Christmas with the Kings (The Kings of Guardian)

by Kris Michaels

  Frank shook his head. "Can't speak for him, but I'll pass. I have a bottle of liquor that is as old as dirt. Plan on having a drink with Gabriel and Anna. I'll send his boys over though." Frank had met Gabriel's twin boys several times, only they were no longer boys.

  "They old enough to drink?" Justin furrowed his forehead. "They aren't, are they?"

  Jacob shrugged. "Beats the fuck out of me. I've never met them."

  Jason laughed. "Old enough to graduate from the Air Force Academy. They are heading to basic flight training in January."

  "Excellent! Another set of twins that fly!" Jacob laughed and toasted Drake.

  "See, genetic disposition." Drake retorted. "Proof positive twins are superior to everyone else."

  Jason threw a peanut at Drake. "Hey, I fly, and I am not a twin."

  "Yeah, well, genetic anomalies happen." Doc taunted and then ducked when Jason let loose with another peanut.

  "Do not piss off the boss," Jason warned the room and waggled his eyebrows, which set everyone in the room into a fit of laughter.

  Justin snorted and called out, "Believe me, I would never piss off Dani. I don't think you'd risk pissing Faith off either."

  The room exploded in laughter again, and Frank absorbed it like a balm to his soul. He was so fucking rich, and money had absolutely nothing to do with the wealth that surrounded him.

  Chapter 12

  Frank left before the stag party and headed to the kitchen where he found his wife, working. "How you doing?"

  Amanda startled at his voice. "Movie time was great. I sent the kids off with Keelee to bake Christmas cookies. Dinner is all prepped. I just need to start the roasts. Betty and I peeled all the potatoes yesterday, and they are sitting in cold water in the fridge. Veggies and bread are all ready to cook, salads are made, and desserts are going into the oven when we sit down. Besides clean up, I have just the last bit of wrapping to do tonight after dinner." She smiled and spun in his arms. "I'm so happy to have them all home at the same time."

  "I couldn't tell." Frank deadpanned and was rewarded with a delicious kiss.

  "Do you have enough breakfast and lunch for six more?" Frank knew she did, but he needed to tell her that Gabriel and Anna were coming in.

  "Always, who's coming?"

  "Gabriel, Anna, and the kids. They are stopping here overnight and then heading to their home in Colorado tomorrow afternoon."

  "Why?" Amanda's brow furrowed. "That came out wrong. It is wonderful that they're stopping by, but why are they dropping in so close to Christmas?"

  Frank shrugged. "If I had to guess, I'd figure it has something to do with Guardian."

  "Oh, well… that makes sense." She blinked and put her hand on his arm. "You don't think it is something that will take one of them away before Christmas, do you?"

  "Couldn't say, but I doubt it. If it were an emergency, he wouldn't be stopping over. They have secure coms for that type of thing."

  "You're right. I'm making mountains out of molehills." Amanda kissed him again and sighed before pointing toward two, huge, prime rib roasts. "I could use your help putting those in the top oven."

  Frank obliged and carried the heavy pans over to the oven, lifting them with ease. When the last slid into place, Amanda asked, "What time will Gabriel and Anna be here?"

  "He said about eight or nine, depending on the weather. There is a system between D.C. and us they may have to fly around." Frank wrapped his arms around her waist and sat his chin on her shoulder, watching as she uncovered a casserole to put in one of the other three ovens. They'd expanded the kitchen to make room for the size of the family as it grew. Best damn thing he'd ever done. He could convert this house into a hotel in less time than it took to hog-tie a calf, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

  Amanda sat down at the table, tired, but happy her family was all here, under one roof. Frank stood, and a hush fell over the table. A quiet 'shhh' from Faith and Tori stilled the children's chatter.

  "I know you're as hungry as I am, but you'll need to wait until I say my bit. Amanda and I are proud of each of you. The lives you lead are… exceptional, but it is the type of people you are that is important. There isn't a way to describe knowing the force of good under this roof, and at this time of year we count each and every blessing we have." He reached his hand out to Amanda, and she took it, trying hard not to tear up. "We consider each of you a gift from the Maker, and we thank you for taking the time to come home when there are so many other demands on you. You've made us both very happy. I'd ask that you remember those who aren't here tonight—Dixon, Chief, and Tatyana, and keep them in your prayers." He cleared his throat and nodded to the food. "Well, go on then, don't let it get cold."

  Frank squeezed her hand, and she smiled at him. "That's more words than you've said all month." He grunted at her and then winked.

  She turned to look down the table. "So, what did everyone do while I entertained my beautiful grandchildren?"

  "We had a drink with Frank," Jacob said as he grabbed the potatoes being passed his way.

  "We went to Jasmine's and visited." Faith's quiet voice added over the clanking of the silverware and quiet murmurs of please pass this and that.

  "I readied the kitchen for Christmas cookie decorations." Keelee passed the veggies to Adam and grabbed the bread that Ember was passing to her.

  "We had fun, Gramma!" Reece piped up.

  "Yeah, we made reindeers," Talon added.

  "Reindeer." Tori corrected.

  "Right. Reece did one, and I did one, so they were two. Reindeers." Talon acknowledged.

  "What's on the agenda for tomorrow?" Jason asked as he stabbed a slice of prime rib from the platter going around.

  "Well, tomorrow morning the kids are coming with me to Jasmine's house." Amanda looked down the table at her grandchildren. Angelic faces turned her way in anticipation. "We are going to go sledding down the big hill by her house." The table erupted with cheers. Amanda waited until it quieted some. "I figured the gentlemen could accompany us since, as Jasmine pointed out, they'd make it a competition." Amanda watched Jared and Jacob exchange looks and then glance at Nic. "Okay, what was that? That look right there."

  Jacob blinked as he realized she was pointing at him and Jared. He cleared his throat and glanced down the table. "Well, the gentlemen, as you put it, had planned on an evening of ... gentlemanly pursuits tonight." He pointed his fork and made a swirl of the table. "The gentlemen may want to sleep in."

  Amanda chuckled. Well, okay, those were her boys. They got together and cut loose. They were safe here, not on call, for the most part, and able to let their hair down. "The gentlemen can sleep in until eight thirty. We sled at nine." She looked pointedly at each of her sons by birth, Joseph, Justin, Jason, Jacob, and Jared, and then each of her sons by choice, Drake, Nic, Chad, Christian and Zane. A soft murmur of 'yes, ma'ams' got a chuckle from Frank.

  Tori cleared her throat and stood up. "I've been asked to give this to you, Amanda. I know you've noticed there has been a secretive… something… going on. Someone in this room had an idea, and we all decided to jump on the bandwagon. So..." She handed the card to Jacob, who passed it down the line.

  Amanda glanced at Frank, and he shrugged. "It ain't going to open itself." He stabbed a piece of prime rib and waited for her to open it.

  Amanda read the card and glanced down the table to a sea of upturned, expectant faces. "At the church? At noon on Christmas Eve?" She read the card again. "And you're not going to tell me what this celebration entails?" She searched the faces at the table. The expressions ranged from blank: Joseph and Jason—to guilty: Jacob and Jared's permanent expression—to hopeful: Jewell, Tori, Jade, Jasmine, and Faith. Zane lifted an eyebrow at her and smiled. Nic seemed consumed with putting spoonfuls of sugar into his already sweetened tea and Christian blushed, shrugged and turned to butter a piece of bread. She had no idea what to do with that. She couldn't read Dani and Justin. Drake wasn't looking at her. Instead, he was whi
spering to Jillian. Her look of growing shock told Amanda more than anything else. She glanced at Keelee and Adam and then at Chad. Chad smiled back at her. "You know I love you, but I will not be the weakest link. I'm not saying diddly squat." The table erupted with laughter.

  Amanda smiled and glanced at the card. The church at noon. Interesting.

  Chapter 13

  “That’s bullshit!” Nic couldn’t feel his lips, but he sure as hell knew when an exaggeration moved into a bald-faced lie.

  “I’m serious as a heart attack.” Jared held up his fingers in a Star Trek salute. “Scout’s honor.”

  Justin threw a wadded-up napkin at his brother. “That’s live long and prosper, dumbass.”

  Jared glanced at his hand and extended his arm fully, squinting at it. “Whatever, you know what I meant.”

  Justin glanced at Jacob and Jason. “You have kids. What’s the correct salute for Scout’s honor?” They lifted their hands and displayed the Boy Scout salute. Justin mimicked the salute, twisted his wrist and then let his middle finger fly at his brother.

  “I swear he did it. I don’t know how, but that man,” Jared pointed at Jacob, who was sitting across the room from Nic, “is the reason Gabriel started the complex here.”

  Jacob shrugged. “I suggested a place where teams could come to rehab, and it turned into this.” He lifted his tumbler, talking to the amber liquid instead of anyone in the room. “In reality, this complex was a combination of ideas and suggestions.” He pointed toward Drake. “The twins and Chief have been the energy behind building on those ideas.” He nodded toward Adam. “Doc took this clinic and then built a hospital. He has a rehab facility to rival any on the east coast, and he’s in charge of it all. The other extensions are all Jason. It may have been my idea, but this is the fruition of everyone’s efforts.”

  “And now we are set to open one in Arizona,” Nic added.

  “Yep, and we are looking for another site in the southeast,” Jason confirmed the rumors he’d heard. Three stateside complexes. Guardian was expanding like a wind-stoked wildfire raging across drought-stricken prairie grass.

  “Any thoughts to an overseas complex?” Justin lifted from the stool he was sitting on and headed to the makeshift bar they’d built on an exam table.

  “There have been talks. Gabriel knows a person who has property in several countries. The problem would be airlift and accessibility. It is something we are looking at, but with the current escalations, it will have to wait.” Jason explained.

  “Where are Chad and Christian?” Nic suddenly realized they were missing.

  Jared waved toward the door. “They started talking about a benefit for the center. They went over to Chad’s to check on his availability and to call some of his friends in the industry.”

  “At ten o’clock at night?” Nic wasn’t sure that made sense.

  “Performers are night creatures by habit.” Justin chimed in from the bar. “They always book the last seating for the night at the restaurants. Besides, Chad wanted to catch them before Christmas Eve. He said he wanted to approach them while they were in the Christmas spirit, but not piss them off by invading family time.”

  “The man is smart.” Jared agreed.

  Jason drank the last of his soda. “Hey, bring me some more, would you?”

  Justin grabbed a can of soda and gave it to Jason. “Anyone else?” He held up a bottle and nodded at Nic.

  “Put that away. I’ve brought the good stuff.” Gabriel’s voice rumbled down the hallway. Nic and everyone else stood out of respect for the man that had single-handedly built Guardian Security.

  “Shit! Look at that, you have clones!” Jacob said exactly what Nic was thinking. Two men flanked Gabriel, and the resemblance was uncanny. They were a couple inches taller than Gabriel, but they’d definitely swum in the same gene pool. Dark hair, the same color eyes, and built like brick houses. The only difference was they lacked the gray hair and lines that life had carved into Gabriel’s face.

  “I do. Deacon,” Gabriel nodded to the one on the right who held two small boxes and then indicated the man on the left carrying three dark colored bottles, “and Ronan. My sons. And we come bearing gifts. Two boxes of Cohiba Behike and three bottles of the best Cuban rum money can buy. Merry Christmas, and happy bachelor party, Nic.” Gabriel strode forward as he spoke and clasped Nic’s outstretched hand before he pulled him in for a hug. He whispered in Nic’s ear, “Congratulations and good luck with that one. She’s a bit crazy.”

  Nic laughed as Gabriel pulled away. “Her crazy makes me happy.”

  “Her crazy scares the fuck out of me.” Jared’s comment resulted in a surprisingly sober chorus of ‘here, here.’

  “Don’t let me stop the party. I’m heading back to the ranch house. The wife and daughters are waiting.”

  “Daughters?” The echo from most of the men earned a laugh from Gabriel and his sons.

  “Yes, daughters, and yes, I waited until all of you were off the market before I brought them around. As much as I love you crazy motherfuckers, I wouldn’t let you anywhere near my girls while you were single.” Gabriel slapped Jason on the shoulder. “Need to talk with you for a minute.” Jason fell into step behind Gabriel, leaving his sons still holding the cigars and liquor.

  “Well, I guess that is permission to drink some of this.” Ronan headed toward the bar and Deacon followed, setting the boxes of cigars on the exam table.

  “No, I’ve got to draw the line. No smoking in the clinic.” Doc objected as the men descended on the Cuban cigars.

  “But Doc, these are Cohiba Behikes. Damn near $20K per box. We have to smoke them.” Zane picked one up and sniffed along the barrel of the cigar. “It is freezing outside. Don’t make me freeze my balls off to enjoy a bit of paradise.”

  Drake cleared his throat and gave Zane a look. The man glanced at everyone in the room. He singled out Gabriel’s twins. “You two have a security clearance?”

  “Sure, vetted by the Air Force and before that by Dad.” Ronan grabbed a tumbler and added three fingers of rum to it before handing it to his brother and pouring another for himself.

  His brother, Deacon, grabbed two cigars. “If you have a place to smoke these that won’t freeze our family jewels, I can guarantee neither of us will see a fucking thing, and if we do see it, we’ll suffer from a severe case of permanent selective memory loss.” He tossed a cigar to his brother, stuck the Cohiba in his mouth and reached into his jacket pocket. “Besides, we have the cigar clippers and lighter.” He waived them both at Zane.

  “Fuck.”

  Zane palmed his face and glanced at Drake who shrugged. “Nobody down there now.”

  “Okay, but if anyone says shit, my portion of the organization is going to come calling. Got that?” Zane looked at each of the brothers.

  Their ‘eat shit and die’ expressions told Nic they weren’t impressed by the threat of a visit by a Shadow. Nic, however, had a healthy respect for those operatives. He wouldn’t say shit to any of them.

  “And exactly what portion of the organization do you oversee?” Deacon asked.

  “The Shadow Division.” Zane nailed the twins with a stare.

  Nic saw the recognition in their expressions. From that reaction, their father had vetted them and had told them about the organization, at least the structure.

  “Dude, I will never speak of this night.” Ronan grabbed a bottle and passed it to Deacon.

  “What night?” Deacon asked.

  Zane stared them down for a hot minute. “Good enough.” He extended his hand and then dropped it when he realized the twins were packed for traveling and their hands were full. “I’m Zane.” He pointed to each man in the room and introduced them. “That is Jacob, Justin, Jared, Joseph, I believe you’ve met Jason, the walking mountain that just left. The dude getting hitched tomorrow is Nic. Next to him is Adam, and that guy is Drake.”

  “Fuck, somebody have a J fetish?” Ronan tossed out as they all started to wa
lk toward the back of the clinic.

  “Something like that.” Behind them, Jason’s voice echoed down the hallway. “Where are we going?”

  “To the labyrinth. Fucking Doc went all medical on our asses and won’t let us smoke in the clinic.” Drake’s voice came from the front of the gaggle. Nic chuckled to himself. What a fucking stream of unlikely friends it was. Assassins and mercenaries and cops, oh my. Well, not technically mercenaries, but fuck that was funny. His mind played it over again, and he laughed out loud. Fuck, he really didn’t need any more alcohol.

  Jason laughed. “Nic, you’re drunk, and shame on you, Doc, for having standards.”

  “I know right? What was I thinking?” Doc quipped.

  “Damn good thing you’re my best friend or I’d have to hate you for being a stick in the mud.” Jacob slung his arm around Doc’s neck and pulled him in for a sideways hug.

  Doc ducked out of the stranglehold. “Love you too, man.”

  Drake stopped the procession and blocked a keypad with his body as he entered a code. He opened a door.

  “You have an alarm on a fucking supply closet.” Justin laughed.

  “Wrong again, twinkle toes.” Joseph’s evil laugh echoed as the back shelf opened and a steel door appeared. Drake entered another code, and the massive door to the underground system opened.

  “Twinkle toes? Really? What the fuck?” Justin pushed Joseph’s shoulder, and the man laughed again.

  “You’re the cat burglar.” Joseph pushed Justin through the door before him.

  “High-value information extraction specialist.” Justin’s retort was met with laughter and catcalls that echoed around them as they descended.

  Nic took in the long flight of stairs. He held his glass in one hand and the rail with the other. Stairs were not his friend on a good day. When he was drunk, shit could get ugly. Nobody behind him seemed to mind that he took his time and for that he was thankful. His half-pickled mind wondered if there was an elevator somewhere. Or, he could crawl up the stairs. That was always an option. Of course, Jared would… holy fuck!