Page 19 of The King of Hearts (The Raven Group #1)

Both men face me once they’re across the threshold.

I’m used to being around attractive men since many of the men in the group are as such, but for some odd reason, I want to blush with both of their eyes on me.

Luckily, I manage to push the feeling away before the redness creeps up my neck and covers my face with the evidence of the weirdness.

“You can wait in Dad’s office. He and my brothers will be there in a moment,” I tell the pair, shifting my eyes away from them.

They turn and start down the hallway leading to the center of the estate, and I go up the stairs.

At the top, I make a left. I go past my room and stop at the one beside it.

I softly rap my knuckles on the door, and I’m not surprised when I don’t get an answer.

If it were up to Liliana, she’d never have any visitors.

Too bad for her, I won’t let her stay by herself.

Everyone needs someone, even if it’s a stranger.

“I’m coming in!” I call out just in case Liliana is in the middle of getting dressed.

I give it a few seconds before I push open the door. Liliana is sitting in a chair positioned in front of the balcony doors. Harper is on her lap while her mother braids her long blonde hair. The little girl’s legs swing back and forth in front of her.

Liliana doesn’t acknowledge my entrance, but I can see Harper trying to look at me out of the corner of her eye.

“Good morning,” I tell the pair and walk further into the room.

Liliana keeps her lips sealed shut, but Harper, who’s slightly more open, says shyly, “Hi.”

The little girl is absolutely adorable, and my heart melts each time I see her.

I don’t let Liliana’s reservedness deter me. I walk to the window and stand in front of it. “How are you this morning?”

Nothing from Liliana, but Harper smiles at me.

“It’s nice out today, so I figured we could walk the grounds and get some fresh air. Would you like that?”

Ever the typical child, Harper’s face lights up at the idea. I can imagine how bored she’s been cooped up in this room. I bought a few toys for the little girl, but after having only them for a source of entertainment for over a week, I’m sure they’ve outgrown their usefulness.

Liliana still doesn’t respond, but I know she can see Harper’s interest. I’m not even ashamed that I use that interest to my advantage.

I direct my words at Liliana, but they’re more for Harper. “There’s a beautiful flower garden we can visit, and you can even pick some flowers to put on the table beside the bed. And there’s a big water fountain with an angel that spits water out of her mouth.”

The muscle in Liliana’s jaw twitches. She knows exactly what I’m doing, and I’m sure isn’t appreciative of it.

A part of me feels bad to be using her daughter against her like this, but a bigger part, the one who wants to help this woman and her child heal and get the closure they deserve, outweighs my guilt.

I don’t say anything else after that. I just turn and look out the window and wait. It doesn’t take long.

“Momma,” Harper’s tentative voice fills the silence. “I wanna go outside.”

I mentally fist pump the air at the request. From what I’ve seen so far, Liliana is a great mom, so there’s no way she’ll be able to deny her daughter, especially when she sounds so earnest and innocent.

Liliana’s shoulders slump in defeat. At the moment, it may seem like a loss to her, but it’s the first step to a bigger win.

“Okay, sweetie. We’ll go out for a few minutes.”

I barely suppress a big smile from forming on my face, but my lips still curve a little at the corners. I keep my expression relaxed as I turn to face them.

“Mrs. Myers was preparing breakfast trays when I came up. Instead of eating up here, why don’t we have a picnic outside?”

The press of Liliana’s lips shows her displeasure, but she still concedes. “Fine.”

“I’ll leave you two to get dressed while I talk to Mrs. Myers. I’ll be back in a few minutes, and we’ll go down together.”

Thirty minutes later, I walk next to Liliana and Harper as we go out through the door in the kitchen that leads to the backyard.

While they were getting dressed, I helped Mrs. Myers set up a blanket with a basket of the food that she was going to bring up to their room.

The spot we chose is padded with thick green grass, and it’s close to one of the flower beds.

There’s a soft breeze outside, and a thin canopy of trees overhead prevents the sun from blazing down on us.

With the estate being so close to the coastline, there’s a slight ocean scent in the air.

Mrs. Myers knows about the mother and daughter’s situation. She also knows the trouble I’ve had getting Liliana to open up. She was happy when I informed her that we were going outside today for a picnic.

We all settle down on the blanket; me on my knees by the picnic basket and Liliana across from me. She hasn’t met my eyes once, but her gaze darts around, taking in the area around us. I smile when Harper plops down on her butt beside her mother.

I pull plates out of the basket and start loading them with toast, bacon, sausage, eggs, and a variety of fruits. Mrs. Myers always goes way out when she’s feeding Liliana and Harper, wanting to give them plenty of choices to pick from since Liliana won’t tell her what she likes.

“Would you like orange juice or apple juice?” I ask Harper.

“Apple!” she says cheerfully, grinning so big her cheeks puff out.

I pour some of the juice in a sippy cup, twist on the lid, and hand it to the little girl, who already has her mouth full of mango.

“Liliana? Juice or coffee?”

“Coffee.”

I chose travel mugs with lids for our drinks so we don’t have to worry about spilling it on the uneven ground. After pouring her a generous amount, I hand her the mug without putting the lid on so she can add whatever sweetener she wants.

I’ve already had breakfast, but I still nibble on some of the fruit so I don’t make Liliana feel uncomfortable eating in front of me.

We sit in silence for the first little while.

Harper devours her food like any little kid can.

Liliana eats slower. Her gaze keeps drifting around, taking in the property.

She tries to hide her interest, but I see it lighting up in her eyes.

“It’s beautiful out today, isn’t it?” I remark casually.

“The breeze feels nice on the skin, and the ocean smells lovely.” I don’t look at Liliana as I talk, looking off in the distance where the cliffs are beyond the high concrete walls.

“My mom and I used to have picnics out here a few times a week. She tried to make my brothers come with us, but all they wanted to do was run around and play.”

A smile tips up my lips as the memories flood through my head.

“One time, when I was young, maybe five or six, Mom and I were sitting in this same spot having lunch. My youngest brother, Cass, came barreling around the corner. Bishop, my oldest brother, was hot on his trail with his arms loaded with water balloons. I thought it was hilarious when he miscalculated his throw and got Mom and me instead.” I laugh. “Mom wasn’t too thrilled.”

In my peripheral vision, Liliana’s head swings in my direction. I keep my eyes forward.

“It wasn’t the water itself that irritated Mom. My brothers thought it was a fabulous idea to put red dye in the balloons when they filled them with water.” I shake my head and laugh again. “Mom was wearing one of her favorite white dresses. Needless to say, it wasn’t white anymore.”

“What did she do?”

I hold in my surprise at hearing Liliana’s quiet question, but I do bring my eyes to her.

“Lined them up against the wall there.” I point to a concrete half wall by one of the flower gardens.

“And made them stay still while we blasted them with the rest of the water balloons. They were red from head to toe by the time we were done. It took days for all the red to fade.”

Her lips twitch, and I hold my breath, waiting to see if she’ll let her smile free. She doesn’t, but I still call it progress.

“Bishop,” she says in a low voice. “He’s the one with tattoos on his arms?”

“Yes. He’s my oldest brother.”

She nods, but doesn’t say anything else. I don’t want to overload her by talking too much, so the next several minutes are spent in silence. She watches Harper eat, while every few seconds looking up and around. She slowly picks through the food on her own plate.

Once Harper’s plate is empty, she looks at her mother. “Can I go look at the flowers now, Mama?”

Liliana wipes off a piece of orange from Harper’s cheek with her napkin. “Sure, sweetie. But only go to that one.” She points to the bed of flowers closest to us.

“Why don’t you pick a few to take back to the room?” I suggest.

Harper’s face splits into a big grin as she gets to her feet. “Okay.”

We both watch as she dashes off to the flowers.

I use the excuse of getting more comfortable on the blanket to scoot a little closer to Liliana. Her attention is on her daughter, so she doesn’t notice.

“Lili.” I want her eyes on me, so I use a shortened version of her name to get her attention.

She looks at me, and the softness that’s always on her expression when she looks at Harper fades into wariness.

“We can help you, Lili,” I say quietly. “You have no reason to trust us, but if you give us a chance to earn it, you won’t regret it.”

Whatever happened to her goes beyond what happened the night Bishop found her. This woman is too cautious, too scared, to have been hurt only once. She’s been in a terrible situation for a while.

She doesn’t speak, but I know she’s listening.

“My family and I help people who are in similar situations as you,” I continue.

“How?”

I can’t give her the full details yet, but I give her as much as I can. “We… give them closure.”

Her head slants to the side as her interest grows. This is good.

“What do you mean?”

With my hand on the blanket, I lean toward her. “I can’t tell you everything. We have a system in place. What I can say is, after that closure, you and Harper will have no need to be afraid anymore.”

She’s doubtful, but behind that look, I don’t miss the desperate hope. I wish I could erase that cynicism. To assure her with one hundred percent certainty that she won’t ever have to be scared anymore. That the person or persons who hurt her won’t ever have the chance to do it again.

I give her a few minutes to absorb what I’ve told her. I can tell she’s mulling it around in her head by the frown on her face. She wants to believe me, I know she does, but something tells me she’s been burned a lot in the past.

“Talk to my dad,” I urge her. “Hear what he has to say before you make a decision. You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you like.

” I don’t want her to believe we’re trying to push her out.

That she has a safe place for herself and Harper.

“You have options, Lili, and each one will ensure that you and Harper are safe.”

She looks across the lawn toward Harper.

The little girl is skipping around on her short legs, looking at all of the colorful flowers.

She’s smiling and having a good time, and I get the feeling that it’s been a long time, if ever, that Lili has seen her daughter so happy.

And I’d bet it’s been even longer since Lili has.

Her eyes move back to me, and her lips are a firm line across her face. She straightens her posture, her shoulders going back, and her chin lifts.

“Okay. I’ll talk to him,” she says, her voice strong for the first time. “But I want you there too.”

Having no clue if the comfort will be accepted or not, I reach out and grab her hand. “I can do that.”

She nods and moves her eyes back to Harper.

A heavy weight lifts off my chest, knowing this woman and her daughter will be okay.

The Raven Group and the service they provide Lili with will ensure it.