Page 33 of All Twisted Up
“You can tell her that bad people came to the house because that shootout is more than likely going to be in the news by tomorrow,” Nash said, frowning as he kept his answer honest.“But please don’t give her any details about who they were or what they did, okay?”
Barbie swiped away tears with the back of her hand as she nodded. “I understand.”
“I’m sorry, Barbie.”
“Why can’t you stay with us, Joshua?” Pete asked, hugging the sleeping puppy to himself.
“Listen, buddy. Like I said, it’s much safer for you this way.” It was hard to keep the sob out of my words as my throat closed. “I have responsibilities at work.” I looked over at Nash. “I can go to work, right?”
He looked thoughtful. “The FBI is doing a threat assessment on that in the morning. If your safety can be secured there, then it’s a possibility, but we should talk about all of that later.” He nodded in the direction of the kids.
I knew what he meant. He didn’t want to frighten Barbie and the kids. I swallowed and looked back at Pete, holding the puppy like a security blanket. “I need you guys to be very brave while we’re apart. I’ll talk to you every night and you can tell me all about your day, okay? And I need you kids to take good care of Garbanzo.” I reached over and smoothed a hand down the puppy’s black and white body. “I’m sure the FBI will bring you dog food and toys so you can play with him.” I laid my cheek on Meggie’s head, turning to stare at Nash. “Right?”
He smiled. “Of course.”
“I guess this is going to happen tomorrow?” Barbie asked.
“First thing in the morning,” Nash replied. “People from the Marshals office will be here to take you three to a new place.”
“Can I call Twilla tonight?”
I watched as Nash nodded. “You can call her from my phone but please don’t tell her what hotel you’re staying in.”
She visibly perked up, smiling for the first time all evening. “Cross my heart.”
He pulled out his phone and handed it to her. “Okay, go ahead and make your call.”
“I’ll put the kids to bed,” I said, setting Meggie down as I stood. The second I did, she grabbed Nash, hugging him hard around the waist as she looked up at him.
“Please take care of my brother.”
I choked back tears as Nash bent and picked her up. She wrapped all four limbs around him as he raised her to eye level. “I promise to do my very best, Meggie.”
To my surprise, she lay her head on his shoulder. “You promise, Nash?” I watched him visibly swallow as he rubbed her back. When he glanced over at me, I knew he could see the tears in my eyes. I felt like my heart was going to break.
“I promise, sweetheart,” he said softly. “I’ll keep him safe.” He stared at me over her shoulder with a confident expression.
I could tell what a special person he was. Though he’d only met them this afternoon, his fiercely protective desire to keep our small family out of harm’s way was overwhelming. He was just the kind of man who would put himself between dangerous criminals and our family without a thought to his own safety. I pushed those frightening images away the moment they came to me.
When he put Meggie down, I took her little hand and led both kids into the bedroom. I put them both down to sleep in the huge king-sized bed and sat on the side waiting for Barbie to finish her call while petting Garbanzo.
I watched the kids as they drifted off to sleep, wondering how on earth I was going to survive without them. Though I’d lived with the fear of CPS swooping back in and taking them away from me for years, I knew this forced separation was the right thing to do. It didn’t make my heart hurt any less, though. When Barbie finally came into the bedroom twenty minutes later, both kids were asleep. She shut the door quietly and padded across the room.
“You’d better take the dog out unless you want a mess on the floor in the morning,” she whispered. “Nash can do it, right?”
I felt my heart do a little flip-flop. She trusted Nash and that was a good thing. I nodded as I stood. “Yeah. I’ll ask him.” I stared at her heart-shaped face for a few seconds before pulling her into a tight hug. “I love you, honey. We’ll be back together soon.”
She nodded against me. “It has to be done, right, big brother?”
“Yeah and for what it’s worth, I’m so sorry, babe.”
“I understand.”
“Do you feel better now that you’ve talked to Twilla?” She pulled out of my arms and smiled at me.
“Yeah. She understands and says that even though I can’t tell her what happened or why we’re going away, we’re still going to talk and chat online all the time.”
I smiled. “Good.”
