Page 8 of Cryptic Curse (Bellamy Brothers #7)

HAWK

“W ho’s coming, Dad?” Robin asks, her voice on edge.

“Robbie, stop,” Mom says. “He can’t answer you. He’s frustrated. Don’t make this harder on him. Don’t shame him.”

At Mom’s use of the word shame, Dad gets more agitated.

“Coming,” he says. “Limits fall coming.”

More nonsense.

My father and I have our problems, for sure, but in this moment I feel sympathy for him. How frustrating it must be not to be able to articulate your own thoughts.

“They’re coming,” he says again.

“Daddy,” Robin says, “could you write down what you want to say?”

Dad nods at that.

“Get a pad of paper,” Robin yells.

“I’ve got one.” Raven pulls a small notepad out of her purse along with a pen. “Here you go, Daddy.” She hands it to him.

My father holds the pen correctly. Good. His hands work. He begins writing.

But when he hands the note to Mom, she furrows her brow.

“What does it say?” Raven asks.

“It’s just scribbling.” She crumples up the paper. “Stop putting him through this.”

“They’re coming,” Dad says again.

“Could you type it out on a phone?” Falcon asks. “Or a laptop, maybe?”

Dad nods again, this time vehemently.

I take my phone out of my pocket and open the notes app. “Here, Dad. Try this.”

He picks up my phone, his thumbs flipping over the keyboard. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he knows exactly what he’s doing.

But when he hands the phone back to me, it’s only gibberish.

Dad is nodding at me. “They’re coming, bird. They’re coming.”

Bird. Did he mean to say Hawk?

“Who’s coming, Daddy?” Robin asks again.

That’s Robbie. She doesn’t let anything rest.

“They’re coming,” he says again, more agitated.

Grace walks in. “His pulse is going up,” she says. “Is everything okay in here?”

“I told you to stop,” Mom snaps at Robin.

Classic Mom. Robin and I have always been the redheaded stepchildren of our family.

“We were just trying to communicate with him,” I say. “He’s getting frustrated because he can’t get his words out.”

“I see.” Grace takes out a stethoscope, listens to Dad’s heart. “I think he needs to relax now. In his condition, having his pulse and blood pressure go up like this is not good for his health.”

“Of course it isn’t,” Mom snaps. “Just leave him be. He’ll come around.”

I hope she’s right.

“Maybe that’s enough visitation for today,” Grace says.

“I agree.” I’m the first to leave the room.

I walk down the corridor toward the end of the hall, where I see Daniela and Belinda sitting, having a beverage.

I head toward them. Daniela is crying softly while Belinda is just staring into space.

“Hey,” I say softly.

Daniela looks up.

Damn. Even with puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks she’s still beautiful. More beautiful than any woman I’ve ever seen, I think. Certainly any woman I’ve ever been with, and I’ve been with some gorgeous babes.

People say I’m the handsomest Bellamy brother. I’m the tallest and the only with blue eyes, but both my brothers are also very good-looking. Some women prefer the brooding dark eyes that Falcon and Eagle possess.

Suffice it to say, though, that I’ve taken some gorgeous women to bed.

None of them holds a candle to Daniela.

“I’m sorry.” Daniela sniffles. “Hospitals just bring a lot of emotion out of me, I guess.”

I pull a bandana out of my pocket and hand it to her.

She nods her thanks and wipes her nose.

“She okay?” I nod to Belinda.

“Same thing. She doesn’t like hospitals.”

I nod. “Why don’t I get you two out of here then?”

“We have to wait for Vinnie and Raven. Vinnie’s taking us to dinner.”

“Oh.”

She wipes her eyes. “I’m fine, really. Just a lot of changes. I’m starting culinary school soon. Which is a good thing, of course. I’m looking forward to it. Just my life is an about-face in the last several months. It’s been great. Don’t get me wrong. But it’s a lot to process.”

“I understand.”

“Thanks.”

I sit down next to her. “So we don’t leave the hospital. I’ll take you down to the cafeteria.”

Belinda’s eyes light up at that. It always warms me when Belinda’s blue eyes sparkle. Vinnie told me about the first time he met Belinda at her father’s home. How Declan McAllister trotted her out like a trained seal to play for Vinnie and his grandfather.

And also about how she sneaked a note to Vinnie during their meal asking for his help.

We’re all grateful that she’s safe now and her mobster father is ten feet under.

Then there’s Daniela.

Vinnie’s wife in name only, and the woman I can’t take my eyes off of.

But I do. I do it for her sake. I don’t ever want her to feel uncomfortable. She was supposedly engaged to an old man back in Colombia.

Not that I’m an old man at twenty-nine, but the eleven years between eighteen and twenty-nine are pretty damned vast.

We take the elevator down to the first floor and walk to the cafeteria in silence. Belinda, though she’s eleven, takes Daniela’s hand.

Daniela seems to be her security blanket, and she seems okay with that.

We reach the cafeteria, and Belinda heads straight toward the soft-serve ice cream machine.

Daniela looks up at me. “She loves ice cream. I think she could live on it.”

I frown. “I wish this place had something better to offer than soft serve from a machine.”

“Vinnie’s taking us to this place tonight for dinner.” She rubs her belly. “They have the most wonderful homemade ice cream with really bizarre flavors.”

“Bizarre flavors?”

“Yeah, the last time we were there they had lemon pepper flavored ice cream”

I chuckle. “That doesn’t sound too appetizing.”

“It didn’t to Belinda either. She sticks with everybody’s favorites—vanilla, chocolate, strawberry. But what she likes best are the toppings.”

Daniela is clearly right. Belinda serves herself a generous bowl of ice cream and adds a little bit of every topping they offer. Hot fudge, caramel, cherry pie filling, rainbow sprinkles, and chopped peanuts.

I smile at her when she’s done. “Sure you can’t fit anything else on there?”

Her pale cheeks pink up. “My dad never let me have ice cream. But Vinnie and Raven let me have it all the time. They say a child should never be deprived of things that she enjoys.”

I grin. “I think my sister and Vinnie are right. Go ahead and take a seat at that table there.” I gesture. “Daniela and I will get some ice cream for ourselves.”

Daniela takes only a small dollop of ice cream and doesn’t add anything.

“No sprinkles? Chopped nuts? Oreo crumbles?”

“It’s funny,” she says. “I grew up wanting for nothing, and that includes good food. I love food. I love cooking, which is why I’m going to culinary school. But I’ve always preferred my ice cream plain. I mean, why mess up a good thing?”

I tilt my head, try to read her gorgeous dark eyes.

I get the feeling she’s not telling me the complete truth. But I won’t push it.

“Whatever you prefer,” I say. I grab a waffle cone for my ice cream, fill it up, and then add crumbled Oreos. Cookies and cream is my favorite, and this will be close enough.

I join Belinda and Daniela at the table.

And even though Belinda is with us, I let myself think that Daniela and I are on a date.

I’m not sure why.

I have an actual date later with Grace for coffee.

Grace is warm and bubbly and very pretty.

Daniela is quiet, but very warm with Belinda. But pretty doesn’t do her justice.

Neither does beautiful.