Chapter 25 -- We're Helping... Right?

Lukas awoke the next morning feeling like the entire world had collapsed inside of his head. Mentally forcing himself to get out of bed, he groaned at the pain. Upon hearing the playful babbles of his twins, his face lit up and he made his way to their room.

They're growing so fast!, he thought as he helped Kadance learn to stand up. Being a young father wasn't even half as bad as he had expected it to be. His parents helped take care of the little ones' needs when he was at work, and even Denv and Noel were taking responsibilities of teaching them how to talk. I wish I had been raised in a full house, he internally whined before instantly regretting it. He had a wonderful childhood and he wouldn't change it for the world. 

What he would change however, would be his work schedule. He was always at work when the kiddos were awake and at home when they were in bed... The only way to get the hours he wanted was to move up through the system, and so he tried his hardest.

It was this morning that he got his first promotion, right before Noel and Denver aged up.

Noel went first... 

...and immediately went to find Kenton.

Denver was more excited to be an adult than her. Both Gena and Cassandra had already aged and he needed to prove he was up to snuff for both of them... as long as they didn't find out.

The sparkles immediately took over and Denver flashed an uneasy look before aging up.

Cassandra immediately ran over, grabbed him tight, and squealed, "You're so HAWT Denvie, I love you!" right in front of Gena. Shit, Denver thought as Gena flashed him a look resembling both disgust and shock.

Turning around, she ran for the door, her heart crushed.

Wait, Lukas thought, I know it hurts, but I can help..., but it was too late. She had already left.

Feeling his phone vibrate, he pulled it out of his pocket. Blast! Why is the fricken Don calling me. This is the absolute worst timing ever, he thought. Answering, he listened patiently without saying so much as a word as she charged him with a single task. She promised him further promotions in the future if he chose to complete it. With most criminal activity though, choices are never real, so Lukas was forced to go along with her plan.

For the rest of the afternoon, Lukas couldn't get that conversation out of his mind. She seemed amused at the whole thing. It's like she's playing a game with me that I don't have all the pieces to. What could be so hard about hiding something anyway?

He didn't have anymore time to ponder though, as the doorbell rang. The drop had been made.

Opening the box, Lukas was completely surprised at the contents. What in the world have I gotten myself into?