26. Spencer
SPENCER
I was still rubbing sleep from my eyes as I stumbled down the last steps of the cold stone stairs. Kiera and I hadn’t gotten home until the waning hours of the night, a sliver of blue appearing on the horizon.
Yawning, I put my hand down my gray sweats. I scratched my pubes and waltzed into the kitchen where Major Callahan was frying up eggs on the stove.
“Smells good.” I managed as I threw myself into the island stool, kicking my feet up onto the empty one.
Leo nodded. “It won’t be a Chef Moore special, but it’ll be food.”
And today, that was enough. Which Leo knew. She wasn’t one to pry, wasn’t going to insert herself in my business. But she knew when I needed the morning off.
“Went okay?” She asked without looking up from the stove.
At the question, all of my frustration came roaring back. I’d almost been able to push the images of my nephew's casted arm and bruised face from my memory.
Gritting my teeth, I shook my head. “As well as it can. That fucking prick.”
Leo just nodded. She didn’t need me to fill it in. We both knew plenty of men like Bill. He wasn’t the first, and he certainly wasn’t the last.
But he had another think coming if he thought he could lay another fucking finger on that boy without getting a darker, nastier bruise than the one he was hiding with cheap pharmacy concealer.
I knew two things for sure: Caleb’s bruises didn’t happen from a fall — I’d gotten into plenty of street brawls myself. And Caleb was getting far too old to let his dad push him or his sister around.
My nephew could handle a lot, putting too much weight on his shoulders for a boy his age. But I knew there was only so much he could manage seeing Bill put Abi through.
And that threshold was shrinking by the day.
They need an exit plan, fast.
I knew I needed to pick up some extra shifts at Glass Cannon, maybe my little plaything could tag along so it wasn’t so boring.
As soon as Caleb was 18, he could move out and get a place for himself. And then he could petition to become Abi’s legal guardian. It would be messy, intense and probably make things worse for his little sister in the meantime.
But if we could pull it off, they could be free of Bill’s cancerous presence once and for all.
Resting my head in my hands, I sucked in a deep breath. There was a lot to do, papers to file. And I’d need to drop off the photographs of Caleb’s injuries with my attorney. Evidence, all of it was evidence.
Just then, I heard the soft patter of Kiera’s feet on the cool floors behind me.
“Morning.” She grumbled as she stepped into the kitchen. As I scooped her into my arms, she planted a sleepy kiss on my lips. A rush of butterflies flew through my body. All I wanted to do was wrap myself around her, bring her to bed, and stay there all day.
From the other side of the kitchen, Leo slid two cups of coffee across the counter. “Morning, Princess.”
Kiera blew Leo a kiss and took a sip from her mug — drip coffee with a small spoon of sugar and a bit of milk.
Through her sleepy haze, Kiera threw her arms over my neck and looked at Leo. “How did the rest of the mission go?”
“Not bad,” Leo started, her face a light pout. “Watched them for a bit after you two left. Sent all the info to The Oracle.”
Sipping at her protein shake, Leo tried to recall other details. With a shrug, she came up empty. “We’ll probably get another mission soon, shit’s moving fast now that the structure of the whole thing is in place.”
Nodding, I grabbed my cup of coffee and took a gulp. It was a caffeine bomb, a red eye with cream. A drip coffee with a shot of espresso was enough to get me through a shift at the Cannon and have energy for our girl when I got home.
“Good, I want those assholes out of our town.” I mumbled after swallowing down the bitter drink.
Leo checked the clock, just after 9 am. Turning off the stove, she pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed a number.
I rested my head on Kiera’s chest as I held her close.
“Hi, this is Dr. Leona Callahan, M.D. I’m Caleb Saulnier’s primary care physician.” Leo looked over at our little prisoner with a wink without breaking from her professional act. “Could you send over his files from the incident last night? We’d like to update his records here.”
Kiera raised an eyebrow at me as Leo stepped into the dining room.
“Yes of course, my license number is…” Leo’s voice faded to a low rumble as she got to work.
Squeezing Kiera, I laughed at her surprise. “What’s the point of being friends with a doctor if you can’t use them to help you get your nephew and niece away from their shitty father?”
Kiera huffed out a laugh. “Fair enough.”
It was a comfort really, to have Leo look over everything. Anytime I was lost on how to get their records — how to be there for them in any real way — Leo had a practical answer. A call she could make, a practice she knew of.
“So that’s how she helps?” Kiera nodded toward the dining room.
“Yep, Leo’s good with logistics. She likes action items, not really a fan of sitting and waiting. Especially with personal stuff.” As we sat, I could smell her body wash mixing with the smell of a fresh coffee. It was utterly intoxicating.
My eyes narrowed in on her lips. “Besides, if she handles the practical shit, I can process more of the emotional shit. Like the comfort you’re offering me right now.”
Kiera pushed my shoulders, trying to get me to talk about my feelings.
Jokes on her, I liked it when she fought back.
“I’m being serious.” Throwing my hands up, I stared into her eyes, getting lost in the endless meadow of green. “It’s hard to deal with Bill and what he’s done to them. What he did to Jess.”
My eyes started to burn, something I didn’t want Kiera to see. So instead, I rested my forehead back on her shoulder and grabbed her ass.
I could feel her eyes roll as I hid my face.
And then her breathing quickened as she ramped up to ask a question. The one question I knew had been on her mind since I told her the truth about my family. Our little cozy bubble would pop as soon as the words left her lips.
But I knew it was coming.
Swallowing hard, Kiera shifts back to meet my eyes. “If you have access to all the… resources that you do, why haven’t you just —”
Killed him.
I could fill in the blank. And the answer was something I debated every day.