Page 43 of Mine to Keep
“Does it scare you? Something new?” Talon asks, reaching around to shut the water off.
“No. My life…I don’t question anything because…” I pause, wondering if I should say the rest.
I could tell them. I could bare my fucking soul and hope they don’t freak out.
Yeah, right. The first thing they’ll do is run from me. Then they’d call the cops and make sure I spent the rest of my life locked under the jail.
Away from them.
Instead of saying what I really want, I say, “I could die any day.”
“Because of your security job?” I nod. “To protect your clients and stuff?” Talon asks.
“Yeah.” We dry off and get dressed. I drag them to the balcony and we rest outside, the gray day not bothering any of us. Talon plants himself on my lap, making Javier chuckle. “Comfortable, little one?” I ask.
“Very.” Talon kisses me noisily. “This is the best vacation ever. Thank you, Daddy.”
“Even with Cole?” I ask, wanting to see where his head is at.
He shakes his head. “Nah. That fucked me up. Will probably fuck me up for a while. Cheating fucking sucks and I don’t like being lied to. But I’ll be fine. I have Javier.” He squeezes his hand. “And now I have a Daddy.”
My stomach swoops at his words, but I don’t comment on them either way. If I don’t tell them who I am, is that lying?
“California, huh?” Talon asks, tipping his head back with his eyes closed. It takes me a minute to realize what he’s talking about, it’s so out of left field. “Tell us about it. Where’d you lived? Oh! Did you meet any rappers?”
“No rappers,” I say with a chuckle. “All of California isn’t like you see in the movies. I lived in a smaller town in NorCal. In a foster home.”
Both boys exchange a look before Talon tucks himself closer to me. “I’m sorry. That must have been hard.”
I shrug. “Made me who I am.”
“Did you get adopted?” Javier asks.
“Nah. Aged out. When I went into foster care, I was nine. Not many kids get adopted at that age. Add to that I’m Black, and the odds went way down. But the group home I was in was clean and the staff was nice. We were treated well. None of the horror stories you usually hear. And I met my sister.”
“Sister?” Talon turns to look at me. “What’s her name?”
“Patience,” I whisper. My heart aches thinking about her. I miss her more than words could ever say. But I avenged her. It’s because of her I work for The Void. I made sure?—
No. Not going there. If I tell them about her, I’ll tell them everything, and I’m not ready for that yet. I’m not ready to see the fear in their eyes when they leave me.
Instead, I smile at Talon, though I’m sure it’s shaky at best. “You said you had two sisters, right, little one?”
He nods. “Yeah. Malina and Sierra. I’m the youngest of the family and I’m treated like it.” I smile softly. “But they’re great. They teased me so bad when I was a kid, but that’s what family does. I know it was all love.”
“Your family is close?” I ask.
“Extremely. My parents have been married for, like, thirty-five years. My sisters are both married. I have a bunch of nieces and nephews running around.”
“What about you, Javier?”
“Two brothers, two sisters. I’m right smack in the middle,” he says. “An older brother and older sister, a younger brother and younger sister. I think we all teased each other at some point. My older siblings have their own hotels, courtesy of Dad, and my younger siblings are still in school. No nieces or nephews yet.”
“You want kids?” I ask Talon then kiss him gently on the neck.
Javier laughs and Talon throws him a glare. “I do not like kids. I like my nieces and nephews, but in small doses.”
“Yeah, for like an hour,” Javier says. “He called me over one day when Malina asked him to watch his two nieces. You would have thought the girls were bouncing off the walls. They were angels.”
