By Grace[BWWM]

Nine

"Reid," Vanessa giggled as they walked hand-in-hand in the mall with Lailah on her hip. "You keep distracting me, just tell me what happened," She wanted to know why Reid looked so peaceful after his visit with Mason. She hoped that no blood was shed.

Reid pointed at the toy store and gasped. "Look, Lailah! It's a toy store! I want you to grab everything that you want and I'll have someone hold your things until we're ready to check out," His words made Laliah squeal with joy, though Vanessa knew that she didn't understand much of what he said. She was only excited because she could see toys in the window.

"Toys!" Lailah screamed and tried to wiggle out of Vanessa's arms.

Vanessa laughed lightly at her daughter's enthusiasm and put her down. "Go play, sweetie," She kissed her cheek and watched as she ran to the dolls.

"She looks so happy," Reid observed with a smile on his face. He wrapped his arm around her waist and led them to a bench. "Sit, cara. Sit and I will tell you what happened,"

She watched as Lailah played with two teddy bears. She was glad that her little girl was resilient. She acted as if earlier today didn't even happen, it was nothing but God.

"Okay," Vanessa murmured and took a seat on the surprisingly comfortable bench.

Reid followed suit and placed his arm around her shoulder. "Are you happy, amore mio?" His voice was soothing and gave her a sense of undeniable security, which was something hard to come by while sitting in a hectic mall.

The answer was yes. He was her, she wasn't sure what cute name to call him, but he was Reid to the fullest and she loved being with him.

"Yes," She answered and pecked his cheek. "Are you happy, Reid?" She asked the same question, minus the Italian part. She didn't speak a tap of Italian.

Reid nodded and brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it. A smile rested on his face and Vanessa couldn't look away. He looked so happy.

"I paid him a visit," He spoke filling the silence with his entrancing deep accented voice. "Cara, he is a very crazy man. As if his mother dropped him on the head as a baby," He sounded puzzled, but Vanessa didn't understand how after one visit Reid knew that Mason was crazy, while she spent six years with him and she only just realized something was off.

"I didn't go to his home to hurt him, I only wanted to have a talk. I told him that if he stepped out of line with you one more time, I would hurt him. I apologize to you for taking a while to get back, but the man has no respect for a man to man talk. He wanted to get physical and I am never one to turn down a fight," He winked at her. "He is a very wild man, he tired himself out before he could even hit me, amore. I left without touching him since it is unfair to kick a man while he is down. And now here I am,"

She tried to keep the smile from taking over her face, but she couldn't. It made her so happy to hear about what happened, and now she knew that Reid was a fair man. "You're very kind," She murmured happily. "Thank you for defending me," She never thought that someone other than Eva would want to defend her.

If she was honest, she would add that she hated the fact that she always needed to be defended. Sometimes she wished that she was stronger, bolder, and spoke just a little louder. If she was like that, then she wouldn't be such an easy target.

Reid lifted her chin with his thumb and gazed into her eyes. Butterflies erupted within her as his eyes scanned her face, his gaze never faltered.

"A man will always protect what he treasures, tesoro mio." He kissed her cheek. "Come, let us go see what little Lailah has found," He suggested and she agreed.