Keaton chuckled. “Watch out, Nelson, or you’ll have the girl gang climbing up your ass.”
Despite the laugh, he wasn’t joking. When Henley, his wife, got together with Lanie and Jade, trouble typically followed. Add Waverly and Shayne to the mix, heads would roll. The five of them were like lionesses protecting their pride. I was counting on it when it came to Sloane and my kids.
Noah cleared his throat. “What about security?”
“I’m calling an old friend. Gabriel del Toro.”
“Who is that?” He hiked a brow.
Keaton winced. “Shit.”
“It was years ago. They aren’t the kind of men who hold a grudge.”
Lanie raised her hand. “Can one of you fill the rest of us in?”
“Quattro Security is run by four brothers. Gabriel, Enrico, Luciano, and”––Keaton swiped a hand down his face before he continued––“Allesandro del Toro. If you want the best, they’re it. They are alsonotmy biggest fans.”
“Care to share the reason with the class?” Koen egged him on.
“Nope.”
Using my thumb, I pressed into the space between my eyebrows, relieving a bit of the tension building behind my eyes. I needed to get them back on track if I had any hopes of catching a thirty minute power nap before going to Sloane’s.
“Here’s what I need. Dig up everything on everyone who was involved in the case nine years ago,financials included. There’s a connection somewhere, we just have to find it. Pull copies of the accident report, as well as both mine and Sloane’s medical records. The Irish blew it off back then, which means they’re either incompetent or they’re involved. Either way, cover your tracks.” The team packed up and as they headed for the door, I issued one final command. “Stay safe.”
The nap never came to fruition. I was operating on fumes when I approached Sloane’s door a little after five, with a plethora of plastic take-out bags in one hand, and a bouquet of wildflowers tied together with a golden-yellow ribbon in the other. When the door swung open, I nearly dropped them all. It was still a shock to my system to see Sloane standing before me. She was wearing an off-the-shoulder lavender sweater, distressed jeans, and a pair of tan wedge heels. My breath was officially stolen.
“Hey.” She smiled shyly, opening the door the rest of the way to let me inside.
“Hi, Sunshine.” I handed her the flowers, leaned in, and kissed her cheek before moving past her toward the kitchen.
Obviously, I’d been in the house before since it used to belong to Waverly, but there were bits of Sloane and the kids splashed around. Like the colorful crayon drawings plastered across the refrigerator, held in place by mini magnetic letters, and the overflowing bin of toys stored beneath the window against the far wall. It was nice to see she’d made it their own.
My lips tipped up when I spied a pink throw pillow lying on the floor in front of the gray sectional sofa, with itspale green counterpart hovering precariously close to the edge. Sloane must’ve seen them too. She rushed to pick them up, tossing them haphazardly back into place. When she joined me at the counter, my coat was off and I began unpacking the bags.
“Please excuse the mess. Rogan was practically bouncing off the walls before they left.”
Hearing his name from her lips stirred up a shitstorm of emotions. They hit me out of nowhere. The container of food toppled from my hands, splattering shrimp lo mein all over the floor.
“Shit.”
I dropped to my haunches, scooping the noodles back into the white paper box with my hands. Sloane joined me, wiping up the dark brown sauce with a damp cloth.
“I’m sorry.” She ducked her head.
“Sunshine, look at me.” I waited until she met my eyes. Her brilliant blues were brimming with tears. “Please don’t cry. You have nothing to apologize for. We’ll figure it out.”
“This is so fudged up, Duncan.”
“Fudged up?” I arched my brow. Her use of my real name for the first time hadn’t escaped my attention. It was a struggle to keep my expression neutral and my dick from bursting through my zipper, but I managed both, just barely.
She shrugged. “I don’t curse anymore. Not since I found out I was pregnant.”
Sloane and I finished the rest of the cleanup in relative silence while the elephant in the room sat heavily on my chest. She was a damn good mom. More than once, I opened my mouth to say it, but ended up swallowing the compliment, along with the million questions sitting on the tip of my tongue.
Slow, Duncan. Take it slow.
After chucking the spent lo mein in the trash can, she pointed to the remaining containers spread on the counter.