I am tired, stressed, and keep thinking about Little Red on my lap this morning and how much I want a repeat. I haven’t seen her today. After the boys and I worked out a new plan, Nico and Carter went out with the team to put the wheels in motion, and Sebastian needed to go and help Goldie at her gallery.

I came back to a quiet house earlier this afternoon, and went to the bedroom to check on her, finding her still in bed, asleep. She sleeps a lot, and while I know our nighttime activities have increased, I am still not sure that is the sole reason for why she is so tired. I sat and watched her for a moment, to see if she woke from her nap, but her sleep was so deep, she didn’t even toss or turn, so I left her and have now been in my office for hours.

I need to get things moving because everything feels too slow at the moment. Dominic laying low has really put us out of our ordinary flow. We like to get things done quickly. He is smart, though. He knows how we operate, so by going into hiding and not being available to us, he is slowing us right down, and it is irritating us all. Just when we think we have found him, things change at the last minute. He is sly like that, and I know that wherever he is, he is enjoying toying with us. I look forward to catching him and showing him exactly what I think of him.

I flick through page after page of resumes for soldiers, some from the US, some from Sicily, some have skills, others go straight into the trash. As the pile in the trash gets bigger, I grow more and more frustrated. Standing up, I throw the papers across the room.

“Fuck!” I yell to myself, my temper shorter than normal.

As I pace the office, trying to calm myself, I hear the TV from the movie room. It’s soundproof, so whoever is in there must have kept the door open. Now that I hear music and talking, I can no longer concentrate. Already in a terrible mood, I stalk out of my office, ready to yell at someone.

But as I walk through the movie room door, I stop short.

“What the hell is going on in here?”

27

Annie

I ventured into the theater room later this afternoon after waking from my nap, and although I know next to zero about tech, I managed to get the system to work. Scrolling through the movies, I finally land on the one I want. I get some throw rugs and cushions and make a cute little picnic area.