Charming But Reckless (NightShade Security #5)

Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

ORION

It was hard to believe that all this was real, that Sol really was Arick's son, and that my long-lost friend was sitting beside me on a couch in the house of another friend.

It was all jumbling together in my head. I couldn't split up the different parts of my life.

My past with Arick and the present with Sol. All the times in between. They had come together and created this blend that quite frankly fucked with my mind.

I had a million questions for Arick. I wanted to tell him a million stories.

That hug we had outside was life-altering. I felt like I had finally found peace. Like all the years that I had put into finding him had not gone to waste.

He was here, and he was real. If I had a say in it, he wasn't going to go anywhere.

Sean, Atticus, Jackson, and Beau were seated around the room with us. We had sent Dakota back to bed, but Sol refused to let go of his father. He had fallen asleep in the man's arms shortly after coming back inside.

We kept our voices low and even as we spoke.

Sean went first. “I know I speak for Atticus and myself when I say that you are welcome here as long as you like, Arick. The invitation was extended to your son and to Orion. We want you to know as well that this is a safe, secure home for as long as you need it to be.”

Arick smiled softly. “I appreciate your offer. I'm not quite sure what comes next. I pretty much uprooted our entire lives to come find him. There's nothing left to go back to.”

The men nodded in an understanding way. They might not have experienced it, but they all had their own journeys to get to where they were.

Atticus leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “I'll be honest with you both. I think that this is something that will take time for you all to heal from. Like my husband said, you're welcome to be here. But we understand if you need time somewhere else. Healing is not a simple thing. Our friend Gerald experienced loss here on the ranch and wound up having to leave to manage his grief. It took him over a year to come home for a visit. Even now, he can't stay for more than short periods of time because the memories are too much.”

He leaned back, sitting up straight.

“What I mean by all that is to let you know that the ranch can be your getaway if you need it. Or if you feel like going back home is ideal, we understand as well and will support you. Neither of you have to work, but I know Sol does enjoy exploring the ranch. I hope that tomorrow morning, you'll allow him to continue to do so. No one gets on this land without us knowing. We have security the NightShade team put in themselves to make sure that we were protected from outside forces.”

I smiled. “We sure did. It was a pretty big project, but I'm thankful that you have it. Not that you need it with me here.”

They all chuckled at my pompous voice. Arick rolled his eyes as he tucked his son closer to him.

Sean and Atticus left shortly after. Beau and Jackson sat silently with us, neither jumping up to speak. When they finally did say something, it was basically to tell us goodnight and that they'd see us later.

That left just the three of us in the living room.

I watched Arick holding his son. My heart was so full just observing the pair. The love between them was beautiful to watch. I had no doubt they were close.

I knew from experience what it was like growing up with a single parent. You had a connection with them that couldn't really be explained to people who didn't live it, because as a child, you got to see your parent struggle and do all kinds of things to make ends meet. They’d bend over backwards to make sure that your life was as wonderful as you dreamed.

I imagined it was different from a parent's end.

Arick had to be going through a series of emotions because he was not only reunited with his son but now he has the future to think of. As a parent, you had to plan and work hard to guide your child so that they could grow up to be a functioning adult in a society that inherently tries to make them fail.

I don't care what people say. Patriarchy systems were not designed with people in mind.

“He's a good kid,” I said to Arick when the silence became too much. “He's talked more tonight than I've heard since we found him.”

Arick's gaze flew to my eyes. “I'll never be able to thank you enough for this, for finding him and keeping him safe. Whatever you want, it's yours, anything at all.”

I held up my hand. “I don't want promises or pledges of allegiance to me, Arick. I just want to know my friend and maybe get to know his kid a little better. He seems pretty cool. There's no debt. I happened to be in the right place at the right time, and I saw a child who looked so much like my best friend that I just knew who he was. Keeping him safe was as natural to me as breathing.”

I watched as Arick swallowed. He looked like he was holding back tears.

“Still, I don't know how — ”

My hand went to his forearm. He stopped speaking immediately, his stare moving to the touch.

Sparks moved through my body at the connection. I knew I was attracted to him, but there was also the memory of our childhood together and the bond that we shared.

I mean he was literally there when I was taken. He was the last person I saw before my life changed completely. A therapist would probably call it some kind of trauma bonding. For me, it just meant that he was an anchor that I could use to remember when times were really fucking horrible.

“You don't have to think of anything, Arick. You don't need to find words, and you don't have to explain yourself to me. I mean it when I say I just want to be a part of your life. Considering you were a ghost in this world, I am being upfront with this because if you decide to leave, I won't be able to find you and that to me is more frightening than anything else. I can handle bad guys. I don't know that I can handle losing you and him again.”

“You only just met him,” Arick replied, his voice almost accusing.

I lifted my hand and ran my fingers through Sol's short hair. He didn't move at all. His energy must have drained from the excitement of earlier.

“I could have met him five minutes ago, and I would still know that this kid is amazing, Arick. He is so much like you but also so much his own person. He is curious and he is a little quirky, and he loves more than children usually express. He has been through a hard time. A hard time that I understand and know. If you give us a chance, I would like to help him work through it. Bring in a licensed therapist and sit with him. Share experiences. Nothing too graphic of course but we — you,” I said correcting myself, “need to know what he has been through so that you can move forward with life.”

His eyes shut tightly, the corners crinkling. “Do you think it was really bad like yours? Do you think they hurt him?”

I shook my head slowly. “Hurt is such a relative term. I believe that the things they did will have lasting effects on him. I think that he will be concerned and nervous and cautious of everyone around him for a very long time. I’m not sure if they assaulted him in the way you're thinking. We won't know until he decides to share that part because it has been too long for any type of physical evidence to show up. Besides, he was found in a shipping container with a bunch of other victims. Survivors really.”

Arick pressed a kiss on his son's head and nodded. It would take a long time for the two of them to be able to separate for long periods of time. I knew he would want to keep his eyes on Sol. There was a need to ensure his safety.

Plus, he already admitted he gave up his entire life to track him down. When you have nothing left, you cling to the things that you hold dearest.

“What was it like after I left?” I asked Arick as I leaned back in the couch, settling down to get comfortable. We really needed to put Sol to bed and figure out our own sleeping arrangements.

Neither of us moved though.

It was like we were afraid to pop the bubble of what was happening. Like if we went to sleep, we might wake up and none of this would be real.

At least that's how I felt.

Arick turned his head to face me. His body mirrored mine as he leaned back in the couch and adjusted his son.

“It was hell," he admitted. “No one believed me about what had happened to you. I woke up disoriented and immediately ran to your place. There was no one there because your mom was still at work. I went home to tell my dad. It earned me a backhand across the face, along with instructions not to bother him anymore. I sat on your front porch for hours until your mom got home that night, and I told her what happened. She obviously freaked out, and we went to the police station. They didn't want to listen.

They said that I was just some kid who fell and hit his head because I obviously had the wounds to prove it. They thought it was an accident. That you had just run away because we lived in a bad neighborhood. No one wanted to believe that you had been snatched off the street in broad daylight in an area that they didn’t consider to be a human trafficking zone. Apparently people can only be taken in dark alleyways or in the back of seedy bars."

“But your mom,” he smiled, “she fought them tooth and nail until they agreed to file a missing person’s report. She also went back up there every week to check on it. She hung flyers, and I helped her. We asked around the neighborhood. But nothing happened. Nothing changed. Your mom was kind enough to still take me in when my dad's abuse got really bad.”

My head fell back. I sighed, thankful to her even now for how she took care of him. She obviously never blamed him for what happened. Part of me worried she might.

God, she was an amazing human being. I hate that she died before I got to see her again. She went without the peace of knowing that her son was going to turn out okay.

Arick's hand landed on my side. I turned my head to the side to look at him.

“She never gave up. Orion, she never once stopped looking for you. Even when she was sick or when she was tired from work, she would trudge up to that police station trying to find out answers.”

“Her funeral,” I whispered.

He nodded softly. “I was there. I went and celebrated her life with a few other people who knew her. People she'd worked with and had gone to church with. She became quite religious after you were taken. Said that praying helped her find peace when there were no other answers to be found.”

“That sounds like something she’d do.”

We went quiet for a few minutes.

Then Arick asked me the million-dollar question. “What happens next?”

I sat up. He needed to see that I was serious about my words.

“We move forward. We take life one day at a time, and we help Sol navigate this new world, this life after surviving.”

“Where can we go that's safe? I felt like where we lived was a nice place that didn't have any violence or crime like you would think. And yet my son was stolen from me. He was taken and kept away. Had it not been for a series of fortunate events, he would still be gone.”

I turned sideways on the couch and put my elbow up on the back so I could face him fully. “I want you to listen to me, Arick, when I say this. That boy will be the most protected individual in the state from here on out. If we didn't have to count the president and the whole secret service thing, I would say the country. But even so, he will be protected. And whether that's because you stay here on the ranch or because you come back to the city with me and I watch over the two of you, it's your choice.”

“You want me to go to the city with you?”

“Yes, I do. That's my ideal situation because if you're with me, then I know not only where you are, but that you're taken care of. I have a home that you can live in without having to pay rent or worrying about work. It's in a good school district if there's somewhere you want to send him, or we could pay for private lessons. I am not opposed to whatever you decide needs to happen for your son. I only ask to be a part of it.”

I reiterated the words, letting all my emotion come forward. His brow furrowed. Something about what I said didn't sit well with him.

I waited for him to express what it was in particular. Arick had never been one to shy away from hard conversations.

“I don't understand why you would do all this. You and I were friends as children, yes. However, so much has changed. You live a completely different life now. Why help a complete stranger and his child?”

I took his hand in mine and placed my other on top of it. I held him there and stared him straight in the eye.

“Because you matter, Arick. You've always mattered to me. Without my mom around, you're the most important person in my life. Those men that brought you here are my family. Together, we know how to keep people safe. We know how to protect people. It's a business that we do. For our personal lives, we are even more intense. Beyond all that,” I paused, trying to figure out the best way to go about this.

“I don't know if I can fully explain it to you right now. What I can say is that I can't just let you go on with your life, struggling to rebuild everything and just sit back without helping. I want to make your life easier. I want you to not struggle. I want to take care of you and Sol.”

To be a family.

I wanted to be a family with them.

The thought hit me so hard, I nearly jolted in my seat. How could I tell him this when he just basically called me a stranger? Was it a romantic interest or were my feelings purely platonic, and I wanted to build some type of commune system where we co-parented as friends?

It was a lot to try and figure out, but I knew that no matter what, we would because that is what we did. We figured it out and we made plans.

Arick waited until I was done speaking before he answered, "Okay, we'll go with you."

I grinned wide, thankful for his easy agreement. Sure, I could have convinced him in other ways by giving him statistics of human trafficking and how victims could wind up in the system again. I could also lay out how, while the ranch was safe, he didn't really know what to do or how things worked.

There were a million pieces to the puzzle, but above all else, I knew that him agreeing so easily was the best option. Coercing him at this stage would only cause problems later when the stakes weren’t as high.

I told him, "Let's give it a few more days. Sol really loves the ranch, and he has enjoyed his stay here because once we go back, that's it. You're in my home, and I'm taking care of you. Understood?”

He smiled, squeezing my hand rightly.

“Understood,” he said.