For Jakob

12: in the moonlight

T W E L V E 

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Jakob's POV

 "Can we go play some more before you leave Auntie Cal?" Amelie asked after everyone had finished dessert.

"Sure A-Ami, we can play for a bit, but I have to leave soon," she glanced at me, as though looking for confirmation.

My heart raced the moment our eyes met.

Something that it had been consistently doing since the moment we first looked at each other.

I definitely needed to see a cardiologist about it.

Or maybe an exorcist.

It wasn't normal how I felt around her.

It couldn't be.

I nodded once, letting her know I was okay with whatever she had said.

Not that I could ever truly comprehend what was going on when she was in the room.

It was all her.

The fact that I couldn't get it together around her made me angry beyond belief.

How could I focus on protecting her if I was too busy getting lost in her eyes every two minutes?

I swallowed, watching as she walked towards the stairs, holding Amelie's hand. Amelie spoke to her about a million things at once, and she smiled down at her, looking at ease.

I clenched my hands, feeling a surge of something course through my body.

I heard the clearing of a throat, and I dragged my eyes away from them, looking at her father.

"Fresh air?" he asked, a searching look in his eyes.

My shoulders tensed and I gave him a terse nod, standing up.

Her father and brother both got up alongside me; her father shared a look with her mother and then she smiled gently at me.

The three of us walked out of the front door in a silence.

After walking a few feet onto the driveway of the home, Odin cleared his throat.

I glanced at him, seeing a pensive look on his face.

He looked off into the distance when he began speaking, "You and your partner's company didn't just gain global recognition for no reason, Mr. Laurent," he started.

My face stayed blank, but I tried to understand where exactly he was going with his statement.

He turned to look at me, "I trust you'll be able to keep my daughter safe?"

My jaw clenched immediately, "No harm will come to her."

Malakai cleared his throat, "I imagine you've got lots of other cases as well? I doubt that this is the only case that you're working on?"

Odin nodded immediately, "I can't imagine how many cases your company gets on a daily basis. Now I don't know what kind of contracts you signed with Devon, but I'll pay you triple on whatever the final amount was."

"Dad's right: money isn't an issue, and I know you've probably got high profile cases to worry about, but Callan needs to be safe. We have to find a way to get rid of this threat, one way or another. I know there might be more important things for you-"