Page 36 of Let It Snow
I freeze, staring.
Lake gives me an apologetic smile.
"Sorry. I carry concealed, just in case someone from my past ever shows up to hurt me. It already happened once." He breaksoff, hesitates, then adds, "I had to use my gun that time. And since people from my past still have family, and you never know what someone might try, I decided this was the safer option. I know not everyone agrees, but in my situation it’s the lesser evil. If I hadn’t had a gun back then… my two sons could have been killed." He lets out a quiet breath, almost apologizing. "I’m sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, but my circumstances were so extreme there wasn’t any other way."
I don’t comment. It’s his decision. I don’t need a gun; no gun can hurt me if I don’t allow it.
Wait, where does that cockiness come from?
The thought is kind of intense. I almost forgot about my power, for a second feeling just… normal.
I shake it off quickly. Nah, not me.
Themiraclewill never materialize.
Lake and I step outside. He gets into his big navy SUV parked at the side of the driveway.
As I take the seat beside him, I notice Aiden and Snow standing on the porch, watching us.
Lake smirks, lifts a hand, and waves to Aiden.
"Snow probably wanted to come with us too, but he’s the quiet type." He laughs softly, with a trace of embarrassment. "The trouble is, if you don’t say out loud what you want, you don’t get it." He throws Snow a playful wink. Snow doesn’t react, just stands calmly and keeps watching us.
Lake starts the engine, and we pull out.
He gives me a brief glance, like he knows I want to ask something, but I stay quiet.
His voice is light as he says, "You know, when Snow was little, we thought he might be autistic. The doctors said it was unlikely, since TM kids are never diagnosed with autism. But Snow didn’t start talking until he was almost five. And when he did, the things he said were… unusual. We took him to a lotof specialists, and they concluded that he had extremely strong synesthesia. That means he experiences the world through senses that overlap with each other. Every color has a certain sound to him, just like a smell might have a color, or the other way around. A sound can have a taste, even shapes can taste in their own way. When he looks at the moon, he hears something like a soft gong. When he looks at grass, he hears the color green as a melody, and a melody can carry a scent. He also sees auras around people, their emotions coloring the energy around them. The doctors said the overwhelming number of stimuli he lived with was the reason for his quiet disposition. It was his way of dealing with sensory overload, shutting the world out, seeking isolation. Crowds used to give him headaches and even dizziness, which is why we homeschooled him. We wanted to spare him from overstimulation. Over the years his control improved. He learned to live with it and function normally. But still… he’s not very talkative. That has its upsides and… downsides." He gives a quick smirk. "But that’s not the whole truth about him. You may have heard that, among other things, he’s a bit like your brother Moon, clairvoyant. Some would even say he’s a seer.
Wow, so that’s Snow’s power?
He’s like my brother?
"Among other things"?
Interesting.
For some reason, I’m not entirely surprised. It’s like that knowledge was already sitting somewhere in the back of my mind.
But I don’t respond, feeling strangely stirred for a reason I can’t even pinpoint. I also have no idea why Lake went into this whole spiel about Snow in the first place.
It’s not like I gave any indication I was interested in hearing more about his oldest alpha son… or did I?
Lake starts talking a little about the area, the suburbs, and the small satellite towns scattered around. Their house is in one of those, about an hour and a half from downtown.
We drive maybe twenty minutes, and the whole time my thoughts keep circling back to…
Snow. Predictably.
Staring out the window at the trees and buildings sliding past, I feel weighed down by my situation, my damaged memory, my past, and… the money I somehow received.
Snow offered me nesting materials, a clear declaration of his interest. But what if this info about me being generously ‘compensated’ for my mafia sexual duties changes something for him?
It really may look like I was just a paid whore who decided to be the capo’s plaything for a sweet load of money.
What does Snow think of me now? Would he still consider me a romantic prospect?
Given this weird situation with multiple mafia bank transfers, I really should be careful, even though it’s hard. I just desperately want normal romantic interactions, to be a regular omega pursued by a cute alpha…
