“She’s staying here for a few days,” he said, ignoring the comment.
“She got trouble?” Grim asked, one brow raised.
Sebastian clapped him on the back on his way past. “I’ll fill you in at the meeting later.”
“Let me know if you need anything,” Grim said when I walked by.
I managed another wobbly smile and passed more people who gave me a myriad of chin nods, winks, and smiles. Not one of them looked like the limb-cutting type. Well, except the guy brooding in a corner, arms crossed, staring at me. He was the one who’d dragged me from my house and slammed the door on my head. He seemed to have had a close encounter with a wall. His nose was taped up, and he sported two black eyes and a cut lip.
Karma is a bitch.
I made a note to stay far away from him. Not that I would leave my room much. Not with so many people around.
Sebastian led us upstairs, and I marveled at the intricate metalwork of the stairs and railing. There were little motorbikes and vines on the railing, and the stairs had tire marks etched into them to give them more grip.
The view from the top was impressive. I could see all of the downstairs area, and since it wasn’t that high, I could also make out every detail from bald patches to tattoos. The rooms spanned around three sides of the vast warehouse, and I guessed there were enough of them to house almost everyone.
The railing on top gave me nightmares since the gaps were big enough for kids to slip through. Good thing I wasn’t planning on letting them out of my sight.
Sebastian stopped a few doors away from the stairs and swiped his watch across a pad. The door opened with a beep.
He pushed it all the way open and stepped back, motioning me in. Luca was still at his side, watching everything with big eyes. I walked inside and took in the spacious room. There was a king bed on the far side and a big four-seater couch to the right, facing a large TV.
There was a door to the left that was open, and I saw tiles and a sink, guessing it led to the bathroom. The room was clean. The only thing indicating that anyone lived there was the messy bed; there was nothing on the floor, the coffee table was clear, and there were no photos on the wall.
A second door led to a walk-in closet the size of my bathroom. One chest of drawers along the wall to the left made up the only other piece of furniture in the big space besides the bed.
“Is this a spare room?” I asked, wondering if I should ask for fresh sheets or a washing machine. I didn’t want to insult anyone, but I also didn’t want to sleep on sheets that held someone else’s DNA.
Sebastian studied me. “It’s my room. We’re at capacity at the moment, and it’s the only one available.”
The door snapped shut, blocking out all noise. We’d gone from music, laughter, and chatter to gaping silence. The room must have been soundproofed to drown out the noise like that.
Lena decided she’d had enough and pushed her chubby hands against my collarbone, determined to make her escape successful this time.
Since it felt safe to let her go inside the room, I did. She was delighted with her new surroundings, walking straight to the drawers and opening them, pulling out T-shirts.
I cringed and hoped Sebastian wasn’t particular about his clothes. This wouldn’t be the only time she’d be doing this while we were here.
“Sorry,” I mumbled and kneeled down next to her. “She’s made it her life goal to empty every drawer within her reach.”
Sebastian looked down at me with an intensity that caused my hands to shake and my eyes to widen. Was he really this mad at his clothes being disturbed?
“Don’t worry about it. She can empty whatever she likes in here,” he said, his words contradicting his expression.
Luca climbed up on the couch, and Sebastian turned the TV on. “What’s your favorite show?”
“Paw Patrol,” Luca exclaimed, hopping up and down.
Sebastian put the series on and left the remote on the coffee table. I figured by now he should know that Lena would go straight for it. Any resulting bite marks would be on him.
“I have to go,” Sebastian said, turning for the door. “The kitchen is downstairs, big red door, can’t miss it. Help yourself to whatever you need.”
He put a keycard on the coffee table. “This is for the door to the room. It’s yours while you’re here.”
He was gone before I could do more than mumble a “Thanks.” And why would I even thank him? I wasn’t here because I asked to be. I was here because he once again decided I needed to be semi-kidnapped.
My bags were sitting next to the bed, and I pulled out all the toys and books I’d packed. Looking around the empty space that was to be our home for the next few days, I regretted not packing more.
We hung out in the room for a total of forty minutes before the kids were trying to put holes in the walls and Lena had the meltdown to end all meltdowns.
“Okay, okay, let’s go find something to eat,” I said, thinking an early dinner might be the best idea at this stage.
I picked Lena up and took Luca’s hand. They were excited to get out of the room.
The trip down the stairs was slow since Luca was busy watching everything but his feet and tripped every second step. I had to half carry him down as well as holding Lena. The stairway wasn’t long—my only saving grace—and I released the breath I was holding once we made it to the bottom.
“Now where is the kitchen?” I said, looking around the room, searching for a red door.
I spotted it on the other end and took
