“That you what?”
“I don’t know. What do you see when you look at me?”
She stared at him and thought about what to say. How often did he sacrifice his needs for everyone else?
“I see a man who’d protect the world if he could. But since he can’t, he looks over those closest to him without complaint or fanfare. He doesn’t want thanks, he just wants us safe and happy. I see a man who loves fiercely and fully. Who’s fair and kind and strong. I see a man who is always there no matter what. The shoulder for me to cry on. The strength to lift me up. And the courage to keep me going.”
He stared at her, looking shocked. “You can’t really see all that.”
“I do. You’re the glue, Caleb.”
He shook his head. “I’ve been a temporary fix. Holding them together until we found our heart again. The person that makes us complete. You know what I thought when we found you in that alleyway?”
“Damn she looks like shit?” she guessed.
“No. That came next.”
She wrinkled her nose at him.
“I thought, ‘there she is. There’s my girl. And I’m never letting her go. Never again.’”
“Really?” she whispered. “But what if Aleki and Wolfe hadn’t wanted me to come back here with you guys?”
“That would have been a problem. But I wasn’t leaving you.” He ran his finger down her nose. “You know that you don’t have to be anything other than yourself with us, right?”
“What if I don’t know who I am anymore? What if I don’t know what I want?” she whispered.
He frowned slightly. “You have time to find out. Are you worried that we’ll try to turn you into someone else? I don’t want you thinking that you have to pretend to be something you’re not. If something feels right to you, then you do it. If it makes you uncomfortable, then you speak up and say it. We pause, we talk, we try again or we try something new. There isn’t a right or wrong here, jelly bean. There isn’t one right way of doing things. You can always use your safeword. No matter what. Do you remember what it is?”
“Boo.”
“Good.
“But what if my father finds me? What about the mystery man? The person who shot at me?”
“If your father finds you, then there’s not much he can do. Nobody can get into Escana without a visa. Let us protect you and stop worrying so much.”
“I’ll try.” She looked down at her drawing. “It’s why I came in here.”
“Yeah?” He looked pleased.
“I was curious. But I was also lying in bed, thinking and worrying and I just wanted to stop.”
“You should have called out for me,” he told her. “I can help you.” He tucked some hair behind her ear, his fingertips brushing against her cheek.
“I was wondering if I should contact my Uncle Ben, let him know I’m all right.”
“You’re close to him?” Caleb replied.
“He’s my father’s brother. He’s away a lot for business, but we’ve always been close. I often wished he was my father. Maybe I should have gone to him about my father but I wasn’t sure he’d believe me. I also didn’t want him getting hurt.”
“I can have Aleki send him a secure message, but I’d prefer not to,” Caleb told her. “A message like that can be a clue in itself to someone searching for you.”
“Okay, we won’t do it.”
“You know that you’re in trouble for getting up on your own, right? And for walking on your sore ankle.”
“It’s not that bad,” she said hastily. “And I couldn’t sleep.”
“Then you should have called out for one of us, shouldn’t you, naughty girl? When Wolfe finds—”
“Genevieve!” The roar went through the house.
Caleb gave her a knowing look as she grimaced. “Uh-oh.”
“Uh-oh is right. You think you’re in trouble with me, wait until he finds out you were walking on that ankle.”
“Hide me,” she said abruptly.
“You really think he wouldn’t find you?” Caleb raised an eyebrow.
“Please, Daddy,” she begged, putting her hands together.
“Oh no, little one.” He waggled a finger at her. “Calling me Daddy and giving me those puppy eyes won’t work.”
“But Daddyyy,” she said. “Please. Aren’t you supposed to protect me?”
“From people who mean you harm. Wolfe won’t harm you.”
She widened her eyes. “He thinks he gets to spank me.”
“Jelly bean, hate to tell you, he does get to spank you. So do I.”
“What? That’s so mean. Not sure I agreed to that.”
“You knew what you were getting yourself into. Although we still need to sit down and go through limits and rules.”
“We could have done that already, but you all keep changing the topic when I want to talk about any of this.”
“We’re trying to keep you from stressing.”
“Not talking about stuff makes me stress more. I start thinking too much, worrying that you’ve changed your mind about being with me and now you’re stuck with me—”
He placed his hand over her mouth, giving her a look filled with chagrin. “Jesus, baby. They really did a number on your self-esteem, huh? Don’t go spouting shit like that. It just makes me murderous. And if it makes me murderous, then you can guarantee it makes Wolfe want to go all psycho killer. Stuck with you? That’s the last thing I feel. I sometimes think I’m dreaming, since this is all I’ve ever wanted. You. Here with us.”
“Really?”
“Really.” He cupped her face with his hands. “Seems that maybe we made a mistake not talking about this. But it is not because we’ve changed our damn minds.”
“Genevieve! Caleb! Aleki! Code blue!” Wolfe yelled.
“Shit!” Caleb jumped to his feet.
“What’s code blue?” she asked worriedly.
“Emergency.”
“Blue is emergency not red?”
“Nah, red means we’ve already hit disaster levels.” He opened the door. “Wolfe, she’s in here.”
“What?” Wolfe yelled back. She’d never heard him sound like that. Frantic? Almost. . .scared?
Because she was missing? Did she really mean that much to him? Shit. Caleb was right. She might not have realized it at the time, but William and her father had damaged her self-esteem. Over time, they’d picked away at her until she didn’t think she was good enough. For anyone.
Caleb stepped aside and Wolfe walked in. His face was cold as always, but in his eyes, she saw something frantic. Wild.
Conversely, something in her settled. If he was this worried that she’d gone missing, it meant he really did care about her. In his own Wolfe way.
“What are you doing in here? Why aren’t you in your bed? You should be napping!” he snapped. He turned to Caleb and slid his glasses up his nose, a sign of agitation rarely seen from him. “I was searching all over for her. I thought something bad had happened.”