Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

Gunner

E ntertaining a toddler, an old woman, and two concerned mercenaries is not an easy feat. Maverick would be much better suited for this job. Women love him. Haze and I are severely outnumbered by the opposite sex.

Bless and Stacia stay near the island in the kitchen, talking in hushed tones. Stacia's grandmother, Beatrice, is a lovely but extremely chatty woman.

I am not chatty ever .

She makes friendly conversation until she falls asleep in the chair nearest to the dining room. I'd be mildly concerned, since she's supposed to be watching Libby, but I get the feeling Bless only called her over to help Brooklyn feel better about focusing on Noble as he heals.

Watching the kid is a team effort, and even Nova and Haze are doing their parts. Although, admittedly, Nova is more smitten by Libby than Haze is.

The only time he got involved was when Libby declared she wanted to explore the second floor. Haze cut her off and corralled her back to the living room without me even needing to stand up. Which was nice, considering spillover from the bond has had my dick perpetually hard.

It's making me surlier than normal.

I feel it the exact moment Maverick joins the bond.

It's not a bad thing.

I'm genuinely happy for them.

It'll also save Maverick from trying to do something exceptionally stupid, like trade himself to Avan in some altruistic attempt to stop the hell Barrett will want to rain down on us.

It's clear when the threesome ends because I can finally focus on something outside of stomping down the hall to join in.

Bless hasn't invited me to participate in her conversation, either, so I let myself believe they aren't talking about the clusterfuck from last night.

I can't blame Maverick.

There's no guarantee I would have recognized Dustin's face.

It's impossible to understand or explain what happens when you're in a kill-or-be-killed situation. Your senses automatically hone in on the threat and possible ways to end your enemy before they get you.

I killed at least five men last night, and I couldn't tell you what a single one of their faces looked like.

At least, not until we piled up the bodies and lit them on fire.

It was a rush job, and that never bodes well.

We did everything we could to wipe Noble's presence from the warehouse by using accelerant on the bodies and in the room where he was housed, but there's no way the entire building burned down.

Not unless the entire New York fire department was on vacation.

On the plus side, Merrick assured us there were no cameras or feeds that could come back to bite us in the ass. The downside is that I won't feel settled until we're the fuck out of this hellacious state.

That, or Avan Barrett is dead.

I'll be able to breathe a little easier once that fucking piece of shit no longer draws breath.

Merrick promised Soren was doing what he could to help get Ivanov on our side, but he also had twins a few weeks ago. Their entire pack has other things to focus on.

Not to mention, the hell Ranger gave me when I finally called to update him this morning. To say my boss was furious that he had to hear about last night from Merrick would be a huge understatement.

Merrick is on my shit list.

I'm going to buy his new baby girls the most annoying, loud, tyrannical toys I can find to thank him for throwing me under the bus.

Libby plays well by herself. Honestly, she's a really good kid. I want to interact and get to know her, but she's more obsessed with Nova than anything.

I'm not expecting her to come over to me with her sippy cup tucked under her arm. Her long brown hair falls around her shoulder as she stares up at me from under her lashes.

"What's up?" I ask, leaning forward.

Her foot dances around the floor as she points to me. I look down like a total goofball, thinking I've got one of her toys or something she wants.

It finally dawns on me, and I stretch back in the club chair. "Do you want to sit with me?"

Her head bobbles, and she kinda tosses her entire body at my knees.

I move to help her climb up, and once she's situated, she rests her head back against my chest.

Libby pats around the arm of the chair without looking away from the TV. It's been on in the background all morning, set to a kid-friendly channel.

She stretches the remote over her shoulder and drops it without making sure I'm going to grab it.

I laugh, shaking my head.

She reminds me a little of Maverick when he's drunk. He gets cuddly, uncoordinated, and bossy.

It's much cuter behavior coming from a toddler.

"Turn it up," she says, suddenly entranced by the cartoon playing on the screen. "Please."

I fumble with the remote and get it set on a reasonable level, without it being too loud.

"Thanks," she mumbles around her cup. She grabs my hand from the arm of the chair and brings it to rest on her stomach. "I'm tired. Rub my tummy."

I glance around for anyone. Literally, anyone in this house would be better suited for cuddling than I am.

Bless catches my gaze, raising an eyebrow.

That's a challenging look if I've ever seen one.

I plant my palm on Libby's belly and give it a tender rub in a back-and-forth motion. Apparently, that isn't what she's looking for, because she puts her hand over mine, rubbing circles.

I get the point, and she wiggles until her back lands in the crook of my arm.

She falls asleep with the cup still in her mouth before five minutes pass, but I keep right on rubbing while watching puppies save the planet.

Brooklyn comes out before the episode is over. A silly smile breaks out when she spots me watching cartoons.

She runs her fingers over Libby's cheek and bends to give me a kiss. "I've got to get her into a Pull-Up."

Damn.

I should have thought of that.

I could have recruited Bless to help her get changed for her nap.

Were we supposed to swap her into pajamas if she fell asleep?

Why haven't I paid more attention to my siblings' kids?

It's clear I've got a long way to go before I know what the hell I'm doing, but I've got one step up on Barrett.

At least I'm here, putting in the work and trying to learn.

Brooklyn picks up her daughter, and I grab the cup before it can roll around and hit the ground. She heads off toward the bedroom Libby has been sleeping in.

I vaguely wonder what Maverick is up to. He's probably keeping an eye on Noble. Maybe they're sharing a leisurely afternoon nap.

I almost snort.

Pack life is not what I was expecting, and I'm only one day in.

Brooklyn comes back while I'm contemplating going to check on the others. She doesn't ask before climbing into my lap. Her knees land beside my hips as she gets settled in. It makes me grin like a fool when her hands start to brush through my stubble.

"How was your shower?"

"Mmm, it was nice," she says softly. "It was very sweet to come out and find you holding Libby."

"She's pretty self-sufficient," I say with a laugh. "She lets you know what she needs, but she wore Beatrice right out."

"Sorry about that. I probably shouldn't have disappeared." Her nose lands against my throat as she breathes me in.

"You hardly went out for a night of drinking and partying." I run my hand down her spine to soothe her. "Maverick and I have done a crappy job of courting you so far, but trust me when I say it's coming."

"You've done just fine. It's not like I need courting gifts. We're already bonded. Honestly, knowing you were around to help with Libby, so I could shower with Noble…" She snuggles deeper. "That alone is a perfect gift."

See, that's not going to work for me. Soon, she'll understand the difference between common decency and us spoiling her rotten.

We just have to eliminate the threat, so we can truly start our lives.

"I'm going to be gone for a few hours tonight," Bless says, coming into the room.

I glare because I'm pretty sure Brooklyn fell asleep on my chest, but the little omega pops her head up.

"You said I could talk to Lennox today," Brooklyn says. "And I still need to figure out what I'm doing about my boss. I'm scheduled to work tomorrow afternoon."

"Yeah, about that…" Stacia walks into the room, taking a seat on the couch. "I pretended to be you and called the bookstore and Libby's daycare to inform them you wouldn't be back."

Brooklyn's head spins around, a little like that chick from the possession movie. "What?"

"You can't go back," Bless says calmly. "Meaning, it was time to handle it."

"Mrs. Patterson gave me a chance when no one else wanted to deal with a single mom." Brooklyn's guilt and anxiety pulses in the bond. "I owe her more than to disappear with no notice. She's a small business owner. It's not like she has backup staff to call in."

"I've got a friend who is going to pop by tomorrow. It'll be a brilliant stroke of luck for Mrs. Patterson until she can find someone full-time." Bless raises her eyebrows, like she's just waiting for the next objection.

Brooklyn sighs. "Thank you for handling that."

Bless's head tilts. "I've been called to a meeting with my parents tonight." She swipes her long hair behind her ear and shrugs. "They've still got some naive hope that my brother will be found in one piece."

Stacia snorts.

"Ohmigod," Brooklyn gasps. "Did something happen to Braxton?"

"My family members are dropping like flies." Bless grins a little ferally. "And I'm not complaining a bit."

I lean around Brooklyn, who still looks a little shell-shocked. "Are you sure it's about Braxton and not Dustin?"

"What happened to Dustin?" Brooklyn chokes out.

"Do you assholes tell her nothing?" Stacia asks.

"Of course, they don't. They're in full-blown caveman mode. All they can think about is bonding and fucking," Bless says, laughing.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you to dinner?" Stacia asks.

"No," Bless says firmly. "You know how they are. It would look even stranger if I brought you along."

Brooklyn nuzzles into my throat. "All of this is very stressful."

"But necessary," I remind her gently. "It'll be over before you know it."