108

It had been two days since Ava had talked with Fatima and she hadn’t heard anything back. She spent her days with Luka, and he seemed to settle into life in the mansion. Zane would usually find them when he had a break in his work, or when he decided he wanted a break. Ava was sitting in the garden crocheting; it was a nice day and Luka was sitting on a blanket with his Legos. It had fast become his favorite toy after his bunny. The pink bunny was laying by his side, it was his constant companion. He may have been a bit old for a security stuffy, but with everything he had been through, Ava thought he deserved it. Her phone rang and she saw it was Fatima calling.
“Hi, Fatima,” Ava answered.
“Hello, my friend. I hope you are well,” Fatima said.
“I am, thank you. And you?”
“I’m good. I have good news as well.”
“I’m happy to hear it, I hope it’s regarding the thing we talked about,” Ava said.
“It is. I have found his mother. I talked to her most of the day yesterday. She is relieved her son is in safe hands and she wanted me to thank you from the bottom of her heart for taking him in. She is, understandably, not convinced that Jonas is no longer a threat and is weary to accept help from the mafia. But I have convinced her to talk to you. When are you available?” Fatima asked. Ava was about to say that she could come straight away. Then she remembered that she had promised Zane to stay safe.
“I can meet her this afternoon. Do you want us to arrange something away from your place?” she therefor asked.
“Yes, I think it would be best.”
“Good, how about the cafe on Orchard Street? I’ll have one of the women escorting me, but she will sit at a different table and be discreet. If everything is okay, I think we can reunite her with her son,” Ava suggested.
“I’m not thrilled about the woman, but I understand. Shall we say at two?”
“That works for me. I will see you soon.” They hung up and Ava sent a text to Zane.
A: Fatima found Luka’s mother. I will talk with her this afternoon.
Z: I’m sending Jax down.
Ava looked at the message and couldn’t figure out why Zane was sending Jax down. It only took him a couple of minutes to arrive at the bench where she was sitting.
“I’m here to report for kid watching. He wants to talk to you in the office,” Jax said before he joined Luka on the blanket and started building his own Lego figure.
“I just need to talk to Zane, Luka. Stay with uncle Jax,” Ava said. She didn’t know if Luka heard her as he was focused on his creation. But she knew Jax would make sure he was safe and had what he needed. She walked back to the house and to her surprise, Zane was waiting for her at the top of the stairs.
“Hi,” she said and smiled at him.
“Oh no, don’t act all innocent with me, angel. We need to talk about your tendency to make rash decisions,” he told her. He took a hold of the pendent on her collar and pulled her in for a brutal kiss. Then he placed his arm around her, and they walked into his office.
“It wasn’t a rash decision, Zane,” Ava objected as they sat down on the couch. “My first instinct was to agree to meet at once. But I didn’t. I gave us time to talk through this and discuss how it’s going to happen and what we tell Luka,” she continued.
“Angel, you have given us hours to plan. To keep you safe I would like to have more time than that,” Zane told her.
“I just didn’t want to give Luka’s mother too much time to get nervous. I was afraid she would back out,” Ava said. Zane looked at her and she could see he wasn’t happy.
“I can see your point,” he told her. “I don’t like it. Where are you going to meet?” Ava told him and she also told him about her plan to bring one of the women to act as her bodyguard. “Let’s make that four,” Zane said.
“Zane,” she objected.
“No, that is not negotiable. Take it or stay at home. I would prefer the second option, but I won’t force the issue,” he told her. She could hear he was being serious.
“Okay,” she agreed. He nodded.
“What do you want to do about Luka? Will you tell him?” Zane asked.
“I don’t think so. If everything is okay I will come back and we can talk to him together. But if things turn out bad, I don’t want him to get his hopes up and then be crushed when it falls through. Do you think that is right?” Zane thought about it for a while.
“Yes, I think you are right. If his mother isn’t stable or doesn’t want him or something like that, it’s best that he doesn’t know. And we can always talk with him when you get back, like you said. I didn’t ask because I figured it was out of the question, but you do know that I can go with you?”
“I know you can, and that you would. But no men allowed I’m afraid. And it’s hard to hide the fact that you are a man,” Ava said.
“You should know better than anyone,” he told her with a wolfish grin. Ava laughed. “How are you feeling today?” he then asked and placed a hand on her belly.
“I’m feeling good, and so is the little one I think,” she told him.
“I’m worried that all of this is putting too much stress on you. It’s not good for the baby.” Zane reached out and pulled her into his lap and put his arms around her. Resting both of his hands on her stomach. Ava didn’t object, she just leaned her head on his shoulder and placed her hands on top of his.
“We are handling it. I’m not as stressed as I thought I would be with all of this. I think it’s calming to spend time with Luka. It’s hard to get stressed when you watch him play,” she said. Partly to reassure him and partly because it was true.
“That’s good to hear. Will you be okay if he leaves?” ´Zane asked her.
“I will be sad because I like him, and he is an amazing little boy. But I know it will be for the best. He belongs with his mother as long as she can provide a stable environment for him. How about you? I’m not the only one that has grown attached to Luka.”
“It will be empty without him. He’s a good kid. But we have our own little one on the way. In a way this has made me more excited to become a father, I got a taste of the life we will have,” he told her. Ava smiled, she always cherished moments like this when Zane let down his walls.
“Has it made you less worried about your abilities as a dad?” she asked.
“Maybe. But I don’t think I will ever be the wholesome father of the year that you see on TV.”
“That is all fake anyway, I would rather have the real you,” she told him and kissed his cheek. He just shook his head and then gave her a kiss.
“Are you eating as you should? I read you should start to eat about three hundred calories extra right about now,” Zane said, obviously trying to change the subject.
“You read it? Where did you read that?” Ava asked. He shrugged.
“I might have picked up an e-book or two about pregnancy,” he said. Ava held back the giggle she felt building up and wished that more people could see this side of the man she loved. But she understood why he guarded it. And it made it extra special in moments like these.
“That is sweet of you. And I am eating enough, do you think Anna would let me starve?” He chuckled and kissed her shoulder.
“No, she wouldn’t. She is my best ally in this,” he admitted.
“I promise that we are both doing fine and both Anna and Linda are looking out for me. Besides, it’s only two weeks until we do the first ultrasound. Then you can see it for yourself,” she told him.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“So am I. But all of this talk about feeding me is making me hungry, it’s almost time for lunch,” Ava pointed out.
“So it is. How about I join you and we can get Luka and Jax and we can all have lunch together? Then Jax and me can spend time with Luka when you head out to do your thing?”
“You always have the best plans,” Ava said. Zane helped her stand up and then followed as they walked downstairs. Jax and Luka were in the same spot where Ava had left them. But now they were building on the same project. Each of them in full focus on their own part. “It’s time for lunch,” Ava told them. Both of them looked at her with a whine.
“Can’t we stay a little longer?” Luka asked.
“We are almost finished,” Jax agreed.
“Please,” they both said, sporting impressive puppy-dog eyes.
“How about Zane and me go get some food and we can have a picnic out here?” Ava suggested. They both agreed enthusiastically, and Zane just rolled his eyes at his best friend, but he didn’t object. Ava would bet good money that after she left to go to her meeting, Zane would join them in their construction of whatever it was they were making. She even thought he secretly was looking forward to it.