Talia

I’m anxious when Sebastian and I wake up. I’m not concerned for myself. I’ve never felt safer. Den’s decision to become my guard shocked me, but I didn’t question it. Instead, I felt honored. I respect him and trust his instincts. Even though I fell asleep early, I didn’t sleep well since Sebastian told me he was going back to that store in the morning. Of course the store is close to his old neighborhood. Is Banks behind all this? Talking about it will only make me more tense, so I decide to focus on other things.

“I crashed before you could tell me about your meeting with your father,” I call from the closet once the shower shuts off, then button my lightweight linen jacket over a white blouse. Running my hands over the matching pants, I start to step into my favorite pair of flats when Sebastian pops into the closet with nothing but a towel around his waist.

I don’t even get a chance to admire his gorgeous abs before he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close. “I know, sleepyhead. You conked out the moment I pulled you against me.”

I grimace. “I’m sorry. How’d it go?”

“I used the quiet time to read through the file from Phil and get caught up to where you were on the details of the case. You have no idea how relieved and proud I am that you checked the other wheel wells and found that device.”

“If I didn’t have a thorough husband, I might not have.”

“So relieved,” he repeats softly before he releases me to step out of the towel. While he pulls on a pair of dress pants over his boxers, he says casually, “My father asked me to sell him my business.”

“You’re not going to, right?” I say, my eyes widening. Sebastian worked hard to establish his BLACK Security business. After listening to him tell me about his business in the office yesterday morning and then walking around and asking questions on my own while I waited for him to return, I thought of so many ways to expand it if he wanted to.

He shakes his head and pulls a dress shirt off the hanger. “I turned him down, but I offered to consult if he needs anything in the future. He countered by asking to set up a contract with me.”

“Are you going to?” I watch him button his shirt, my voice full of hope that they’ll finally get to really know each other.

Sebastian picks up a couple of ties and turns to me. “Which one?”

He’s not wearing the special shirt I gave him. This one is a medium blue and it’ll go well with his gray suit, but he’s holding the wrong color ties for it. I return them to their slots in his drawer and find a pale yellow one with blue flecks that’ll match his shirt and hand it to him. “Try this one.”

“Thanks, Little Red.” Smiling, he walks into the bathroom to knot his tie in front of the mirror.

I smile after him once I realize this is the second day in a row he asked me which tie. Actually, yesterday he sought out my opinion on his suit too. “Well?”

“He asked me to be CEO. I turned him down, so this is the least I can do to be indirectly involved with his company.”

“Adam asked you to run the business?” I follow him into the bathroom and meet his gaze in the mirror, eyes wide. That’s huge.

He smirks as he folds his shirt collar down over his tie. “Yeah, I wasn’t expecting that, but the paperwork he showed me with his succession plan was dated months ago. I told him he needs to let Gavin have a shot at it, but I would be there if needed.”

“Then the contract idea is a good way to bridge your involvement. I was looking over what BLACK Security does and as broad as your team’s skill sets are today, I think there’s so much potential for other areas of growth. Depending on how extensive you make the contract with your father, you could potentially be included in a lot of meetings if you wanted to be.”

He smiles his approval at me in the reflection as he smooths his tie and buttons his jacket. “Like I said, you’re already a valuable team member.”

“You said that comment was about us,” I say, giving him a look.

He turns to me, a devilish smile curving his lips. “Did I?” Clasping my face, he lowers his to mine, our lips almost touching. “Why, Little Red, don’t you know that statement applied across the board?”

Before I can think of a witty reply, he steals another kiss, this one lingering and so sensual, I sigh as he lifts his head. “Calder’s waiting downstairs for me. I’ve let Den in already. Do not take a breath without him there to hear it.”

Laughing, I shake my head. “I’m so glad you’re not serious.”

I jump when he lands a solid smack on my ass, then hauls me against his hips. “Who says I’m not? At all times, Talia.”

Saluting him, I tap his chest just before he moves away. “Don’t do anything crazy today. Just get the evidence you need to nail whoever’s responsible and let the police handle it.”

I walk back into our closet to put my flats on, then sigh that he’d left his towel on the marble-top island in the middle of our closet. I lift the towel up and a small white rectangle label flutters to the floor.

I pick it up and as I return the towel to the bathroom, I realize it’s one of the labels Teresa adds to his shirts as part of his color-coding system. Crap, which shirt is missing the tag? I return to our closet and start at the end of his row of shirts, lifting the tail to look for one that’s missing the tag. The first one I check must’ve been it; it’s missing its label. But when I look at the label, it doesn’t match the shirt. Frowning, I move on to the next shirt, then the next. Several of them are missing their labels. Why are they suddenly falling off? Did she change the adhesive she uses to iron it on?

I open his drawer to put the label inside for safekeeping and pause at the stack of labels neatly set in the corner, exactly how Sebastian would intentionally organize them.

I lift the stack and as I sift through them, big fat tears well. He’d pulled them all off. Every single one. “Oh, Sebastian…”

Returning the labels where I found them, I walk into our bedroom and grab my cell, typing him a message.

Thank you for letting me be your rainbow.

His reply is immediate.

You have always been so.

I smile at his reply. The more I think about what a good man my husband is, the more determined I become with my plan for the day. Stepping into our living room, I pause at the sight of Den’s sitting by the window drinking a cup of coffee and smile. I especially love that he’d pulled a kitchen chair up close. A kindred spirit. “Do you do that when it rains or snows too?”

He clears his throat and immediately stands. “I find it helpful for thinking.”

“It’s best if you fully face the glass, you know.”

“Not when I’m on duty.” Walking over to the sink, he rinses his cup, then returns to pick up his gun and slide it into its discrete holster under his arm before he buttons his suit jacket. “Where are we going this morning?”

“I’ve got a couple of errands to run. First stop…a spa.”

When his eyebrows lift, I laugh. “I’m not planning a mani-pedi. This is a data retrieval mission. Fingers crossed, I’ll be able to get what I’m looking for.”

The Blake estate is quiet as the house manager with silent footsteps, escorts me into the dining room where Mina and Josi are having breakfast.

“Come in, Talia. Would you like some coffee or a croissant with jam?” Mina says as she pulls a pastry apart for Josi, then sets the bits on her highchair tray.

“Where are your brothers and dad?” I ask as I move into the room and take a seat at the table on the other side of Josi’s chair.

“They’re all at the office today,” she says, her blonde hair swaying as she pulls more bread apart for Josi. “Thankfully Damian finally dragged himself out of bed this morning.”

“How are you doing?” I ask and smile at Josi when she waves and calls out, “Ahhya, oon, oon!”

“You want a spoon?” Mina says, handing her daughter one.

Josi grabs the utensil and bangs it on her tray a couple of times before throwing it on the carpet.

I laugh and pick it up, setting it on the table. “She’s talking about the book, Goodnight Moon that I read her the other night.” Glancing Den’s way, I say, “Could you please close the door, Den?”

Nodding, he pulls the double French doors closed, leaving Mina, Josi, and me alone in the dining room.

“This seems serious,” Mina says, her smile melting away.

“You know why I’m here.”

Lifting her chin a notch, she sniffs. “Sebastian’s at fault here, not me. It’s as if he could care less that she died.”

“That’s not true. He knows you’re in pain.”

Her brown eyes water, tears threatening. “Then he should be there. He sacrifices nothing by attending except his time and his pride.”

I shake my head and turn in my seat to fully face her. “That’s where you’re wrong, Mina. You think he’s dishonoring your mother—”

“Yes, he is!” she says, cutting me off.

“But what you don’t know is that by attending Isabel’s funeral, he would be dishonoring his own mother’s memory.”

She snorts and folds her arms on the table. “Since when is Sebastian so sentimental? Everyone knows my mom never tried to replace his mother. He’s being ridiculous. And the rest of the family sees it that way too.”

“You told your brothers and dad?”

“Of course I did. They needed to know he wasn’t attending.”

“Then it’s your job to undo the damage,” I say, my tone hardening. “The guys were just starting to get along.”

Mina frowns, her hands folding tight around her arms. “Why would I do that?”

“He’s your brother too.”

She rolls her eyes. “No true Blake turns their back on family.”

I press my lips together to keep from saying something in the heat of anger. This whole thing has really thrown Mina, making her revert back to that immature girl I first met years ago. “I know losing your mom has been awful and hard. I had hoped that instead of being angry with Sebastian about the funeral that you would remember how your brother was there for you when Josi was born, but since you seem determined to hold a grudge, and have now passed your sentiments on to your brothers who already resent Sebastian, you need to know the truth.”

When Mina shrugs and looks away as if she couldn’t care less, I snap at her, “Look at me, Mina. This is important!”

Huffing, she turns back and adopts a haughty tone. “You have five minutes.”

“That’s all I’ll need.” It’s hard not to take a defensive tone with her, but I manage to keep mine even and calm. “Sebastian has already sacrificed on a deeply personal level for you, and I won’t stand by and let you continue to lash out at him because you don’t have all the facts. You are the only reason he didn’t tell his father the truth and seek full justice for his mother.”

“What are you talking about?” Mina says, her tone sharpening.

“I would explain it, but I don’t think you would believe me, so I’m going to show you.” I queue up the video clip that I retrieved from the spa. Sebastian told me about his visit to the spa Isabel frequented where he confronted her about her part in his mother’s death and the attempt on his life. I wondered if there might be a recording of their conversation. Sure enough the spa had put cameras in the rooms at discrete angles to protect themselves from potential lawsuits. It took longer than I expected, because my husband had them erase the original tape from their system, expecting the off-site backup to be erased at the same time. He didn’t know that the back-up sweep only happened once a quarter. Thankfully the spa bent over backward to please the new owner’s wife and discretely retrieved a copy for me before the sweep erased that copy too.

Handing Mina my phone, I say, “Please move away to watch that. I don’t want Josi hearing any of it.”

She frowns, but moves to the head of the table to watch. My heart aches that I have to share Isabel at her nastiest with her daughter, but I refuse to protect someone’s reputation who never deserved it. I’d rather fight for my husband’s happiness with his family.

Mina gasps, a shaky hand flying to her mouth as she watches the truth unfold. When her tears spill over, I get up and move to sit in the chair beside her. The moment I’m seated, she lets go of my phone, dropping it on the table as if she can’t stand touching it. “I’m sorry, Mina. Sebastian has no idea I’m here, but I love him too much to let his protective silence tear your relationship apart. He deserves better.”

Angry eyes cut to me, her voice quavering. “How could you destroy my memory of my mother like that?”

“You’d rather go on believing your brother is a cold-hearted, selfish person who doesn’t care about you instead?” Shaking my head, I sigh. “I did what I thought was best for the future of this family as a whole, Mina. If it makes you feel better to blame someone, then blame me, but now it’s your turn to be the bigger person and support Sebastian. If you can’t see past your hurt to acknowledge his and find a way in your heart to understand—even in your darkest moments—then you were never a true sister to him. Not like the many ways he’s been a brother to you.”

Picking up my phone, I stand and drop a kiss on Josi’s sweet curls on my way out.