Page 80 of Breakaway

“I believe so. They used the initials P.R.”

“Hmm. Could we use the email to our advantage somehow?”

I shook my head. “She was cautious never to say anything incriminating. They just wanted to rile me up and lay down their threats. They’re clearly scared, though.”

“I’d begun to worry that it hadn’t made a big enough splash. It’s been a week, and there’s been no response from Dakota.”

“Knowing him, he’s ignoring it to avoid confronting it.”

Henley bit her lip as she thought. “You’re right. Maybe I should contact Saint Bishop and see if he can give the documentary some air time. Then he wouldn’t be able to ignore it.” She yawned, and I kissed her lips.

“Go back to sleep, baby. We can figure out world domination in the morning.”

“Okay. If you say so, Pinky.”

Chuckling, I pulled her closer and listened to her fall asleep. The soft sounds of her snores were soothing. It took me longer to fall under; thoughts of how I could keep my family safe and remove us from the Society plagued me until earlier in the morning.

Who needs sleep anyway? Apparently not me.

* * *

I awoke sometime later when the sun was shining through the window, my mouth dry, and my eyes so stuck together that it took a few swipes to get them to open. My body felt more rested than it should; the need to want to fall right back asleep wasn’t immediately present. In fact, it hadn’t been an alarm that woke me at all.

Sitting up, a piece of paper rustled on my chest, and it fell to the bed. Picking it up, I smiled as I read the note.

Listen up, Daddy Fletch.

This is a direct order from Momma Bear Henley. It’s been decided that you’re taking a sick day.

Yes, I turned off your alarm.

Yes, I’ve hidden your phone.

And no, you’re not allowed to come anywhere near the barn today.

If you do, the team has been promised the opportunity to chase you around the parking lot with water guns. It’s cold out there, so I wouldn’t risk hypothermia if I were you.

Love,

Your fam.

After Emila died, life had felt pretty hopeless. Coming to Lux had been an escape from everything. I focused on coaching and pretended like that part of my life didn’t exist. I slowly found my way back to myself but hadn’t been optimistic that there was anything more than what I had here for me.

Henley changed all of that.

Not only did I fall in love, but I gained two brothers. And while Reese wasn’t Henley’s child, I felt protective over them. My life had become full and dynamic, with more layers to it than I’d ever imagined. I’d assumed I would work here until I couldn’t and then figure out my next steps… alone. But now, my future felt more open than ever. I didn’t know what next year would look like, but no matter what, I’d be with these people who cared about me, which was good enough for me.

Getting out of bed, I took my time showering and preparing something for dinner to cook later. Once I had it ready to go in the oven, I grabbed the smoothie Dax had left and let myself open my laptop back up. Since I wasn’t going into the barn, I could spend some time on Hat Trick business and hopefully have the evening off.

An email at the top of my inbox caught my eye, and I clicked on it, snorting when I read the reply.

Mr. Cromwell,

We’ll see. I can be persuasive.

P.R. Arbitrator

It read too much like an evil villain in a comic book that it held no power over me. Even if she held a gun to my head, I’d never do anything that jeopardized the people I loved. Selfish people never understood that. I didn’t feel the need to respond and moved on to my other emails, finding it easier to work when I wasn’t exhausted.

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