Page 14 of Unfulfilled Promises
That was the only thing that made any sense. The last thing I remembered was walking out of the nursery to speak with Devlin and Seth. DJ was giving Seth dating advice, and when we walked out into the hallway, Devlin said something, but as hard as I tried, it wasn’t coming back.
Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I watched the big, strong men step back as I went to stand. My balance was a little wobbly, and more than one of them tried to reach out to hold onto me, but I took Seth’s hand to steady myself instead. He smiled at me as he placed his other hand onto my lower back, ensuring I was firmly on my feet before he released his hold on me.
Looking at James, who looked like he was about to jump out of his skin, I reassured him. “I’m fine, James. I’ll grab something to eat and be back to new.” Stepping closer to him, I added, “I promise.”
He looked deeply into my eyes as Rhys stepped beside me, and after what seemed like forever, he gave me a nod and replied, “No more workouts without eating.”
“Fine,dad,” I muttered, earning a chuckle from the group as they allowed me to walk past them.
I didn’t need to turn around to know I had a group of men following me, and when I went into the kitchen, I heard Devlin say, “Why don’t you stay with her, Seth, while we finish up our meeting?”
“Done,” Seth said as he turned and followed me into the kitchen. His eyes were plastered to me as he followed a few steps behind me.
The rest of the group started to walk down the other hallway toward the war room, when I saw Rhys pause and give us a look before he pinched his lips and silently walked away. I knew he wanted to say something, but I wasn’t in the mood for threats, lectures, or lessons. I needed to remember what we were talking about because the back of my brain was screaming it was important.
Just as I went to grab a glass for some juice, Seth stepped up behind me and reached into the cabinet for me. I turned to watch him go to the fridge, and he lifted his eyebrows, silently asking me what I wanted.
“OJ, please,” I said, and he nodded before pouring the glass of juice.
He watched as I took a large swallow, and his attention was nice. I still wasn’t going out with him, but seeing he was intently watching me to make sure I was okay gave me the warm and fuzzies in my stomach.
“Would you like to get some fresh air? It’s not too chilly outside,” Seth remarked, and I nodded.
I went to walk out of the kitchen, but he reached out and took my hand into his. I saw him exhale deeply as he linked his fingers with mine and guided us outside. The patio away from the house seemed to be his destination, and I wordlessly followed. When we got to the patio, he pulled a chair out from the table and made sure I was pushed in before he took the seat next to me.
Taking my hand back into his, I waited for him to say something, and when he did, I felt the vomit rise in my throat.
“Who called you ‘mouse’?”
Chapter 8
Seth
Watching her pass out and barely being able to catch her before she hit the ground was startling, but hearing the words push out of her mouth as she lost consciousness pissed me off. Not at her, but at whoever called her that. I almost didn’t hear what she said over the beating of my heart.
“My name’s not mouse.”
I didn’t want to scare DJ or the other kids, who I thought might belong to Rhys’s security, so I carefully picked her up and carried her to her bedroom before I alerted anyone to what happened. I was sitting on the edge of her bed, waiting for her to wake up, when James, Rhys, and Devlin ran into the room.
James asked, “What did you do to her?” We were about to get into an argument over his unstated accusation when Regan woke up, stalling the anger as we shifted our focus to her.
I knew she was lying about working out too hard, but I wasn’t going to call her out in front of everyone. My gut was saying the journal and her uttered words were connected, but I needed her to verify that fact. If she was in fact the mouse that Kelly spoke of in the journal, then there was so much more to unpack.
We needed to be as far away from the house as possible before I asked her what she meant. Rhys had high-tech microphones and cameras everywhere on the property, but I knew this area to be less monitored.
I didn’t want to rip the scab off any old wounds for Regan, but if she knew more than she was saying, I needed to get her to talk.
“Who called you ‘mouse’?” I asked, watching her intently to see how she would react to the name.
Her eyes drew in and she gave me a confused look before she replied, “No one’s ever called me ‘mouse’. At least, not that I can remember.”
Reaching over, I took both her hands into mine as I pulled my chair closer to her. “Regan, darlin’, right before you passed out, you said your name’s not mouse.” Pausing, I pushed further. “I need you to trust me enough to tell me who called you that.”
“I said that?” she asked, and I nodded as she grew more confused.
“Will you let me ask you some questions to see if it helps you remember?” I inquired, and she shrugged.
“I won’t answer anything personal, but you can try,” she returned, and I feared she was putting up a wall.
