What was Lost and Found in the Fire

Ch. 31 Stirs and Smiles

I know, realistically, that she isn't okay. No one would be after what she went through. But to see her at least trying to move past it, to see her acting strong for her kids, I can't believe she's really real. This wasn't the person I knew.

This woman doesn't need us, and I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that reality. 

We all clear off the stairs, meeting the two woman as a group. They don't even acknowledge myself and the rest of the guys, they go straight to Kayli with single-minded focus.  

"You need to get back in that jet and leave." Lorraine announces with a dark expression on her face. "You can't take the children with you, but they insisted that they needed to come and see you before you needed to go again." 

"What's going on?" I ask, confused at the uninviting atmosphere the two women are emitting. 

"The police are back at the house." Lorraine explains with a sharp glance at me. "They're here to arrest you, Kay'ari. They say you were involved in assassination attempts on some governor and they want to hold you on other charges; obstruction of justice and aggravated burglary while they look into the other allegations." 

"And that's just what they have to hold you on for now ." Loretta cuts in. "They're looking deeper into your identity. They're looking for a scapegoat. They've already picked up Cyan, and -" 

"Wait, what?" Kayli shouts. "What do you mean they already picked up Cy?"

"They picked up Leninora and Cyan near Diana Tower." Lorraine's mouth thins even more, to the point that she looks like she doesn't have lips. "A friend of mine at the precinct gave me a heads up: Leninora and Cyan were picked up after an altercation with a parking lot security guard. Leninora attacked a cop that came to follow up on the disturbance and now they both are going to be facing aggravated assault and larceny charges." 

"And the police force holding them right now wants to tack on more charges." Loretta points out for us. "They want to send Leninora to prison, and they want Cyan to pay for her part in the Mav Kidnappings." 

My face goes pale the more information they give to us. This is bad. 

Gabriel, North, Silas and Luke start to get loud. Owen Blackbourne tries to calm them down. 

My eyes dart over to Kayli, and I'm surprised to see her shoulders back and her chin out. A determined expression lights her face and she doesn't back down at the frosty looks being thrown her way by the women in front of her. 

"I'll have to go then. Will the children still be okay here? Are you still willing to help with the kids? I know this is a lot more complicated then it was supposed to be." She asks, her eyes dropping to the little boy and then to Maria. She takes a deep breath as Loretta sighs loudly. 

"We aren't going back on our word. The adoption for Lucy has been meeting some red tape, but I'm still confident that my lawyer can make the adoption stick. And we'll protect you as much as we can, but this is going to get very bad before it gets better. Especially with Leninora's record, and with you being affiliated with this family. It won't look good if this goes to a jury."

"We can help," Dakota Lee steps up, surprising us all. He moves stiffly, and Nathan Griffin sidles next to him with a grim nod of agreement. 

"We know someone who can help with the adoption." Dakota explains. "We can have them here in a matter of hours."

"And I have a team of lawyers, who specialize in nasty cases, such as the one you will be facing," Owen steps up next to Dakota and Nathan, but direct his statement to Kayli. "But I have a price."