Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
B ryan walked over to Dev’s place with the boys, one on either side of him, holding their hands. He was looking forward to seeing Dev again. Enjoying his time with the man more and more and, Bryan was not in the least bit put out they would be seeing each other at least three times this week.
“Are we there yet?” Dylan asked.
“Just another block.”
“It’s so far.” Micah had been repeating that particular sentiment since the first block. And it was only eight blocks from their place to Dev’s.
“I think you’ll survive. And Mr. Dev is ordering something yummy for us to have for supper.”
“Tacos?” Micah asked.
Bryan chuckled. His boy would do pretty much anything if he was promised a taco as a reward. “You’ll have to ask him.”
They got to Dev’s building and went in. The security guard was the same guy as the last time they’d come, and he gave them a nod, clearly recognizing them. Bryan took the boys to the elevator, and up they went.
It felt ritzy and decadent somehow, living in a fancy apartment building like this. It suited Dev somehow, too. He was so glad for Dev that Grant’s thievery hadn’t kept him down for long.
The elevator dinged and out they went, the boys running to Dev’s door and knocking.
“Mr. Dev! We’re here!”
Marley opened the door, and the teenager had been crying. “H-hey.”
“Hey. Is everything okay?” Bryan asked without even thinking. Something was obviously wrong.
“I burned dinner.” She held up a bandaged hand. “I burned my hand. Daddy says it’s no big deal, and he ordered something, but I wanted to make tacos for you guys!”
“Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry you got hurt. And I love that you wanted to cook for us. That was really nice of you. You wanna show me what you were doing and how it went wrong?” He didn’t want to overstep, but he could maybe help Marley some, if she was interested in learning how to cook.
“I’m no good at this part. I followed the instructions—I put the oil in, the chicken…”
Oil was splashed around the stove area and the whole bone-in chicken breast was incinerated.
“So you followed a written recipe, eh? Have you considered going with Youtube? They walk you through it, and often it’s easier to understand when you have it being done right in front of you rather than having to figure out what they mean on the page, you know?”
“I guess? Daddy says it counts that I tried…”
“Hey, baby girl. How’s the hand? I ordered in tacos.” Dev smiled at him. “Hey, guys.”
He smiled right back at Dev but then made himself turn back to Marley—she deserved his full attention on this, and the last thing he wanted to do was discourage her in her cooking endeavors. “It totally counts that you tried. It’s amazing that you wanted to do that for us. Thank you. I’m serious. I can teach you if you want. I’m going to teach your dad some stuff.”
“You aren’t mad?”
“I told you no one was going to be mad,” Dev told her.
“You tried to do something special for me and my boys; why would I be mad? Besides,” he leaned in to whisper into Marley’s ear. “It’s not my kitchen you tried to burn down.”
“Yeah…” She offered him a crooked grin. “That was stinky.”
“I bet. I’ll help you clean up if you like, though.” The place was a huge mess.
“I’ll help.” That was little Juni. “Her hand hurts a lot.”
“Sounds great. Boys, you can help too. I bet we get the kitchen cleaned up before the food delivery gets here.” Bryan grabbed a bunch of paper towels and started soaking up the lake of oil before realizing this wasn’t his house, Marley wasn’t his girl, and maybe this was inappropriate. He’d kind of made an assumption or two here.
“I’m going to check Mar’s hand, and then I’ll be right back to help,” Dev offered him a warm little smile.
Oh, good. Dev wasn’t offended or upset about him kind of just wading in like it was his place and like he could offer Marley comfort and support. “Cool. We’ll try to have it done before you get back.” He gave Dev a wink and turned back to the task at hand.
Juniper was flinging water and suds like a wild thing. “Stupid. Cooking is stupid and hard and nasty!”
“Oh, honey, it doesn’t have to be. It can be fun and exciting, and you make really good things.” Bryan had to wonder if she’d overheard her dad saying that at some point when he thought he was alone.
“We used to have help, but she left, and Daddy hasn’t found someone he likes.”
Well, he would totally be willing to volunteer to help in the kitchen. He actually liked cooking, and he had to make food for him and the boys anyway… He shook himself. That was not a discussion for now, he imagined.
“Well, I’m here to help now, and we’ve almost got it all done. You and the boys have done most of it—you wanna take them to your room and play?” They actually had helped, but the biggest thing now was clearing away the mess the cleaning up had made. Juniper had used too much soap and water and that needed to be cleared up. But then it would be done. It was just easier doing the ‘finessing’ without a ten-year-old, a six-year-old and a four-year-old ‘helping out.’
“You want to come play Legos?” Juni asked, holding out her hands to the boys.
“Yes!” They grabbed onto her hands and the three of them took off, leaving Bryan chuckling. He was impressed actually, that Juniper had volunteered in the first place. The boys adored Dev’s girls and thought they were both so cool, but he had to wonder if the older girls were as happy with two younger boys tagging along after them.
He grabbed a bowl and used the dishcloth to push the water off the counter into the bowl. Then he poured the water into the sink before pushing more water into the bowl. He did that until all the water and soap were cleaned off the counter and the stove. Then he cleaned the last bit of grease off the far end of the stove where Juniper couldn’t reach before setting about scrubbing the poor burned pot. He was surprised actually that Dev even had pots if he never cooked. On the other hand, Juniper had said something about help.
“How can I help?” Dev asked, reappearing at the entrance to the kitchen. “I put some Solarcaine on Marley’s burn and she’s resting until the food comes.”
“I’m almost done. It was so sweet of her to try to make us something. I’m just sorry she got hurt. You know if she genuinely wants to cook, I’d be happy to teach her.” He wrung out the cloth and set it in the sink.
“She downloaded a recipe; she was convinced she could do it.” Dev shook his head. “Sorry you came into a mess.”
“No problem. I told her to try YouTube next time. Visual step-by-steps are so much easier. Especially for someone who’s never done it before. She’s a sweetheart.” He liked both of Dev’s girls. They were so different, and yet they both reminded him of Dev, and not just in looks.
“She is. She wants to impress you, very much.”
“She does?” He wasn’t sure why. He was just a guy who’d started hanging out with her dad. Maybe it was the wanting-to-babysit thing.
“Sure. She knows I like your company.”
Oh, that made him feel good, like warm-in-his-tummy good. “I like your company too.” In fact, he liked Dev a whole lot. He smiled at Dev, caught a little in his gaze.
“Well, that’s good to know.” Dev leaned against the counter. “Very good.”
“Yeah? Cool.” He leaned, too. God, he was a dork, right? He didn’t care, though. He was enjoying the moment.
“You’re a good man. Thank you for being nice to Mar.”
“She makes it easy. She’s a good kid. They both are. You’ve done a great job raising them.”
“I—Thanks. That’s kind to say.”
“It’s the truth.” Bryan knew how Dev felt, though. You wanted to raise good kids and yet, when they were good and did nice things, it was hard to take credit; they were their own people. On impulse, he moved in and gave Dev a hug.
Dev’s arms wrapped around him, and it was so sweet, and Dev’s body was firm and warm against him. He could have stood just like that for ages because he didn’t want this closeness to end, even if his cock was threatening to harden. but the door buzzer sounded, and he jumped a little, startled, and stepped back.
“Food. Sorry. I didn’t want to let go.”
No, Bryan hadn’t wanted to let go either, and it made him even warmer inside to know that Dev felt the same way.
Dev headed to the door, and Bryan heard it opening, and then Dev shouted, “Call security!”
Then there was the horrific sound of something hitting flesh.
“Dev!” He ran for the door, as he dialed 911—he didn’t even know how to call the building’s security, but if bad things were happening, the police was the right call.
Grant was there, at Dev’s door, the two men fighting brutally, exchanging blow after blow, punching each other.
What the fuck?
He froze for a moment, shock shorting him out for a second, then headed for them, determined to get Grant away from Dev. “Hey! Hey, you fucker. Stop it!” He was not letting Grant take anything else away from him.
“Protect the kids.” Dev took a hard blow to the belly.
He was torn between doing as Dev asked and helping Dev out, but Dev was right, the kids needed to be corralled and kept safe.
“911. How can I help you?” came from his phone.
He put it to his ear and headed for Juniper’s room. “There’s a home invasion. Send the cops now.” He rattled off Dev’s address, looking back down the hall.
He saw Dev hit a button on the wall, and an alarm started blaring. Then Grant hit Dev right across the temple and he went down.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
“Hurry! He’s knocked Dev out! You have to get here now!” He threw the phone down and looked around wildly for something to use as a weapon. He grabbed the first thing he saw, a wooden chair that might have been an antique, but that didn’t matter, he had to protect Dev and the kids.
Holding the chair up and screaming at the top of his lungs, he ran for Grant and smashed the chair over Grant’s head.
God, it felt good when Grant went down, so Bryan hit him again. He didn’t want Grant getting back up. Not with the kids in the other room, not with Dev down.
Someone appeared in the doorway, catching his attention. It wasn’t the cops, but it was a security guard, holding a taser aimed at him.
“Put the chair down! Now!”
Bryan threw it down and held up his hands. “He’s the intruder,” he said, nodding at Grant. “He attacked Devlin. We need help.”
“Get him out of here!” Marley screamed. “There is a restraining order for the man on the floor. He has to go!”
“Go to Juniper’s room with the others and bar the door until your father or I come and get you,” he called out to her. Then he turned back to the security guard. “You heard her. Restrain him before he gets up again!” He needed to get to Dev, make sure he was okay. And where the hell was security when Grant had gained access to the elevators in the first place?
“He had food. Mr. Marx said he’d ordered!”
“Fine! Just arrest him already!” Goddamn it, Grant was stirring and Dev wasn’t, and Bryan was about to lose his shit.
“I’m not a police officer!”
“Get him out of here!” Bryan started shoving at Grant’s body, wanting a closed door between them and him before he woke, and the security guy grabbed Grant’s legs and started pulling and that was when the police showed up.
Thank God. He shouted over the sound of the alarm bells. “Grant Hubbard has a restraining order against him. He’s hurt Dev. Arrest him!” Trusting that if nothing else, Grant wouldn’t hurt anyone else with the cops right there, Bryan went to his knees next to Dev. “Dev. Dev. You’ve got to wake up. Please. The girls need you.”
Dev frowned. “We have a restraining order. Marley knows where it is.”
“Okay. It’s okay the cops are here now. I’ll get her to show me. Are you okay?” Was Dev going to need an ambulance?
“I don’t know. My head hurts.”
“He needs an ambulance,” Bryan told the cops.
“On its way. We’re going to need that restraining order.”
Marley had clearly been watching because she came flying out of Juniper’s bedroom and went to a credenza, pulling paperwork out of a drawer. She came over, tears on her cheeks, looking scared, but she bravely handed it over to the police officer. Bryan opened his arms, and she flew into them.
“I have the radio up loud, and we’re having a dance party with the boys.”
“Smart girl. Can you go back to them? Keep everyone safe until we get this sorted?” He didn’t want her to have to deal with any of this.
“Is Daddy okay?”
“He’s going to be fine. I’m going to call my friend Jennie to come help you guys out while I head to the hospital, okay?” Because he was not letting Dev have to deal with the cops and the hospital all on his own, but no way was he leaving the kids alone, either. This was not the time for Marley to start her babysitting career.
She looked hesitant, gaze going to her dad.
“The boys know her,” he added. “She’s looked after them before. I know you can handle them, but it’s been a rough day.”
She still looked torn, and he put everything else out of his head and met her eyes, concentrating on her. “I’ll make sure your father is okay, I promise. You look after your sister and my boys; I’ll look after your dad. Deal?”
“Uh-huh. Jennie is her name?”
“Yes, but I’ll wait until she gets her to leave. Fair?”
“Yeah. Thanks.” Her face was a twist of relief and worry, and he squeezed her tight in another hug.
“Okay. Go make sure they’re okay.” He waited until she’d gone back to the room the kids were in and grabbed his phone, texting Jennie.
need you to look after boys +2. long story. Then he gave her Dev’s address.
The alarm finally stopped sounding, and that helped him calm down a little. The couple of deep breaths he took didn’t hurt, either.
The paramedics started leaving, Dev on a stretcher.
Bryan called out to him, “I’ll get there as soon as I can. I’ve got someone coming for the kids.”
He wasn’t sure Dev had heard him, but he hoped so.
“I’m so sorry about the tacos…” Dev murmured.
He shook his head. That was the least of their worries, although the kids still needed to eat.
bring tacos? I’ll owe you forever.
no prob. be there in 15-20 She was a great friend.
One of the officers approached him. “We need your statement, sir.”
He nodded. He couldn’t go anywhere until Jennie showed up anyway, so he led the man over to the couch in the living room. “What do you need to know?”
“Mr. Marx assured us that you are a guest of his and not involved in the attack against him.”
Jesus, if Dev hadn’t said anything, would he have been a suspect? Both Dev and Grant had been on the ground by the time the guard had shown up.
“What happened? Do you know this man?” The officer nodded toward Grant, who was being examined by a different paramedic than the ones who’d helped Dev.
“I do. His name is Grant Hubbard. He’s Dev’s—the owner of this apartment—and my ex-husband. We weren’t married at the same time. Dev has a restraining order against him. As you can see—with good reason. He just showed up and started beating on Dev.” Bryan shuddered. It had been awful, and he’d felt helpless, worried, until he’d finally waded in with the chair.
“So… he’s both yours and the victim’s ex-husband? Seriously?”
“Yes. It’s a long and sordid story.” Which he could tell the guy if he had to, but it was embarrassing to admit to having been taken so badly.
“All right.” The cop made some notes.
“You fucker!” Grant hissed. “I’m going to kill both of you!”
Bryan stood, his hands balling into fists—not on his watch. Then he looked at the officer. “Did you hear that? I want it added to the charges.” If they were lucky, Grant was going to be in jail for a long time. If he couldn’t get his money back, he’d could live with that as a consolation prize.
“I did. Please, sir. Wait here and let me get him downstairs and away from the children.”
Bryan nodded, furious. “Once their sitter is here, I’ll be at the hospital. That man better still be in jail.”
“Yes, sir. Absolutely.” The police officer hurried away, shaking his head.
Bryan was fuming and worried and feeling like he was going crazy. He waited until the paramedic and the police officer walked Grant out, and then he immediately closed and locked the door before going back to see how the kids were doing. He knocked first, not wanting to worry them by just walking in.
“It’s Daddy—Bryan,” he called loudly. “I’m coming in now.”
The music was turned down, and Marley cracked the door, obviously ready to defend the little ones. “Are you alone?”
“I am. Everyone is gone and the front door is locked. I just need to come see that you’re all okay in here.” And to tell them it was all over and it was going to be okay. They didn’t need to be worrying about this; they needed to be kids.
“Okay. Thank you.” Marley stepped back and opened the door the rest of the way.
“Daddy!” His boys came over to him.
“Daddy, who was that?”
“Daddy, are you okay?”
“Where’s my dad?!?” Juniper demanded.
“I’ll answer all your questions, but first.” He wrapped his boys in his arms and then opened them again for the girls. “If you need a hug…”
Juni ran right to him, and it took Marley a second to join them. He held all four of them tight, the hug giving him what he needed as well, the comfort and knowledge they were safe.
“I’m fine. And your daddy is okay, too. They just took him to the hospital to make sure of that. The police have arrested the man who hurt him, and security is not going to let anyone else up here. Jennie is coming to look after you guys—and she’s bringing tacos with her. When she gets here, I’m going to go to the hospital and check on Dev. Okay?”
“Okay. I’m good. I can watch the boys.” Marley was shaking so badly that he knew better.
“I know you can, but I won’t go until Jennie gets here. In fact, because she’s coming, do you want to come with me to look out for your dad?” That way, he could keep a close eye on her, help her deal so she didn’t have to keep being strong for everyone else.
“I—Can I?”
“No. No, Marley. Please! I don’t know the other person! I need you here in case someone comes back!” Juni was melting down.
He took her back into his arms and held her tight. “I’m not going anywhere until Jennie gets here and then you can meet her and we can decide then, okay?” He was just trying to do the right thing for all of them.
His boys were just sitting there wide-eyed, clearly not sure at all what was happening, but picking up on the girls’ moods.
“There you go. Let’s—” Marley took a shaky breath. “Let’s go watch a movie. Something fun.”
“Wonderful idea.” He tried to remember if the front hall looked okay, decided it would be good enough and led the kids out to the living room with its huge couches and the big TV. “What do you guys all want to watch?”
The boys were wide-eyed, but Marley smiled. “Have you guys seen Robin Hood ? It’s an old movie from when my granny was a kid.”
Bless her, Marley was a trooper.
“Okay,” Dylan said and Micah nodded, willing to go along with whatever his big brother wanted.
Juni grabbed hold of his hand, squeezing tight.
He smiled at her and held on, sitting with the four of them on one of the couches as Marley got the movie going. It took the attention of his boys and Juni well enough. He sighed inwardly and tried not to worry too hard about Dev, but now that he knew the kids were as okay as they could be, his thoughts kept going to Dev and the bruise coming up on his face, the paleness of the skin around it.
The house phone rang, and Marley answered it. “Your friend is here, I think, but you should answer it.”
He nodded and took the phone from her. “Hello?”
“Bryan. It’s me. I’m here. With tacos, as promised.”
“Jennie. Thank goodness. Come on up.” He looked to Marley. “Is there a button I press or something?”
“You tell the security guy it’s cool.”
“Okay.” He spoke back into the phone. “Jennie, put security on the line, please.”
“Yes, sir?”
“It’s cool. Send her up.”
“Yes, sir.”
Okay, that was handy as hell. Honestly. It was just too bad the security guard had let Grant up without calling up first.
He slid off the couch and went to the door to let Jennie in.
She was like a breath of fresh air, honestly, flowing in with bags of tacos and cookies. “I’m here!”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you. I owe you big-time, lady. Come in and meet the girls.” He led her back to the living room. “Hey, girls, this is Jennie. Jennie—Marley and Juniper.”
“Hey, ladies. Thanks for letting me come over. I was craving tacos.”
“Marley burned the tacos, and Daddy went to the hospital,” Juni said, and Marley’s eyes went wide.
“The two were not related,” he assured Jennie. “We had an unwanted visitor who spoke with his fists.” He leaned in and whispered, “Grant,” to her.
It was Jennie’s turn to go wide-eyed. “Oh, hell no.”
“Yeah. Dev got hurt.” He sighed. “Come to the kitchen, and we’ll get the tacos out.”
“Sure.” She followed, looking shocked.
“The kids are a little freaked.”
“No shit, Sherlock.”
He snorted. He did love Jennie and her say-it-like-it-is attitude. “So I’m going to go to the hospital and check on Dev. Hopefully bring him home.”
“Okay. I’ll stay here until you get back. No stress. I’ll just hang out and be social. What did he want?”
“To beat the shit out of Dev, it seems. He threated to kill us as the cops dragged him off.” Bryan shuddered. He was trying very hard not to fall apart here; he had to be strong for everyone. They needed him.
“But Dev’s not—in danger… right?”
“I’m pretty sure the cops are going to have someone at his room at the hospital. At least they’d better. Plus, Grant was arrested, so he’s going to be in jail for the foreseeable future. I hope. At least until tomorrow anyway.” He hated not having all the answers. And he needed to get to see Dev. “Let’s get the kids in to eat, and I’ll go if they’re comfortable with you.”
“Sure. You don’t stress it. I am well-trained.”
“You’re a rockstar.” He went back to the living room. “Tacos are ready in the kitchen. How about we pause the movie and eat, yeah?”
“Tacos!” Micah shouted, immediately running for the kitchen. Dylan nodded, too, and followed after his brother.
The girls were a little slower, both of them having a little discussion before coming to the table.
“Is everything all right, girls?”
Marley nodded. “I’m staying with Juni and the boys. It’s what Daddy would expect me to do. To stay and help.”
“If you’re sure.”
She nodded again.
“Okay. You want to give me your cellphone number and I’ll text you as soon as I’ve seen your father to tell you that he’s doing fine, okay?”
“Does Daddy have his phone? Do you need to take him a charger?”
“A charger would be great. But once you get it for me, I need you to sit and eat and relax, sweetie.” She needed to decompress and let someone else be the adult.
She wasn’t responsible for the whole world, and she needed to let that burden go.
He grabbed a taco and wolfed it down, figuring he wasn’t going to get anything at the hospital. Then he pocketed the charger Marley gave him and gave his boys a hug and a kiss. Then he gave each of the girls a quick hug for support. “I will text as soon as I know anything, okay? You guys don’t have to worry about a thing. And thanks, Jennie, I appreciate this so much.” He’d learned to lean on people in the aftermath of Grant stealing every last penny he had, and while he still didn’t like having to do it, he knew it was necessary at times like this.
“I’ve got this. Marley and I are going to be fine. Maybe we’ll make some peanut butter cookies together.”
“I bet she’d love that. Bye all.” He was on his phone as soon as he closed the door behind him, arranging for an Uber to the hospital. He only hoped that Dev was okay and he was just making the trip to bring Dev home again.