Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
SLOANE
I pushed open the door to my house and waited for Hayes to step through before entering behind him.
"Are you sure you would rather stay here instead of one of the living quarters?" Since we all moved into our respective houses, the living quarters sat empty. We had yet to decide as a team what to do with them.
"Anita made it sound like I didn't have a choice. She wanted me close. I figured your house was better than with one of your other teammates."
I winced at the accusation. He wasn't wrong. Anita may have phrased it like a question, but there was no mistaking her tone. She wanted us to keep an eye on him. The living quarters were secure, and security was set up, but having Hayes stay in a house made the most sense.
"That's fair." I headed over to the stairs. "The bedroom is on the second floor. It's already set up. Although, I should apologize in advance. It's only a full bed. It was set up for Krista. Not a full-grown man."
"Who's Krista?"
Shit! I probably wasn't supposed to bring her up. This whole foster-parent thing was new, and I didn't know what rules I had to follow. However, he would see her eventually. It wasn't like we could keep him or Krista locked away.
"Our…ward? Or I guess foster child is a better word."
"What do you mean, ours? Who exactly?"
We stopped in the doorway of the spare bedroom, and I turned to face Hayes with a sigh.
"All of us. My team. We rescued Krista during an assignment and tried handing her over, but she refused to go into the system.
She had no family left and didn't want to live with strangers.
" I thought about it for a second. "Well, technically, other strangers since she didn't know us either, but she wanted to stay, and we didn't have the heart to say no.
She's lived here since. We each have a room for her in our houses, but she mostly stays with Lilith. "
"And no one's bothered to question that?" he asked in disbelief.
"We've got some pretty powerful people in our corner. I'm not saying it's right or that we know what the hell we're doing. In fact, I'm sure we've screwed things up a few times already, but it's what Krista wants. She has no one else in her life, so yeah, we pulled strings to give it to her."
I wouldn't feel guilty for giving a young girl what she needed to feel safe and happy.
Did I think we were the best choice? Not really.
I was damn sure there was a family out there who could do better, but then I thought about other horror stories I heard.
The thought of Krista going through something horrific again filled me with rage.
I already had one guilty conscience when it came to a child. I didn't need another.
"I don't mean to judge you or your team. I'm just trying to figure out the dynamic here and how this became your life. Whenever we’d talked about the future, you mentioned a big family and becoming a social worker. You wanted to help children like me. Now you kick ass and kidnap old flames."
The reminder of all the things I had once wanted churned my stomach, and I had to fight down the bile that threatened to prove I wasn't as strong as Hayes thought.
Hayes was right though. There had been a time in my life when we’d discussed a big family. We were both only children, and I remembered how lonely life was growing up. I wanted more for my future children.
Unfortunately, life was cruel, and I wasn't sure children were in my future.
"I still help people. Children included. I just do it in a different way. My team and I are sent in during the worst time in a person's life, and we make it better. We rescue and give them a second chance on life."
"And the fighting?"
I wanted to scream, “I did that because I refused to be a victim again.” I held my tongue though and gave a far vaguer answer.
"I took up martial arts after I left." A little white lie.
I met Anita, dealt with the repercussions of the incident, and then swore I would learn to defend myself no matter what.
"I discovered I liked it and wanted to study as many forms of it as I could.
Turns out, I'm a quick study and fairly decent. I haven't stopped using it since."
"Is that when you met your team?"
I sighed. There was a fine line between revealing too much and leaving him to form his own––possibly wrong––conclusions.
"Anita came first. She helped me in a lot of ways.
Nyx and Lilith joined us after. Turns out, we had the same goal and different skill sets that allowed us to be a well-rounded team. "
Hayes nodded. The wheels were turning in his mind, but I cut him off before he could sate his curiosity.
"Why don't you get settled in? I'm sure Beckett can lend you some clothes while we grab your stuff.
" I looked him up and down. "You guys are about the same size.
" I took a step back out of the room. Putting some distance between us.
"He can show you around as well while I meet with my team. "
I took the coward’s way out and hightailed my ass out of my house, going in search of Anita. I didn't have to look long before I ran into her.
"Can Beckett help Hayes settle in?"
"He already agreed to it. He's got a phone call to make, and then he'll keep Hayes busy for a while."
I exhaled a relieved sigh. "Thank you."
Anita bobbed her head as a “you're welcome.” "Want to hit the mats and work out some of the tension?"
"You know me so well." I smirked.
"Nope. I just know what I would need in your position. My preference is torture, but since that's not your style, we'll do things your way."
We walked silently into the second gym. When we designed the compound, we wanted a gym to work out in and a separate space to spar. I was grateful for that forethought now. If Beckett knew we were in here, he would avoid it when showing Hayes around.
Neither of us bothered to change. In a real fight, we wouldn't have time to switch outfits, so we trained the same way we worked. In whatever we were wearing.
Anita didn't train in all the styles of martial arts like I did, but that didn't mean she didn't give as good as she got. By the time we were done, we both worked up a good sweat.
Sprawled out on the mat, I stared up at the ceiling and let my thoughts wander.
"You okay with Hayes in your house?" Anita pulled me from my thoughts.
"I'm going to have to be. I need to keep my guard up though. I don't want him knowing what happened."
"So you said."
"You don't agree?" Anita was as close to a friend as I got these days. Nyx and Lilith were great, but they came after everything happened. Anita was there from the beginning.
"It's not about me. You have to decide what's best for you and what you can live with."
I didn't even have to think about it. "I can live with the secret if it keeps Hayes safe. I refuse to be the reason he does something he might regret."
"I told you back then I would always keep your secret, but I want you to consider one thing. Would you be okay with having someone in your life who betrayed you, or would you rather know the truth so you could decide how to proceed?"
That was a good question. It was a matter of the lesser of two evils. Which was worse though?