Page 26 of All Twisted Up
“That’s okay, Joshua. We still have him.” He started walking away. “And he’s gonna fall in love with us so he won’t want to go back home.”
I ignored the pain in my heart and took Meggie’s hand, smiling down at the little imp. “What kind of food do you think the puppy will like?”
Two hours later, I stood at the sliding glass door to the backyard watching Meggie and Pete playing with the puppy. Watching them laugh and play without a care about what was happening in the real world made me fiercely protective of them. I wanted them to remain kids as long as they could, wipe theirtears, bandage scraped knees, and protect them from monsters under the bed.
When the doorbell rang around five-thirty, I headed for the living room, the squeaky, wooden floors making it hard to pretend I wasn’t home. When I spied someone dressed in an FBI T-shirt through the peephole, I frowned and opened the door. The guy who’d pulled Billy and me out of the building stood there, looking like my doorstep was the last place he wanted to be.
“Mr. Calder, I’m here to get your statement about today’s incident and I have something to return to you,” he said, holding up a plastic bag with my wallet inside.
“Oh, shit! You found it!” When we’d been at the grocery store, I’d noticed it missing and just figured I’d forgotten it at home. “Where was it?”
“Can I come in?”
“Yes, of course, please come in, Agent—?”
“Nash Hampstead,” he said, smiling as he held out a hand. I shook it and then stepped aside as he walked into the house. I got a good look at him for the first time without the goggles and helmet he’d been wearing this morning. He was at least four inches taller than me with a handsome face, brown stubble covering lean cheeks, quite a bit lighter than his dark hair. He had striking eyes, some sort of cross between brown and green, and long eyelashes, the kind of face songwriters wrote about.
“Have a seat,” I said, waving at the couch.
“Who’s at the door, Joshua?” Barbie asked, walking into the living room. “Oh, hi,” she said, looking our guest up and down, pausing when she got to the FBI logo on his black tee.
“Hi there.” He smiled warmly at my sister. The expression made him look kind and approachable, not at all like the jerk he’d been this morning when he’d mocked me for pulling out the pocketknife my grandfather had given me.
“This is my sister, Barbie,” I said.
“Nash Hampstead. Nice to meet you.” He held out his hand.
She smiled, shaking his hand before turning to me. “You didn’t tell me your rescuer was so handsome, Joshua.”
And just like that, I wanted to dig a hole and crawl inside. I nearly groaned. “Barbie—”
The guy smiled even wider, and when he turned to me, I could see sparks of gold fire in his laughing eyes.Shit. My mouth went dry. “My sister was just about to offer Agent Hampstead some iced tea,” I said, glaring at Barbie.
She smirked. “I was just about to offer you some iced tea, unless you’d like something else,” she repeated.
“Iced tea would be great. Thank you.” He turned to me as she left the room. “Nice girl. How old is she?”
I frowned a little, caught off guard. “She’s seventeen, Agent Hampstead.”
He nodded. “Like I said, she seems like a nice girl.” He looked down at the bag in his hand before pulling out the wallet and handing it to me. “Here you go. You left it at the cartel’s apartment.”
I shook my head, looking down at it. “I had no idea. I hadn’t noticed it missing until I was at the grocery store with the kids. Thank goodness I had my phone and could use Apple Pay.” I eyed him. “Thank you for bringing it to me but you really didn’t have to do that. I could have come down to the station.”
“I work at the Federal Building in West L.A., not a police station, so it would have been a trek for you. In any case, I need to get your statement about the incident. If you recall, Captain Sorensen told you someone would be following up with you today.” He looked around, frowning as if thinking about something. “If it wasn’t so urgent, I’d say we could do this at another time when your kids aren’t around. I understand you probably don’t want to talk about what happened in front of them.”
I shook my head. “I wouldn’t want them to hear, and just to be clear, they’re not my kids. Pete is my five-year-old brother and Meghan is my six-year-old sister. I’m not married.” For some inexplicable reason, I wanted this man to be clear on that.
He nodded. “I see.” He paused as Barbie came back with his iced tea and a sugar bowl. He smiled as she handed it to him and set a coaster on the table.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Barbie looked at me and hooked a thumb in the direction of the hallway. “The kids are playing with the puppy, and I have homework which I’ll be doing in my room so you two can talk alone, Joshua. Nice to meet you, Agent Hampstead.”
“You, too.”
I made a face at her as she shot me a grin before leaving the room. He turned around, cocking his head. “Sorry, you were saying you take care of your younger siblings? I’m sorry but I have to ask—”
“Where our parents are?” I finished for him, feeling my heart squeezing a little. When he nodded, I sighed. “It’s kind of a long story.”
