28
Things really started to change for the better as Rylee got more involved in helping Hannah. We settled back into our routine as a family and Jax nearly ran my door out of its hinges one morning just after breakfast.
“Easy Jax,” I said as I looked at him.
“Chris is going into labour,” he said out of breath and for a few seconds we just stood there.
“Let’s go!” I said loudly and he turned and ran down the stairs.
Chris was already in a hospital gown next door and Stella was checking her vitals. Rylee was right next to her whispering words of encouragement. She looked relieved to see Jax and Chris let out an almighty scream.
“Good luck man, we’ll be waiting in the living room,” I said and pulled Rylee out of the room.
“Thank you for saving me,” she breathed as we settled down for the wait.
We could hear Chris screaming all the way to the living room and I stood up abruptly. My heart couldn’t take her screaming in pain like that but Rylee grabbed my hand and pulled me back to sit down again.
“She’ll be fine, Stella’s there and Jax is her husband, she needs him not you,” she said and I knew she was right. She was still my sister though and I wanted to make sure that she was really okay.
“Lucas! Stella needs you,” Jax breathed as he bumped into the front door and looked at me with a worried expression on his face.
I jumped up and almost pulled Rylee off her seat where she still had her arm hooked in mine. I ran to the infirmary next door and stopped short in the doorway of Chris’s room. It was quiet and Chris was pale.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“I need your blood to heal her,” Stella said as she walked over with her equipment to draw blood.
“Of course,” I said and rolled up my sleeve. I sat in a chair next to her bed holding her one hand while Stella withdrew blood from my other arm.
“What happened? Where’s the baby?” I asked her.
“She lost a lot of blood but the baby’s doing well, she’s being cleaned up now,” Stella said with a smile and I exhaled in relief.
I stayed with Chris and I assumed that Jax was with the baby. The colour slowly appeared back in Chris’s face as Stella gave her my blood and after an hour she opened her eyes. Jax chose that moment to walk back into the room with a small bundle in his arms.
“Welcome back,” I said to Chris and she smiled faintly.
“Do you want to hold her?” Jax asked as I extended my arms.
“What a stupid question,” I said as he handed the baby to me.
“Meet your niece, Jade Sterling,” Chris said from behind me.
“She’s beautiful Chris, a real little princess,” I said with a smile.
“I’m going to keep Chris and Jade here for another two days to make sure Chris heals properly and baby is looked after,” Stella said.
“Thank you Stella,” I said to her as I handed Jade to Chris.
“The movers are coming today so by the time Chris gets released we’ll be going home,” Jax said.
“You know you’re more than welcome to stay here,” I said.
“We need our own space Lucas,” he said and I nodded.
“I know I guess I’m just going to miss you,” I said.
“You’ll still see us every day,” Chris said and I smiled sadly.
“I’ve asked Rev to step in for me for the time being,” Jax said.
“He mentioned it. Take your time,” I said and turned to leave, “take care of them.”
I went back upstairs to my office and found Hannah waiting for me. She was smiling broadly and Rev was his usual reserved self, sitting on the couch reading through a stack of documents.
“Rev, I need you to assign someone to Rylee permanently,” I said to him and he nodded as he kept reading.
“Hannah, I thought maybe you could take Rylee shopping, get her to buy some appropriate clothes for events and ceremonies, also get her to choose a car and order it,” I said while opening my emails.
“You know I love spending your money,” she said with a smile and I laughed.
“Talk to her about the announcement ceremony,” I said.
“Did you talk to her about it?” Hannah asked with wide eyes.
“We’ve discussed it, she said she’d think about what it all entailed, it’s been a few days so I just want to know where her head’s at,” I said.
“Uh huh,” she said and I looked up to find Rev smiling at me.
“We both agreed to try working this out,” I said and Hannah clapped her hands.
“I can’t wait,” she said and Rev shook his head.
“Just go do it,” I said as she bounded over to Rev, gave him a lingering kiss and left the office.
“My poor eyes,” I said and Rev laughed.
“I’ve seen you do worse,” he said.
“Let’s not dwell on the past okay,” I said with a smile.
“I’m going to assign Max to Rylee,” Rev said after a while.
“I trust your judgement,” I said to him.
He left the office as well and I returned all the missed phone calls and answered numerous emails. I kept working and vaguely heard Jax’s voice as the movers arrived and left several times. I realized the time when I heard Hannah and Rylee as they walked past the office followed by Max carrying all their shopping.
“Have you been working the whole time?” Hannah asked as she popped her head into my office.
“I have a lot of catching up to do,” I said to her and stretched my arms over my head.
“Did you even eat?” she asked me.
“Of course I did,” I lied as she narrowed her eyes at me.
“You know I can tell when you’re lying to me,” she said.
“Actually I thought I’d take Rylee out to dinner tonight,” I said changing the subject.
“Yes! That’s a great idea, I’ll go tell her,” Hannah said and left the doorway quickly.
I finished drafting the contract I was busy with and called it a night. It was already seven pm and I walked to my room. Hannah had left and Rylee opened the bathroom door just as I walked in.
“I hope you don’t mind but Hannah said to put all my clothes in the cupboard with yours,” she said as she wrapped the towel around her more tightly.
“Where else would you put them?” I asked her.
“I guess that means you don’t mind,” she said and turned her back on me.
“You’d better put something on because if I get out of that shower and you’re not dressed I can’t be held responsible for what happens,” I said and she blushed a bright red.
“Where are we going? Casual, smart casual, formal?” she asked me.
“Smart,” I said and started taking my shirt off.
“I’ll be dressed don’t worry,” she said as she walked to the walk in cupboard.
“Oh don’t hurry on my account,” I said and she showed me the middle finger as she closed the door behind her.
I showered taking my time and found Rylee sitting on the sofa near the windows busy on her phone as I started getting dressed. I always left the door of the dressing room open since it’s always just been me and Hannah had stopped barging in on me when she turned thirteen.
“If you keep staring at me like that we might not go anywhere,” I said with my back to Rylee.
“I was looking at your dragon,” she said her voice much closer than I thought she’d be.
“Was that all you were looking at?” I asked her.
“You think too much of yourself Lucas,” she said and smiled as she slid past me to get her handbag.
“I think you need a coat to put on over that dress,” I said as I watched her.
“Why? It’s warm out,” she said as she turned around.
“Everyone will be looking at you,” I said and she smiled sweetly at me.
“We’re not even out of the room and you’re already jealous,” she said sounding amused.
“Let’s go because I am actually hungry,” I said.
Outside the air was warm as I opened the car door for Rylee and we headed deep into our territory to an Italian restaurant. Louisa smiled as I opened the door and led Rylee inside.
“Welcome Mr. Grey,” she said and showed us to a table.
As I predicted I had to glare at several men as we walked to our table and two women as we followed Louisa through the restaurant. The men that were looking at her were all human since my dragonkin wouldn’t dare to check her out in my presence.
The two women however was Tessa and her friend. I’d have to sort that out quickly, I couldn’t have them disrespect Rylee. We ordered drinks and food and Rylee seemed relaxed. We laughed and joked and once or twice she had me laughing really loudly with stories about Colin.
“You might want to tell your girlfriend to stop giving me dirty looks,” Rylee said while still smiling.
“She’s not my girlfriend. Don’t you recognize Tessa?” I asked her.
“Well that explains everything,” she said and looked at me.
“I’ll talk to her to stay out of your way,” I said as we finished our dinner.
“It’s okay, I can handle Tessa,” she said.
I paid the bill and surprisingly Rylee took my hand instead of my arm as we walked out of the restaurant towards my car, “do you want to go home yet?” I asked her.
“I’ve never been to The Drake,” she said and I smiled.
I drove to The Drake and parked in the alleyway behind the club. Two of my men came out of the shadows as I exited the car and one opened Rylee’s door. I nodded and the back door was opened to let us walk inside.
“Anything interesting tonight?” I asked them.
“No Sire, just the usual,” Tod said.
“Make sure to rotate your shifts,” I said and they both nodded.
“So this is the infamous Drake club,” Rylee said.
“The one and only,” I said and led her towards the bar.
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