We stayed until the afternoon due to a combination of the return of my headache after post-coital bliss that had made me vomit, and getting Lucinda ready to go, along with Koen. With an entourage from the Ballard Pack and Laketon, we were escorted to the waiting chopper, Agent Daniels in tow.
So much had happened in the last thirty hours or so, and I was bone tired. A gentle squeeze of my hand had me glancing down at my niece. She was so bloody brave. Her excitement at going on a helicopter, her happiness over finally meeting me, and her relief at having Koen by her side warred with her grief. Soon after she shared a smile or a hint of joy, sadness quickly followed, flittering through her light brown eyes.
Wide-eyed, Lucinda peered up at me. “We are closing the door, right?”
A furrow between my brows appeared when I asked, “What do you mean?”
A quick flick of her eyes to the helicopter before returning to me gave me an inkling, and when she said, “In the movies, the doors are always open, and I might fall out. My feet and paws like the ground,” I struggled to hold back my laughter.
“I think it can be arranged to have doors closed.”
Relief had her grinning and calling out to Koen, “It’s okay. It won’t be like that movie where people fell out. We’ll be safe.”
Koen pursed his lips before nodding his approval. “That’s a relief, all right. You had me worried there.” A mischievous wink followed before he looked at me, straightening a little, his smile slipping.
I couldn’t quite figure the guy out. He was great with Lucinda, and while I’d dug a little deeper after my sexcapades with Thatch to discover more of Koen’s story, I needed to work out myself who he really was and what the hell I should do with him.
I turned a final time to Laketon. “Thank you again,” I said as I shook his hand once more.
“You’ll let us know if you need anything and when you’ve put the mongrels down, yeah?”
I bobbed my head and withdrew my hand. “I will.” My sister had made the right choice reaching out to her old friend, which had brought her to Laketon and his pack. While it hadn’t saved her, it had saved her daughter. It was also a reminder that all packs weren’t criminal pieces of crap.
“Let me take that.” Thatch swooped up the bag next to my feet, and I quirked my brow.
“Really?”
He shrugged. “I can be chivalrous if I want.”
I snorted. “I’ll remind you of that the next time I need to clean the bathroom.”
He rolled his eyes. “Since when have you cleaned the bathroom since living with me?” Amusement filled his voice. “I have a housekeeper.”
“Who I’ve still never met. I think you have a weird secret fetish that involves you—”
“What, cleaning the house at some crazy hour and secretly being able to cook?”
A smirk lifted my lips. “There have to be more things that you’re not great at beyond cooking.” For real, Thatch was the epitome of perfect. My eyes took on a will of their own as they lazily drifted over his mighty fine form. When I returned to his face, tension filled his features, but he couldn’t mask the hunger in his eyes.
Hell yes. I kinda loved that he reacted so easily and quickly to me. A guy could get used to that.
“Okay, you lot,” Laketon said, pulling our attention to him and the laughter in his voice. “It’s time to be getting the hell out of here and getting everything dealt with.”
Right, the mission. I nodded and led Lucinda to the waiting chopper. Within a few minutes, we were loaded and heading back to Sydney.
Without a doubt we were heading back to Lucas’s rather than the SCIB. At some point, we’d need to bring in Durrant, but we first had to figure out where the arsehole was.
As soon as we settled in Lucas’s safehouse-slash-warehouse, he led Lucinda and Koen away to the living quarters of the space, hooking them up with a TV and showing them where they could get food. There was also a small outside area with a basketball hoop, which would keep them entertained. I gave Lucas a grateful nod of thanks when he came back. “They okay?”
“Yeah,” he said as he retook his seat at the main console. “Movies and popcorn, and they’re golden.”
“Thank you.”
“All good. I’ll find a way for you to pay me back.”
Without a doubt he would too.
“So, you and boss man are playing daddies now?” Kent said, completely changing the subject while sporting a wry grin. “That didn’t take long to have your own ready-made family.”
She knew the situation, knew the reality and the whys, so rather than getting pissy at her jibe, I responded how I always did to her. With a middle finger and a “And I’ve already contacted Jada, who said you’ll be the first to volunteer for babysitting duties.”
When she froze and a look of horror crossed her face, I grinned.
“You better be joking.”
I tugged out my phone and threw together a quick text to Jada, whose number I’d managed to wrangle a couple of weeks ago just to piss Kent off. After I hit Send, I stared at the screen, seeing glorious dots appear and dance around a little. Jada’s message popped up. “Not anymore.” If I wasn’t careful, Kent would kick my arse, but it was totally worth it, especially when she appeared nauseous when I added, “Jada said, and I quote ‘of course, we’ll look after Lucinda. Anytime you want. Just let Kent know. I know she’d love to help out.’”
“You rangy bastard.” I had just enough
