I just stared at them, and Nate turned away and stalked towards the couch before sitting down and folding his arms over his chest.
Myra leaned back in her chair, crossed her legs, and looked like a prim and proper little princess.
Jesus Christ, I didn’t have enough brainpower to deal with all of this.
“Back to Adam,” Cross said, his voice low. “Hazel isn’t going to keep Joshua away for long, regardless of the cute kittens. Let’s make a plan. Because you’re one of us, Dakota. We’re not letting you get hurt.”
“Damn straight”, I growled.
Dakota reached out and squeezed my hand, and I wanted to hold on, bask in the warmth, but I didn’t.
“The detective said there’s nothing he can do. Just like he always says.”
“I hate that asshole,” I growled.
“Well, so do I. And yet right now, we can’t do anything but stay vigilant. The detective said he’d send somebody to talk to Adam, but for now, all we have is hearsay. And a note they may or may not be able to trace to him. I’m not a high priority. My son isn’t either.”
“You’re a fucking high priority to me. Both of you,” I added without thinking.
Again, I noticed the glances, but I ignored them.
Myra cleared her throat. “I’m in between projects right now. I can take over most of Nancy’s and Constance’s duties. Do we think Constance should be alone during this time when she’s with Joshua?”
“And you think you should be alone with him?” Nate asked.
“I think I have trained in self-defense long enough that I can handle myself.”
“And I think nobody should be alone when this guy’s out there.”
Nate and Myra kept going at it, and finally, I stood up between them as Dakota had earlier.
“If you guys can’t handle being in the same room together, you need to go.”
“As much as I appreciate all of you,” Dakota began, “fighting with each other isn’t helping anything. This is my problem. I can handle it.”
I whirled on her. “No, you don’t get to back away because they’re arguing.”
“Joshua is my son. Adam is my mistake. I’ll figure it out.”
“Fuck, no. You’re one of us now. We’ll figure this out together.”
“Just like you went off to fight with other people? No, you did that alone. You might’ve walked away, but you’re the one who risked your life. You don’t get to yell at me if I’m not living up to your standards.”
I wanted to growl, but instead, I ran my hands through my hair and started to pace.
“Dakota, a lot of things have happened all at once. And now we’re here to make sure that Joshua and you are safe. If that means Nate and Myra have to be alone in a fucking room and not fight while watching your son, that’s what’s going to happen.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Nate said snidely.
I glared at him. “You think you can handle that? You think you two can stop sniping at each other and deal with whatever the fuck is going on between you two long enough to keep Joshua safe?”
“Of course, we can.” Myra sounded angrier than I’ve ever heard her before. “Besides, nothing is going on between Nate and me, despite what all of you guys want to romanticize. However, again, I don’t need Nate there.”
“You damn well do,” Nate shouted.
I rubbed my temples, and Dakota fisted her hands at her sides.
She had gone pale, and I cursed.
“Stop yelling. This isn’t helping anyone,” I said.
“Listen, this is what we’re going to do,” Paris added, pushing me down to sit next to Dakota on the loveseat. I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her close. She just stiffened in my hold a little but didn’t pull away. I counted that as a win. “Myra is going to help Constance, and when Myra is alone without her, then Nate will step in. Both of you work from home. Though I know you can’t bring your whole studio with you, Myra. But you said you’re between projects. So, until we can formulate another plan, this is what we’re going to do. Dakota, I know you hate this, but we are your family. We are your touchstones. We’re going to help. And when you’re at work, you’re not alone. However, if Jason or Pop can’t be with you, then one of us will be.”
“And you’re not staying alone in your house either,” I growled.
“Excuse me?” Dakota asked.
“I’m very comfortable on your floor or your couch. Until we get a bead on Adam, consider me your roommate.”
“Oh, fuck no,” Dakota growled.
“Actually, that might be a good idea,” Cross said. “And not just Macon. If Adam is watching your house and knows that there are people constantly in and out, maybe he’ll get it out of his head to come near you. Same with your shop. We all work around there, we can come in more often. You’re not alone, Dakota.”
“I hate this.” She rubbed her face. I just held her closer and kissed the top of her head.
“I know. But we’re going to fix it. And it’s not going to be forever.”
“But how long will it be?” she asked.
I didn’t have an answer for that. For now, we would work together, be on high alert, and try to figure out what Adam wanted. But until then, we had to stay strong and do what we could. And that meant keeping Dakota and Joshua safe.
Even if she hated it, and even if it hurt my chances for anything more with her.
Chapter 13
Dakota
There were times in my life where I wondered how I’d ended up in that particular place. Those moments tended to flash through my memory whenever I stood at another crossroads, trying to discover answers to all my many questions.
Like when I ended up pregnant, far too young, and tried to find my way.
When I held Joshua for the first time and wondered how I would do it on my own,
