Page 47 of At First Flight
“That about sums it up.”
My heart races as I sit and dip my forehead to the edge of the desk, trying to calm my erratic heart.
“But what about the current wife? She’s still around.”
“From the evidence I found, she’s already on an extended vacation a.k.a. missing and has been since Lila ran off. The Hoolihans have quite a mess on their hands if this gets to the right kind of people. I’ve given all the evidence I’ve found over to the police, but you know how slow these things can take.
“Sorry for the bad news, my friend, but at least she’s there with you. Prescott was seen leaving a club over the weekend, but if I see he’s on the move, I’ll give you a heads-up.”
“Thanks, Mike.”
I hang up the phone and toss it onto the desk, the weight of Mike’s words anchoring deep in my chest. Prescott is still out there, still breathing the same air as Lila. And now that I know the lengths that bastard and his family went to in order to control her… hell, I can’t sit still.
My fingers curl around the edge of the desk, knuckles going white as I stare out the round window that overlooks the backyard. The early light spills over the grass, golden and peaceful, but the tension in my body doesn’t ease. If anything, it tightens, every muscle coiled with the need to do something. Anything.
She’s inside right now with the kids, probably chasing Oliver with the toothbrush or convincing Evelyn that her stuffy is magic. And she doesn’t know. Just one more weight added to her already heavy load.
Not anymore.
Not while she’s under my roof. Not while I’m breathing.
I don’t know what it is about her, this woman who walked into my life like a storm I didn’t see coming, but I know with certainty that she’s it. She’s the one. The person who showed up just as everything else was falling apart and made it all feel steady again.
And I’ll be damned if I let anything, or anyone, hurt her now.
She may not be mine in the way I want yet, but that doesn’t matter. I’ll protect her like she is. Like she’s already everything.
Lila deserves more than just safety. She deserves a world where she doesn’t have to look over her shoulder. Where she can laugh freely, sleep deeply, and love boldly. And I’ll fight tooth and nail to give her that. I’ll stand between her and every shadow that tries to creep in.
I rise from the chair, my jaw locked and mind already turning over the next moves. Extra cameras. A new security system. Whatever it takes. Because now that I know the truth, Iwon’t stop. Not until Lila’s safe. Not until she knows she’s never alone again. Not as long as I’m here.
What a fucking mess.
A quiet rapt sounds on the door just before Lila peeks her head around the corner.
“Hey, everything okay?” she asks, but before I can answer, a tiny little nymph comes dashing into the room wearing her princess pajamas and crawls into my lap. Her damp hair falls into soft ringlets down her back. “Sorry. I came to tell you that they’re ready for bed.”
When I glance down at my niece, her big brown eyes stare up at me with all their innocence. My mind immediately flashes to a glimpse of her mother when she was young.
“You want Uncle Dean to tuck you into bed tonight?” Over the past few days, the kids have transitioned from Lila doing their bedtime routine to them asking for me. Lila says it’s normal for them to want the reassurance that I’m still there after her newness has worn off.
She silently nods, little droplets of water from her hair dripping onto her arms, making her giggle. God, it’s the best sound in the world.
“Alright then.” I pull her into my arms as I stand. Though the conversation with the PI is fresh in my mind, I give my niece and nephew my undivided attention as I read through three bedtime stories.
After kissing them, and their stuffies, good night, I wait in the hall for Lila to say her own good nights to them.
The door to Oliver’s room opens, and Lila steps out, slowly closing it behind her. As I’m about to speak, she holds afinger to her mouth and gestures for me to move farther down the hall, closer to her bedroom.
“You’re so good with them,” she says immediately, and my chest expands at her praise.
“It’s…uh…easy being the uncle.”
“You’re more than that to them, Dean, and you know it.”
I shrug, uncomfortable with the notion that I’m taking their mother’s space. Lila lets me ruminate for a moment on her statement. Her eyes dart around the hallway where she hung a few pictures she found at the antique store in town.
“Um…I meant to double-check that everything was okay with that call. You seemed a bit worried.”
