Page 201 of Between Passion and Revenge: Part Two

Granted, I’d usually be up by now, but after carrying Shae into the house via the staff entrance, I proceeded to keep both of us awake well into the morning. It was after three a.m. when I dragged us into my shower to clean up, and an hour later, we crashed into bed.

Right before Shae fell asleep, I pulled the custom round diamond engagement ring I had worked on for weeks from the drawer and slipped it on her left hand. She was so exhausted, she could only mumble a few shocked words.

Looking at the side of her face, I move one of the long braids away from her cheek—a compromise in place of letting her leave my room to go to hers for a bonnet. She looks peaceful.

Knocked the fuck out. She doesn’t even flinch when the tapping sound starts up again.

“Daddy?” Suddenly, the source of the tapping becomes clear, and I look at the door with alarm. We clearly haven’t managed to tell the kids anything about us, and I don’t want them to find out we’re together by seeing two of us buck-ass naked in the bed together.

“One second, sweetheart,” I say, recognizing Tempest’s voice on the other side of the door.

I grab the first set of basketball shorts I find and a Henley from the drawer.

My phone pings on the nightstand, and since it’s Riale’s sound, I grab it and unlock the screen.

Axel’s dude got a strong lead on LS. Going with A to shut this shit down. Will be back in 48 hrs.

I stare at the message, reading it a few times. Riale and Axel might know where Lakeland is? Part of me bristles. If there’s a lead, I should be chasing it down with them.

Right then, Shae releases a fuckin’ adorable snore and flips over on the mattress. Her ring catches the dim light coming from my nightstand.

“Daddy? Are you there?” Tempest sounds about three seconds from crying, so I shove my phone in my pocket and head to the door.

“What’s wrong, baby girl?” I ask, crouching down to meet her height once I’m out in the hall.

Her bottom lip trembles.

“I can’t find Mommy!” she wails, and I immediately feel like dogshit.

“Oh, it’s okay. Mommy’s fine,” I assure her as she flings her arms around my neck.

“How do you know? Do you know where she is? Is she coming back?” she asks through hiccupping sobs.

Shit.

“Yes, sweetheart. Your mommy is perfectly fine, and she’ll be back in a little bit. She just went to…” I think of an excuse. “She went to exercise.”

There. That’s a reasonable explanation.

“Okay,” Tempest says, sniffing.

“Why were you looking for her? It’s still pretty early,” I reply, hoping I can usher her back to sleep, wake up Shae to have a quick conversation about what the hell we’re gonna do to tell the kids about us, and get at least a few more hours of sleep.

“I’m hungry,” she grumbles. “So is Raiden, except he doesn’t want to bother anybody, But I’mreallyhungry.”

Just then, her tiny stomach growls, and I grin at the sound.

“See!” she squeaks, pointing to her stomach. “I’m gonnadieif I don’t get something to eat fast, Daddy!”

“Okay, okay,” I say, chuckling. “Let’s make some breakfast while we wait for Mommy.”

“Can we have pancakes?” I twist around, not expecting a voice to come from behind me, but there’s Raiden, waiting quietly after making his request.

“Of course,” I say, faced with another urgent problem. It’s Saturday, and the one day the cook has called off all month. It’s too early to order in, but….

“Let’s make them together,” I say, envisioning the twins standing with me at the counter, making breakfast while laughing and getting batter on our faces.

God, I’m turning into a total simp.