flourishing under their care. I’ve never gotten it to grow the way they have. Pretty sure Bev talks pretty to the plants as she weeds.”
“Abbott asked me a million questions and I had no answers. We had to find Red. He loves that child so much. They garden together—it was the only thing not touched in the fire.”
“Maya told me Grady has been handling his insurance. For your sake, I hope the reconstruction gets started soon, but you’re welcome to stay here as long as you need. There’s nothing I love more than this house full and noisy.”
“But does Crew feel that way? I’ve only worked with him from afar. He seems to like his privacy.”
She shifts her bundle of joy to her shoulder and Aimée snuggles into her neck. “I was an only child—it was only my mom and me. I want my people around me. Before I met Crew, my staff knew they could walk into my house anytime. Sure, Crew likes his privacy but he understands what I need too.” Her smile turns content. “He’ll do anything for me.”
I move away from the chicken to stir the fresh marinara before turning to her. “It’s strange for me to see the people I work with on the other side like this. I like how they have it all. They deserve it.”
“You do, too, Bella.”
I shrug. “I never said I didn’t.”
“No, but you should know, with Crew, you have nothing more to prove than anyone else. Not because of what you’ve been accused of and certainly not because you’re a woman. I probably shouldn’t be telling you this because it’s not my lane and all, but when this is finished, he wants you to keep working for him.”
Hmm.
I turn back to my chicken and crack eggs into a bowl.
“Bella,” she calls for me.
“Hmm?” I answer aloud this time as I dredge the slices through flour, then egg, and followed by seasoned breadcrumbs.
“I suppose you’ll have options. From everything I’ve learned, your last name should carry you far, and your government would be crazy not to reinstate your job.”
“I’m not sure. And I’m not sure I can simply allow the water to flow under the proverbial bridge. I’d like to think I’m a bigger person.” I turn and hold my hands up since they’re covered in sticky muck. “But I’m also bitter and angry and there’s nothing more I’d like to do than stick it to the arseholes who tried to bury me.”
“I don’t blame you one bit.”
“But that’s if I can clear my name. There are times when it feels like we’re on the verge and others when I want to say screw them all and allow Cole to create an entirely new identity for me so I can run away to live in the mountains. But I know I’d be bored out of my mind. I don’t have it in me to quit.”
Addy pats the baby’s bum. “You’re like the rest of them. Crew is supposed to be retired. Same with Grady and Asa. My husband doesn’t have it in him to sit even though he could. Bella, for the last few weeks Crew has been planning. And girl, however this ends, you have options.”
I don’t get a chance to ask what those options might include. What these men do, they’re important and their actions are needed when it comes to the whole good versus evil. Their jobs serve a purpose and have a place in the process. But that does not mean I want to travel the world and do what governments can’t do legally.
But I don’t tell Addy this and it’s not only because Crew strides into the kitchen with his eyes on his wife and newest daughter. “Smells good.”
Addy looks up to her husband. “I told her she didn’t need to cook but she wouldn’t listen to me.”
He leans down to kiss her right before he snatches Aimée away from her mother and rests the baby in the crook of his arm. “If it tastes half as good as it smells, she can do whatever she wants.”
Addy smiles at her husband. “I was telling Bella how you’re planning.”
Crew returns her smile with a frown, but he’s not packing much power behind it. “Are you stealing my thunder?”
Addy’s smile spreads into a grin. “Yes.”
Crew gives her the side-eye before setting his gaze on me. I’ve learned something about Crew during my time in Virginia. He’s different around his family. The word normal comes to mind, even