Chapter 2

Avery whirls on us as soon as the door closes.

“Seriously?”

I cross my arms over my chest and look at Hawk standing beside her.

“Don’t tell me you don’t have the same concerns.”

“I trust her.” Avery juts out her chin, daring me to argue.

“You didn’t exactly speak up for her,” Astrid says from where she’s standing. “This isn’t me trying to place the blame on you, but you’re the only one here who knows her. So when you didn’t step in…” She trails off, not needing to say anymore. Avery’s lack of defense made our actions seem more justified.

“I was shocked. It wasn’t because I don’t trust her. It was finding out who her father was and her real age. I was more focused on that than anything else.” Avery sighs, running a hand through her hair.

“If she’s telling the truth, then he’s my father too. Are you all going to start treating me differently because of it?” Salem aims her question at us as Zig walks over to her, placing his hand on the small of her back in silent support.

“Of course not, but we know you. And you were not raised by him like she was.”

“I think raised might be pushing it. The age thing shocked me because she doesn’t look or act seventeen, and she’s been working for the department as long as I’ve been there. Hell, she was there before I was,” Avery tells us, making me tense.

“She was working there when she was a child? What the fuck?”

Avery shrugs. “She’s always looked after the kids. I assumed she was older because of it. I didn’t realize she was one herself.”

I feel my gut clench at that. When I first laid eyes on Lara, I knew I wanted her. One look at Crew, and I knew he was feeling the same way. Finally, we would get what the others had. But I guess the joke’s on us. Seventeen years old. Fuck, I’m nothing but a pervert.

“Will she be staying with one of us?” Slade asks. The man had been remarkably quiet until now, which is unlike him.

“She’s seventeen, not seven, and probably more mature than all you guys here put together,” Salem huffs.

“She’s still a kid,” Crew grunts out.

“Not really. Jesus, when I think back to what I got up to at her age.” Oz shakes his head. “We had Luna following us around everywhere, but we were still shitheads. I can tell you this: we didn’t have anywhere near the patience with her that Lara does with those kids.”

“I think you’re overreacting because of the shock of finding out that Salem’s Penn Travis is so much more than we thought he was,” Ev states, his eyes moving to Avery. “I need to know whatever you have on her.”

“Well, since I didn’t know how old she really was, clearly I don’t know much.”

“What’s her gift?” Jagger asks, making everyone quiet down.

I look over at the kids, who are all now watching TV. Alfie glances over at us warily before facing forward again, so I lower my voice.

“That’s a good question. We should know what we’re dealing with.”

“Who,” Astrid fumes. “Who you’re dealing with. Thirty minutes ago, you looked at her like she had the answer to world peace. Now you’re acting like she’s the enemy. It’s like you guys are destined to repeat each other’s mistakes,” she mumbles the last part.

“It’s not the same,” Crew huffs. “She’s seventeen. We won’t be going anywhere near her.”

“She won’t be seventeen forever. And honestly, if she isn’t worth waiting for, then she isn’t the one for you.” She turns and walks out. Slade, shrugging his shoulders, follows her.

“I’m not telling you her gift. That’s up to Lara to share,” Avery states.

“If we didn’t have a houseful of kids, I’d wait. But we do, and we need to make sure we can protect them.” Oz sighs.

“If you think the kids need protecting from Lara, then you haven’t been paying attention at all.” She storms out.

Creed curses. “I’ll go talk to her. Explain things.”

“Good luck. Lara had no reason to leave the Division, but she still came here for them.” Salem gestures to the children. “She did that so she could keep them safe, and you just shit all over that by insinuating that they need to be protected from her.” Salem takes a deep breath before continuing. “Revealing a gift, one you might have been hiding for safety or because you’ve had to use it against your will, is traumatic enough without having someone do it for you. I have a feeling that girl hasn’t had many things in her life. Don’t take something else from her.”

“Salem,” Oz sighs as he steps closer, but she knows him as well as I do. He won’t back down on this.

“Do what you want, Oz. You always do. I’m going to check on our son. I hope to fuck someone shows him more kindness than we showed Lara.”

She leaves, shoving past Oz.

“Thanks for having my back, brother,” Oz grumbles at Zig.

“No point in her being pissed at both of us.” Zig shrugs with no remorse. “Besides, I’m not sure I’m on the same side as you guys are.”

“What do you mean?” Oz asks.

“Exactly what I said. She hasn’t done anything other than take good care of those kids. She’s quiet, polite, respectful, and jumps in to help with anything without being asked. What she hasn’t done is make any demands, prod for answers, or dig for information. Despite these two here”—he points at me and Crew— “hovering around her, she’s kept her head down.”

“Well, that won’t be an issue anymore.”

“Like Astrid said, she won’t be seventeen forever. But that’s up to you. What I don’t want to do is isolate a young woman and treat her like she’s the enemy. If we do, I’m not sure we can say we are any better than they are.”

“Knowing what her gift is would go a long way to calming this down.” Jagger sighs. I’m not sure I agree, and apparently, neither does Zig.

“Yeah? And what if her gift is something dangerous? Is that going to make you feel better? No, it won’t. So what then? We lock her up, pretend it’s for her safety, and make her stay there until she proves herself to us in some arbitrary way? Yeah, because that worked out so well the last couple of times.” He lifts an eyebrow.

I stare at Zig in surprise. It’s not often that there’s a divide between us. Most of the time, we’re united in our feelings. But he does have a point.

“Can you honestly say that having her around our boy without knowing what her gift is doesn’t faze you?” Oz asks incredulously.

“Yeah, I can, because those kids in there love her. There isn’t a single ounce of fear in them directed at Lara. In fact, after the stunt we just pulled, I think if they’re scared of anyone, it’s us. What I also find fascinating is that for the last week, not one of you questioned her ability to look after those kids or be around Aries. None of you asked what her gift was, but the second you find out who her father is, she’s dangerous. Since when did we make the child pay for the sins of the father?”

“I can’t believe you’re not more concerned.” I shake my head.

“One of us has to be level-headed.”

“So, what the fuck do you expect us to do?” Oz snaps.

“Did any of you just think to ask her?” Zig sighs.

Nobody says anything because, of course, we didn’t.

“I’m sure she’ll be really open to sharing now,” Oz grumbles.

“What the fuck is your problem?” Zig snarls at him.

“You. We have kids here to protect.”

“Yeah, and Lara is one of them,” Zig replies.

Ev leans against the counter. “Let’s just pull back and think for a minute. How did she act when Bella spilled the beans about her father? Frustrated? Guilty? Pissed that all her wicked plans were foiled? I saw her face, and I can tell you I didn’t see any of that. I saw embarrassment, shame, and fear. He might have the same blood as her, but judging by her reactions, I think it’s safe to say there’s no love there.”

I rub my hand over my face. Thinking back and looking past my own shock, I realize he’s right.

“Do any of you really think she’s a danger to the kids?”

I close my eyes and blow out my breath before answering. “No.”

“Then can we please stop acting like fucking Neanderthals? She helped Avery escape, and she kept all these kids safe and calm. She could have run at any point, but she didn’t. I think being here with all of us is confusing her. It’s obvious she’s never experienced anything like us.”

“We’re mercenaries, Zig, that’s not surprising.”

“Right now, Oz, you’re just being a dick. I’m talking about family.”

Oz shuts his mouth at that.

I look at Creed but can’t get a read on what he’s thinking.

Zig’s words are starting to penetrate, though. We just pounced on her and treated her like shit. Why the fuck would she trust us and tell us her secret? If it were me, I would have left and never looked back.

My gaze moves to the kids before I curse. Walking away isn’t an option when everyone she cares about is right here.

“I see you’re getting it now.” Zig sighs.

“Look, we’ve all fucked up. Some of us worse than others,” Hawk starts, and I flip him off. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t make it right.”

“She’s seventeen.”

“So you can’t be her friend?”

“My dick doesn’t want to be friends with her,” I fire back.

“Well, if it helps, I think any shot you might have had with her is long gone.” Oz grins. The prick.

“Jesus Christ, you make me glad I had a son, not a daughter. I’ll go talk to her.” Zig starts walking toward the door, but the thought of him alone with Lara makes something inside me snap. I don’t give a fuck if he’s with Salem or not.

“I’ll go,” I call out, stopping him.

“Not sure that’s a good idea,” Crew mutters, which doesn’t surprise me. He knows how much I want her.

“It’ll be fine. I just need to clear some things up. You wanna come?”

“No, I need some air.” He turns and leaves in the other direction.

I walk over to Zig, who glares at me. Eventually, he sighs and nods. “Fine, but don’t be a dick. I’d hate to have to kick your ass.”

“Ask her what her gift is,” Oz calls out. I don’t even look at him as I head out.

I jog over to her place before I can change my mind. When I get there, I take a deep breath and knock. When she doesn’t answer, I knock again, louder this time.

I tense before moving to look through the window, hoping she’s just ignoring me and hasn’t left. The thought of her leaving makes my stomach knot, even though I know she wouldn’t go and leave the kids behind, especially not without saying goodbye.

I can’t see her, so I head over to Greg’s, hoping Lara told him where she was going. I pound on the door and wait impatiently for him to answer. When he finally does, I’m about ready to rip my hair out.

“Yes?”

“Do you know where Lara went? I can’t find her.”

“Why do you want to know where she is?”

“I just want to talk to her.”

“I think you’ve said enough for now, Wilder. Don’t you?”

“Dammit, Greg, now is not the time to piss me off. Do you know where she is or not?”

“I do. And no, she doesn’t want to see you or anyone else.”

I close my eyes and count to ten, reminding myself that he’s recovering from a gunshot wound and that it would be shitty of me to punch him in the face.