Althena Book 2

54. Waiting

I snuggle with Drogon the whole way home, then he carries me into the house. I wrap around him and hide my face.

Mike says, "Is she sick?"

Drogon shakes his head and sits down with me.

"What's wrong, baby?" Conner rubs my foot.

I peek out. "It wasn't fun."

"What happened?"

"It wasn't fun."

"Did something happen?"

"I wanted to come home."

Drogon rubs my back. "You're home now. Let's relax."

I snuggle with Drogon a while longer. "I couldn't pee because someone was always in the shower. I had to pee in the woods."

Conner smirks. "Not a camping girl."

I start bawling.

"Don't make her feel worse."

"I didn't mean to. Come here." Conner puts me on his lap. "What happened, babygirl?"

"I couldn't get in the shower. Kayote wouldn't let me eat cause not everyone was awake. I stole some of the guards' food. Then they went fishing. I hadn't even brushed my teeth yet. But I went into the bathroom then. The shower was cold. I came out, and more people were sleeping. Others were mad I was in the shower so long. I went and ate more with the guards. I wanted to come home."

"You're home now. Everything is better." He pulls me against his chest. "Why are you still upset?"

"Because I thought you guys were the clingy assholes. Not me."

Conner smiles. "We are, babygirl. Ever since you got taken, we've been clingy. It's ok. The only thing that matters is you're safe. I hated not having you in the house last night."

"I slept like s**t. I think I called the guards every hour." Mike leans back in the chair. "I can relax now. We'll get to where we were before, baby. It's going to take some time. Don't worry about it. You cling to us as much as you need for now. We'll keep you safe and happy."

"We'll make sure you have warm water and food too." Drogon winks. "And I also checked with the guards every hour."

Conner chuckles and lays his head on mine. "I tried to go there twice. Cyrus blocked the door and told me to call the guards. I wanted to check on you."

"The one time it was 4 in the morning." Cyrus rolls his eyes.

"Why the hell were you up?" Conner stares at him.

"f*****g sour stomach."

I giggle. "I slept really well."

They grumble at me.

"Sir, Monte is here."

"Send him in."

"I thought you were camping?"

I shake my head and snuggle Conner. "She's having a hard time with it."

"Those are the cutest damn pajamas."

I giggle and pull the hood up.

Mike nods. "Complete with ears. What did you need?"

"The rest of the automatic drawer openers for the tellers. Drogon said they got delivered here. I was going to pick them up from the help, but they introduced me instead."

Drogon stands up. "s**t. I was talking to you then they called about Thena. They're out here. I forgot to say anything to the help. Are you going back over there?"

Monte follows him. "After I check on the boat. I haven't checked it all week. Figured I had better check anyway. It takes that company days before they ask people for ID."

"That's true."

Mike asks, "What do you want to do, babygirl?"

Conner holds me tighter. "Don't ruin my cuddles."

"Cuddle."

"My girl." Conner rubs my back.

I open my eyes about 1. He's sleeping under me. We're still on the couch. The other boys are not in the room. I would go back to sleep, but I'm starving. I did not eat enough this morning.

I open the fridge and Cyrus wraps his arms around me from behind. "Did you have a good nap?"

I flip around and hug him tightly. "I did. What were you doing?"

"We went and took a nap. Last night was exhausting."

"You couldn't sleep either?"

"I worry about you too. At least you're home now." He kisses my head.

I give him a kiss. "What do you want for lunch?"

"To hold you. Kiss you." He dances with me and spins me. "Watch you smile."

I remember how easy everything is with him. "Maybe we could sneak off to Eldervale for a few days and hide in that house."

"I would love that. I wouldn't be going to work though. You would be stuck with me. We could cuddle on the couch and watch the snow." He moves the hair out of my face and kisses me again. "I could make you scream for me." Pleasure shoots through me and I tighten my grip on him. He chuckles and spins me. "Hold you close. Never let go."

"WOMAN, WHERE DID YOU GO?"

I give him a kiss and step back. "KITCHEN. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO EAT, CONNER?"

"BBQ CHICKEN AND RIBS."

Cyrus nods. "That does sound good. With some corn."

"Easy enough to make. I'll make that and some potato salad."

"You're amazing. You need any help?"

"No. Just stand there and approve my grocery order. It'll take me like 2 minutes."

"I can do that."

By the time lunch is done, my other boys are awake. We sit in the dining room and have a nice lunch. When we're done eating, I sit on Mike and snuggle him.

"Do you want to go to the casino or stay here, baby?"

"Casino."

"Are you wearing your pajamas?"

"Yes."

"They are cute. What are you going to work on?"

"Coffee shop. I'll take Monte some lunch. He was complaining about eating junk."

"I'm sure he'll appreciate that. Pack him some and we'll get out of here. The walls are in for the shops. I'm interested in seeing this."

We get to the casino and go in different directions. I find Monte laying on the floor under a drawer at the bank. "What are you doing?"

"Hooking this up. What are you doing?"

"I brought you some food. I'm going to work on things too."

He pops up and grabs it. "Thank you. You are amazing. It smells good."

"It's BBQ. That's what Conner wanted."

"You made it?"

"Yea."

"Then I know it'll be good. Let's go upstairs while I eat this. I'll show you some stuff."

Mike and Cyrus come with us.

"What are you working on up here?"

Monte talks and eats. "Nothing. This level has cameras already. But I was thinking. You need a food area. If people pick up something at the shop downstairs or an apple. Or whatever. They need somewhere to sit and eat. The restaurants are on each corner. We could put the food court in between them."

"That is a good idea."

"Away from the slots too, it'll be a little quieter. Some place to sit for a minute and eat or grab a drink."

Cyrus laughs. "The builders are going to hate us. They're going to need to redo the flooring. We can't have carpet in a food court."

"White floor. Black tables and chairs. Extra chandeliers. Crystal vase."

"That'll be perfect. Except fake crystal vases. Make those bitches plastic."

Mike nods. "Figure out what tables you want, and I'll get the builder back up here."

Cyrus helps me and we order the perfect stuff.

After we're done with that, I run to coffino. The place is perfect. The back is nearly an exact replica of the Crystal Falls shop. 2 of the walls open up in the front, so the coolers are on the other side. I open the mud and smoke stuff. Chris even sent the molds. He's so smart. I spend an hour making the balls and putting them in the oven. Then I text Chris and tell him how smart he is. I honestly forgot about the molds.

I make my way to my office. It's a f*****g mess. Prizes are everywhere, and it's not big enough to hold them. I get on my phone and shop for more prizes to combat the stress of having too much s**t in my office.

Monte comes and freezes. "The bank is done. I'm going to work on a prize vault now."

"What's that?"

"A place for prizes. You're not going to fit in here soon." He offers me his hand.

I hop up and give him a kiss. Then another and another.

He pulls me closer and holds me. "I've been waiting for that kiss."

"What about this one?" I kiss him again.

"I've been waiting for all of them."

"MONTE. YOU BETTER NOT BE DOING WHAT I THINK YOU'RE DOING." Mike yells.

Monte kisses my cheek before he steps out of my office. "Designing a prize vault before she buries herself in there."

"Yea." Mike peeks around the corner. "What are you doing in here, woman?"

"Ordering prizes."

They laugh and Mike picks me up. "Let's let Monte catch up with you. You're barely fit."

"I'm going to put the prize vault on the other side of the money vault. It doesn't need to be as secure."

Mike nods. "You going to put a room by the bank?"

"Already did."

"What?" I don't know what they're talking about.

Monte smiles. "Go make a wheel, and I'll show you what we're talking about."

I text Akmae. -I need a coupon.-

-For what?-

-Coffino. Free coffee coupon. And the bar. Free drink.-

-Are you there now?-

-Yes.-

-I'll be there in a minute. I've worked on a bunch of stuff.-

-Ok.-

I decide to do a little wheel. I don't have enough to do the big one yet. Then I realize, I already did one of these. I track it down and take it to the boys.

"You were supposed to do a new one."

"I need coupons first."

"You print out what the prize is. There's no coupon."

I pull out a popcorn coupon. "Like this, but for a free coffee or drink. Akmae is coming to make me a coupon."

Monte smiles. "I understand. That's progress. See how the prizes on this wheel are a purse, soap set, and tablet? Those 3 prizes will be in the prize room, beside the bank. We're not going to put all the prizes in that because you're not going to give them all away in 1 day."

Mike kisses my head. "Once the room empties out, we will redo the prize wheels and add the new prizes to the room."

"AKMAE IS HERE. WITH A BIG BOX." Conner sits at the table.

We move over with him and Drogon and Cyrus join us.

Akmae opens his box. "These are the logos you chose." He pulls out 3 black t-shirts with the logos. "I also put them on some aprons. So, you can see. I'm supposed to make a coupon now. What do you mean by a coupon?"

I hand him the free popcorn coupon. "That but coffee and drink. With the store logos."

"Yea, that's easy. I'll print one out for you quick."

"Stop." Drogon stands up. "We can't use your logo until we negotiate a price. What do you want for them?"

"I didn't..." Akmae looks at me. "I like doing this. It wasn't for money."

Mike smirks. "100k for the 3 of them. We have full rights. You'll be listed as the creator."

Everyone looks at Akmae. He stares at us.

I run over to him. "And he still gets to work with the logos because I need a damn coupon."

Drogon laughs. "100k. We own the rights. He can work with the logos to make additional stuff for the casino, but can't use them anywhere else."

I smile at Akmae. "Good for you?"

"Yea, that's fine."

"Ok. I need my coupon though."

Granny and Phira come in the front door and walk straight towards us. "Sweetie, your crystal balls are done."