Free Death Blow by Ashley Harma Page B

a bit more wine to combat it. “You—oh man,”
she gawked.
    “Easy, girl, easy,” Cassandra eyed her sips. “I know it’s a
lot to take in right now.” She put a hand over Lila’s, both of them resting on
the cool slate island. “I wanted you to know because—well, I want you to know
that we care about you here. I came to find you specifically, and I want you to
know that you have a second family here. We knew yours, and we want you to know
ours real well.”
    Lila’s eyes welled up. No one had ever said anything so nice
to her in the many years since her mother’s death. At that moment, Lila felt
happy and sad and overwhelmed. It was surreal, that this beautiful, rich woman,
this woman who’d known her real mother, this princess in shining armor, had
sought Lila out, had brought Lila here, and wanted to take care of her. Lila
had forgotten what that was like—to be taken care of.
    “Aw, sugar, don’t cry,” Cassandra smiled. She brought her
other hand forward and wiped Lila’s eyes. “Just know that you can depend on us
Morans, okay? For whatever you need, whenever you need it.” Lila broke down and
started to cry a little, but it was through a big smile.
    “Cassandra, this—“ She wanted to say how thankful she was.
    Cassandra waved her hand at Lila. “Shh, girl, you ain’t got
to thank me. We owe it to you, in a way, all right?”
    At that moment, Lila heard light, padding footsteps coming
down the staircase in the hall. “Oh god,” she muttered, wiping her eyes and
fanning them to hopefully do away with some of the redness.
    “That’ll be Jackson and Tiffany,” Cassandra said, sighing
slightly on the last name and heaving herself up off the stool. “Better get
some more glasses.”
    Around the corner came Jackson followed by a cute, young,
blonde girl with shiny blue eyes. They had their hands clasped tightly around
each other’s, and Jackson seemed to pull her around with a gentle force that
she more than willingly succumbed to. She flashed a big smile—showing perfect,
white teeth—when she saw Lila, and let out a little squeal.
    “You must be Lila!” She broke out of Jackson’s grip and
rushed over to Lila, hugging her tight before Lila could even jump down off the
stool.
    “Babe, come on,” Jackson teased. “You didn’t even let her
stand up to hug you back.” He grinned at Lila, her head resting on Tiffany’s
shoulder, and rolled his eyes a little bit.
    “I’m just too excited!” Tiffany squealed again. She finally
pulled back and let Lila go. “I’ve heard so much about you, and it’s only been
a couple hours!” She excitedly pushed her hair behind her ears—it seemed like
she wanted to be able to see as much of Lila as possible. Her eyes scanned
Lila’s face in friendly, if intense, scrutiny, and she seemed perched on a
ledge awaiting Lila’s first words.
    “Well,” Lila finally said, “I hope it’s all good stuff?”
    Tiffany guffawed, a surprisingly unladylike laugh for such a
petite thing. She clapped her hands and turned back to Jackson. “And she’s
funny, too!”
    “Wait until you hear how funny,” Cassandra added from over
by the cabinets. “Jackson, you’ll love this—she smacked the Devil out of
Barrett Warde last night.”
    “What?” Jackson looked impressed beyond words.
    Tiffany’s hands flew up to her mouth. “You didn’t ,”
she whispered through her fingers.
    They both stared at Lila for a response as Cassandra poured
them wine. Lila took a big swig and finished her glass.
    “He’s kind of an asshole,” she grinned.
    Jackson and Tiffany laughed, Tiffany clapping her hands
loudly.
    “That, he definitely is,” Jackson said, picking up the wine
glass Cassandra passed him. “Let’s go sit in the living room to discuss how
much of an asshole he is.”
    “I can’t believe you did that!” Tiffany said in awe as she
picked hers up with one hand and grabbed Jackson’s hand with her other. “I
mean, I’ve always thought someone