Chapter 6
Regan
I didn’t know how long I’d been punching the dummy when I heard someone clapping behind me.
Still trapped in the memories, I spun and assumed a fighting position, finding Seth leaning against the doorway.
It took a moment before I relaxed enough to lower my wrapped fists, and the entire time, he kept his eyes locked on me.
The music began blaring through the speaker as the next song started, and I walked over and picked up the remote to turn it off. Seth stepped into the gym and looked around before his eyes landed back on me.
“That was a hell of a demonstration,” he started. “I should train with you sometime. You can probably teach me a thing or two.”
I shook my head and grabbed a towel from the shelf before wiping the sweat from my face. “I’m sure you know more about this than I do.”
He got closer, and usually, I’d step back, but the adrenaline from his startling me coupled with the memories of when I was defenseless was making me bolder than usual. He reached out a finger and brushed a wet lock of hair from my forehead as I struggled to stop panting.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, my beautiful hummingbird.”
The bewilderment had to be evident on my face as he smiled down at me. No one had ever given me a pet name before, and to have one so unique was confusing. Not wanting to open that can of worms right then, I stepped back from him and asked, “Do you want something to drink?”
He shook his head as I turned away from him and moved to the minifridge in the corner.
Taking out a bottle of water, I took a deep swallow, trying to calm the butterflies in my stomach.
I didn’t know why he triggered the doe-eyed girl in me when most men made me nervous or unsure.
It was disconcerting, to say the least, and I needed to get my head out of the clouds and stop daydreaming about something with him that wasn’t going to happen.
No one would want a woman like me once they discovered what I’d done to survive. And I wasn’t talking about being Sergey’s confidante. There was more, a lot more, that I did and allowed just to make it out of there alive.
Knowing now that Kelly was dead and Ricardo was on the run did little to settle the worry.
There was someone they were looking for.
Someone I was intimately familiar with. Someone who took great pleasure in watching me be destroyed.
And that was my worry. And probably the reason I stayed safely tucked away behind the secure walls of Rhys’s compound.
Forcing a smile onto my face, I looked at Seth and asked, “Is there something you need?”
His smile slipped some before he recovered and said, “I want to take you out to dinner tonight.”
“Why?” I asked, picking up the towel and wiping more sweat from my face.
“Why not? We’re both young, single, and it’s the first day of a new year. I think we both deserve something new and exciting,” Seth replied and stepped closer. “When was the last time you experienced something new and exciting, Regan?”
His eyes were hooded as he looked down at me, and I wanted to jump on him, but fear and worry kept my feet on the ground.
And the reservation that this all seemed too good to be true.
Why, after months, did Seth decide to make any kind of move on me?
Now that everyone is putting their heads together to figure out what they are missing from the picture, it just seemed . . . too convenient.
The jaded part of me, the one that has difficulty trusting, pushed to the front and I took a step back from him. Looking up into his hypnotic eyes, I simply replied, “The last time I tried something new and exciting, I ended up in hell for two years. Thanks for the offer, but I’ll pass.”
Walking out of the gym, I left him open-mouthed and stunned silent by my refusal.
I wanted to say yes and feel like a normal woman my age should, but that was a pipe dream.
I was almost twenty-eight years old, but at times, I felt like I was still trapped in hell.
And at other times, I wanted to forget all the pain and abandonment issues that plagued me and be brave. But today wasn’t that day.
Walking down the hallway, I heard footsteps behind me and knew it was Seth coming after me. I wasn’t in the mood to debate why I wouldn’t go out with him, but when he caught up with me, he matched my pace as I walked into the nursery,
“Wagan,” DJ screeched as he dropped his crayon and ran up to me.
I squatted down and caught him as he wrapped his tiny arms around me and hugged himself to me. He was such a sweet little boy, and as I placed him back onto his feet, he looked over my shoulder then back at me.
“Who’s dat?” he asked, and I glanced behind me before turning back to him.
“That’s Seth. He’s a friend of your daddy and Uncle Lucian,” I responded.
“What he want?” DJ asked as he took my hand into his, almost like he was protecting me from Seth.
“Why don’t you ask him? He’s a nice man.”
I stood up from DJ’s level and turned to see the sheer look of panic on Seth’s face as DJ walked up to him.
The little boy placed his hand on his hips and popped his foot out as he looked up at Seth.
There was at least a four-foot difference in their heights, but DJ seemed to be controlling the situation.
Finally, DJ spoke. “What you want?”
The boy cut his eyes to me, and I shrugged with a silent chuckle, waiting for him to answer the question. My guess was Seth never had much interaction with children. Certainly not one as smart and astute as DJ.
Seth, looking a little confused, squatted in front of DJ so he was closer to the same height before he answered, “I asked Regan if she wanted to go to dinner with me tonight, but she said no.”
DJ glanced over his little shoulder at me before turning back to Seth. I could see the wheels turning from his gaze. The little man spoke, giving his sage wisdom of three-and-a-half years, and I had to stifle the laughter.
“Girls want ice cream and puppies, silly.”
Seth’s smile grew huge before he straightened his face and asked, “Ice cream and puppies? I have to give her both?”
DJ nodded his little head as he took a step closer and explained, “Aunt Stewwa has a big puppy, and when she’s upset, Unc Hawc gets her ice cream, then she happy.”
“I can’t just get her ice cream?” Seth inquired, almost joking.
“Nope,” DJ responded, popping the ‘p’ in the word to drive his point home. “You got to have puppy or she still sad.”
Seth looked over DJ’s head at me. “And if I get her both, she’ll want to be my girlfriend?”
DJ nodded emphatically as he answered, “Then she love you.”
“Then I’m gonna get her both.”
The heat in his gaze as he looked at me could have started a fire, and luckily, before DJ could give him any more advice, Devlin walked up to the nursery doorway and gave Seth and DJ a confused look. I stepped closer as Seth stood up and moved to the side so DJ could greet his daddy.
“Hey, buddy. I thought you went home with Momma,” Devlin said.
“I want to stay wif you,” DJ explained and hugged himself to his dad.
The person everyone called the madman melted as he closed his eyes and embraced his son, allowing the innocent love to warm him. DJ pulled back from Devlin and said, “I teach Sef how to luv Wegan.”
Devlin’s eyebrows shot up as he looked at me before asking, “What did you tell him?”
DJ smiled, proud of himself as he explained, “I told him get ice cream and a puppy. Then Wegan luv him.”
Devlin chuckled and hugged the boy to him, patting him on the back as he looked from me to Seth and back. “That’s good advice, DJ. I’m sure Seth is thankful for your help.”
“I really am. Without you, I would be lost,” Seth added.
Devlin looked down at DJ and said, “Aunt Stella and Uncle Hawk are going home if you want to ride with them.”
DJ lit up as he asked, “On his cycle?”
Devlin shook his head with a smile and said, “They have the SUV, but if you’re really good for them, I’ll see if Uncle Hawk or maybe Jacob will take you for a very slow ride around the compound when I get home.” DJ’s eyes narrowed as Devlin added, “Agreed?”
“Shake,” the little boy said, and Devlin placed him on his feet in front of him.
DJ reached his hand out and Devlin took his hand, shaking and sealing the deal. I was amazed by the little transaction he just completed as Devlin said, “Clean up and get your stuff together and I’ll be in the hallway waiting for you.”
“Okay, Daddy,” DJ said before he skipped off to clean up his little table.
Devlin nodded to me and glanced at Seth before walking into the hallway and a few feet down, out of earshot of the kids. He looked at Seth before he began to speak. “Waylon’s a lost cause, so it’s back to the drawing board. We have a lot to figure out before we head out this afternoon.”
I watched the interaction and was curious who Waylon was. I didn’t meet many people during my time with Sergey, and I tried not to remember anyone I met during my time with Kelly. Crossing my arms over my chest, I tried to keep the tremble out of my hands as I listened to them speak.
“And we’re no closer to figuring out what in that journal was true and what was false,” Seth interjected, only to have Devlin shake his head in frustration.
“The only thing we figured out was who wrote the journal. Waylon looked at it and said it was Sergey Junior’s handwriting.
My guess is he took notes for Kelly so he felt important.
” DJ walked out with his little backpack on and he reached up and took Devlin by the hand.
As they walked away, Devlin looked over his shoulder and said a name I hadn’t heard in years and hoped I never would again.
“We just need to figure out who this mouse person was that they kept writing about and figure out why they were so important to Sergey. I feel like they’re the key to everything. ”
Devlin and DJ walked around the corner, leaving Seth and me alone in the hallway.
He looked down at me, but I couldn’t focus on him or anything.
Memories I’d long put behind me bombarded me from every direction, and all I could do was try and catch my fall as the darkness surrounded and pulled me back into its painful clutches.