Chapter 9
Drew
You know one thing I’m not going to miss when I retire?
The fucking headlines.
People are nosy pieces of crap, you know that? Who the hell takes a video of an eleven-year-old girl getting harassed and then almost kidnapped instead of helping?
Pieces of crap, that’s who.
And even worse, media outlets trying to paint an almost-seventeen-year-old boy as a villain because he tackled the person trying to steal his sister. I don’t give a damn if it was a woman. Someone had to stop her, and everyone else was too busy taking notes for headlines and payouts to do anything.
If any of those kids got hurt during that ice cream debacle, I’d be suing everyone. I could do it. I had connections.
Thankfully, the kids weren’t hurt. At least physically. Mentally was a whole other story.
“Calm down,” T murmured, using his large hands to massage the tense muscles in my shoulders. “The kids are with us, and everything is under control.”
“You think Lolo had nightmares last night?” I worried, thinking of Andi still asleep in our bed with Ketchup.
Trent reached around and tugged the phone from my grip, clearing all the asinine headlines I was staring at to pull up Romeo’s number. He continued massaging my neck with one hand while waiting for Romeo to pick up.
A moment later, I heard his muffled voice.
“How’s Lolo this morning?” Trent got right to it. “She have any trouble sleeping last night?”
I heard him answer but couldn’t make out what he said.
Trent cursed quietly, and my stomach dropped because I knew that meant my niece had a night just like my daughter.
“Yeah, Andi too,” Trent replied. Then, “I know.”
Romeo said something else, and Trent made a sound. “Is she? Yeah, count us in. Okay, yeah. See you then.”
Trent ended the call and tossed the phone beside him on the couch.
I started to turn, but both his hands landed on my shoulders and started massaging again. I groaned and hung my head.
“Lolo didn’t sleep well either,” Trent said. “After we talk to the cops, they’re taking her down to one of Rim’s shelters to pick out a puppy.”
“Braeden is going to love that,” I mused.
“It will give her something else to focus on. Puppies make everything better. At least according to Rimmel.”
“You told Romeo we’d go,” I said knowingly.
“Yeah.” He was slightly sheepish.
“How the hell are you so calm right now?” I wondered, my voice going husky when he squeezed a particularly tight spot at the base of my neck.
“Oh, I’m pissed,” he refuted.
“You’re planning a trip to get a puppy and giving me a massage.”
He went silent for a moment, but his hands never stopped.
God, his hands are fucking magic. Everything about him was.
“Staying calm for you and the kids makes me feel better.”
Classic T. Focusing on all of us instead of himself. Some might call him sacrificial, but in truth, it was survival. Survival through service. Trent didn’t sacrifice his own needs for others. He focused on others because it was what he needed.
You ever heard the saying givers need to have limits because takers rarely do?
Loving a man like this was tricky because it would be so easy to fall into a taker role.
Trent’s heart had no limits. He would give and give until he had nothing left, and it was my job to make sure I filled him back up so he was never empty.
Turning from my seat between his legs, I rose to my knees, wrapped my arms around his waist, and bulldozed him back into the couch cushions, pinning him beneath me.
Bending my head, I mouthed his dick through his sweats, smiling a little at the way he purred. Grabbing the hem of his T-shirt, I lifted to push my head under it and kiss his stomach. The muscles there contracted with his sudden laughter, the burst of sound loosening the tightness in my chest.
Just because I could, I nipped at his defined abs and then traced the contours of his six-pack with my tongue. His laughter smoothed into a low moan, and I stretched up to tug his nipple into my mouth.
His back arched slightly, and my breath turned the small space between his chest and shirt warm. Releasing his nipple, I pressed a kiss to his chest just above his heart.
“You take good care of us, frat boy. I want to take care of you too.”
“You do, baby. Better than anyone.”
“Daddy?” Andi’s voice made me jerk, the seams of T’s shirt cracking a little with the force.
“Fuck,” I muttered, remembering I was tangled in his clothes.
“I’m here, peanut,” Trent called as I tried to untangle myself.
“Uh, Dad,” Andi said, her voice closer than before. “What are you doing?”
I yanked free, cheeks hot, hair wild, and caught in the act. “Uh, what?”
Trent laughed.
The dirty bastard.
“What are you doing, Dad?” Andi asked, her dark eyes on me.
I glanced at Trent for help.
He raised his brow, waiting to see what I’d say.
Forget what I said about his need to help others. He clearly also enjoyed watching me suffer.
“Uh, well, your dad said something on his side was itching him, so I was checking it out.”
“Oh. Do you have a bug bite, Daddy?” Andi said, turning those innocent eyes to Trent.
Trent glanced at me. “Did you find a bug bite, Daddy?”
“Sure did,” I said, straight-faced. “Nothing serious, though. Just try not to itch it.”
“Might be hard. It’s pretty itchy,” Trent said, his eyes full of laughter.
“Well, I’m not scratching any itch you have,” I muttered and stood from the floor. Turning to our daughter, I said, “How about some breakfast, peanut?”
“Can I have apple cider?” she asked. “I know it won’t be as good as Aunt Rimmel’s, but I still want some.”
“Sure,” I told her. “I’ll get the water on.”
Trent pushed off the couch and bent down in front of Andi, tugging on the end of her long hair. “How you doing this morning?”
She shrugged. “Okay.”
Instead of putting the water on, I sank beside Trent. “It’s okay if you’re still upset. You can tell us anything, you know that, right?”
“I’m scared to talk to the police,” she said, tugging the bear in her hand against her chest. “What if they’re mad at me?”
“Why would they be mad at you?” Trent asked.
“Because I caused a scene and spilled my ice cream. Trav got mad and tackled that lady.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I said firmly. “And neither did Travis or London.”
Trent picked up where I left off. “What happened isn’t your fault. The police know that. They aren’t mad. They just need to ask you a few questions.”
“What kind of questions?” she asked.
“What that lady said to you. If she seemed mad,” Trent replied.
“She said she was my mom and you took me from her,” Andi said. “But it was a lie.”
“Lying is wrong. That’s why the police need to hear what she said. They’re trying to find her so she can’t bother you again.”
“Will she go to jail?”
I made a sound, and Trent gave me a look. I bit back the if I don’t send her to hell first! reply about to roll off my tongue.
“She might,” Trent reasoned. “But that’s for the police to decide. And if she does, it isn’t because she lied. Lying is wrong, but you don’t always go to jail for that.”
“She tried to kidnap me,” Andi said. “Is that why?”
Trent nodded. “Yeah. That’s definitely something people go to jail for.”
“She was scary.”
Trent pushed into a standing position and plucked her off her feet. Andi’s arms went around his neck to hug him, the bear hanging between his shoulder blades.
A lump formed in my throat seeing them like that. It never got old seeing him with our kids, and I knew it probably never would.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that, baby girl,” Trent murmured, rubbing her back. “We’re gonna make sure she doesn’t scare you again. That’s why it’s important we talk to the police. Do you think you can do that?”
“Will you and Daddy be there?” she asked.
“We’ll be there,” I told her.
“Me too,” Travis said, stepping off the stairs and walking into the room.
Andi nodded against Trent’s shoulder.
“Okay.”
“After we’re done, we’re going to the shelter with Aunt Rimmel and London.”
Gasping, Andi pulled back to swivel and look at me. “Can I get a kitten?”
“I thought you wanted a puppy,” Trent said.
“But we already have Ketchup. I’ve never had a cat before. They’re so small and cuddly.”
“Do you remember Murphy?” I asked, thinking of my sister’s late one-eyed cat.
Andi nodded. “His picture is still on the mantel. Aunt Rimmel loved him a lot.”
Travis made a sound and went into the kitchen to stand in front of the fridge with the door wide open. Tell me you don’t pay the bills without telling me.
“Cats shit in a box,” he announced.
“Seriously, Travis?” I warned. “Your mouth is worse than any litter box.”
He made another sound.
“Travis,” Trent said quietly.
Travis pushed the fridge closed and turned. “Sorry,” he apologized. Then, “What I meant was cats use the bathroom in a box.”
Andi raised her hand. “I’ll clean it.”
“Like h—” Both T and I fired a look at him, and his lips pressed together. After a second, he tried again. “I’m not letting my sister clean up poop with a plastic shovel. I’ll do it.”
I held in a laugh. Every man in this house was wrapped around her cute little finger.
Andi’s face lit up. “Really?”
Travis sighed, turned back to the fridge, and opened the door.
“Same thing was in there the last time you looked,” I told him.
“So can I?” Andi asked. “Pleeease?”
Trent smiled. “As long as you give it a better name than Ketchup.”
“Hey, that’s a good name.” I defended.
Andi squealed and patted Trent for him to put her down. “I’ll go get dressed!”
“Thought you wanted apple cider!” I called after her.
“I do,” she yelled back.
I shook my head and went into the kitchen to put water on to boil.
Trent wrapped himself around me from behind, and I turned my face to kiss him on the cheek. “You’re a good dad,” I told him quietly.
Ketchup raced into the room, slid over the tile, and knocked into his water bowl. Water sloshed all over the floor and on the baseboard of the island. He just kept right on going over to the back door where he barked.