Chapter 52

Selene

After the door closes behind Phoenix and Luke, I realize that Loki is the only one left standing in the living room. Where the hell did he even appear him? I swear, I haven't seen him all morning, and he didn't eat breakfast with us or anything.

"Hey," I begin, my voice awkward and uncertain. I still don't how to talk to him, how to break through the wall he holds so firmly in place. At this point, I think only one person is capable of that, and I haven't seen her since I went into Phoenix and my's room. "Have you seen Makayla?"

He glances up from his phone, his expression as unreadable as ever. "The last time I saw her, she went into Luke's room," he answers gruffly, a tinge of irritation in his voice. Or maybe I'm just imagining it.

After all, I really can't shake the feeling that he doesn't like me.

"Why would she be in there?" I ask, confused.

He just shrugs, lifting one shoulder nonchalantly before returning his attention to his phone.

Isn't he slacking on his bodyguard duties a bit? What if she got desperate to go back to work and decided to jump out a window or something?

"Thanks," I murmur, my own irritation evident as I scowl at him. I practically stomp upstairs, determined to find my friend and figure out what's going on, since it doesn't look like he's going to do it.

When I reach the largest room at the end of the hall, I push the door open to find Makayla sitting on the bed, her face blotchy and red, tears streaming down her face. My heart lurches at the sight.

Did...did Loki say something to hurt her feelings? Do I need to kick his ass?

Okay, maybe I wouldn't be able to kick his ass, but I'd at least yell a well-aimed insult his way. Something like, "Sir, you give me nightmares."

I sit down beside Makayla, taking her trembling hand in mine. "What's wrong?" I ask, my voice firm but gently, trying to coax the truth out of her.

She sniffs, more tears pooling in her eyes as she points toward the wall. Pinching my eyebrows, I turn my head to find a photo hanging on the wall. It's an old picture of a much younger Luke holding an even smaller Phoenix in his arms. Phoenix has to be only three or four, his bright blue eyes wide with innocent joy, his black hair hanging over his forehead. His adorable little face is adorned with a wide grin, a grin that makes it clear that Luke is his favorite person in the world.

"Phoenix does look really cute in this picture, but that doesn't explain why you're crying," I say with a frown.

Makayla's bottom lip quivers as she tries to hold back another sob. "He would have made such a good dad," she whispers, her voice cracking as she wipes furiously at her cheeks, though the tears keep coming.

Ah, so that's what's bothering her. She missed out on having her dad in her life, and her mom was...unreliable, to say the least. It's why Loki had to step in and be her guardian while her mom was running around not doing her job.

I squeeze her hand gently, trying to offer comfort through the simple gesture. "I think you should finally talk to Luke," I say quietly, hoping I don't end up upsetting her more. "It's time you find out if he's your biological father or not."

She swallows hard. "But what if he isn't?"

"Then at least you'd know," I say with a small, reassuring smile. "With all of this random shit going on and all the danger, I think it would be nice for you to know if we've actually been staying in your dad's house or not. And he's literally so overprotective of you. I think it's his instincts. Do you feel that kind of natural bond with him?"

"Sometimes," she answers thoughtfully. "But honestly, I really have no idea what having a dad feels like that. And if he is, can we really reconnect after all this time? Would he even want to be my dad? We still don't even know what happened between them. What he abandoned me? I don't know how I would feel about him if I found that out."

I fully agree with her. I don't know how I would feel if I found my dad after all this time, and I learned that he left and he's trying to make up for it after he already missed my entire childhood?

But I glance at the picture again. It's hard to believe he would abandon his own child. He looks down at Phoenix with so much love and adoration in his eyes, I'm sure he would've looked at her the same way.

I really have no doubt in my mind.

He's such a nice man, who has shown all of us that he cares. He's willing to put his own life on the line just digging up the information he found on Philip and his involvement with the "Devils". I mean, there's a chance he's an entirely different person he was when Makayla's mom was pregnant with her, but I'd be fucking shocked.

I don't see Phoenix looking up to a bad guy, he already has his father for that and he hates his guts.

As we walk into the living room, Luke looks up from his phone. His eyes immediately finds Makayla's—concern and concern flicker across his features as he studies her face for a long moment. "Makayla, you've been crying." He says it as a fact and not a question, which is impressive that he noticed since she cleaned up before we came down.

It looks like he cares way more than he lets on.

But just as quickly as the concern appeared, it's gone, replaced by his usual "tough guy" facade. His mouth presses into a thin line, and he shuts down whatever he was going to say.