Until Thia started laughing. “Thank the gods you sent Darice ahead. I’d have to gut the little booger if he saw us like this.”

Sumi joined her laughter as she wiped away her own tears. “Why does life have to be so hard?”

Thia sniffed back her tears. “Aunt Mari says that the assholes in our lives are our biggest blessings.”

“How so?”

“Without them, we’d take the ones who aren’t for granted. Assholes give us needed perspective to appreciate the people who really love us.”

Strange, she’d never thought of that before. “I really need to meet your aunt Mari one day.”

Thia hooked her arm in Sumi’s and started walking again. “Now that you’re family, you will. Just don’t wake him too early in the morning or he’s a beast. As he says, his maternal instincts don’t kick in until midday, and after his first cup of tea.”

Sumi laughed at that. “Does he know you call him your aunt?”

“Of course. It’s how he introduced himself to me when we met the first time.” She pushed playfully against Sumi’s side. “To clear your confusion, he’s gay. As I said, we’re a motley bunch. You’ll fit right in.”

How she wished that were true. But it would never be.

It couldn’t be.

And once she turned her intel in to save her daughter, she had no doubt that Thia would be the first one to kill her for it.

CHAPTER 10

Sumi slowed as she saw Hauk and Darice waiting for them. He handed a bottle of water to Thia. Smiling, Thia rose up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek before she went to sit beside Darice.

Hauk handed a bottle to Sumi. Scowling, he brushed his thumb against her lower lashes. The concern in his eyes was almost enough to get her crying again, but somehow she managed to keep her emotions leashed.

“We’re okay. Thia just needed some girl time. We’re weird that way.”

He grunted in response.

She shook her head at him. “Is that really your idea of an answer?”

He shrugged.

Sumi gave him an irritated stare. “You’re not helping yourself, big guy.”

“Don’t be so hard on him, Sumi,” Thia said while she watched them with an amused grin. “He’s never spent much time around females so we’re all like alien beings to him.”

“Really?”

Hauk moved to check supplies. “Just Jayne, and a female cousin who used to severely kick my ass when I was a kid.”

“And Jayne ain’t typical,” Thia said in an exaggerated tone to illustrate how odd this Jayne was. “She’s a fierce Hyshian assassin lunatic. Love her dearly, but she ain’t right, and you never know what’s she’s going to say or do.”