Aaron stepped towards me and told his children, “This is Harmony, and yes, she’s here with Brain.”
Little Emerald came to me first, her eyes sad as she said, “Duke misses Brain. So does Gen. He needs to come home, will you let him?”
I looked to Brain for help, but his eyes went emotional a brief second before I saw a wall come down, and no emotions showed on his face at all.
Aaron stooped down so he was eye level with his children. “Harmony is a guest in our home, and you’re making her uncomfortable. She can’t make Brain do anything, she can only support him in what he needs to do, and right now he feels like he needs to stay away from Duke.”
“Darlings,” Sophia said, “why don’t you show Brain and Harmony your latest artwork?”
I was almost expecting to see artistic masterpieces, and was relieved when they ran out of the room and returned with what you’d expect from the average two or three year old. Brain and I made appropriate comments praising their artwork, and listened as they prattled on about each other, their mom and dad, their nanny, and how much they adored Jonathan. They pretty much camped out on Brain and I, treating us as the same being as they wiggled, squirmed, and hugged us in a state of constant motion.
After around fifteen minutes, Aaron said, “Okay you three, you’ll be able to see Brain and Harmony again before they leave, but it’s bath time, so the three of you need to head downstairs to Patrice.”
Hunter screamed, “I get the battleship!” and ran for the door. I heard his little feet pitter-pattering down the steps, as his sisters rolled their eyes and hugged Brain and me again before holding hands and walking down the steps as they devised a plan of how to get the battleship away from their brother.
“Oh, my,” I told Sophia and Aaron, now sitting on a sofa together, holding hands and leaning into each other in a way that showed how truly in love with each other they were. “Your children are beautiful, and adorable, and so smart it’s a little scary.”
Aaron chuckled. “No, they’re so smart it’s a little terrifying. With Patrice here to help, it’s three of us and three of them… I don’t know what we’d do if they outnumbered us.”
Dinner was relaxed and enjoyable, and I didn’t feel at all self-conscious afterward as Sophia showed us to our room. Before she left, she told me, “Since we brought our children home, you’re the first person who’s stepped foot into our home who isn’t a long-time friend. After meeting you, I can see why Aaron invited you, and I’m happy he broke his unspoken rule.”
* * * *
Brain
Kirsten sparred with Harmony without instruction — which was fine, because she gave my girl a run for her money. However, when Sam arrived, she went straight into teacher mode, as I’d hoped she would.
Thirty minutes later, Sam asked me to step in and throw a punch, and Harmony and I both said, “No,” at the same time. Harmony looked to me for help, and I said, “For a variety of reasons, Harmony can’t see me as the bad guy right now, not even to spar.”
Sam took this in stride and turned to her and said, “No problem, just pretend I’m a foot taller,” as she threw another punch, and Harmony blocked and punched back.
When they finished, I thanked Sam and Kirsten, and Sam responded, “Happy to help. She has a good foundation, just needs to work on her reflexes and confidence.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Harmony
Since I was certain someone in the Russian Mafia had at least one person in the NSA working on their side, we took a convoluted path to Mobile, Alabama, with the final leg from Charleston, South Carolina in the back of a small van owned by a rock group on their way to Texas for a concert.
They dropped us off in an area of town with no cameras, and we walked a half mile to a restaurant, got something to eat, and then took a cab to the airport.
Brain’s body went stiff as we got out of the cab, but he paid the driver and collected our luggage before taking my arm and walking towards the hangar we were supposed to meet everyone.
Meanwhile, Brain had me on full alert as he practically dragged me to the door of the hangar, muttering, “Motherfucking asshole,” repeatedly under his breath.
He threw open the door and went in as if he were ready to fight, his voice angry and growly as he demanded, “Why the fuck are you here?”
I froze in the door as I saw Duke, Gonzo, and Bash. Ranger, the man who’d helped us in the range at Drake security, walked to me, herded me another step inside so he could close the door behind me, and said, “They’re part of your team, and I understand there are bad feelings, but this is Aaron’s idea of trying to fix things.” He looked at the men, who were talking not-so-quietly about why they were here, and looked back to me. “I was under the impression we only needed to worry about Brain, but I smelled fear when you first saw them, and now there’s disgust and anger along with it. Are you okay?”