Caught Between Three Billionaire Tycoons - Willa Hart Page 0,31

you.”

“It sure has!” She agreed readily. The kids had finished their cocoa and were sitting quietly with their heads resting on each other. They were ready for bed too, but like all kids, they would never admit it.

“Hey, Zavier?” Whitney put down her empty cup and looked at me quizzically, “do you guys have a dog?”

“No, why?”

“Oh, before when I was coming down, I thought I heard growling.”

I looked right into her face, struggling to control my expression.

“No. I’m not sure what you mean. The kids had a scuffle over some marshmallows.” I shrugged.

“Oh. Okay. I didn’t think it was the kids.”

“I didn’t hear anything.”

“Hmm.” She said nothing more, but it was clear she wasn’t done thinking about it.

I picked up Egan, who was almost completely asleep. Whitney gathered up Adara, and we took them upstairs to one of our spare rooms. Two big wooden beds with brightly knitted blankets waited for them.

Whitney smiled as she got them tucked in. By the time we got to the door, she was practically weaving on her feet.

“Just next door.” I guided her with a hand on her shoulder. “Nice big sleigh bed. Just for you.”

She grinned as best she could and yawned in my face. Laughing softly, she headed in through to the next bedroom.

As I came down the stairs, Aleksy walked in the front door. I could tell by his face, he had had no luck fixing his power.

Daire came in right behind him, and the look they gave each other was fierce.

“Can you guys just pretend to be civil for a moment so we can talk?”

I didn’t expect my words to have much effect, but both of them took off their coats and came in without yelling at each other. I considered it progress.

I got out a bottle of fine, aged brandy and a few glasses, sitting at the table. Aleksy and Daire sat down with me and I handed out the drinks.

We glared at each other for a few seconds, and I knew it was time to drop my bombshell. It wasn’t a pretty truth, but it had to be said.

“Guys. I’ve realized something while I was here helping Whitney out with the kids.”

“Where are my children?” Aleksy said suddenly. I looked at him evenly.

“There in bed, they’re fine. Trouble is, little Egan shifted, and Whitney almost saw it.”

A look of fear permeated Aleksy’s face and a low growl erupted. I understood the worry.

Daire shrugged, sipping his brandy. It was his usual response to unexpected stress, to act aloof.

“Yeah, look. I think we are all being selfish over this. We need to think about her. If we really love her and care about her, we have to let her go.”

The shocked silence and blank faces forced me to forge on.

“She’s innocent and pure. She’d be terrified of our world. I think we should just get through the next few days, then let her go.”

Both my bear and my human heart seemed to howl into the void at this admission. I was already bereft, lost, knowing I would wander the world as half a soul without her.

Aleksy sipped at his drink, not looking at me.

“What you say makes sense.”

I looked over at Daire and I saw his usual scowl had softened to a fearful frown.

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” he said softly.

I nodded firmly.

“She’s too good of a woman to get caught up in this. We need to do the right thing and let her go.”

The others seemed to agree, but I had to get up and leave the room.

My bear understood the finality of this decision. It knew we were going to be miserable forever, and there wasn’t a damn thing we could do about it.

10

The bed was so comfortable and warm I felt like I would never get out of it. The mattress seemed to swallow me up and the warm blankets wrapped around me and begged me to stay.

Unfortunately, it was one of those times where it didn’t matter how comfortable I was. I had to pee.

I struggled up from the blankets like I was freeing myself from a spider web. My hair was all over my face as I dragged myself from my warm cocoon and hurried down the hall to the enormous bathroom the kids and I used the night before.

As I headed back to bed, I realized the sun was bright and streaming into the house through the many windows. I had no idea what time it was, and I hadn’t even