I release a long breath. “Hell if I know. I don’t even know what to do with myself right this minute. Can’t say I’ve ever been in this situation before.”
Knowingly, she gives me a rueful smile. “Lockdown is no fun. Trust me, this is something I’m all too familiar with.”
I think of the man my best friend is married to, how it came to be, and again hope I made the right moves where that was concerned.
Keira must read something on my face because her features sharpen. “I wouldn’t trade this for the world, Mags. So stop with whatever you’re thinking.”
“Oh, you read minds now, Ke-ke?”
She rolls her eyes. “When it comes to you, sometimes I can. I was actually coming to ask if you’d do me a favor.”
“Name it,” I say without hesitation. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for Keira. That’s the plain and simple truth.
“Rory’s nanny is off tonight, and Lachlan and I have to—”
“Yes,” I reply, not even letting her finish. “I’ll watch your baby girl anytime you need.”
She sucks her bottom lip in her mouth for a beat. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. Just grab me when you need me.”
Her head tips to the side, and she grimaces. “What about Moses? Do you think he’ll be cool playing babysitter?”
I recall what I said to him about wanting a baby and how his face lit up. “He’ll be just fine. Probably good practice for him.”
Keira’s eyes bug out. “Oh my God. Are you . . . are you pregnant?”
The laughter spilling from my lips is totally due to the shell-shocked look on my best friend’s face.
“No. Not yet, anyway. But I’m pretty sure that’s where we’re headed next.”
Keira throws herself at me again, and this time her arms lock around me like a vise. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all freaking year! I’m so happy for you, Mags.”
I squeeze her hard, feeling the love pour off her. Keira is one of a kind and absolutely too good for me. “Thank you, babe. I appreciate it.”
She releases me once more and her eyes glisten as she gapes at me. “All I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy,” she says, and I believe her.
“I’m working on it, Ke-ke. I promise.”
For the first time, I believe myself too.
A buzz comes from Keira’s pocket, and she pulls out her phone. “Crap. I’m supposed to be on a conference call right now. I’ll be back shortly. Thank you so much for agreeing to watch Rory tonight.”
“Anything for you. You know that.”
She blows me a kiss and backs out of the room, leaving me alone again with my thoughts.
When Moses returns an hour later, the first thing I notice is the frustration on his stony face as he closes the door behind him.
“Mama?”
“Right here,” I say from the chair in front of the empty fireplace.
He turns toward me, a smile replacing the strain on his features. “Didn’t see you there. You doing okay?”
I rise as he closes the distance between us. “Are you okay? I saw your expression when you came in. Trey couldn’t find an address, could he?”
The smile Moses had pasted on fades as he shakes his head. “No. This bastard knows how to hide, even from all Trey’s tricks.”
“Has that ever happened before?”
“We’re usually the ones wiping all the information about people, so we know where to look for things that usually get missed. But this guy . . . he’s smart. It’s pissing me the fuck off.”
Moses reaches up to grip the back of his neck, and I step into the heat radiating off his body and lay my palms against his solid chest.
I try to give him what he’s been giving me—reassurance, support, and hope. “We’ll end this, one way or another. What about Mount? Any leads from his side of things?”
Moses’s arm wraps around my body, anchoring me against him like he doesn’t want to give me the opportunity to step away. I’m okay with that, especially because I have no plans to retreat. I don’t need space. Not from him. Not anymore.
“Nothing yet, but he’s got eyes all over the city watching.”
“We will find him,” I say with conviction. “He’s going to pay for what he’s done.”
Moses leans down to press a kiss to the top of my head. “Damn right. But until then, Trey won’t stop digging, and I’m just . . .” He trails off, and it hits me that he’s probably as unfamiliar with inactivity as I am.
I fill in the silence. “We’re babysitting Rory tonight.”
Moses jerks back and peers down at me. “Babysitting? Can’t say that’s something I’ve ever done before.”
“I suppose it’s about time we both learn.” A sense of peace comes over me when I add, “Together.”
Twenty-Six
Moses
“Anything happens to her while you’re in charge, and I. Kill. You. No questions.” Mount’s tone is even, but he means every word he says, based on the way he stares at the little auburn-haired girl clinging to her mama’s neck.
“I get it. She’s your world,” I say. Honestly, someone would have to go through me and Magnolia to get to Rory tonight anyway.
Mount’s dark gaze lifts to spear mine. “You don’t get it. Until you’ve held your own child, you won’t.”
He’s right, so I don’t argue.
“Nothing will happen to her. You have my word.”
Mount’s jaw is stiff as he gauges me, but finally he nods. “We’ll be back in three hours. V will be posted outside the door of whatever room you’re in at all times.”
It’s gotta be rough leaving his whole world in the care of someone like me, so I don’t press him. “Got it.”
“Are you done trying to scare the hell out of the people who are doing us a favor?” Mount’s wife asks as she comes toward him.
The man’s entire posture relaxes as soon as Keira slides an arm around him, and he plucks the baby from her hold.
I hope like hell no one else ever sees the vulnerability I do right now, because they’d know that the king of New Orleans’ criminal underworld could be toppled by striking at his daughter or his wife. He’d go mad without them.
“I’m just expressing to Moses how things stand.”
“We’ll be home in a few hours. Everything will be fine.” Keira looks to me. “Thank you so much, Moses. We’re incredibly grateful, and if Lachlan has made any death threats, you can just ignore them.”
Mount’s gaze swings toward his wife, rife with protest.
“Don’t glower at me. I know you. Remember?”
His chin lifts, and Mount meets my eyes once more as Magnolia takes her place beside me.
Rory snuggles into her father’s collar as he presses kisses into her messy hair like he’s eating her ear off. I don’t use the word often, but I’d dare to call it cute.
“Time to play with Auntie Mags for a little while, sweetheart,” Mount says as the tiny girl pulls her face away from his body and holds her willing, waving arms out to Magnolia.