BLOODHOUNDS #2: THE TAKER

Chapter 16 - NEXT TIME

Kayden Grant

After finishing my work at the warehouse and having a short meeting with Asher, I'm ready to return to Seattle. I asked Hugo where he was, and he told me that she was in a donut shop, buying every flavor that was available there.

He took a picture of all her shopping spree bags, and I got into my car to drive towards the airport. I told him to go straight because it was late, and we'd land in Seattle at 11 p.m.

After a twenty-minute drive, I stopped my car right beside the airplane. Hugo was already there, and I bet Tatiana was already inside. I got out and walked inside.

Hugo then got in and told the pilot and the air steward that we were ready to take off. I saw Tatiana with lots of paper bags on the table in front of her. She was so busy with her phone that she didn't see me walking in.

"What did you buy?" I asked as I looked at all the paper bags. I thought she bought some clothes or make-up, but it was food. Tatiana said, "I looked up what's Austin, Texas, must-try foods." She said.

"Mr.Hugo!" She called him and patted him on the seat beside her. Hugo sat down like it was a normal thing to do.

"You can sit at the front, Mr.Grumpyface. I know you have tried things. I'll enjoy this with Hugo." She smiled at him, clapping her hands like a seal. Instead of going up to the front, I sat across her, which made her and Hugo look at me with questioning eyes.

I locked my eyes with Hugo, who ended up avoiding my eyes.

"You're switching places with Brooke tomorrow." The horror in his eyes was everything that I needed.

"Don't be mean to Hugo, Mr.Grumpy." Tatiana handed me a donut, and she grabbed one for herself. She took a bite, and her eyes widened.

"Try this!" She gave it to Hugo, which made me want to kill him right there. He took it and bit the other end.

"You're going to switch with Brooke for a month." With that, Hugo got up and walked to the front. Tatiana glared at me and shut her mouth.

She tried all her donuts silently and moved on to try tacos. I took a bite of the donut, and it was pretty good, but not the best donut ever. She tried everything in silence. She clapped her hands when it was good and glared at the food when she hated it.

We took off after 20 minutes, and when we were up in the air, she got up to give the rest to Hugo. She sat back in her seat and grabbed her book. I decided to check on my work and saw her slowly drifting to sleep.

Tatiana reminded me so much of my mother. They both were bright, positive, had big dreams, and never thought negatively about people. All they wanted was to make the world a better place by helping the people who were in need.

My mother was a lawyer who helped a lot of poor people without taking any money and giving them the justice that they deserved. When Tatiana wanted to be a doctor, I bet she wanted the same thing.

I saw her record. She loves charities. She volunteered in so many charities that they can't count it anymore.

I got up and planned to let her sleep in the bedroom. I picked her up bridal style, and she opened her eyes. She smiled and leaned her head on my chest.

"I love it when you carry me."

"You're such a pain in the ass, Mon Avenir." I hissed as I opened the door and brought her into the bedroom. I laid her down, and since she was awake, I planned to leave immediately.

"Kayden." She rarely called me by my name, and when she did, it felt so weird.

I can't ignore it.

It felt like she called me. No matter how far she was, I would run toward her.

"What do you want?" I asked, turning to her.

"Can you stay here until I fall asleep?" She grabbed the blanket and tucked herself.

"No, I'm not a babysitter." She chuckled and turned her body to the side.

"I knew you would say that. Thank you for bringing me along with you. It was fun, and can you retake me next time? I promise I'll behave." She mumbled, her voice slowly dying as she drifted to sleep.

I sat down beside her and found myself waiting for her to fall into a deep sleep. I put her seatbelt on and tucked her blanket to her chin.

"Sleep tight, Princess." I got up when I heard her snore. I made my way outside.

"Is her room ready?" I asked Hugo.

"Yes, it's ready."

"Good." I sat down and went through my work.

We landed in Seattle in time. I woke Tatiana up, and she got up quickly. She grabbed all her books with her and walked out, following Hugo. Hugo helped with her books and put them on the trunk.

"Go straight to the apartment, sir?" Hugo asked, and I turned to Tatiana, who kept looking at the car blankly.

"Yes." He opened the door for us and drove us back home.

Once we got into the apartment, I grabbed Tatiana's wrist, leading her upstairs to her room, which was right beside mine.

"Open the door," I told her, and she opened it slowly. She walked in and looked around the room with a smile.

"This is why you made me tag along with you, huh?" She asked as I leaned my body to the door frame, crossing my legs by the ankle.

"Thank you so much, Mr.Grumpyface." She hugged me, which caught me off guard. She squealed and hugged me tighter before pulling away, resting her hands on my shoulder.

"Let me treat you to dinner tomorrow!" She looked at me with those puppy-green eyes.

"I can't." Her smile fell, and she looked at me sadly.

"Can you tell me your office address so I can drop off some food?"

"No need. We have a cafeteria for it." Her hands fell, and she nodded.

"Okay then, we can go next time."