Page 113 of His Wounded Heart

“Zarek,” I say quietly. “Do you think you, Chloe, and Slayer can entertain Bella in the yard, where she can still see her mom here in the living room?”

“Done deal. Let me get Chloe and Trenda onboard.”

He weaves between Zoe and Chloe and then puts his hand on Trenda’s shoulder. He whispers into her ear. She nods. She gives Evie a glare, then walks over to Aiden. “Bella, I’m not going to leave you, I promise.”

The little spitfire’s lower lip is trembling. I can see her trying to be stoic, she’s been through too much.

“Can you go get Apollo for me?” Trenda asks her daughter.

Sneaky. My woman is sneaky.

Bella gives her a wobbly smile, then runs down the hall.

She comes running back, that damn cage banging back and forth against her knee as she runs. Poor little guy has to be getting motion sick.

“I’ve got ’im.”

“I think he needs some playtime outside. But, you can’t take him out of his cage, else he’ll run away.”

“He needs a treat like we had, Mama. We got ice cream. What should Apollo get?”

“I’ll go find something in the fridge, Bella.” Zoe shoots up off the couch.

“In the meantime, I need you to be a big girl for me. I promise I won’t go someplace you can’t see me, but I need you to go out into the yard with Aunt Chloe and Uncle Zarek and Slayer and Apollo. You know how Slayer needs his outside time, well so does Apollo.”

Bella gives her a long look, then she turns her head and looks at her Aunt Evie. She turns back to look at Trenda. “You don’t want me to listen, right?”

Trenda crouches down and looks her daughter in the eye. “You’re right, I want to talk to Aunt Evie about some things that I’ll tell you about when you’re older. But right now it’s private between me and her. Can you respect that?”

Bella looks back over at Evie. “She’s wrong, isn’t she, Mama? Nobody’s trying to kill you are they?”

“She is wrong. She—”

“Of course I’m wrong,” Evie says as she kneels down in front of the little girl. “I just get so crazy scared about things that my mouth runs away with itself, and then I make everybody else around me scared.”

“Is that why you had to marry Uncle Aiden, so you wouldn’t be scared no more?”

I hear soft giggles, and watch Zoe and Chloe doing their best not to burst out laughing.

“That’s right, Bella. Your aunt gets scared really easy, so she needs me to protect her.” Aiden smiles down at the little girl.

Oh, he’s not getting any for at least a week if Evie’s expression is anything to go by.

“Okay, Mama, I’ll go play outside, but you promise I can see you?”

“Yes, I promise.”

“I’m so sorry, Trenda. I can’t believe that came out of my mouth in front of Bella. Please forgive me.”

“You’re forgiven… for that. I know you weren’t thinking. But you’re not forgiven for coming into my home and acting like you can demand answers about something you know nothing about, and treat me and your other two sisters like crap. That is not acceptable. What the hell, Evie?”

My armor-plated sister’s eyes well with tears.

Holy hell.

“You’re so right. I was so out of line.”

I watch as Aiden’s arms come around her and pull her back against his front. She melts into him, allowing him to give her comfort.