16

As we pulled up to the house, strangely Joey and Lonnie were there; I got out

"What the hell?"

Lonnie looked at Joey

"Time to explain."

Joey tucked his gun in

"We don't work for Connor's dad, we worked for Connor."

I crossed my arms and sarcastically said

"At least I have people I trust."

Nathan picked up Arabella and handed her to me

"Don't worry, we have a nursery set up for the girls."

I looked around and mumbled

"Why couldn't I have a normal family?"

Zack walked up

"Ready to go in?"

He came off as flirting; I rolled my eyes and went inside. It was a lot bigger inside then it looked on the outside, Lily came running out from the living room with a huge smile

"Mommy!"

Ashley and Amelia followed, grabbing Arabella and Ana from me, Ashley smiled

"They are adorable!"

I saw someone standing in the doorway of the living room from the corner of my eye then it disappeared when I looked

"Are we the only one's here?"

Nathan nodded his head

"Our boss should be here in a few days; your room is the first door on the right."

I went upstairs with the girls and laid them in matching cribs. Lily stood next to me and helped me, she already loved her little sisters. After laying the girls down, I kneeled to Lily and hugged her

"I love you Lily."

She smiled and played with my hair as she said

"I love you too mommy."

I looked around the nursery, it had everything I dreamed and wanted to have. Lily grabbed my hand and tried to pull me up

"Mommy come here."

I stood up and followed her to another room down the hall. She pulled me into a princess themed bedroom with light pink painted walls. She ran to a book shelf and handed me a book, as I grabbed it and looked at it; I realized it was a family picture book. I opened the front cover and in sharpie it said

"To my girls, I love you both so much. My life has changed since you both have been a part of it. I hope you both like it. Love, Connor."

Lily grabbed the book from me, sat down on the floor and flipped to a picture of her and Connor. She pointed to it

"Where's daddy?"

I sat down next to her and grabbed her little hand

"He..."

I paused as tears filled my eyes, I had no idea how to tell her. I exhaled

"He's working honey."

She looked up at me

"I miss him, when can he come home?"

I gave her a weak smile

"I don't know."

I felt terrible lying to her but I didn't know how to tell her or how to say it without hurting her. It was hard to lie but I felt it necessary this time. A few months passed quickly, Nathan, Zack and I have become closer over the months, I stopped having flashbacks and dreams about Connor. I can talk about him without wanting to break; I still miss him but I can't hold on forever. While the girls were sleeping, Nathan and I were sitting on the couch talking about anything and everything. We got along wonderfully, he reminded me a lot of my fun conversations with Connor; I felt comfortable to talk with both Zack and Nathan. Zack walked into the living room and flopped onto the couch

"Just got back from talking to the boss, he says we're doing good."

I ran my fingers through my hair

"When will you two tell me about your boss and when can I meet him?"

Nathan smiled

"Soon, he's a busy man."

I smirked and laughed

"Too busy, does he not have a family?"

As I stood up Zack stuttered

"That's... why... um... h-he is so busy.. h-his family."

Nathan laughed nervously

"Yeah... He's a... umm... big family man."

I leaned on the arm of the couch

"Why all the stuttering guys?"

Nathan jumped up

"Ashley is waiting for you on the balcony."

I looked at him confused

"Why on the balcony? Weird place to meet someone."

Zack blurted

"You girls are going out."

Nathan nudged him

"It was a surprise."

I laughed

"You act like brother's; remind me of how Connor was with his brother's."

Nathan asked nervously

"Do you want to take the girls to see him? I can take you."

I pointed to the balcony while looking at them confused

"Didn't you just say Ashley was waiting up?"

My phone began ringing, I pulled it out. it said private; I answered it

"Hello?"

It was quiet; I said

"Hello? Are you going to talk or waste my time?"

I stood getting frustrated

"Quit calling me if you are just going to sit there and not talk."

I hung up

"This number keeps calling; they don't talk."

Nathan cleared his throat

"I should go check on the girls."

He ran up the stairs and disappeared around the top of the stair case. Zack smiled

"So Kayla... looks like Nathan might just..."

I looked up from my phone

"He what?"

He looked away

"Have you been out, you know on any dates since... Connor?"

I put my phone away

"Why are you changing the subject? What about Nathan?"

He began stuttering

"He just seems... interested in... you."

I laughed

"I should go see Ashley now."

As I walked away

"She's not on the balcony, I just made it up."

I turned around and sighed

"What's going on?"

He shook his head frantically

"Nothing at... all."

I walked back to the couch

"What are you two keeping from me now?"

He sighed and blurted

"We're taking you to the training warehouse; our boss feels you need to be prepared for the worse."

I smirked

"I know how to shoot a gun and fight; my dad had that accomplished when I was 15."

I pulled out a gun from the back of my pants

"I'm always carrying Zacky, apparently your boss knows nothing about me."

Nathan came downstairs

"Whoa what's going on? Kayla why do you have a gun?"

I put it back into my pants

"Neither of you can tell me what to do so don't even think about telling me to give it up or we'll have trouble."

I walked into the other room, Nathan whispered

"How the hell did she get that?"

Zack shrugged

"Boss won't be happy she does; just make sure he doesn't find out."

I grabbed my jacket and went back to the living room

"I'm ready, let's do this."

Nathan looked at me confused

"Where are we going?"

I looked at Zack

"Training warehouse? Your bosses' orders duh?"

Nathan looked at Zack

"That wasn't his orders moron; he told us to keep her home today."

I pulled my jacket off the arm of the couch

"Let's get something clear; I don't listen to your boss or you guys, if I want to do something I can freely do it; I'm not your slave or prisoner so quit making me feel like I am."

Nathan frantically answered

"Yes Kayla, of course but we are here to protect you."

I laughed

"Apparently you don't hear me the first time; I'm 20 years old and I'm more then capable of pulling a trigger if something happened."

Nathan sighed

"You're right; we will give you more space but we don't have a choice about watching you in public."

I shrugged

"Fine but I still want to train with you guys and possibly become one if that's possible."

Zack cleared his throat

"It's too dangerous."

I smirked

"I could complain to your boss unless you allow me to."

Nathan smiled

"Oh of course you can! We can start whenever you want, right Zack?"

He nudged him with his elbow nervously; I picked up my jacket

"We start today understood?"

Joey, Bryanna and Lonnie walked in

"Start what?"

Nathan stood straight up

"Take training with us."

Bryanna smirked

"Girl you ain't got it? Just let us cover for you."

Amelia ran down the stairs

"No, no, no! You cannot do that Kayla! You cannot be one of them; it's dangerous."

I shrugged

"I know the basic, it won't take me long to get their level."

Lonnie pointed at his shoulder

"Kayla, I've been doing this for years and I still got hit, look at your family for god sake! Devon, Connor, your dad, Devon's dad has all been killed by this gang."

I flipped him off

"You don't remember it well."

Joey corrected him

"Actually they're families once hated each other and that's sums it up, get it right man."

Lonnie got up in Joey's face

"Really bro? Get it right?"

Joey scoffed

"Get the fuck out of my face before you hurt yourself bro."

Just as they were going to fight, I yelled

"Would you two quit it?"

Bryanna laughed

"Imbeciles."

I stared at her and as I looked away, I rolled my eyes

"So training or we going to fight each other here, geez."

Zack nodded his head

"Let's go."

We left to the warehouse where they do all the defensive training and weapon training. As we arrived, Lonnie gave me instructions

"Stay focused on your target, don't let any distractions distract you when you shoot and always watch your surroundings."

I patted his shoulder

"This isn't my first time training; I know."

I climbed out of the SUV as Nathan handed me a bag

"Good luck and don't overthink anything. Joey, Zack and Lonnie will be here with you; Bryanna and I will be going to be with the girls while you're here."

I smiled

"Thanks Nathan."

As we were walking in the warehouse; Joey jogged up beside me

"I believe you can do it; you came from the best shooter."

I laughed

"I wouldn't know; I was clueless most of my life."

Zack stopped at the door and waited on us

"Would ya hurry it up."

I hollered

"Hey yappy! Learn some patience!"

They trained me to fight off attackers then took me over to the shooting range where we shoot manikins and targets. I met more of the gang, hung out and talked to them. They gave me some advice and moves I could use to help me win a fight. It felt nice to be one of them, I enjoyed it even though if Connor were still alive, he'd never approve of me doing this.