Chapter 23
TWENTY-THREE
SHAE
T here are very few instances in which I have no clue what to do. I’m usually able to figure out anything and think my way out of any problem.
But with Tempest wearing a defiant look and Raiden looking at Storm like he’s hung the moon, I’m at a complete and thorough loss for what to do.
“Mommy, is he telling the truth?” This comes from Tempest. Her jaw tightens as she screws her mouth into an angry pout.
He couldn’t even give me this . One moment of control. One second of grace. Storm’s just being Storm: Making decisions that impact everyone, leaving me to be the one sweeping up the pieces.
Think, Shae.
I look at Storm, who seems the most open he’s been since finding out about the kids’ existence.
He doesn’t look stressed at all, but why would he be over this? He’s already told me who’s in charge, and it isn’t me.
He declared war in that airplane bedroom.
Not just on my boundaries, but on my role as a mother. Now he’s staking claims in front of my children.
That’s not protection. That’s performance.
I center myself and say, “Yes, baby.”
I’m surprised my voice is as clear as it is. Tempest looks at all the adults in the room before climbing off my lap and rushing to her grandma.
“Gigi, I want to go home with you,” she says, her face planting into my mom’s stomach. Mama looks at me with a bewildered look, then at Storm with a narrowed one.
“Okay, baby,” Mama says, but then Storm stands, still holding Raiden’s hand.
“Actually,” he says with zero remorse, “you can’t leave.”
The silence sucks all the air from the room, and it’s my mom who speaks first.
“Wanna run that one by me again?” she asks, thoroughly meaning, Boy, have you lost your mind?
“Ms. Rivers, I don’t know how much Yennifer or Shae have told you?—”
“Well, my daughter has been disappointingly silent about recent events.” She could cut me with how sharp her side-eye is, and I really do deserve it. I didn’t even tell her Storm was in town, much less about the danger that’s made itself known in the last several days.
“I understand,” Storm says, and I can tell he’s trying to be respectful to my mother. “But for safety reasons, everyone needs to stay here.”
More silence.
“Yeah, no. If anything, I’m gonna stay with my brother,” Yennifer says to Storm.
“I ain’t leaving my house for nothing or nobody,” Mama says, and I know she means that with her whole chest.
Storm looks at her, and I can tell by the set of his jaw what he thinks of that statement.
“Ms. Rivers,” he starts, but Mama cuts him off with a sharp, “Boy!”
Storm wisely shuts up.
“Mama, what if we set you up with security?” I offer. It hits me that I’m problem-solving, compromising with Storm. It also hits me that he’s made so many damn unilateral decisions, not just regarding me and the children, but everyone.
She seems to think it over, still giving Storm hard looks, but then says, “Fine.”
Tempest pipes up at that, having watched the entire exchange.
“So can I go with you, Gigi?” she whispers, but we all still hear her.
I start to speak, to soothe my child, but Storm interrupts me with a firm, “No, Tempest. You’ll stay here with me, your mom, and your brother.”
It’s like watching a tea kettle shift from hot water to boiling. Her face tightens as angry tears begin to spill.
“I hate you!” she shouts, then runs away from us, deeper into the house.
Storm Sandoval just made my daughter cry.
My daughter, who doesn’t cry.
My daughter, who never even told me she missed me when I worked late, because she didn’t want to seem weak.
Now she’s sobbing because of him.
I stand, ready to chase after her, but Yennifer puts her hand on my arm.
“Let me talk to her,” she murmurs, and I freeze, trying to figure out what the hell is the right thing to do.
Who is this person? This is not me.
“You,” Yennifer snaps, pointing a finger at Riale. He gets a strange look on his face as he stares Yennifer down. “You live here, right?”
Riale pauses for a beat before saying, “Something like that.”
“Great.” Yenn gives him one of her most charming smiles. “Show me around the place and help me find my goddaughter.”
Then, with a flick of her hair, she sets off after Tempest. Riale scowls but follows her.
Mama sighs, then says, “Fine. Send over more security. But I’m not leaving my house, and that’s that.”
Storm lifts a hand, placating. His other hand firmly circles Raiden’s.
“Yes, ma’am,” he replies.
Shaking her head, Mama heads toward Raiden.
“C’mon, baby. Your parents need to talk,” she says. Raiden takes a step back, hiding behind Storm’s hip. Storm seems to transform at the action, and he stands up straighter, getting ready to protect his son against any threat.
Even if that “threat” is his grandmother.
“Raiden, Gigi’s right. I need to discuss a few more things with your…dad.” I clear my throat after saying the word. “But you and I can talk in just a few minutes. Okay?”
Raiden looks at me and then Mom, before looking up at Storm as if asking his permission.
“It’s okay,” Storm whispers.
Raiden seems to swallow, and I can tell he’s nervous.
“Will you be around…later?” Raiden asks. Storm’s nostrils flare when he sucks in a sharp breath, but he reins it in.
“Yes,” Storm says, crouching to get eye level with Raiden. “You don’t have to worry about me not being around anymore.”
The words are a vow.
“Never again,” he emphasizes, but this time, he looks directly at me.
The words are more than a promise. They’re also a threat directed at me.
Raiden grins, even though it’s a little wobbly, but after a second, he releases Storm and heads off with Mom in the direction Tempest, Yennifer, and Riale went.
Suddenly, it’s just me and Storm in the foyer.
“That went better than expected,” Storm says, and I whirl on him, clenching my fists to keep from punching him square in the jaw.
“I…am going…to fuck you up ,” I grit out, and Storm’s head ticks back.
“Oh really?” he asks, and his mocking tone is almost enough to send me over the edge.
Control. Get control of yourself, Shae.
Calling on the strength of the ancestors, I take a slow step toward Storm.
“Not only did you make my daughter cry. Not only did you make empty fucking promises to my son?—”
“ Our daughter. Our son. And that was not an empty promise, Shae?—”
“But you completely bypassed my agency as a mother.” And you did it without a blink.
Storm pauses as if dissecting my words, then gives me a look that tells me he’s at least listening to what I have to say.
“If you wanna be the big man in charge, then fine. Go ahead. But when it comes to my kids? Fuck with their heads and I’ll put you so far beneath the ground, no one will find you.”
We’re chest to chest, and I’m breathing harder than I want. He’s got me off guard, off-center, and while I hate that, this moment needs to happen between us.
Otherwise, he’ll walk all over me forever.
Instead of responding, he places his palms on my shoulders and rests them there before running his hands up and down my upper arms.
It has what’s likely his desired effect, which is that it completely takes the wind out of my sails.
“There may be a lot between you and me, but there’s one thing you can count on my respecting, and that’s how excellent a mother you are.”
Well, shit. I will not let myself cry over this man’s words.
“I’m figuring all this stuff out as I go,” he says, “but I’d have to be blind not to see how much you love our children.”
Up and down go his hands.
“If you felt like I was overruling you when it comes to them, I apologize. That wasn’t my intention. I just wanted to…I wanted them to know who I am. I don’t want to lie or hide anything when it comes to how much I want to be their father.”
Oh. Well…shit. I guess I can understand his intention, even though I abhor his methods.
“Well,” I say, breathing in slowly through my nose. “Good.”
Storm continues rubbing my arms, and goddamn it, I’m doing it again. Falling into him, letting him wrap me up in pretty words.
No, Shae.
I force myself to call up the most horrible moment of my life: wandering aimlessly outside his apartment after he fucked me and dumped me with no warning. With no heart. All while carrying the babies I’d determined that I wanted desperately.
I take a step back.
I cannot allow myself to feel anything for Storm Sandoval, because all he knows how to do is hurt.
“I’m…going to my room now,” I say, and I flee up the stairs without another word.
He doesn’t stop my retreat.
Pizza boxes lay open on the kitchen island: a large meat lover for Tempest and me; a medium-sized plain cheese pizza for Raiden.
It’s late for us to have dinner, around nine p.m., but jetlag being what it is, we all fell asleep in the middle of the day and woke up starving.
I don’t know the protocol for Storm’s home, so I asked one of the guards to take us to get pizza somewhere good nearby.
That was an immediate negative, and I was told that neither I nor the children were allowed to leave the premises without Storm’s knowledge or presence.
Which had me right on the verge of exploding at the bewildered-looking security guard.
Luckily for him, I had both kids with me, and I don’t like them seeing me lose my shit, so I gave the man a tight smile and asked him in my sweetest voice to secure a delivery.
The kids work at their plates in silence.
Tempest looks uncharacteristically worried, her gaze moving between her plate and her sullen twin. The hood of his jacket hangs low over his eyebrows as he hunches over the paper plate provided by the restaurant.
It’s not hot outside, so I don’t know why he’s wearing a hoodie. He seemed content, maybe even happy, earlier today when he held on to Storm’s hand. Now, he’s quieter than ever, and I can practically feel the anger radiating off him.
When Tempest looks at me, however, she doesn’t show concern, but rather outright hostility.
That attitude I’m used to.