Jonah held his hands out. “Which is why I am suggesting that she stay with me. I’m off work for at least a week and can protect her. She’ll never be alone.”
“What about when I have to go to work?” I perked up at his “never be alone” commentary.
“Simone, you’re gonna need to take a leave of absence,” he started but I stood up, the blanket falling to the couch as I started to pace.
“There is no way I can take time away. I’ll lose my job and I already lost one of them last night that I still need to replace!” I finagled my fingers through my ratty hair and gripped the roots. “I can’t provide for myself if I don’t have a job.”
“And you won’t be able to provide for yourself if you are dead either!” Sonia pointed at me, her pretty eyes going dark as night.
I shook my head. “This is insane. I have to work. I have to. There’s no other option. I’m already out of a home. They could burn the place down with all my stuff in it for all I care. I’m never going back there.”
Addy came up to me and hugged me, following her natural inclination to comfort first and think about the situation later. “We’ll figure something out.”
“Yeah, like her sister will take her in and provide for her until all of this mess gets cleaned up…” Sonia ordered.
“No. I’m not living off my big sister!”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because I make my own way! I pay for my life. Me!” I tapped at my chest. “You do not get to decide my life for me. You’ve been trying to do so since we came to live here. You have to let me go!”
“It’s because you’re too damn wild, Simone! Always leaping before you look! Running before you walk.”
“You mean living? That’s what people who live their lives fully do. Take advantage of every day they are given because as we both know, they are precious. Remember. You always say each day is a gift. I believe that with my whole heart! You on the other hand stay with your feet firmly planted on the ground. Making decisions for everyone in your life. Heck, you even make decisions for the entire state of Illinois and yet it’s still not enough for you. You want to control me too!”
“I want you safe!” Sonia cried out, tears falling down her porcelain cheeks, the dam that held the waterworks back exploding along with her temper. “I want you alive!” Her voice rose. “Is it so wrong to want my only blood relative on this earth to be where I can touch and talk to her?” She sniffed and wiped at her nose. “You are reckless, Simone. Always have been. Every day of your life I worry about you.”
“Maybe because my big sister has always held on too tight! I love you, Sonia. More than anything. But you can’t keep me locked in a gilded cage like some exotic bird. You can’t clip my wings and expect me to stay around. I’ll always find a way to fly.”
Sonia sucked in a sob and tilted her head down as her shoulders shook with her grief.
I went over to her and wrapped my arms around her form. “I’ll be okay. Jonah is going to help me out. Keep me safe. Together we’re all going to figure this out. We have to.” I glanced up and into Jonah’s dark gaze. There was sadness but also a strength and calm resolve. His hands were fisted at his sides and it seemed like it was taking everything in him not to approach me and my sister. For what, I didn’t know. All I knew was that gaze pierced straight through my soul and made a promise. A promise to keep me safe, and I believed him.
After Mama Kerri made us all a lasagna dinner complete with salad and garlic bread, my sisters helped me go through all of my bags and narrow things down to a couple suitcases with enough clothes and toiletries for a couple weeks. I could always go back to Mama Kerri’s to get more of my things. It turned out that Mama wanted to stay with Genesis so she could watch her grandbaby like she usually did three days a week. Blessing and Addy paired up because they were used to traveling together for photo shoots and fashion meetings. Charlie and Liliana agreed to both go stay with Sonia and all of us would continue to try and get a lock on Tabby.
That brought me to now, where I followed Jonah’s broad form into a small brick house in one of the Chicago area suburbs, just outside of the city but closer to my bartending job at Tracks where I worked most weeknights.
“And this will be your new abode.” He gestured to the small but cozy living space. Right in front of the entry was a living room with a small L-shaped navy-blue microfiber couch. A square chrome and glass coffee table sat smack dab in the center of the L. Across from the couch was a matching recliner shoved into a corner next to a bookcase that didn’t hold a single book. Nope. It was filled with DVDs or video game cases and CDs. A huge TV filled the entire wall opposite the couch.
I couldn’t clearly define how big the thing was. I wasn’t a super tall girl at five foot six, but if you stretched my arms out in a T, that’s how wide that TV was. Mine at home seemed a quarter of the size. Not that it mattered since it was destroyed and was on the ever-growing list of the parts of my life I now had to rebuild.
“Wow. That’s a…big TV.” I smiled.
He grinned. “Gotta be able to watch the game.”
“And pretend you’re actually there?”
“Definitely!”
“Hey, bro! How goes it?” Ryan exited a part of the kitchen I couldn’t yet see with two beer bottles in hand. “How you doin’, beautiful?”
My cheeks heated and I glanced down at my mom’s slippers I hadn’t bothered to take off. They were comfy and made me feel more at peace. “Good, thank you.”
When I glanced up, Jonah was glaring at Ryan and purposely bumped one of his shoulders into his friend, then winced as though he’d hurt himself in the process.
“Jonah! Honey, be careful!” I admonished and then realized what I’d said. “I mean, I say that to everyone. I mean, I call everyone honey, and sweetie and cutie and…”
“Simone. It’s cute. I liked it. Chill.” Jonah smiled softly and winked.
Winked.
Yep, Agent Jonah Fontaine was definitely dreamy.
“You want a beer, Simone?” Ryan enunciated my name perfectly which I’m pretty sure was for Jonah’s benefit and not my own. I rather liked being called beautiful by a hunky FBI guy. Though I’d have preferred it come from Jonah instead of his roommate and partner.
“Nah, prefer the hard stuff. I’m more of a shots and cocktails type of girl.”
“My kinda woman.” Ryan suavely maneuvered around my form heading toward the kitchen. “Gotta get you a real drink. What’s your poison?” he asked amicably.
Next to him, Jonah was leaning against the kitchen counter, his arm crossed over his midsection as though he were holding onto his sore ribs. “I think I can handle getting Simone a drink.”
“Wouldn’t want you to pull or strain something while you’re healing. Besides, what are best friends for?” Ryan teased while opening the cabinet across from where Jonah stood. “We’ve got whiskey, vodka, and tequila.”
“What do you have to cut it with?”
“Got a couple a Cokes in the fridge but me and the sourpuss over here don’t usually drink anything but water, coffee, milk, beer, and liquor straight.”