Page 46 of Blake

“Reid’s mum very kindly offered to let us all stay here.”

Blake pointed at Reid who was walking towards them with his long, almost lazy prowl. That prowl, along with the sexy tattoos and gorgeous light blue eyes that seemed to see right through a person, combined into an amazing package. If Pax weren’t wholly head over ass for Blake, she definitely would have found Reid attractive.

She was, however, madly in… She stopped her thought, not sure how to define how she felt for Blake. It was more than lust or like but was it love? She glanced at the handsome man beside her and felt her heart flip when he smiled at her and winked. Who was she kidding? She was madly in love with him. If she was honest with herself, she had been for a while. The instant she had seen him in Monaco she had been finished for other men. As she smiled and looked up at Reid, she realised she could admire him without guilt as he made her feel absolutely nothing except a natural admiration for a handsome man.

“Reid also has an update for us on Benny’s real father,” Blake said getting her attention.

They exited the car and she greeted Reid with a warm smile as he took her bags and led her and Blake up to the house.

The house was warm and welcoming as was Reid’s mother who had to be in her late fifties but was still a beauty. With shoulder length brown hair and blue eyes like her son’s, it was easy to see who he took after.

“Y’all come in and don’t stand on ceremony.” She ushered them in with a friendly smile. “Kirk, take the bags and put them in the spare room in the attic.”

Hearing his first name sounded odd when she’d only ever heard him called Reid.

Reid grinned and kissed his mom’s head. “Yes, ma’am.”

Pax smiled at the sight of a man so dangerous and feared being such a sweetheart with his mom.

“It is so kind of you to put us up, Mrs Reid.”

The woman took Blake’s hands and nodded. “Any friend of Kirk’s is a friend of ours. Unfortunately, I have to go to work. The girls are at school but shouldn’t be back until after five. There’s food in the fridge and a lasagne in the oven for you to warm if you get hungry.”

The woman was a flurry of activity as she grabbed her bag off the small sideboard in the living room, smiled at them both and walked out the door. “See you later.”

Mrs Reid waved as she walked down the road, her stride quick and no-nonsense.

Reid came down the stairs, eyes on the door, a frown on his face. Pax wondered what that was about but didn’t ask. She was hardly in a position to discuss family dynamics.

“Shall we have a quick update before you guys get showered or whatever?” he asked with a quirk of his lips at them.

Blake tilted his head at her. “Want a quick update first?”

Pax nodded. “Yes, let’s do that first. I feel like we’re getting nowhere fast right now.”

Reid led them from the front living room and into an open kitchen diner with a large wooden table. Pax took in the space, loving the fact the fridge was covered in papers and reminders of events with kitschy colourful magnets. He pulled down three mugs from a cupboard above his head and set about making them a coffee.

“So, Benny’s father is Frank Castillo. He was serving fifteen for armed robbery at California State.” Reid handed Blake and Pax a mug and pushed creamer and sugar towards them as he took a sip of his own before going on. “Castillo made parole about three months ago. I talked to his parole officer and he says Frank was a model citizen inside and even earned his qualification as a mechanic. He’s working at a garage an hour north of Loma Linda and by all accounts, is a reformed character.”

Blake took a long drink of the coffee and Pax noticed how tired he looked and wondered if he had gotten much sleep last night. “Do you believe the reformed character story?”

Reid shrugged at Blake’s question. “Difficult to tell without meeting the guy. I can go pay him a visit if you like?”

Blake shook his head. “Nah, let’s see if anything pops on the background checks first. No point going all that way until we know more, and we may need you here with everything else going on.”

“You’re the boss on this, Blake.”

Blake snorted without humour. “Yeah, I’m the monkey in charge of this circus.”

He sounded frustrated which was new for him. Usually Blake was calm, but something was getting to him. Probably exhaustion and pain from his knee which was swollen again.

“We should probably get showered and maybe you can rest that leg for an hour.”

Blake looked at her and nodded. “Good idea.” He looked to Reid. “Pax and I are going to visit Sally Nixon later. Can you see if Waggs needs help with the employees at Sana?”

Reid nodded slowly. “Sure, I’ll call him now.”

Blake nodded and then they followed as Reid led them to the attic room they would share. It was large with an en-suite that contained a shower, toilet, and sink. It also had a king-sized bed opposite a large Velux window.