I were in a situation similar to Tywin’s?
Tywin
Her eyelids fluttered like there were a million little delicate wings flapping against the backs of them. A smile came before she opened them, realizing I was there with my arms wrapped securely around her. I kissed the top of her big fluffy curls, disheveled and tossed about her head, but still pretty enough to draw my fingers to them.
“Have you always worn your hair short?” I asked, loving the soft texture of her curls.
“No. I change up my look often. I go from one extreme to the next.”
“This style fits you. It shows off your pretty face,” I complimented her, running my fingers through her hair until the tips teased her scalp.
“Thank you.” She leaned up to place a kiss on my lips. “Why does it feel like I know you?”
“Because you do. We’ve only had a few days and moments together, but we’ve managed to cover a lot of ground,” I stated, squeezing her to my chest tight enough to make her squeal in laughter. A tender kiss followed and we spent an eternal moment staring at each other until she drew me back into our embrace.
“After we get cleaned up, I’m going to go and spend some time with my little guy,” I stated, loving the big smile she was gifting me with.
“He looks at you the same way you look at your father,” she pointed out.
“And how’s that?”
“With love, admiration, and respect. I can tell that you are all very close. It’s refreshing to see men who aren’t afraid to show their love for each other.”
“The way my son was conceived is not something I ever want him to know. He only needs to know that he is the best part of my life.”
She placed a soft peck on my cheek, her lips leaving a warm impression behind. “He knows. Now, let’s go and get cleaned up so I can sit and have my heart get all warm and fuzzy observing three generations of Vallins.”
I chuckled good-naturedly, knowing that Arlo wasn’t the only best thing that had happened in my life. It took us another ten minutes to let go of each other long enough to make it to the shower.
Was it even possible to get Patrena out of my system? What would she think if I told her I was never letting her go?
20
Patrena
The next day, my heart got picked apart by the vivid images that unfolded in the most depressing separation I had ever witnessed. A teary-eyed Arlo saying good-bye to his father, and Tywin promising they would get their time together to take him to, of all places, an art gallery.
Leelyn, with his gloomy-eyed gaze, had leaned over to explain that the kid was an impressive little painter. There were men out there who abandoned their children because they didn’t want to deal with the responsibility of raising them. This one wanted time with his son and was reduced to taking a small amount of days each month.
Tywin drove me to work later that day to lie to my boss in person about a family emergency that would take me out of the office for a week. I had a whole lifetime to figure out so I wasn’t sure a week would cut it, but it was a start.
When I’d called Mecca and Desiree yesterday to do our usual checkup on each other, they informed me that everything was fine. For once, they were worried about me instead of the other way around. Of course, I had downplayed my drama so they wouldn’t worry, but the truth of the matter was I was scared. I had no idea what was coming, who was chasing me or the reason why.
Now, with the evening rapidly approaching, no one, not even the members of LoC were returning my calls or texts. Tywin’s eyes kept landing on the way I kept flipping my phone in my hand.
“Something’s wrong,” I said more to myself than to him.
“I agree. I can’t get either of my cousins on the phone.”
Like the world had considered our concerns, our phones sounded simultaneously.
“Cas.”
“Desiree.”
We called out at the same time when our phones connected.
“What’s going on?” I asked, my voice shaking with concern.
“It’s Mecca. Arjen called Khane and informed him that she was ambushed on the highway earlier, took on some sniper fire, but survived the attack. The problem now is he thinks she is about to do something crazy after losing a guard in the ambush.”
“Shit,”