killing her dad—and that wasn’t a metaphorical killing. She’d never smile at me again.
Levi had offered to do it earlier. He knew what it might cost me to take out a family member, what it might do to any relationship I hoped to have with Leah in the future. But this was my responsibility. If it came to that, I’d put him down easy. I was fucking praying like I’d never prayed before that Ross Windon, Sr had nothing to do with the Fiori family and Leah wouldn’t lose another man to this nightmare. She deserved that.
“We need to go.”
I acknowledged Levi’s statement with a nod. “Let me check in with the team; then we can head out.” Leaning down, I gave Leah a hard and fast kiss. “Go with Levi. I’ll be a minute.”
