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He shakes hands with each in turn, keeping me firmly at his side. I smile— glad he appreciates what I've done. He might have a cow if he knew how much the salary for these women cost, plus the one tutor he hasn't met yet.
"Lily!" a voice yells from the back of the room.
Sorina's barreling toward me. She reaches us, launching into my arms. I let go of Blake and hug her tight. She's all smiles today, which warms my heart. She deserves some happiness. I hope she accepts what Blake and I came here for.
"How you doing, kiddo," I ask, setting her down.
"Great. I met Ms. Laura. She's great, Lily. Thank you!"
"Who's Ms. Laura?" Blake says, smiling at Sorina.
"My new tutor. Lily hired her for me. She got here this morning and we've been talking about where I need to start to catch up in school. She's really nice," Sorina babbles, bouncing on her toes in excitement.
"A private tutor, huh? That sounds pretty cool. I hope you intend to work hard," Blake says giving her a serious gaze.
Sorina calms and looks Blake square in the eyes. "Yes, sir. Lily is giving me an amazing opportunity and I won't waste it. I promise. Plus, it’s going to be done online! How cool is that!"
"I'm glad to hear that. Lily and I won't tolerate you goofing off where school is concerned. While the bedroom we have for you is nice, I doubt you'd enjoy being grounded to it." He smirks.
Sorina's mouth drops open. "Bedroom? Wait . . . what?"
A smile creeps onto my lips, again.
"Lily and I would like you to come live with us."
"Are you serious? I thought it was dangerous?" she says, excitement filling her voice.
"Well, it is, but as long as you can follow the regulations set by Lily and her team, everything should be fine. So, what do you say?"
"Yes!" She jumps into Blake's arms, hugging him tightly.
He laughs heartily, setting her down and she hugs me, tears running down her face.
"Hey, why are you crying?" I say, resting my hands on her shoulders.
She wipes the tears from her eyes. "You guys are too good to be true. I never thought I'd have a family, again."
"Well, me either. Looks like we both got a surprise out of this," I murmur, ruffling her hair. "Go pack your shit, I want to go home."
She smiles a broad, childish grin and runs from the room, taking the stairs two at a time. Her enthusiasm is contagious.
"I have one more thing I need to take care of while we're here," I say to Blake, moving toward the front counter. "Nurse Miranda."
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Here is the number for an Interpol agent I need you to call. Talk to each of the girls and find out who isn't a citizen. If they want to be, the tutors will help them, and this agent will do the paperwork to make sure it happens. That way, none of them end up deported." I hand her a card with a name and number on it.
She gapes, shock all over her face. "Ma'am, this is . . . this is amazing. We've been trying to get someone to agree to help with citizenship forever."
"Well, I know people. If you run into any trouble, call me."
"Yes, ma'am."
I walk back to Blake as Sorina bounds back down the stairs, a duffel bag over her arm and a sketchbook in her hands. She stops in front of us, bouncing with excitement. I laugh as her happiness fills the room.
"Let's go," I say, pulling her under my arm.
Walking toward the door, the nurses and other girls smile at us. I pass Sorina to Blake as we hit the outer doors, transitioning into the agent persona. We file into the car and I climb back into the front seat with Jameson. He grins at me and pulls into traffic. Shannon's phone rings.