Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

That night, Leo had his little brother in his arms. "First time giving you a bath, so go easy on me if I mess up, alright?"

Henry just shook his head, totally unimpressed.

Leo could only sigh. Eventually, he gently pushed Henry's head down to make him nod twice. "There, now you've agreed."

Looking at Henry—this kid he'd practically watched grow up-Leo couldn't help but mutter, "Did your dad watch me grow up the same way?"noveldrama

Meanwhile, in another bedroom-

Mia stepped out from her shower, surprised to find her son missing. After asking around, she learned Henry was spending the night in his brother's room. She'd barely slept the previous night, half-awake the whole time, plus she'd just flown in after a long day. Completely wiped out, she crawled into bed and fell asleep almost immediately.

Andre, fresh from his own shower, saw his wife out cold with exhaustion. He adjusted the AC, making sure she was comfortable, then slipped out to the balcony.

Outside, the ocean was a deep stretch of black ink. Andre pulled out his phone and made a call.

A few rings later, Conner Nettleton answered, sounding like he'd been dragged out of the best part of his night. "Hello? What's up? It's New Year's, man. You ever heard of beauty sleep? I swear, Andre, if you wake up Annie-who is, by the way, right here in my arms-I'm done with you. For life."

Conner, ever the show-off, really laid it on thick with the "in my arms" bit.

"Dark Web's looking for Maja," Andre said, not in the mood for small talk.

Conner glanced over at the woman sleeping next to him. Careful not to wake her,

he slipped out of bed and headed outside to the Martin family's backyard.

Mr. Nettleton had gotten bold-spending the night at his fiancée's family home and ringing in the new year with Annie and her parents. Annie's folks were stilla bit wary of him, but Conner acted like he owned the place. "Relax, Mr. and Mrs. Martin, have a seat let's talk wedding plans."

"Excuse me?"

Annie gave him a playful punch. "You're a guest, don't start acting like you run the place."

On New Year's Eve, Conner had taken Annie to visit his mother's grave, then stayed over at the Martins for the night. So when

Andrecalled, he could only ta net

it

outside. "Andre, how do you even

know Dark Web's after myo

sister-in-law?"

"I have my ways," Andre replied.

"Come on, man. We're like brothers. You know all my secrets, even my favorite boxers-so what's with the secret source?" Conner ribbed him.

Andre sometimes wondered why he ever became friends with this guy. "It's not confirmed. I'll let you know when it is."

Conner could tell Andre wasn't sure yet, so he didn't push. Instead, he asked, "Wasn't my sister-in-law working with Dark Web? Why are they after her now?"

Andre guessed, "Probably about that shipment. I need to dig deeper. If they're hunting her, she's in trouble. Our people are out looking for her too."

Conner glanced back at the house, where Annie was sleeping. "Andre, we're trying to protect her. Not hurt her."

"Yeah, I get it," Andre said, and hung up.

He typed out a message to The Silent Ring's group chat, but then thought better of it and deleted it. Mia was always grabbing his phone watching shows, listening to music, surfing the web, snooping around... Better not leave anything risky lying around.

Andre walked back to the bed, sat down next to his wife, and gazed at her peaceful face. With a gentle smile, he tapped her nose and whispered, "Mia, you really are a little troublemaker."