“I’m never modest.”
“We know,” Caleb said dryly, watching her as she sat on the swing.
“Don’t understand the point of being modest. Seems like a lie to me. If you’re good at something, you should just embrace it. You shouldn’t hide it.”
“We need to get her back to the suite. She’s got to be exhausted,” Aleki said. “And I hate to think what she’s done to her ankle walking here on it.”
“She didn’t get far.” Wolfe looked back at the exhausted girl sitting on the swing. Her shoulders were slumped, her eyes down. She had no idea that any of them were standing there.
Anger filled him at the thought of how vulnerable she was. If Micah wasn’t here, if they weren’t tracking her, who knows what could have happened to her.
Anything.
Someone should be watching this girl. Someone should be taking care of her. Someone should ensure she was never alone. Particularly since it was obvious that she had zero instincts when it came to searching out danger.
Or she would have sensed him.
But Wolfe wasn’t a danger to her. He’d tried to become indifferent to her over time. Turns out, he’d just pushed everything deep. Now that numbness was fading.
Turns out that she hadn’t been happy and carefree all these years. She’d been miserable. He understood that feeling.
She held the stuffed pig in one hand. Her good arm was wrapped around the chain on the swing and she had her thumb in her mouth, sucking it.
She looked the picture of innocence. Sweetness.
What the fuck did he know about sweetness? Nothing. That’s why he had Caleb and Aleki. To even out his hard edges. They knew how to look after someone emotionally as well as physically.
Fuck. Was he gonna have to learn how to hug? This shit was gonna be harder than he thought.
“I don’t cuddle.”
“What, man?” Aleki asked, looking at him weirdly. “Why are you wanting a cuddle?”
“I’m not. I’m saying I don’t cuddle.”
“Okay, that’s interesting,” Caleb said. “But maybe we can stay on topic. Let’s do this softly. She’s already had a hard time of it. No need to scare her or go all hard-ass on her.” He sent a look to Wolfe.
What?
Caleb just shook his head and took off towards the swings. Aleki followed him, while Wolfe kept watch over their back. Like always.
* * *
Vivi heard them approach. She guessed they weren’t trying to be quiet.
She didn’t glance up. To be honest, she just didn’t have the energy to fight them. She didn’t have the energy for anything.
A pair of clean, newly polished black shoes filled her vision. Caleb.
Aleki’s shoes were always scuffed. He wouldn’t be caught dead in anything that needed polishing. And Wolfe preferred shit-kicker boots. The same shit-kicker boots, he’d just buy a new pair when the old ones wore out.
“I’d offer to push you, but you don’t look like you have the strength to hold on,” Caleb said.
She gave a small snort of agreement. She braced herself, waiting for his anger.
“Come here,” he said in a gentle voice.
He drew her thumb from her mouth, and she let out a small moan of embarrassment. She hadn’t even realized that she’d been sucking on it.