“Good. Because, doc, I realized something when I was running through the smoke and flames to get to you.”
“What?”
“I don’t want to lose you. Even if the babies weren’t a reality. Even if Kelly and the other kids were no longer in the picture, anything. I don’t want to lose you. I don’t know what it means yet, but I’m going to do my damnedest to find out.” He leaned over, and kissed her through the tubes and monitors.
Ally raised her free hand to his hair and wove her fingers through the reddish strands. She waited until he lifted his head and looked at her. “I’d like that. Very much. I think I could love you, Dan Reynolds, given half a chance.”
“I’ll take that chance, and give one of my own. Come home with me, doc. The instant the doctors turn you loose. Come home with me where you belong.”
Ally thought that sounded wonderful and like something she could definitely do.
Something she would definitely do. Tomorrow their second chance would begin.
*****
*****
*****
RECKONING
Chapter 1
He was the kind of kid others liked to beat up on, but then went on to make billions of dollars in the global market. He looked like trouble, blond hair sticking out at odd angles, blue eyes sullen and rebellious behind thick glasses, wearing a ratty t-shirt that he’d probably had for years. He looked nothing like his dark haired mother. Except for the blue eyes. The kid had her eyes. He didn’t even look like his six brothers.
Ed Dennis flicked a glance outside his open door, where those six brothers sat. Each one was dark-haired and strong. Nothing puny about the lot of them. This one, though, he stood out. Ed hid his smile. This kid was probably a real pain in the ass.
Ed looked at the boy then the boy’s mother. “This is serious, doctor. I don’t have to tell you how seriously this division takes security breaches of this magnitude. And he’s old enough to face adult consequences.”
He didn’t miss the fear that hit her pretty eyes. “He’s only eleven, sir. And he’s never done anything like this before.”
“Still, there were people in that elevator.” Ed frowned as he recalled exactly how he’d felt knowing that one of those people stuck in the elevator had been his daughter. Another had been her close friend, a woman nine months pregnant and in labor. “Ana McLaughlin and the baby—it could have had serious repercussion.”
He’d deliberately lowered his voice to its lowest, its coldest. Scariest. The kid flinched, the mother trembled. He smiled then, deliberately. He knew his reputation for being cold and terrifying. And this woman, a new transplant who’d started in the division that very morning, wouldn’t know it was all show.
Not yet, anyway. He took advantage of that. He kept the glare at full power for a long moment—until the rebellion slipped out of the boy’s eyes and a worry slipped in.
The boy’s mother shifted, her long legs crossing nervously. Ed fought the urge to run a quick eye over those legs.
They were great legs, but now wasn’t the time. Plus, Ed Dennis didn’t ogle his subordinates in his office—it just wasn’t done. He flicked his eyes in her direction, almost against his will. Her lower lip was caught between her teeth; her eyes were soft and wide, scared. She kept glancing between this one boy and the six waiting outside the office. Seven. Ed refrained from shaking his head in wonder. The long, lean vision in front of him did not look capable of having carried seven boys.
His ex-wife put on fifty pounds when she’d carried Georgia. One reason why she’d refused to have another.
Still, this woman in front of him looked damned good. Of course, seven sons probably ran her ragged, burned off excess pounds. God knew, his grandson Matthew kept him fit when he had him. And this one, this middle one, had somehow hacked the computer system controlling the entire St. Louis field office of the FBI. He’d screwed with or shut down every major maintenance system in the building.
He was good, but Ed knew the truth; the people in his unit were better. More experienced. And if it hadn’t been for his people, it was possible Ana McLaughlin would have bled to death after giving birth to her daughter in the damned elevator.
“Ted understands what he did, sir.” She chewed on her thumbnail as she spoke. “I can assure you he will be properly punished when he gets home.”
“Still punished at home is a bit different in this type of situation. Taking away his video games doesn’t exactly suffice.” He didn’t miss the way her shoulders jerked, and her chin tilted up. She didn’t like that. He smiled again, grim and cold.
Her eyes flashed, a touch of temper making them brighten. “Trust it will be taken care of.”
“It will. But not by you.”
“Excuse me?” She stiffened, one hand falling protectively on her son’s narrow shoulder.
“When does Ted return to school?”
“Thursday. I wanted them to have a few days to settle from the move. They are in a year round program at Brynlock Academy. Why?” Ed didn’t miss the way she trembled, or stood, blocking her son with her body. Instinctively.
He understood that. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to protect his child. “Every day after school, for the next ten weeks, Ted will report directly to my assistant, Agent Len.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me, Dr. Glendower. Ten weeks, two hours each day.”
“He’ll be doing what?”
“Grunt work. Learning to properly appreciate how a government building functions.” Ed smiled, stood, and then moved around the mother to stare at the son. “He’ll be changing trash cans, fetching supplies, coffee, grunt work. For ten weeks. After the first five weeks are complete, he will then refrain from touching a computer—with the exception of schoolwork—until the ten week period expires. If I find he breaks this rule, there will be more serious consequences. Adult consequences, because it was an adult crime. Are we clear?”
“Yes, sir.” He wasn’t lost to the confusion in her voice, but she moved quickly. She gathered her child and shooed him back to where the rest of her litter waited. She turned just as she exited his door. “Why wait the five weeks? Why not now?”
“Because, my dear, he’ll have five weeks to realize that his gift also comes with responsibility. If he has to anticipate giving up what he loves, he’ll appreciate it more. Take the rest of the day off, get your kids settled. There will be plenty for you to do in here tomorrow.”
As he watched her walk away he had one more thought—that was the hottest mother of seven children he’d ever seen. Her husband was one lucky bastard.
Chapter 2
Marianna wasted no time getting Ted and the rest of the boys out of Ed Dennis’s office. The man scared her. She’d never seen brown eyes so cold. Still, he’d let Ted off relatively lightly.
“I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.” Ted mumbled the words, his blond head hanging down and his arms crossed as she ushered him and his brothers to the van.
“I know that.” Marianna looked at this kid, this one more like her than any of the rest. “But what were you thinking?”
“I don’t know.” He kicked his feet before fastening the seatbelt around his chest. “I was just bored. Nobody was online, and there’s nobody to talk to in this stupid town. And Nate was being a real jerk. So...”
“So...let me get this straight, you were bored, your brother was being a jerk, and so you decided to hack a government building? Not your smartest move, pal. We’re lucky you didn’t get me fired. And from the way he talked, we were lucky you didn’t go to kiddie jail for a while. As it is, I didn’t make the best first impression on my new boss.”
“He was scary. I didn’t like him. Do I really have to go there every day for ten weeks?” She didn’t miss the sullen set of his lips. Ted was one heck of a pouter. Something else he got from her.
“Yes. Count yourself lucky. I’m not certain what the penalty is in this state for underage hacking. Changing trashcans
and fetching pencils seems like a pretty sweet deal. Much better than a stint in boy’s school.” Not that she’d have let that happen. She’d have prevented it. Maybe. If she could have. Ed Dennis was a very powerful man. If he’d wanted to pursue charges against Ted, Marianna doubted she’d have been able to stop him. She resisted the urge to snarl. Men with that kind of power were dangerous. She’d learned that the hard way. “One you’re going to abide by to the very letter. Or you won’t touch a computer again before your eighteenth birthday. You think five weeks is bad—try seven years.”
“Mom!”
“Hey! There was a pregnant woman in that elevator. If Ally hadn’t been in there, that woman could have—probably would have—died. That’s not something to be taken lightly.”
“But I didn’t mean to...”
“It’s time you realized that what you do has consequences. You need to start thinking before you do things...big time.”
“But...”
“Close it, Theodore. You did this, you’ll pay the fee. That’s the way the grown-up world has to work.” She just hoped Ted would be the only one to pay. If Dennis chose to hold this against her, she didn’t know what she’d do.
She couldn’t afford to move the boys again. And she wanted them as far away from their father as she could get them. It was just safer for them that way. But if she lost this job, what other choice would she have?
She’d worked for the Bureau her entire career. And for the most part, it had been wonderful. She wouldn’t want to give that up. “Listen, just do what you’re told, man up to your mistake, kiddo. Admit you did it, and take the punishment. It’ll be over in no time, and then things will go back to the way they were, ok?”
He nodded. “I just wish we were back in Indy.”
“I know. But it’s not like all of your friends were left behind. Ryan will be at school Thursday, too.” Marianna gave a quick prayer of thanks that Allison Brewster had chosen to relocate as well. It would have been as tough for Marianna to lose her best friend as it would have been for Ted to lose Allison’s son. Ryan and Ted had been friends since the first day of kindergarten, when both Allison and Marianna had brought them to the lab after their three hour class had ended. They were practically inseparable. “None of your brothers’ best friends moved with them. You’re the lucky one, you know?”
“I don’t feel so lucky. I’m the one who has to take out everyone’s garbage, every single day! People I don’t even know! And they won’t like me ‘cause I screwed up the elevator.”
“It’s no different than when you do it at home.” Marianna pointed out. “Everybody has a job to do when they’re grown-ups, Teddy. That’s how the world works. Kind of like a soccer or baseball team. Or like a computer script. Each part has to function correctly for the goal to be met, or for the application to be run. You understand that, right?”
“Yes.”
“Well, you messed with the script this morning. And instead of just crashing a computer or losing a ball game, you could have killed someone. A lady had her baby in that elevator. How would you have felt if that little baby didn’t have a mom, and it was all your fault? That’s what you’re going to think about tonight. And every time you change a trashcan for the next ten weeks, I want you to think about what you did, and what you could have cost that little baby. Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. And by the way...you’re going to be taking out the trash at home every night for the next ten weeks, as well. And do a five page report for me—by Friday—on the importance of consequences. Single spaced. Normal margins.”
“What? That’s so not fair!”
Tough. I want that report by bedtime Friday. So guess what you’ll be working on when you get home?”
“Mo-om!”
She knew how to discipline her children when they needed it. Ed Dennis didn’t have the right to question that.
Yes, her seven children were a bit rambunctious at times, but she wouldn’t stifle them. Their father had done enough of that before the divorce seven years ago. The boys deserved to be who they were, even Ted with his penchant for leaping before looking.
She did a damned good job raising her children—it was Ed Dennis’s problem if he couldn’t see that.
Still, she’d make a point to stay as far away from that cold-eyed jerk as she could get.
Chapter 3
The kid’s face was washed, his hair combed. He still wore the familiar uniform of Brynlock Academy, navy and hunter with the school emblem on the breast. It was buttoned and the tie straightened. Ed smiled inwardly, seeing the obvious signs of a mother’s touch. Ted Glendower was reporting for duty, and had he not specifically ordered Dr. Glendower back to the lab, he knew she’d be hovering. An overprotective mother, that one.
Still, to Ed that was so much better than the alternative. “Hello, Ted, are you ready for your first day?”
“Yes, sir.” Ed had to give the child credit, his voice wavered only a bit. “Sir?”
He paused, and Ed raised a brow. “Yes?”
“I wanted to...apologize. Again. My mom told me about that lady; I didn’t mean to cause that kind of trouble. Especially to my mom and Uncle Fin. I’m going to tell him I’m sorry, too.” Ed didn’t miss the slight teary-eyed look the boy shot him quickly.
“That would be the appropriate thing to do. And we know you didn’t intend to cause any harm.” Ed was surprised the kid had the courage to look him in the eye. He was only eleven, and seasoned field agents had stuttered in Ed’s presence on many occasions. His admiration for the boy’s parents grew. “But still...”
“I don’t want you to be mad at my mom!” The boy nearly shouted the words. “If you’re gonna be mad it should be at me, not her!”
“Son, I’m not the least bit angry at your mother.” Ed had a hard time containing his surprise. “I’m not even angry at you, anymore. You admitted you did it, and you’ve accepted the terms of our deal. That tells me a lot about you, you know.”
The kid sniffled. Ed handed him a tissue, and smiled softly. With his blond hair sticking every which way despite his mother’s combing it, and the small smattering of freckles on his sunburned cheeks, Ted reminded him of his grandson. Matthew was blond and wild-haired, too. Of course, this child was older, but it was still the same. Matthew cried when getting in trouble, too.
“Like what?” Suspicion was evident in the kid’s tone.
“That you are aware of responsibility, that you have courage, that you protect those you love. Not everyone would stand up for their mom, you know that? That’s a very manly thing to do.” Ed rounded the desk. “Especially at your age. That tells me your mom and dad are doing a wonderful job of raising you.”
“Not my dad! I don’t have a dad.”
“Ok. That tells me your mother is doing a wonderful job. Taking care of seven children isn’t easy, especially alone. You should be proud of her.”
“I guess...so you’re not going to be mean to her?”
“No. I’d never be mean to someone for someone else’s actions. That’s not right.” Ed laid a hand on the boy’s shoulder, ignoring the way he tensed. “Now, I think it’s time Agent Len showed you what you’ll be doing to help out around here for the next ten weeks. Before you leave each day, I do want you to stop by and let me know you’re finished, ok?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And Ted—if you have any problems, I want you to come to me, ok?” Ed didn’t know why he added the last part, but something told him this kid needed just a little extra attention. From what he could piece together Ted fell directly in the middle of the Glendower boys, and that couldn’t be easy. Sometimes those in the middle got a bit overlooked.
“Yes, sir.”
Ninety minutes later the kid didn’t look so pristine. The tie was unknotted, blazer unbuttoned, and his hair looked like it hadn’t been combed in months. He looked like an average kid. He also didn’t look so scared. “I finished all the trashcans, sir.”
“Excellent. Thank you. Is your mother picking you up in Agent Len’s office, or are you meeting her in the lab?”
“My mom never lets us down in the lab ‘cause of all the chemical stuff. She’s going to pick me up here after she runs to the day care and gets my little brothers. Five-fifteen. She’s always on time, too.” He nodded.
Ed checked his watch. His housekeeper would be bringing Matthew to him shortly. It was just shy of five o’clock and Rachel always dropped Matthew off on her way home. “Why don’t you go sit in Agent Len’s office until your mother gets here?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Mr. Dennis is fine, or Agent Dennis, Ted. You don’t have to ‘sir’ me all the time.”
“Yes, si—I mean Agent Dennis.” The boy wasted no more time before rushing into Ed’s assistant’s office. Agent Len smiled at the boy and Ed watched for a moment as the child became more animated. If Ed was a gambling man he’d lay odds that the boy was quickly developing a crush on Agent Len. Ed turned back to his paperwork; he had a few things to finish up before a certain six year old arrived.
Ed intended to let nothing get in the way of the time he’d spend with his grandson. Time was just too precious to waste. Matthew wouldn’t be six forever.
Pretty soon he’d be eleven years old and getting into all sorts of trouble.
Chapter 4
There was a blond child sitting at the head of the division’s desk. He wore a miniature suit, one that was extremely familiar to Marianna. It proclaimed this child was also a student of Brynlock Academy. His hair stuck out just as wildly as Ted’s did, but it wasn’t her son sitting in the swivel chair. This kid was too young for that.
“Lucifer!” A masculine voice bellowed from somewhere and Marianna jumped, her hand tightening on her youngest son’s. Bobby’s blue eyes were wide, the man’s voice something he wasn’t used to, either.
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