The look on Jonas’ face was almost comical as he saw Gabriel.“Gabriel?” he asked in disbelief. Ryder had his arm around Gabriel, and when Jonas spoke, he pulled Gabriel closer to him. Gabriel was looking down, but took a deep breath and looked up at Jonas.“Hello, Jonas,” he said. “Who are these people, Gabe?” Jonas asked. Gabriel flinched at the nickname and Ava wanted to hurt the tied up man. Zane seemed to sense her mood and put his arm around her and kissed her temple. “They are my family,” Gabriel said. He straightened his stance and his voice was now stable. Ava smiled. “You don’t have a family,” Jonas said. There was a moment of silence before Ryder let go of Gabriel and walked up to Jonas and punched him in the face. Ava was worried the hit would snap Jonas’ neck by the way his head flew to the side. Zane and Jax had closed in on him as well. First Ava thought they were there to hold back Ryder from inflicting more damage. But she realised they were c

Somehow Anna had found some stuffed animals, children’s books and pyjamas that fit Luka. After they had dinner and Luka had devoured both his dinner and dessert, Ava followed him up to the room that was next to hers and Zane’s bedroom. She helped him change and get comfortable in the big bed. “Me and Zane sleep in the room next to this. If you wake up and feel scared, you can come to us. Or if you call out, we will hear you,” she told him. “And Zane won’t be mad? Jonas always got mad when I had nightmares,” Luka asked.“No, he won’t be mad. And if he scares you, I will put him in time out,” she told him. He smiled and nodded. Ava read him a story, but two pages in and Luka was off like a light. He had had a busy day. She tucked him in and left the door a little opened as she walked into Zane’s office, leaving that door a little open as well. Zane and Jax looked at her questioning, they never left the door open when they were working in there. “It’s in case Luka gets ou

Luka was in a good mood at breakfast the next morning. He was allowed to have cereal because he promised Ava to eat four pieces of the cut up fruit which was in a bowl. He held up his end of the bargain and even ate a couple of extra pieces as he tried some of the fruits for the first time. “Luka, I need to run a couple of errands this morning. I won’t be gone for more than two hours. Would it be okay if Anna looked after you?” Ava asked him as they were almost finished eating. “Sure,” he agreed.“Why can’t Jax and I look after him?” Zane asked. Ava was so surprised it took her a moment to collect herself.“I just thought you had business to take care or,” she said. “Nothing that can’t hold off for an hour or two. Right Jax?”“Right,” Jax agreed as he walked into the dining room. “What am I agreeing to?” he then asked. Ava smiled at him.“That we have time to keep Luka company for a couple of hours this morning,” Zane explained.“Sure thing, that s

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 t

Ava didn’t even bother going inside the mansion as she got home, she headed straight for the back garden and found two men and a boy sitting on the blanket, building what looked like a huge garage with different cars. She stood in the shade of a tree and watched them. It didn’t take Zane long to sense her presence and he looked up at her with a smile. The look on her face must have given her feeling away because he frowned. Ava had become more skilled in hiding her emotions, but Zane could still read her like a book. She usually didn’t mind. He handed his half-finished vehicle over to Jax and walked over to Ava. “The meeting didn’t go well?” he asked after he had kissed her. “No, it did,” she said. “Oh. Right.” He looked over his shoulder towards Luka. “Jax, I need to talk to my wife. Why don’t you and Luka stay out here for half an hour longer and then we can sit down inside and have a snack,” he called over. “I like that plan. Hi, Ava,” Jax said