by Mimi Barbour
Her anxiety lessened tenfold and she continued to pay attention. Sloan had his phone out and was recording everything, but only after he’d sent a text with the address and a request for backup.
When they heard the sirens approaching, so did the people inside and many would have run if not for the fact that Sloan called out. “FBI. Stay where you are. We have you surrounded. If you have any weapons, throw them into the restaurant area and then lie down with your hands over your heads. Do it, now!”
Alia circled back out front and added her orders to his. “Weapons forward. Come on folks. We’ll be searching you and the premises so just save yourself from being charged with possession of a firearm.” A small handgun appeared from behind the curtain and then another.
Screams turned to arguments as everyone started to blame each other. It was a shit-show, a bunch of untrained, unknowledgeable complainers who’d decided to form a group and rant their hate.
Sloan waited by the window to make sure no one tried getting out that way and soon passed over his spot to an officer Alia had sent to cover for him.
She watched him walk up to Nigel and pass on his phone so they could upload his files into the computers, making sure not to delete anything that would be proof against these numbskulls.
Then he walked up to Alia. She had taken a moment to talk with Leah who had begged for her attention. “Alia, please help us. We just want to go home.”
“I’m sorry, whoever you are. I do know your name isn’t Leah. Look, people can’t come into this country and behave in a subversive manner. It’s considered treason and it’s against our laws. There’ll be a trial and you will be charged. What they’ll do to you, I don’t know. But if I were you, I’d start praying to Allah because you’re going to need all the help you can get.”
Disgusted with the whole sick situation, Alia walked away and stifled the pity the other girl’s anguished cry generated. In her head, she knew her sympathy was misplaced. But her heart did clench for the future of the young woman who’d probably been brainwashed all her life by zealots who’d lied and bent the truth for their own advantage, and to support their own beliefs.
As if he knew about the fight raging inside her, Sloan approached, slipped his arm around her waist and led her to the SUV. “We’ll go and tell Sam the good news, shall we?”
Chapter Sixty-four
Alia could see that Sam was ecstatic when he learned his visitors would not be returning. He quickly fetched their belongings and passed both bags to Sloan. “How can I thank you for the peace you have given this family, Sloan?”
“No thanks needed, Samir, just doing my job.”
When Janna opened her mouth to argue, Alia held up her hand. “It’s a long story. And we’ll share it with you one day soon. For now, we need to get back to Kean and make sure he’s not too worried about me leaving him again tonight. The last time I did, he was kidnapped. I’m still a little nervous.”
They said their goodbyes and left. Sloan’s free arm rounded her waist but she knocked it away. “Stop it. They might be watching.”
“Dammit, woman. I’m telling everyone the truth tonight. I can’t keep my hands off you.”
“Sounds good to me.” She giggled and then ran in front of him as soon as he tried again to encircle her around the neck.
When they entered the house, they saw Kean engrossed in a Transformers movie, surrounded by a bunch of adults all with bowls of popcorn.
Seeing this and knowing that no one had paid any attention to their arrival, Sloan put his hand over her mouth gently and dragged her back into the kitchen where he kissed her so deeply, her legs lifted around his hips so her lower body could grind against his. Completely absorbed by the wonders of his mischievous tongue, she didn’t hear a thing until her son yelled, “Mo-om!”
Sloan’s arm stiffened and he let her down slowly. They stared for a second into each other’s eyes and then both turned to see five faces filled with various expressions.
Kean was horrified.
Don was laughing.
Libby, Roy and Les were all grinning like baboons.
Alia pushed Sloan in front of her and waited.
His hands came up as if to ward off enemies and he spoke calmly. “I can explain.”
Les’s smart-alecky “Uh, huh?” seemed to be the only response.
“First, I’m really not Alia’s stepbrother, we’re not actually related. Just pretending. It was the job.”
Kean appeared worried. “You’re not my uncle?”
“Nope. The FBI wanted us to act as if we were, so you and your mom could move in here with me. We were working undercover but that assignment is over as of tonight.”
Kean’s sudden sob and face full of tears shocked them all.
Roy, whose hand had shot out to cover Kean’s eyes, now shook his finger at Sloan, the anger in his tone most unusual. “Well, son, you’ve gone and done it now.”
***
Alia rushed to gather Kean close. “Why are you crying, honey?”
“Because we won’t be staying here with Sloan anymore, and I like living here. A lot.”
Sloan stepped into their space and crouched down next to them. “Hey kid, if I have my way and your mama agrees, you’ll never have to leave.”
Roy’s mood reversed and his happy chuckle caught her attention. She couldn’t help but notice the twinkle in those blue eyes that were so similar to hers and Kean’s.
A wave of fear suddenly swept over her. Son? Why did Roy refer to Sloan as his son? And then she remembered. Sloan had called Roy ‘Dad’ in the hospital. In fact, Sloan said that he had three dads and didn’t know for sure which one was his paternal father. Didn’t care. But if her suspicions were correct, that small detail could be a deal breaker to them ever being able to be together. She needed to find out the truth – right now – before they went any further with his plans.
Her heartbeats sped up. Taking a deep breath became impossible. Pain slammed into her almost doubling her over and a sick foreboding thrummed throughout her body.
She caressed Sloan’s cheek for a second and then shocked the hell out of everyone, including the man who had started to reach for her.
“Roy, can I see you alone for a minute?”
The room went silent. Sloan’s arm dropped and his questioning stare unnerved her but it didn’t stop her. Everyone else shuffled uncomfortably and Sloan picked up Kean who kept aiming his stare between his mom and the man who now held him. Then his small arms wrapped around Sloan’s neck and he hid his face.
Chapter Sixty-five
Roy, confused but willing, followed her to the bedroom she shared with Kean and she pulled out her laptop. In a few seconds, she found the files for her mother and held out the screen so he could read the information.
A cry broke from him, one that tore at her heartstrings. He dropped to the bed as if all the strength in his legs had vanished. She sat next to him.
His voice came out raspy, hoarse with emotion. “Who is this woman to you?” His blue lasers, the ones that reminded her of what she saw in the mirror every day, searched her expression.
“She’s my real mother, Roy. Her name is Scarlet Honor and she lived in San Francisco. According to the file I was able to obtain, she gave me up for adoption because her dream was to be an actress. Regrettably, she passed away two years later and was never able to achieve her goal.”
“Lordy, lordy.” He shook his head sadly. “How terrible. Scarlet was the reason I left San Francisco. She wouldn’t marry me, said she never wanted kids. All she wanted was to be an actress.”
“How long did you and Scarlet know each other?”
“We were together for six months, night and day. I thought we were in love. But when I wanted to get married, she refused. Said she had just been notified that her audition to act in a play on Broadway had been successful and it was the answer to all her dreams. I was stunned and heartbroken. I offered to wait but she would have none of it. Left me. Just walked out. I nev
er saw her again.”
“So you came to Honolulu.”
“I had to. Everywhere I went in ‘Frisco, I saw her. The memories were killing me.”
“When did you leave San Francisco?”
“It was two weeks after Christmas; January 1986.”
“I was born in August 1986.”
Roy’s stunned cry broke through within a few seconds, and his sob of joy left her in no doubt as to his delight. “You’re my daughter?”
“I believe so. We can always get a test—”
Stiffening, he gently took her face into his shaking hands and they stared into each other’s tear-filled eyes. His tender smile twisted her heart into a big, happy, glowing knot of love. “Do you truly feel that’s necessary?”
She whispered the words. “Not for one second.” They hugged. He rocked her and she patted his back. The feeling of sweet acknowledgement would never occur again and they both wanted to savor the moment.
Releasing each other, they again stared, grinned and he kissed her forehead so lovingly that the sniffles returned.
“How can a man be so blessed with an instant family? All in a few magical moments, I’m a father and a grandfather.” His unsteady hands cupped her face and his thumbs wiped away the tears on her cheeks. He gazed into her eyes. “How long have you suspected?”
“From when you told me about your earlier life in the sunroom. About the actress you wanted to marry in San Francisco but that she wanted a career.”
“This is the most wonderful thing that could have ever happened to me. I’m not even going to dwell on the years we’ve missed, the years I could have watched my child growing up.”
“You’ve never been a father before?” She held her breath, the sudden increase in her heart’s thudding came close to choking her.
His startled questioning look passed the conversation back to her.
“Sloan. He calls you ’Dad’. He has three fathers—”
“Oh, sweetheart. Now I know why you were so pale earlier, and it also accounts for your fearful expression when I called Sloan ‘son’.” He again wiped at the new deluge of tears. “Alia, I’m not his father.”
“But how do you know for sure? He said all three of you were with Wai.” Hope filled her and began to replace the ugly fear from moments earlier.
“Because, though I loved Wai, I was never in love with her and we never slept together. I was and always will be in love with your mother. So there is absolutely no chance that the boy is mine.”
“Why haven’t you ever told him? He believes that any one of you could be his dad.”
Roy’s cheeks filled with color and he lowered his head so he could break away from her searching gaze. “I never admitted to the others that we hadn’t been intimate. That way I had as much right to be Sloan’s father as Tommy and Les.” He held her shoulders firmly. “When he was first born and Wai needed a babysitter, she turned to me for help. And after she left, Tommy and Les did the same. As a farm boy with lots of siblings, I had the most experience and they were terrified they’d do something wrong. So, in those days, I ended up spending more time with him than either of the others. As the months went by, he became my boy as if he were of my blood. Never doubt it. I do consider him my son, but he is not your half-brother.”
“I can’t tell you how relieved I am, Roy. I mean Dad.” She grinned at his look of delight.
“Me too, sweetheart. Me too.”
Chapter Sixty-six
When Alia and Roy returned to the living room, the silence deepened as the others looked up expectantly. She felt their eyes trying to gauge her and Roy’s expressions.
The fact that Roy’s arm was wrapped around her waist and she leaned in close to her Santa-like father allowed them all to sigh with relief.
Kean was on Sloan’s lap snuggled in his arms, his expression revealing the fear all kids have of thinking maybe he’d done something wrong.
Les and Libby were sitting very close together on the couch, Les’s arm around her shoulder. Both looked quizzical and yet strained.
Don looked around the room, picking up the tension. “I’m outta here.” He waved and headed for the front door. It closed softly behind him.
Sloan’s face was pale, his eyes hard, but his hands were gentle as he rubbed Kean’s arm. “Wanna share your secret with the rest of us?”
Roy had Alia’s paper file that she’d given him to read in private. He held it up, waved it once, saying, “Of course we’ll tell you our news. You’re all family.”
Libby started to rise. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”
Les hauled her back into his hug. “Not so fast, woman. If I have my way and I usually do, soon you’ll belong in the circle as much as the rest of us. Let the old man ramble.”
Roy grinned at Les. “Tonight you can’t mess with me, you jackass. I’ve just learned that I’m a father and a grandfather, and nothing can blunt my happiness.”
“Say what?” Les came back at him, his body jackknifing forward.
“Alia is my daughter. Her mother was Scarlet Honor, the girl I left behind in San Francisco all those years ago. She was pregnant and never said a word. Broke off with me and gave our baby up for adoption.”
Kean sat up suddenly. “Does that mean you’re my real grandpa?”
“Yep. It sure does, boy. I’m your grandpa alright and I couldn’t be happier.” He went over to take Kean from Sloan and hugged the boy tight.
“Christ, we’ll never hear the end of this now.” Les’s unexpected comment made everyone laugh. Then he added another sentence and Alia saw Sloan’s reaction. “It’s a bloody good thing, I’ll be a grandpa too as soon as Sloan marries Alia. Or I’d have to shoot you to stop the crowing.”
Chapter Sixty-seven
Sloan couldn’t believe the words Les said. Was he admitting something, or just using his surrogate status to give him rights as Kean’s grandpa too?
“Les, do we need to talk?” He pinned Les with a hard stare and watched Les wither and then straighten his shoulders.
“You want we should go in there?” Les nodded his head at the room that Roy and Alia had just returned from.
“You got something to say to me?”
“Yeah. I guess I do.”
Sloan stood and waited for Les to pass in front of him and then he gestured to the others to give them a minute. As he passed Alia, he kissed her and whispered three words that lit up her face.
Les waited for him to close the door, his hands in his front jeans’ pocket, his stance solid, in the same way that Sloan often stood when he knew something was coming that he needed to be strong for.
For the first time in Sloan’s life, he saw fear lurking in Les’s straight-forward gaze. “So… I’m your real dad. Are you okay with that?”
Sloan felt a tremendous burst of happiness flood his body. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“How could I? After Tommy died, Roy needed you in his life as much as I did, maybe more. As long as he never knew for sure which one of us was your father, he could keep up the pretense.”
Sloan reached out to grip Les’s shoulder. “I knew you loved that old guy, I just never realized how much.”
“Look, kid. We were all there for you. Tommy – he needed you to cling to after Wai left. Without the belief that you were his son, he’d have drunk himself to death. And Roy… well, the sorry son of a bitch was so in love with Scarlet, he never even touched your mom. She told me so, and I believed her.”
“Why say anything now?” Sloan thought he knew but he just had to ask.
“Enough with the fucking secrets in this family. Besides, I couldn’t stand the thought of Roy’s bragging, ragging on me about his new status. Hell, if he’s gonna be a grandpa, then you’d better get that girl to the altar and make me one too as soon as it can be arranged.”
“Okay, Okay. Come here, you old bastard.” Sloan grabbed Les in the hug they’d often shared before but never with as much emotion.
“Go on, no
w. Go get your girl and tell her you love her.” Les gave Sloan a push toward the doorway.
“Hey, give me credit for being your son, Dad. I already did.”
***
Sloan entered the room first and headed straight to where Kean was comfy on his grandpa’s lap.
As soon as he saw Sloan, he reached for him, and once safely held in Sloan’s strong arms, he searched his face. “Are you going to be my dad?”
Sloan looked over at Alia and her happy nod lit up his insides. “Looks like it’s a yes, kid.”
Kean hugged him, then pulled away so he could look him in the eye. “I’m glad. I really lo-like you Sloan.”
“I lo-like you too, kid. A lot! But there’s one thing we need to get straight. Roy gets to keep the kitten, and you get to play with it when you’re at his house.”
Kean’s face fell but he nodded in agreement. “Okay.”
Sloan added, his tone serious, “The thing is – I’m allergic to cats but… I’ve got no problem with other animals.”
“You don’t?” Kean’s smile lit up his face, his blue eyes blazing with excitement.
“Nope. No problem at all. In fact, I’m kind of partial to puppies. And I know a great place where they always have a litter ready to sell. Deal?”
“Deal! I really, really like puppies.”
Afterword
Thank you so much for reading Special Agent Booker.
I loved writing this story and I hope you enjoyed reading it. If so, I would ask you for a favor. Wherever you purchased this book, please take a few minutes and leave an honest review. Authors enjoy hearing that readers like their stories, and hopefully, others will read your words and choose to buy the because of your sentiments.
My website at http://mimibarbour.com now has all my books listed with links to the various publishers to make it easy for you to return to where you bought the book and to find my other work.