Chapter 59 - Colten
FIFTY-NINE
COLTEN
Laken is still asleep on the couch when I slip out of bed to make Lexi something to eat. She refused dinner last night despite not eating all day, and I let it slide because in that moment, she knew her body couldn’t handle it.
But no more. She’s eating a balanced breakfast this morning, and I’m not going to take no for an answer.
I find Nico in the kitchen, leaning against the counter so he has a good view of Laken each time he looks up from his phone.
“Hey,” I say softly as I step past him toward the fridge. “Sleep well?”
“Not a wink, you?”
“Nope.” I pull the carton of eggs out along with some bacon. “Has she slept okay?”
Nico finally drags his gaze from Laken and turns, leaning back against the counter. “She had one nightmare a few hours ago but settled quickly. I think the adrenaline crash got her good.”
“Same as Lexi.” I tug the freezer open and retrieve a bag of tater tots. They’re her favorite and should be easy on her stomach if she’s still feeling off when she wakes up.
One of the skills I’ve honed over the years of stalking Lexi is my ability to be quiet, and I make use of that particular skill set as I silently prepare breakfast for everyone.
The only sound in the kitchen is the air fryer, but it’s more like white noise than anything, and I doubt it will be what drags either woman from their slumber.
“So, what are you planning to do to keep her?” I ask, looking up from the stove to catch him watching Laken.
His attention turns to me, his cheeks heating slightly.
I’ve met Nico on a handful of occasions, but he always gave off fuckboy energy.
Every moment since he met Laken has been the exact opposite of that.
“I called the matchmaker this morning and requested our profiles be run against one another. There was some pushback because of her father, but after I reminded them how much I’m paying for their services and the Sinclair standing within the Mafia community, they agreed. ”
“And if you’re not a match?”
“We’re a match.”
“You seem very confident of that.”
“Says he who hacked the algorithm to match himself with who he wanted,” he challenges.
I smirk. “I sure did.”
“If we’re not a match, I’ll likely offer some kind of deal to her father. I just need to do some recon as to what it is he wants.”
I nod, flipping the bacon and stirring the scrambled eggs to make sure they don’t stick. “He’s a real asshole if that one conversation I had with him is anything to go by.”
“The way she tenses anytime going back to Philadelphia is mentioned makes me fucking homicidal.”
“Welcome to the obsessed Mafia man club. We meet on the last Tuesday of every month.” I chuckle.
“Fuck off.”
“You’re in elite company with Cruz and me. You’re going to need to get your own bit, though. Cruz is the golden retriever with Riley. I’m obviously the stalker with Lexi. What’s going to be your thing?”
“You’re a dick, you know that?”
I laugh but don’t get a chance to respond before the promise of food drags both women from their peaceful sleeps.
Lexi stumbles out of the bedroom first, delightfully rumpled and bleary-eyed. She’s pulled on one of my Henleys and a pair of her own sweatpants.
Pancake trots out of the bedroom after her. I’m surprised she hasn’t been nagging for breakfast, but maybe she needed the sleep just like Lexi did.
Laken sits up slowly, rubbing sleep from her eyes and meeting Nico’s eyes across the room before quickly diverting them.
He may be all in, but she’s going to need some time. She’s been through hell, and we don’t even know a fraction of what she’s survived, not just the last month, but her whole life with a father that’s treating her more like a prized racehorse than a child.
Lexi and Pancake make their way to our guest while I finish breakfast and bring it to the table.
I quickly feed our fluffy child so we can eat in peace, and by the time I sit down, Lexi is three tater tots deep and has a piece of bacon poised at her lips, allowing me to breathe a little easier.
“Thanks for breakfast, Colten,” Laken says quietly from beside Lexi.
“You’re welcome. If you don’t like anything, I can make you something else.”
“No, this is great. I can’t remember the last time I ate something warm.”
All our eyes turn to her as she takes a bite of eggs.
“Are you saying they starved you?” Nico growls, causing her eyes to widen.
I kick him under the table, causing him to turn his glare on me, and I shake my head slowly. She’s going to be jumpy for a while, and he needs to be gentle with her, especially when she’s sharing something traumatic.
“Sometimes they forgot to feed me, I think. Especially when we were on the road. Between drugging me and staying under the radar, it just wasn’t a priority for them. But mostly it was stale gas station sandwiches when they remembered.”
Nico’s seething beside me, Lexi is staring at her with horror, and I’m becoming more and more determined by the second to wipe these two fuckwits off the face of the earth.
Even if I could forgive them for what they did to Lexi, which I absolutely cannot, what they did to Laken was disgusting.
“It’s okay if you’re not ready to talk about it, but when you are, I’d really appreciate if you could tell me anything else you may know.
If they spoke about their plans around you, anyone else that might be involved in their plot to delegitimize the Mafia Matchmaker.
” Lexi’s voice is soft as she squeezes Laken’s hand.
Neither of them should have to deal with this right now, when their trauma is so fresh, but it’s important if we want to ensure their safety.
She nods and reaches for her orange juice.
“They’ve been gaining support from what I can tell.
There are quite a few families ineligible for the service, and that’s making a lot of people really angry.
Honestly, I think if they got word of the things my father has done, I’d probably be cut as well, but I’m hoping to be matched before that can happen. ”
“You will be,” Nico says confidently.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. God, for a man who is known for being good with the ladies, he’s not very smooth with this one.
“They’re collecting support and proof of bad matches, thinking it will make the service look bad enough that the families that are eligible will lose faith in it.”
“They can try, but every match I know of has been a huge success.” Lexi meets my eyes. “Have you heard of any matches that have ended badly?”
“A few. But they don’t claim a perfect success rate because that’s not realistic. People can be perfectly compatible on paper and not be able to make it work in real life.”
“What are we going to do now?” Lexi asks.
“We aren’t going to do anything. I’m going to see if I can trace where Grant and Jay are hiding out, and you’re going to sit on the couch and binge-watch whatever reality TV show tickles your fancy that day.”
“Colten.” She rolls her eyes.
Laken watches our exchange with a small smile, and I’m glad the normalcy of the moment can offer her some level of comfort while she’s going through such a hard time.
“For once in your life, don’t argue with me, Wildcat. You and I both need you to stay close, and I don’t think my heart can handle you getting any more involved in this than you already are.”
She stares at me for long seconds, and I’m certain she’s going to argue, but instead she reaches over and takes my hand. “Fine, but I’m going to be really annoying.”
A laugh tumbles from my throat before I can catch it.
How did I ever think I could live my life without her being mine?