Chapter 22 #2
Axel’s words stick in my throat like a damned redfish bone, and just like that, something shifts. I picture Shae’s face on the plane, how she looked when we fucked back in my hotel suite.
I see, with stunning clarity, that my anger towards Shae has no point.
Not if what I truly want is my family.
Not if what I truly want is her.
“You done?” I ask, voice flat as I try to push down the spinning thoughts in my brain.
He chuckles bitterly. “Not even close. But you look like you’re at capacity.”
I hum, choosing to change the subject.
“Do we have eyes on Lakeland yet?”
He exhales and turns back to the surveillance screens. “Not yet.” I can tell this fact frustrates him. “I’ve pulled in a few resources to help search. I know a few folks who have more sophisticated technology that can help.”
I tap my index finger on my thigh to keep it from shaking. Sure, it’s only been a few hours, but something tells me finding Lakeland this way will take too long.
“There’s another big purchase event on Isla Cara,” Axel says. “There’s a good enough chance he’ll show there. If we can get someone on the inside, we could take him down, but….”
I pause tapping. “But what?”
Axel blows out a breath.
“Riale’s worried about the big picture. There are still too many loose ends. He feels we need to lie low until we’re able to really drop a bomb—not just on Lakeland, but his enterprise at large.”
I roll my eyes. “Him and what fucking army? At this point, we’ve already shown our hand. Lakeland knows where my loyalties lie, and he’s already sent the first shot by attacking Shae.”
“I know, I know,” Axel says, putting his hands up. “I hear you, and I hear him, too. It just feels…wrong to just let the depraved shit that Lakeland’s tied up in continue. It’s not like the stuff he’s into will die with him.”
I take in a deep, soothing breath.
“Nah, we couldn’t get that lucky,” I grind out. After a beat, I say, “Let’s put someone on Isla Cara. See if we can get some intel.”
“Already on it,” he says. “Riale’s handling point on that.”
My jaw ticks.
“Don’t say it,” Axel warns. “You want someone you can trust, you don’t get better than him.”
“He lied to me.”
“He followed your orders,” Axel shoots back. “Don’t punish him for doing what you couldn’t.”
I say nothing because that’s exactly what I’m doing.
Before the silence can settle too deep, the security monitor pings with movement at the front gate. My eyes immediately locate the screen, and my heart jumps in my throat.
“That’s—that’s them,” I mumble, and Axel jumps up.
“ Yooo , am I about to meet your offspring? Wait—what should they call me? Uncle Axel feels right. Do they have a godfather? I’d for sure be down to be their godfather,” he rambles.
I shake my head and move toward the front door to greet them with Axel right behind me.
It feels like a goddamn party when I reach the foyer.
A dozen guards move around the space, while another dozen stand just outside the door and down the driveway.
Riale comes from the back of the house, while Shae comes down the stairs.
She looks fragile, like she might break at any moment.
But then, when she spots me, her face hardens, her spine straightens.
Her fire flares bright.
The doorbell rings, and Shae rushes forward. One of the new guys steps in front of her and says, “One moment, ma’am.”
Shae releases a choked, startled sound, her mouth settling into a hostile grimace.
“If you value your life, you’ll get the hell out of my way!” she nearly shouts, but then the door opens, and two small figures run inside.
“Tempest! Raiden!” Shae practically wails their names, and within a second, she’s down on the floor with both our babies in her lap and all three of them holding on to each other and sobbing.
“Mommy, you were supposed to meet us on Auntie Yenn’s plane!” Tempest says.
“Mommy, I thought you died!” Raiden says.
I am the biggest fucking idiot in the history of idiots. What was I thinking? I was so damn focused on making a power play with Shae that I didn’t even stop to consider the fact that the kids would be absolutely freaking the fuck out.
Shit, maybe Shae was right to keep me away from them, because clearly, I’ve got the sense of a fruit fly when it comes to this.
The air shifts as one of the guards closes the front door after more people enter. A familiar perfume hits me, bright and happy.
“Hello, Storm Sandoval.” Mrs. Opal Rivers materializes in front of me, her smile pleasant, but her gaze holding just as much fire as her daughter’s.
Oh, fuck. This is a showdown I am not prepared for. Yennifer pops up to her left, giving me a similarly cold grin.
“Hey, Yenn,” I say, and when I’m about to greet Shae’s mom, Yenn sneers.
“I’m going to help my best friend . It’s been a particularly trying day,” she says, immediately spinning on her heel so quickly that the tail end of her locs whip across my face.
Right. Clearing my throat, I face Shae’s mother fully, sticking out my hand to shake hers.
“Ms. Opal?—”
“Mrs. Rivers ,” she cuts in, and I cringe while trying to smile. I pull my hand back and shove it into my pants pocket without looking at it.
“Right. Excuse me, ma’am,” I say deferentially. “It’s…been a long time.”
Yeah. Fucking idiot here.
Shae’s mom hums, tilting her chin up and looking down her nose at me like a Claire Huxtable clone.
“Well. I most certainly wasn’t expecting to see you…ever,” she replies.
“Gigi, you know this man, too?” Raiden asks. He must have just registered that he’s in a completely unfamiliar place, because he looks around the spacious entryway with his face scrunched in a worried look.
“Mommy, what’s he doing here? What are we doing here?” Tempest whispers this, but her whisper is nearly as loud as a shout.
Shae sniffs and wipes beneath her eyes with the back of her hands.
“Well, honey, that’s because…” Shae starts to speak but trails off, looking at me with completely wide-eyed panic.
We haven’t discussed what we’ll tell the children or when we’ll tell them that I’m their father.
“Duh, Tems, he’s mommy’s friend,” Raiden says, putting more attitude behind the delivery than I’d rarely seen him use.
My chest tightens at the words as Shae opens and closes her mouth. And even though I know she’ll hate this—hate me for what I’m about to do—I take one step, then another closer to my children.
I kneel in front of my family.
“No, I’m not just your mom’s friend.”
I take Raiden’s tiny hand, and his eyes widen.
“I’m your dad.”