Ellisandre

Ellisandre eyed the line of stitching down the dark beige panel of fabric.

Dana bit her lip, her feet swinging where she sat in front of Ellisandre’s sewing machine.

The young girl had bits of thread sticking to her shirt and a bandage on one finger.

They were making curtains for Damian and Jun’s new room in the Residency.

Richard had given them the second living room to turn into a space for the two of them.

Damian’s old bedroom was too small for two men.

The long, straight seams of curtains were appropriate for teaching entry-level sewing skills.

And Dana had taken to the craft like a duck to water.

“Is it right, Daddy?”

A smile twitched on the edge of Ellisandre’s lips.

Dana was making ample use of the title Daddy.

Ash and Alice were all in on it as well.

Linda was the only one struggling. But the young ones in their mish-mashed family were wearing her down.

The worst of it was when Dana had greeted Ellisandre with an enthusiastic “Daddy!”

after one of her self-defense lessons and Ellisandre’s old martial arts teacher from their Europol days had heard it.

They were never, ever going to hear the last of that.

Everyone on the other side of the pond was going to know the moniker now.

“It’s straight enough.” Ellisandre nodded in approval. Jun and Damian were not going to be critical of nearly invisible seams, and no one would be able to see the few wavy parts along the line once the curtains were finished and hung. “And you went back and forth on both ends. Good job.”

“I locked it in!” Dana over-enunciated the “locked in” phrase.

“Yes, the seam is locked in.” Ellisandre smiled fully. “Now we only have fifty more to do.”

Dana groaned. “I’m going to be old.”

“I could help you.”

“No!” Dana snatched the curtain panel back. “I’m doing it.”

“Very well, then.” Ellisandre stepped back. “I’ll check the next one when you’re ready. Be careful with the iron.”

“I’m always careful.” Dana moved over to the kitchen table and climbed onto one of the padded chairs, kneeling up to get above the table surface so she could use the ultra-light iron.

Ellisandre kept their eyes on the girl as she pressed the fresh seam flat.

It was a delicate balance between helping and making way.

Raising humans was a constant balancing act.

Perhaps they and Linda should limit themselves to just one.

The door to Ellisandre’s apartment opened and Alice pushed inside, carrying large, bulging bags.

Ash followed right behind her, carrying a similar array.

The voice of one of the bodyguards speaking to Ellisandre’s security filtered through and faded away as the door shut.

There was no need to have the security personnel inside the apartment.

Alice plopped down on the floor. “Thirty-two.”

Ellisandre raised an eyebrow.

Ash deposited his bags in a more organized manner against the nearest clear wall and started gathering up Alice’s dropped parcels. “Thirty-two pillows.”

“We bought thirty-two pillows. And I have receipts.” Alice held up her purse like some sort of trophy. “So whatever isn’t right can be returned. But I am not going back out for pillows for at least a week.”

She pushed off the floor and limped over, holding out the credit card Linda had given her to use. “Here.”

“Keep it.” Ellisandre waved it off. “Use it for household expenses. That one is for you.”

“Oh.” Alice looked down at the card and blinked. “You sure?”

Ellisandre raised one eyebrow.

“Right. Yep. My bad.” Alice shoved the card back into her purse. “You’re always sure.”

Ash started to snicker and slapped a hand over his mouth, spinning away on his back foot. He draped himself over Dana’s chair where the girl was still focused on ironing the seven foot seam. “That looks good.”

“Thank you.” Dana tilted her head until her crown just touched Ash’s temple, connecting them and still keeping focus on her task.

“I’m making food,” Alice said. “Dana, when do you have a break?”

“Can I finish?” Dana pointed to the seam.

“Of course.”

A knock came at the door. Linda came in. “This is where all of you are.”

“I’m coming up to make food,” Alice said.

“I already started the noodles marinating,” Linda said. She came and sat where she could see Dana ironing. “Do you want to cook the mushrooms and tofu?”

“Sure.” Alice nodded. “Ash and I need to talk with Ellisandre.”

Talk? Ellisandre carefully kept the amusement from their face.

“Then Dana and I will sit here and gossip about you three. I’ll unplug the iron and come up when she’s finished.”

“Organizing my life for me, now?” Ellisandre observed.

“We’re asking,” Alice batted her eyes. “And you said today was family dinner.”

“I see I have outplayed myself, then. Dana, are you at ease with Aunt Linda watching you finish?”

“Yes.” Dana’s tongue was just poking out the side of her mouth. She continued ignoring everyone in favor of moving the iron carefully up the long panel.

Ellisandre reached for a loose jacket and motioned for Alice and Ash to lead the way out.

In Linda’s kitchen upstairs, Alice got started washing mushrooms while ordering Ash to collect the necessary pan and ingredients from the cabinets.

Ellisandre amused themselves by taking a cantaloupe to the table and carving into it with one of the many sharp knives they kept in Linda’s kitchen.

With a little imagination, it would make a graceful edible bird sculpture for the table.

Dana would smile and clap her hands when she saw it.

Alice’s orders to Ash trailed off as she started chopping mushrooms and butter began to sizzle in a pan. She opened the conversation. “So, Ash and I were talking.”

“Yes?” Ellisandre drew out the “e”.

“You don’t have to make that sound so scary.” Alice mock groaned. “We just noticed some things. Like the fact you were out a few nights ago.”

“I’m out many nights.”

“And Damian’s “spermandor” showed up in the police station the next morning.”

“He did, didn’t he.” Ellisandre looked between the two teens, suppressing their amusement. Having young people about was entertaining. Especially these two. They were perfectly odd and deserved to be kept close.

Ash made a high-pitched sound of distress. “Daddy is not going to admit to anything, Alice. I told you this was a bad idea.”

Alice shrugged. “I want to know how they did it. The police weren’t finding him. Damian and Jun and the kids have been hiding out in hotels for weeks.”

“Who said I did it?” Ellisandre kept working the cantaloupe over with the blade. The top section was coming together.

“You didn’t have to say.” Ash leaned against the counter with his rear and crossed his arms. “You were in a bad mood and then you were in a good mood. And then you had bruises the next morning.”

Ellisandre’s lips twitched. They looked between the two young adults—well, not quite eighteen in Ash’s case, for all that he was emancipated. His birthday had to be soon. Ash and Alice were both staring back, matching mulish looks on their faces. They truly were a pair.

“You know your evidence would never stand up in a court of law.” They took a ball of cantaloupe and popped it into their mouth. Sweet, succulent, perfect ripeness.

“I knew it!” Alice slapped the counter and then spun around, checking the stove. She pushed the mushrooms around the pan and turned back around. “You did do it.”

Ellisandre raised one eyebrow and smiled, saying nothing.

Ash groaned dramatically and slumped forward.

Ellisandre chuckled. “You can’t prove it. Maybe those bruises were from a lover.”

“You don’t have a lover,” Ash retorted. “You said so yourself, when I moved in.”

“Hm . . . yes. But that was months ago. Perhaps I found someone.” Ellisandre fluttered their fingers and their eyelashes.

Ash cringed. “Ew, no.” His cheeks turned red. “Not thinking about it. Not thinking about it.”

Alice was watching, though, with more brain cells firing. She wasn’t in the least embarrassed. Her eyes narrowed. “If you had a regular lover, you’d come back relaxed more often.”

“Perhaps we have a tumultuous relationship.”

Alice shook her head. “You don’t do drama. Which is why I know you delivered that piece of shit to the police where it belonged.”

“Because I don’t do drama? Dropping a prisoner unseen into the middle of a police station sounds dramatic to me.” Ellisandre couldn’t keep their lips from twitching with suppressed amusement.

Alice pushed the mushrooms around the pan and then pointed with the spatula at Ellisandre.

“You don’t do drama, you end drama. So yes, it’s exactly what you would do. And if it takes drama to end drama, you will do that too. Actually, you do do drama. Just not relationship drama. All your drama is everything else.”

Ash nodded in agreement, looking proud of Alice’s convoluted reasoning.

Ellisandre’s phone went off. The one connected to Sevastyan. They checked the screen. All thoughts on Ash and Alice’s accusations snapped out of existence. “Someone’s put a hit out on Jun.”

Ash uncrossed his arms. Alice visibly braced herself against thin air.

Ellisandre read through the rest of the message twice. “Ash, computer. Need you to look something up.”

Alice finished making lunch while Ash tracked the agent who posted the hit down to Connecticut, just north of New York City.

Linda and Dana made it upstairs in time to eat warm food.

Ellisandre, Alice, and Ash kept their news to themselves, bantering their way through the meal.

Ellisandre pulled Linda aside as the dishes were being cleared away.

“Can you keep Dana with you until tomorrow morning?”

“I could. Richard and I were going to meet up. Maybe she can stay with Collin while he and I talk. Any particular reason?”

“No reason.” Ellisandre shrugged.

Linda shook her head, rolling her eyes. “No reason, of course. And now the kids are involved. If you have a huge vat of acid somewhere to dissolve the bodies in, don’t let them near it.”

“I’m only involving two out of our three kids,” Ellisandre whispered back.

“Oh, so Dana is like me?” Linda quirked an eyebrow back, in almost perfect imitation of Ellisandre themselves. “Too delicate?”

“Ash was already on the dark side before I got my claws in him. And Alice started her training under her grandfather, if you’ll remember. I’ve corrupted no one.” Ellisandre lifted their chin. “Delicate has nothing to do with it.”

Linda narrowed her eyes, but her gaze was teasing. “Of course. Pure as driven snow. Not a devious bone in your body.”

“Only for us.” Ellisandre leaned in, wrapping one arm around Linda’s waist and pulling her close.

Linda gripped Ellisandre’s arm in return, squeezing affectionately. “Just bring everyone home safe.”

“Promise.” Ellisandre planted a kiss on Linda’s shoulder.

They left the cleanup to Linda, signaling Alice and Ash to go back down to their apartment with them.

“We’re doing something?” Alice asked.

“How would you like to go get the hit removed?” Ellisandre said.

“Like . . . a mission?” Alice’s eyes went wide.

Ash appeared to have gone mute.

“Like a mission. Ash, you’ll be in the van running communication, info dump, and maps. Alice, you’ll be with me. I’m going to give this agent a talk. When we’re finished, he’ll know why he shouldn’t put a hit on members of our family.”

Ash shook his head. “I’ve been adopted by the mob.”

“I think it takes more than one hitman to make a mob,” Alice remonstrated

“One. Two.” Ash pointed between Alice and Ellisandre.

“It’s just a conversation,” Ellisandre said. “No one’s dying tonight. Probably.”

“I’m not a hitman,” Alice sputtered.

Ash didn’t look like he believed either of them. “Fine. I’m in. I’m in. But you—” he pointed at Ellisandre “—are explaining to Mr. Reevesworth if anything happens to me, like getting arrested. Again.”

“You won’t get arrested.”

Ash grimaced.

“I’m in.” Alice nodded. “This is what I’ve been asking for. And by the way, this totally proves we were right. You did catch Damian’s dad.”

“Can’t prove it,” Ellisandre smirked.