Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
B ryan arrived back at Dev’s apartment around ten thirty with two huge suitcases full of clothes, all their important documents, his work, and some of the boys’ toys. Jennie let him in, eyes wide when she saw all the stuff he had with him.
“We thought it would be safest if we stayed here with Dev for a while. He has security, and I don’t.”
She nodded and helped him get everything in. “Of course. The kids are all in the living room still. They’re all asleep, but I wasn’t sure if I should send anyone to bed or just let them be.”
“That’s cool. We didn’t really have a plan until I got with Dev at the hospital and he insisted we stay. You need me to call you a cab or anything?”
She glanced at her watch and shook her head. “No, it’s not that late, I can get myself home. You call if you need anything, though, okay?”
“Thanks, Jennie. You’re a lifesaver. Really.” He gave her a hug, then she left, waving. He locked the door and put the chain on once she was gone. He wasn’t letting anyone who didn’t belong in.
He glanced at his watch—Jennie was right, it wasn’t really that late, just 10:45. It seemed surreal given all that had happened. It felt like more time should have passed. Kind of like his whole relationship with Dev to date, really.
Shaking his head, he left everything in the hall and made his way to the living room to see the kids.
Marley smiled at him, mouthing, “Daddy?”
“He’s getting a cast,” Bryan whispered as the other three were fast asleep. “He’ll be here as soon as it’s on.” He hoped that wasn’t too long from now. He wasn’t sure Marley would really go to sleep until Dev made it home.
“Okay. Are you okay? Do you need help?” She slipped out of the living room. “Are you staying? I think it would be nice if you did.”
He followed her, waving at the stuff he’d brought from his place. “I’m glad you do because yes, your dad asked if we would stay until all of this is sorted. So we’re all together. And I heard we’re having a pajama day tomorrow.”
“Yes. Pajama day it is.” She stepped closer and looked up at him. “That man… he’s evil.”
“Yeah, that’s a good word for it. I’m really sorry you had to see him come here and do that. The police took him away, and I hope they put him in jail for a long time. But the security guards here know who he is now, and they will never let him past the front desk again. You are safe here in your home.” He didn’t want her to be frightened; this needed to be a safe place.
“Yes. And you and daddy and the others are safe too. Juni’s ready to kick some butt.”
“I bet she could kick a lot of butt.” She was a pint-sized karate champ. “Where do you think the boys and I should sleep? We’re going to be here for a little while.” He had no clue how long, really. It would depend on what happened with Grant and his charges.
“We have two guest rooms, and they have a connecting door. This is a big, big place. So I’m going to put you in there. It’s clean and nice, and there’s a bathroom.”
“Oh, that sounds wonderful. Thank you so much.” He grabbed the duffel bags and Marley grabbed the boys’ backpacks, leading the way to the two connecting rooms at the end of the hallway. The rooms were a nice size and both boasted king-sized beds, which meant he could easily put both boys in the same bed. “This is awesome.” Hell, the two rooms with the ensuite were almost as big as his entire place.
“Good deal. I’m so glad it works.” Marley teared up, wringing her hands.
“Hey, hey.” He put down the duffels in favor of tugging her close and holding her. “It’s okay. I’m here now and your daddy is going to be home soon.” She didn’t need to keep being strong.
“I’m so glad you’re safe. Now we need Daddy home.” She began to cry, gasping when the house phone rang.
“I’ve got it, honey.” He went out to the hall and grabbed it. “Hello?”
“Hey. Can you open the door? I don’t have my keys or my phone or my wallet. The hospital got me a cab, but…”
“Dev! Good to hear your voice! Hey, Marley—your dad is home. He needs to be let in,” he called out.
“Okay. Tell him to come on.” She headed for the door.
“Your girl is getting the door for you. She is so glad you’re home. Me, too. Come on in.” He hung up and headed after Marley, eager to give Dev a hand.
Marley threw open the door in time for them to see Dev handing the security guy his phone back. “Thank you.”
The security guy nodded. “Anything you need, sir, just say the word.” Yeah, Bryan bet they had some serious sucking up to do after letting Grant in like that.
Dev had a bright blue cast, and he looked exhausted.
“Jesus. Let’s get you sitting. Or do you want to go straight to bed?” he asked as he slipped under Dev’s good arm, helping to keep him upright.
“I’m starving. Is there any food?”
Bryan glanced at Marley, who nodded.
“There were leftovers.”
“Can you put a few into the microwave for your dad and me?” Because now that food had been mentioned, his stomach was reminding him that he’d only had a single taco, and that had been hours ago.
Marley took off for the kitchen, and he led Dev to the living room where Juni and the boys were still dozing in front of the TV.
“Oh, sweet babies. Look at them.” Dev sat hard in the big La-Z-Boy next to the couches.
Bryan grabbed a cushion and carefully tucked it on the arm of the chair, under Dev’s bad hand.
“Yeah. I only got home a bit ago. Marley was showing me the guest suite—it’ll be perfect for us. Thanks again for letting us stay.” He was so relieved, knowing that Grant couldn’t get up here again. His home was way easier to invade.
“Thank you for coming up. There’s room, and the boys should have tons of space.”
“Yeah. I’ll carry ’em to bed in a bit. I’ll just make sure you get fed and comfortable first. Did they give you pain meds?” He could hear Marley working the microwave in the kitchen, so he knew food wouldn’t be much longer.
“They did, but they want me to stay awake until midnight. Then I can take them.”
He checked his watch—a bit over an hour. They could do this. “Okay. Midnight it is. I’ll help you stay up, get all the kids into bed. All that stuff.”
Marley came in holding two plates with tacos on them. She’d even put the sauces on the side for them to dip into it.
“You rock,” Bryan told her. “Thank you so much.”
“Great job, sweetheart. You were so brave.” Dev looked like he was trying not to cry, and Bryan knew how he felt. They were all a little fragile right now, emotionally if not physically.
“I think you should give your dad a careful hug before you give him his plate. I bet hugging you does way more for him than anything they did at the hospital.” Bryan knew she badly needed a hug from her father, but he was pretty sure Dev could use the love from his daughter as well. As long as she didn’t disturb his casted arm.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. It’s casted. It’s solid as a rock.” Dev opened his arms to her.
She flew into them, making him wince just a bit, but he hid it quickly and held her close.
“I was so worried, Daddy. That man is evil!”
“Yes, but he’s in jail, and I’m going to have a camera put in the hallway too.”
“That’s a great idea. That way, you can check before you open the door so even if they’ve made it past security, you know who you’re letting in.” Bryan gave him an encouraging smile before grabbing a taco and munching on it. This place was already pretty well guarded, but by the time Dev was finished, it was going to be Fort Knox. Bryan approved.
“I showed Mr. Bryan the connected guest rooms.” Marley curled up in Dev’s lap, clearly needing the cuddle time.
“Good deal. We’ll get everyone really settled tomorrow. There’s a good office space off the playroom, too. I used to use it when Juni was little.”
“Oh, that would be amazing. Thank you. At this rate, we’re never going to want to leave.”
“We’ll have to discuss your options tomorrow, when we’re both less exhausted, but you don’t have to worry, okay? You are safe here.”
Bryan nodded, giving Dev a warm smile. “Hey, let me help you get some food.” Bryan nodded at Marley, who was fast asleep, curled in his lap.
Grabbing Dev’s plate from the coffee table, Bryan set it carefully on the arm of his chair so he could reach the tacos.
“Thank you. I hope you feel comfortable here. I’m so glad to be home.” Dev looked exhausted, but the tightness that had been in his frame and the worry lines around his eyes had eased.
“I’m good. And I’ll carry the kids to bed in a minute. I just need to sit a moment in the knowledge that we’re all okay.” He couldn’t sit too long. He had a feeling he’d sleep hard once he closed his eyes, and he had stuff to do before that happened.
“Yes. We’re all okay, and together.”
“And you only have to stay awake another forty-five minutes before you can take your pain pills and go to sleep,” Bryan noted.
“I’m glad the boys are safe. I was so worried.”
“We’re all fine, Dev. Every single one of us.” Bryan sighed and finished his last couple bites of taco. “Man, I have a hunch that the second I lie down, it’ll all really hit me.” Not just the relief, but what had happened, what could have happened. Oh, he was cognizant of all that now, but he had a feeling he’d have to work through it some before long.
“Yeah. I hear you. I might just sleep here, both sides of the sofas recline.”
“Yeah? I might have to join you, then.” Bryan gave him a wry grin. “That way, I’m close by if you need help in the night.”
“Let’s just all hang out, then. That way, if the boys wake up, they see you.”
“Okay, sure.” Bryan felt a touch freaked at not putting the boys to bed, and then he chuckled wryly at himself and shook his head. “Sorry. We have such a routine going that it seems really strange to just let it go and throw it to the wind.”
“I bet it does. I’m happy to have you close, though. This is a safe place, and it’s going to be safer now.” Dev was determined as hell.
Bryan nodded. “Never again, right? And it says something evil about Grant that he’s the source of so many never-agains.”
“He is, but—we can face this one together.”
He liked how that sounded. Together. Dev had said that a lot tonight, and Bryan was beginning to believe it was real and to recognize how good that made him feel.
Bryan smiled, and really, it was the first natural smile he’d managed since before everything had gone off. “I like the sound of that. I think that’s been the hardest thing—is doing it all alone. Even knowing you’re in my corner is more than enough to make me feel so much more capable.”
Dev lifted Bryan’s hand, kissed his fingers. Dev’s lips were super hot against them. “Always. I mean it.”
“Thank you. Are you okay? Your lips are like fire. You think you have a fever? Can I get you anything?”
Dev smiled at him. “I just want to be here with all of us together, you know?”
“I do. I’ll get you a big glass of water when it’s time to take your pills.” Bryan nodded at his plate. “Try to eat some more, yeah? Your body needs the fuel.”
“Yeah. They’re pretty good, even reheated.”
“Jennie brought them from our favorite little Mexican restaurant. It’s cheap enough we can treat ourselves once every couple of weeks, and the boys just love it.” Bryan ate more as well, cleaning his plate.
“We’ll have to put it on the rotation. My girls love tacos. Marley wanted to cook for you so badly.”
“Now that I’m staying here for a while, we’ll have plenty of time to cook together. Her heart was in the right place, but without any foundation, it all seems hard and confusing. Just wait, she’ll be cooking us dinners in no time.”
“We can all help. The boys can do easy things like set the table and stuff. I know that from when you had us over.”
“Yep, absolutely. And they are great at helping with the parts that don’t involve knives or the stove. They love measuring and dumping in ingredients.” He was going to teach his boys to be self-sufficient while they were eager to help and learn now so it never became a chore.
“They’re good boys. We’ll do what we need to so that the place is more friendly. I also own rights for the roof, so there’s a play area up there.”
“Holy cow. You really did recover from Grant’s theft, eh?” It sounded like a dream come true. A safe place, somewhere for the boys to be able to play on top of that.
“I was lucky—the girls’ father? My husband that died? He came from an incredibly wealthy family, and they floated me until I could recover.”
“Oh wow. That is so kind of them. For every person like Grant, there’s at least one like your late husband’s family, eh? The Pereisos? The couple who live above us who own the duplex have been so kind to us. And I needed that very badly at the time.” It had been people like them, like Jennie—they’d made such a huge difference in their lives.
“Right? There’s a good world out there. It just doesn’t feel like it right this second.”
“No, no, it doesn’t. At least we’ve got a high, safe place to hide and lick our wounds until we’re ready to face it again.” Bryan hadn’t even considered what it was going to be like, going home to his little, not terribly secure, house before Dev invited them to stay until it was safe, and he was so thankful. In fact, “Thanks again for taking us in. It really is a relief.”
“For me too. You saved my life.”
He went to shake his head, but then he remembered Grant’s face and his words—that he was going to kill them—and he didn’t shake his head after all. Dev was right—if he hadn’t been there, Grant would have finished the job once Dev was down. The man wasn’t just a con man—he’d been ready to commit murder. Marley was right—Grant was pure evil. “I’m glad I was here. I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if I wasn’t. I just found you and I’m not ready to lose you.” No, he wanted to explore what was between him and Dev, what had been starting before Grant punched his way back into their lives.
“No. No, we deserve each other.” Dev met his gaze, eyes as serious as a heart attack. “We deserve to try, right?”
“Sounds like your mind is headed in the same direction as mine.” He was looking forward to Dev no longer being on the injured list, actually. To give things a try.
“We’ll start figuring things out, tomorrow.”
“Oh yeah. Tomorrow is a good day for a lot of things. Tonight is for making it to your meds and then sleeping.” He could already feel the pull of sleep himself, and he forced himself to sit upright. He had to stay awake ’til midnight.
“Here’s the remote. Find something easy, huh?”
He took the remote and turned the system on. “That’s something we haven’t talked about—what kind of TV do you like?”
“I watch things that aren’t violent. There’s too much violence, especially against women.”
Everything he learned about Dev made him like the man more. “I love all the baking shows. The British Bake-Off is my favorite. Oh, and they’ve got a pottery-off too that’s awesome.” He chose Netflix, and sure enough, there was the Great British Bake-Off. He hadn’t seen it in a while, so he put it on the very first episode.
“Perfect. I love the cadence of the voices.” Dev beamed at him. “There’s a glass-blowing one too, for when we’re done.”
“Oh, I haven’t seen that one—sounds neat!” He beamed over at Dev, then glanced at his watch. Dev was supposed to take his pills in fifteen minutes. Bryan grabbed his phone and set an alarm for midnight. “How often are you supposed to take the pills?”
“Once every eight hours if I need them. Make sure you put them up out of reach of the kids, please.”
“Will do. You’ve got about fifteen minutes to the first one. I’ve set an alarm.” He set another one for eight a.m.
“Cool.” Dev finally finished his taco. “I’m starting to get a headache again, so yeah.”
“Close your eyes. I’ll make sure you get ’em at midnight.” Even as he watched, Dev’s eyelids were drooping hard.
“Uh-huh. Glad you’re here.”
“Me, too, man. Me, too.” For all the reasons.