“Get some rest, darling girl. We’ll talk tomorrow.” Her smile was gentle, but firm.
The drive back had been almost as exhausting as the rest of the day. Theo rode up front with Kellan. He’d refused to get in the back with Levi and Andrea. Despite everything, he was holding himself aloof from Pretty Boy.
It irked me, but Milo shook his head once at my questioning glance. Levi had taken the news from Bodhi with a kind of curious calmness. Theo was just angry. Frankly, all things being equal, who could blame them? Once back at the apartment, I stayed with Andrea while she showered, then helped her into my clothes.
After I tucked her in, I kept staring at her and she’d given me a plaintive look. “Lainey, I’m tired.”
“I know sweetheart and I promise to get over this need to keep my eyes on you soon, but I’m going to sit here for a few more minutes until you sleep. Okay?”
She groaned, but then reached for my hand and squeezed it tight. “I missed you too,” she whispered. “I missed you guys and Mom and Dad and everything.”
I pressed a kiss to her head and just stayed there holding her hand until she was asleep.
Adam ducked into a shower while I came down. Unsurprisingly, he’d been in the hall listening. When I slipped out of her room, he’d wrapped me up in a tight hug and I had to blink back my own tears.
We still had to tell her about Harper and Melissa. I just didn’t have it in me tonight. That brought me down here with the coffee and the standoff in the living room.
Theo had his arms folded, his expression mutinous and the hard line of his jaw did not belong on a teenager. Or maybe it did. He was in that awkward stage, lanky and a little awkward, like his body was too big for him.
Where Levi looked like Bodhi—the resemblance was clearer in actual light—Theo and Milo looked nothing alike. Theo looked like King though and even if we hadn’t had his identification courtesy of Hans…
“You should get some sleep,” Ezra said in a low voice, while running his knuckles up and down my arm. “It’s going to be dawn soon.”
Was it? “That explains why I’m so tired.” Leaning my head against his shoulder, I hugged the coffee to me. As weary as I was, I didn’t think I’d sleep if I laid down.
Too many loose threads. Far too many. Em’s show opened tonight too. I wouldn’t miss it.
Across the room, Levi frowned as he glanced toward Ezra and me.
“Look, I don’t care who you are,” Theo snapped suddenly, charging forward until he was chest to chest with Milo. “You can say you’re a fucking royal ass prince, and I still wouldn’t care. I don’t have a family. I don’t want a family. You can get fucked if you think I’m just gonna buy your bullshit and go back with you.”
Hostility wreathed the room around them. Theo was tall, but he lacked Milo’s bulk. Pretty Boy’s face must have given Theo confidence though, because he was all wild challenge and asking to have his ass handed to him.
“Theo,” Levi said into the charged silence. “Let it go. You don’t have to like him—but so far, they’ve done everything they said they would.”
“What? They rousted us and dragged us to some rental apartment in the city? That doesn’t mean much.” But he backed off from Milo. For his part, Pretty Boy hadn’t said a word. Instead, he studied Theo and the kid shifted under his scrutiny.
“Actually,” Bodhi said into the quiet. “The only promises we made were you would be able to still see Andrea and we would figure it out.”
Theo turned that contemptuous look toward Bodhi and I sighed.
“Kid,” Ezra said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “I cornered the market on shitty tempers and letting my mouth write checks the rest of me wasn’t ready to pay. Shut up while you’re ahead. No one says you have to like us or the situation. No one says you have to trust us yet, give Milo time, he’s probably one of the most trustworthy guys I know. But stop being a dick to just be a dick.”
Blinking, Theo jerked his head to look at us. I had a feeling he’d forgotten that Ezra and I were here.
“Who the fuck are you?” The demand almost made me laugh.
“A bigger dick than you are with a lot more practice. So zip it. Take the win, get a shower and go to bed. We can argue more about this later today.”
“That was almost mature,” I murmured.
“Keep it up, Kotyonok,” he half-growled under his breath.
“Promises, promises.” I hid the words behind my coffee and took another sip. As it was, I leaned on Ezra and soaked up his nearness.
The standoff lasted another thirty seconds and Theo backed down. Again. The kid was a fighter. Like his siblings, he was fierce and ready to fight for what he believed in.
Now, we just had to teach him he wasn’t alone anymore.
“Fine,” Theo said. “Where is my room?”
“Upstairs,” Milo said evenly. “Second door on the right. It shares a bathroom with the fourth door on the right. That’s Levi’s room.”
“Great.” Theo spun on a heel and stalked up the stairs. I was kind of impressed that he didn’t stomp his feet. Then a door slammed. Well, so much for that.
Milo dropped his chin and shook his head. His long sigh spoke to how exhausted all of us were.
“Theo’s… Theo doesn’t mean anything.” Levi offered. “It’s just, he’s had a harder time than some. Kostya was his best friend.”
Kostya. The missing kid.
“We haven’t stopped looking for him,” Bodhi said.
“What about when we leave to go back to the States? That’s what you’re planning, right?” The demand lacked Theo’s animosity. Levi just sounded worried.
“We can keep people on it,” I said. “We will keep people on it.” Margareta had her people looking. “If we find him, you three will be the first to know.”
Levi cut a look to me and Ezra again, his frown tightening and then he nodded slowly before he glanced at Bodhi. “I’m going to sleep now…”
