Page 15 of Rex
Rex doesn’t need to be told twice. He leans down, pressing his lips to mine in such a sweet, chaste manner. He doesn’t push for more, which is probably for the best considering we are not only standing in the nursery with my daughter mere feet away, but we’re also in the house that Beau and Annmarie have beenrunning their criminal enterprise out of. I’d rather not be taking things further here, that’s for sure.
Rex pulls back, his eyes gleaming with happiness.
“As much as I want more, now probably isn’t the best time. We need to get you and Immy packed up. I’m going to fly the both of you back to my home with me while Anarchy and Phantom transport Beau and Annmarie. There’s some stuff that needs to be handled before they can be brought to the holding facility on my family property.”
Chapter Sixteen
Rex
Packing up doesn’t take Dre long at all, with him choosing to only take the necessary items that Immy would need for our journey to Devil’s Point. He doesn’t want to keep anything from this house of horrors, and I can’t fault him for that. I doubt anybody in his shoes would want to keep anything that would remind them of the hell they’ve had to live through over the past year. I think the fact that I reassured him that I’d get him everything he could possibly need once we got to Devil’s Point helped him make the choice to leave near enough everything behind. I could tell he was worried about not having everything he could possibly need but also struggling with taking anything from this place. It wasn’t hard to make the decision to tell him to leave anything that wasn’t essential. I’d do anything to help him, and I’m so fucking thankful he’s not too proud to accept the help I’m offering him freely.
I know we don’t need to worry about getting suitable furniture for Immy. I can pull the handmade furniture from when I was younger out of storage. My parents chose to save everything my brothers and I had as babies, just in case we wanted it for our own children in the future. I never imagined in a million years I’d ever have a need to pull mine out. I accepteda long time ago that I wouldn’t become a parent. Hell, I couldn’t even find a partner who wanted to stick around for more than a night or two. So I couldn’t see children in my future at all. I’m thankful for my parents’ decision to save everything now more than ever. Having the furniture on hand means that I don’t need to figure out a way to get new stuff into the house without anyone becoming any the wiser of what I’m doing or why. I don’t want the mole within The Khaos Group catching wind of anything. Yet. Not until I have a plan in place to deal with their traitorous ass.
When I get home I know that I need to have a serious conversation with my brothers. I’m going to have to tell them everything I discovered, and I know they’re going to be understandably pissed at first that I kept them in the dark, but hopefully once they calm down, they’ll understand why I did what I did. There was just too much going on at the time. Rescuing Dre was important, but so was everything else that was happening in their lives too. I made the best decision I could at the time. Maybe I should ask Dre if I can hold Immy when I tell them. There’s no chance they’d lose their minds with a baby present. Man, I can’t wait to see their reactions when I arrive with not only Dre but also Immy. It’s going to be comical.
This situation with the mole does need to be addressed as soon as possible. They need to be taken out of the fucking game. Not only because they pose a threat to all the good that The Khaos Group does on a daily basis but also because I won’t believe Dre and Immy are totally safe until they’re out of the picture. There’s no way after helping Beau and Annmarie escape justice all those years ago that they aren’t connected to them in some way. Betraying The Khaos Group isn’t something anyone would do lightly. Not when they have to know the repercussions they’d face if they were caught. Also, I won’t risk Anarchy and Phantom transporting Beau and Annmarie to The HoldingFacility on our property until they’re out of the picture. I’m not going to risk those fuckers getting away again. Sure, I could just go and end their worthless existence now, but I want to make sure I’ve got every ounce of information out of them before I do that. The more information I can get from them, the more criminals we can stop. For now, they’re being stashed away at one of The Khaos Reapers’ safe houses. The locations of which hardly anyone has access to. Outside of the Reapers, there is only one person who knows the safe house locations, and that’s my mother. She’s most definitely not the goddamn mole. That I know for sure. She’d rather die than betray The Khaos Group and all the work she’s spent her life doing. Stashing them away in one of those locations is the safest and best course of action we have right now.
Our journey has been a quiet one, with both Dre and Immy spending the majority of it dozing. I expected that to be the case with Immy; she’s still really young and spends a lot of time sleeping. Dre managed to stay awake until we were in my helicopter, and then it’s like life just drained out of him. I’m not overly worried about that; he’s been through the ringer and needs rest. Good, decent rest, not the shitty kind he’s had to have been getting for the entire time he was held against his will. There’s no way he got the type of rest he needed in the past year. I’ve spent enough time around people who have been held against their will to know that. All things considered, I’m surprised it’s taken him until now to really crash. He’s undergone so many changes in such a short amount of time. He hasn’t really had a second to just take a breath and accept the fact that he’s safe. That he isn’t a prisoner any longer. He’s been so focused on dealing with everything to do with Immy. Ensuring her safety has been his number one priority. Just like it should be. He really is made to be her parent. His protectiveinstincts where she’s concerned can’t be rivaled by anyone. It’s no wonder he’s exhausted.
He’s got to be stressing about his reunion with Wreck too. I know he’s missed his brother and can’t wait to see him, but their reunion also means he’s going to have to explain what happened. He’s going to have to reveal the hard truth about their parents. I don’t envy him at all. If I thought he’d let me, I’d tell Wreck everything myself, but I know this is something he feels he needs to do. It’s not going to be easy for him; I saw the way he struggled when he was telling Anarchy, Phantom, and me. When we were just strangers to him. Telling Wreck is a whole new beast.
Whatever happens with their reunion, I’ll be there for him. He has my support no matter what. I still can’t quite believe the way things have gone with us. That this extraordinary man wants to be with me. What the hell did I do to deserve someone like him? I don’t fucking know, but you won’t find me complaining. There’s just something about him that I can’t shake; it’s like he’s burrowed under my skin. I may have only pecked him on the lips, but I still felt that kiss in my very soul. Hell, I can still feel the lingering touch of his lips on mine all these hours later. Nobody has ever had an effect on me the way he does. I want this to work between us more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life. Deep down in my soul I know he’s it for me. Even knowing he’s now a parent and that he comes as a pair with Immy doesn’t deter me from wanting a relationship with him. If anything, it’s a bonus. That little girl is just as special as her Daddy. Hopefully, one day I’ll get to share the responsibility of being her parent. I couldn’t think of a better way for this all to go.
Who would have ever thought that when I agreed to look for Dre I’d find someone I could picture spending the rest of my life with? I can honestly say I never thought this would happen. I’d all but given up on the dream of finding someone to spend mylife with. Then Dre entered my world. He knocked me off my feet without even trying, by just being himself. I’m one lucky son of a bitch.
Chapter Seventeen
Dre
My nerves are at an all-time high, and I know they’re only going to get worse as time goes on. Right now, I’m about to meet Rex’s brothers for the first time, and I really want to make a good impression. I want them to like me. I need them to like me. I know this thing between Rex and me could never work out if his brothers don’t like me. They mean far too much to him for him to be in a relationship with someone who causes tension between them. Their opinions are going to mean more to him now than ever after the whole Megan debacle. I really need this meeting to go well. It will destroy something inside me if I have to give up what I’m starting with Rex. Even if everything does go well when meeting them, I know my nerves aren’t going to go anywhere anytime soon because my next step after this is seeing Wreck, and that’s going to be a minefield of epic proportions. He’s going to lose his shit when he finds out the truth about what really happened to me.
I can’t be thinking about reuniting with Wreck and what his reactions will be to everything I have to tell him; I need to focus on meeting the Knightlyes. First impressions have never been more important than they are right now. I’ve been so preoccupied with my thoughts, I haven’t even realized we’vearrived at Rex’s home. Not until he taps me on my shoulder to get my attention. The look he gives me as I turn to face him is filled with reassurance. It’s like he knows what I’m thinking and why. Maybe he does; he’s been pretty in tune with me so far. Why would it be any different now?
“Are you ready?” He asks as he moves his hand from my shoulder to grab my own and give it a quick squeeze.
“As I’ll ever be. I really hope they like me.”
“Of course they will. What’s not to like? You’re a fantastic person, Dre, and they’ll see it just as quickly as I did.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I know I am. Now come on. The quicker we get inside, the quicker you’ll stop stressing. I’ll grab Immy if you want to grab her bag.”
“Is there a reason you’re the one grabbing my daughter?” I ask curiously.
“There are two actually. There’s going to be someone inside who you know, and there’s no way he’s not going to want to hug the shit out of you. Also, I have to tell my brothers some stuff, and they’re going to be understandably pissed at me. If having hold of Immy means they won’t lose their heads, then I’m all for it.”
“It’s a good job that I like you so much, Rex Knightlye, or there’d be no chance in hell I’d let you use my daughter in such a way. Also, who’s going to be here?”
“Flash. He lives here with Jake and his younger brother Micah. He got guardianship over him recently.”
“Oh wow. I know there’s a story there; you can tell me all about it later. Come on, knowing there’s a familiar face inside makes this a little less daunting.”
“I thought it might.”
I hop out of the car, heading to the trunk to grab Immy’s bag with a lot more pep in my steps than I ever imagined I’d haveat this moment. Knowing there’s a familiar face inside goes a long way to ease my nerves about everything. By the time I’m shutting the trunk, Rex has Immy’s car seat unstrapped and in his hand. He’s standing there with a massive heartstopping smile on his face, just waiting patiently for me to head towards him before going into the house.
The moment I’m standing next to Rex, he reaches out for my hand with his that isn’t holding Immy. Hand in hand we walk towards his front door. He briefly lets go of my hand to type in a code on the panel next to the door, but the minute the code is accepted and a click sounds, he grabs hold of my hand once more.
