Hold My Hand

Avenor

Estevan stirred halfway through the night as he usually does. Myles had his leg planted on his stomach. He gently moved it and sat up t o drink some water and use the loo. Once done, he checked on Elio and Hector who were both fast asleep as was clear from the moonlight that fell on them.

He turned and looked stepped out for a while. The guards looked up.

"Boss"

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes, nothing unusual," said the one on duty. Estevan nodded.

He went back in. Next time he woke up, it was a little late in the morning. He had been tired than he thought. He stirred to find the rooms empty. He went out to see Hector and the children in the garden. They had toast and egg in their plates. He walked over.

"Who cooked?" he asked. He won't admit he is a bit paranoid about feeding them food cooked by others.

"I can make a toast and egg alright," said Hector.

"Here is yours," said Elio pointing to the box and plate next to them. He sat down and took the plate and let Myles put the bread and eggs on his plate. They ate. The toast was slightly burned but otherwise good. The children didn't seem to care.

"I need to go meet a few people. You three don't wander to the boundary of the property. Royal guards will arrive by noon if my calculation is right. Till then, be alert," said Estevan. Hector nodded. The children also nodded like obedient ducklings.

"Timothy and Elena will join you so that you will have some familiar faces around here," he said.

The children nodded.

Estevan had a few scores to settle and make his stand clear to a few worms who rose in the absence of Mantis. It won't be pretty.

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Giovanni stared at the latest report. He couldn't focus. How can he when the emperor gets what he wants. It is indeed surprising that the 'café owner' he was hanging around turned out to be the Mantis but it is unbelievably infuriating to know that they are mates and that the emperor gets to be happy. Not when he took everything from Giovanni.

Maybe he needs to attack the base of his relationship. He will wait and then use the biggest secret of the emperor to attack him. He had got the information thanks to his research and maybe parting with it will be the right strike. It will question even the basic image of the omega that is Hector Accardi.

Lukas looked at Marcus and Nico.

"We go where Elio and Myles are?" asked Marcus.

Lukas nodded.

"And emperor?" they asked again.

"Yes. Shall we?"

The children nodded eagerly. He got his transfer order first thing in the morning. However, there are some things that he needs to do first like handing over the apartment and make sure his two angels are comfortable with the move. As he expected they were over the moon.

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Hector liked how removed the property was from the buzz of everyday life. The children have managed to explore the whole property in the morning hours itself. They found some wild hens and Elio has adopted them promptly. The guards were kind and to the point. Elena and Timothy arrived just before Estevan left. As Timothy played football with the boys, Elena sat beside him.