by CJ Bishop
“What’re they saying?” John spoke in hushed tones, sitting cross-legged on the bed, hands flexing.
Donald pressed his ear to the cracked door, catching only an intelligible word here and there. “I don’t know. They’re talking too low.”
“Clint said it was important?”
“Yeah.” Donald gave up and eased the door closed, joining John on the bed.
“You don’t think they’d leave again so soon… do you?”
“I hope not.”
“I mean, they just got home.”
Someone knocked quietly on the door.
“Yeah?” Donald said.
The door pushed open and Tae crept in. “Why is Clint here so early?”
John motioned him to the bed, and he crawled up between them. “We don’t know. But I’m sure everything is okay.”
“I heard Cochise say something about finishing the job,” Tae said. “What job? Are they gonna leave again?” His eyes dampened.
Donald wrapped his arm around the boy’s shoulders. “Don’t start worrying. If something comes up, they’ll tell us.”
“Yeah.” John rubbed his back. “And whatever happens, we’re all here for each other. We’ll deal with it as a family.”
Tae laid his head on Donald’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re my family. When I was adopted from Korea, I thought I was going to finally have a family… then I was sold to Earl, and I thought I never would.”
“Those days are over and gone,” John told him. “You’re forever a part of our family now.”
“And since you’re our brother…” Donald squeezed the boy against him, grinning. “… you are required to tell us what is going on with you and that cutie, Noel.” If anything got his mind off Cochise and Clint, it would be talk of Noel.
Tae blushed beet red and ducked his head. “I don’t know.”
“Oh, come on,” John teased. “Noel took one look at you and fell head over heels in love with you. What we want to know is—did you fall, too? ’Cause, it sure looked like it to us.”
“I-I don’t know. I mean…” A shy smile pursed his lips. “… yeah… I think so.”
“You think?” Donald ribbed playfully.
Tae shrugged, his voice quiet, mumbled. “I’ve never liked anyone before… like that. I-I don’t know what it feels like to… to fall in love.”
Donald exchanged a look with John and smiled. “It’s the most wonderful feeling in the world. If this thing with you and Noel is the real thing, it won’t take you long to figure it out. You’ll start thinking about him twenty-four seven.”
John gazed at Donald. “Just the thought of seeing him or even hearing his voice on the phone will make your heart go crazy.”
His eyes holding on John, Donald added, “Pretty soon, you’ll be thinking of all the things you can do to make him smile, make him happy—and nothing else will matter more than that.”
Tae gazed down at his hands, thoughtful. “I… I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him since he left yesterday. I hardly slept all night.”
“Losing sleep over him.” John nodded. “That’s a classic sign you got it bad.”
“Do you think he couldn’t sleep, either?”
Donald laughed. “Oh, absolutely. I’d bet big money that he tossed and turned all night thinking about you and planning another sleepover at Luke’s just so he can see you again.”
Tae fidgeted. “What if he falls in love with Luke instead?”
“Nope.” John shook his head. “Not going to happen. Luke is like his brother. He would’ve known by now if he liked Luke any other way.”
Though Tae tried to hide it by ducking his head—both Donald and John noted the huge smile that spread across their little brother’s face.
• • •
“Was that Clint I heard?” Kane curled up to the Egyptian when he shed his clothes and returned to bed.
“Yeah.”
“Is everything all right?”
Cochise’s hesitation ignited Kane’s nerves.
“What’s going on?”
“We’ll talk about it later when we get up.” He turned onto his side and pushed closer to Kane, kissing him on the mouth. “I don’t want to think about anything right now, except what I’m going to do to you.”
Cochise became evasive with things he wasn’t eager to talk about—and often used sex to distract Kane. Most of the time, it worked. This morning was no exception.
The Egyptian sank beneath the covers, sliding down between Kane’s legs, and went to work with hands and mouth. Kane shivered and his heart stuttered as the big man sucked him in an inch at a time. Kane shoved his hands under the blankets and gripped Cochise’s head, spread his legs wider, and rocked his engorged flesh into his lover’s throat.
“Oh my God…” His eyelids fluttered a bit and toes tingled and curled. “Shit…”
Pulling off him, Cochise shoved up over the top of Kane and, with a quick coating of his cock, buried himself to the hilt inside Kane.
“Uh!” Kane sucked in a sharp breath, as he always did when filled with the Egyptian’s massive erection.
Cochise settled on top of him, elbows resting against the bed on either side of Kane’s head, and rotated his hips—no thrusting, just a firm swirling of hardness inside him, stimulating his prostate.
Shivers coursed through Kane and he squeezed his inner thighs to Cochise’s flanks as he dragged his short nails up the man’s muscular back—letting out a long, tense groan. That’s all it took. The Egyptian growled and thrust—deep, hard, fast.
Kane gouged his back, panting into his thick shoulder muscle, the bed shaking furiously beneath them. Somewhere in the back of his hazed mind, Kane was glad he’d opted for the metal bed frame rather than the wood—the Egyptian’s fucking would have reduced it to splinters.
Grunts erupted from Cochise, his breath ragged and hot on Kane’s throat, his momentum building. The sheer friction of their hard, tense bodies raking together—pinning Kane’s erection between them—shoved Kane to the edge. His fingers dug into hot, sweaty muscle and his muscular legs wrapped his zealous lover, ankles hooking, heels grinding into the Egyptian’s hard, flexing ass cheeks.
No decipherable words made it to open air—just a cacophony of guttural animal sounds as they fucked each other to a mind-blowing orgasm.
When Cochise finally fell heavily to the bed beside his betrothed, Kane sucked in a few deep, labored breaths and rasped, “That better not have been a goodbye fuck.”
The Egyptian lay next to him, panting and unresponsive.
• • •
When Clint returned from next door, Axel was back in bed, Hope with him. He found Axel awake, though their baby daughter had quieted her fussing and was deep asleep.
Axel left the bed, tucking a wall of pillows around the infant, and followed Clint into the living room. “Did you call Alvarez?”
“Yes. We’ll meet him at the mansion tomorrow morning.”
“Anthony and Angelo?”
“I called them and set it up. I also contacted Cruz and asked him and Sanchez to join us.”
Axel sat on the sofa. “How long do you think we’ll be gone?”
“No idea.” Clint sat next to him. “I don’t know where this sanctuary is located. If it’s up north, we could have an issue with weather and road conditions.”
Axel leaned forward and rested his mouth in his palm. “Do you think there will be danger from other people?”
“I don’t know. Possibly.” Clint sank against the sofa and ran his hand up Axel’s back. “I know I said I was bringing you with me, but if you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. You know I feel safest when you’re looking after our kids. The choice is yours.”
Sinking onto Clint’s chest, Axel laid his head on his shoulder. “I can’t be away from you again so soon.” He drew Clint’s arm around him and kissed his hand. “I don’t want to be away from our kids, either, but there’s plenty of family who will look after them and kee
p them safe. I need to be with you.” He swallowed. “Maybe it would be different if you’d been home for a while before you had to leave again, but not when you’ve only been back for a couple of days.” Axel pushed closer to the cowboy. “I’m going with you.”
Clint nodded, his voice lowering to a whisper. “All right.” He kissed his head. “We do this one together.”
CHAPTER 2
His stomach churned, rejecting the thought of breakfast. The same agent who took them away before—wanted them to leave again? Now? Kane wasn’t feeling the least bit agreeable.
“It won’t be like before.” Standing at the counter, flipping pancakes on the electric griddle, one could almost imagine the Egyptian domesticated. He wasn’t—and their topic of conversation confirmed it. “Last time, we disappeared. Not this time. We can keep in touch.”
But you won’t be “here.” It was that detail Kane couldn’t accept.
Cochise removed the pancakes and stacked them on a plate, then set aside the spatula and gripped the edge of the counter. “If we don’t go…” He looked at Kane, his gray eyes troubled. “… those kids we saved from the prison—everything we did there—will be in vain. They will be re-trafficked.”
The direness of the situation placed Kane in a helpless position. He wanted Cochise home with his family but couldn’t ask him to stay. Couldn’t even think about asking. Maybe some people could—not Kane. Not when it involved children.
Of course, he couldn’t—wouldn’t—object to their mission. That didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt like hell to let him go.
“I know you have to go,” Kane said. “I don’t need you to make me understand—I understand. We’ll deal with it.”
Cochise pushed breath between tight teeth. “I told you I wouldn’t be leaving again soon.”
“You didn’t think you would be. It doesn’t mean you’re breaking your word. You’re not. Situations arise that we have no control over. We adjust.”
Kudos to you for sounding so compliant.
The look on the Egyptian’s face tore at Kane’s heart; he knew Kane wanted him here, that his entire family wanted him home with them. Kane knew what he was thinking.
He moved closer and hugged the man from behind. “You’re not choosing the job over your family.” He pressed his lips to the back of his head. “You’re not letting us down or putting us second to anything.” Turning the Egyptian around, Kane kissed his lips. “This is something you have to do. And if we, as your family, can’t understand that… then maybe we don’t deserve you.”
Cochise sank against the counter and wrapped his arms around Kane. “Do you wish I were an average, everyday man with a nine-to-five job? None of this other shit to disrupt our lives?”
Kane smiled. “First, you’ll never be an average, everyday man. I knew you were extraordinary the day I met you, and that will never change. Second…” He touched brows with Cochise. “… you being who you are… doing what you do… saves lives. Saves children. Carmen, Roberto, baby Camille—they wouldn’t be here if not for you. That girl Jesse… because of you, she’s home with her fiancé. The other girls, the kids, the people at the border station—they’re all alive because you’re not an average man with an average job.” Kane cupped his face and kissed his mouth. “The world needs extraordinary men like you and Clint. And those of us who get to call ourselves your family… we’re the blessed ones. We will stand by you no matter what may come—and never make you feel like you’re letting us down because you’re out there saving the world.”
Cochise sighed, a small smile playing across his lips. “Saving the world?”
“Yes—saving the world… one innocent life at a time.”
• • •
Luke fidgeted, hands flexing in his lap. “You’re both leaving?”
Axel wrapped his arm around the boy. “There are a lot of kids out there who need our help. And families who can’t go back to where they came from because it’s too dangerous.”
“I understand that,” Luke whispered and glanced at the cowboy. “But Clint just got home.”
“Luke.” Clint took a seat next to him. “Son… you know I wouldn’t be leaving again so soon if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. The kids we saved could end up back in the hands of traffickers if we don’t get them someplace safe. You know what kind of life that is for a child. For anyone.” He cupped the back of Luke’s head and kissed his hair. “I was so glad to come home,” he spoke low, “and I was looking forward to spending time with you and Hope. I missed you like crazy. I don’t want to go, but I have to.”
Luke hung his head. “I know. But…” He looked up at Axel. “… why do you have to go, too?”
“They need all the help they can get.”
“Can I come with you?” Luke brightened. “I can help.”
“No,” Clint intercepted. “We’ll do our job much better knowing you’re safe at home.”
“Is the job dangerous?” Luke looked worried. “What if something happens to you? To both of you?”
“Nothing is going to happen to us. We’ll watch each other’s back, take care of one another. And we’ll both come home when we finish the job.”
“Promise?”
The two men exchanged a look. Axel hugged the boy. “We promise.”
Luke looked at Clint expectantly.
The cowboy nodded. “I promise.”
There were no guarantees, and Axel forced away imagined scenarios that resulted in them not making it home. Clint had always come home. He would again. Axel, too. No way in hell they would orphan their children.
Anything or anyone that tried to stop them from returning to their family—would meet an ugly fate. Of that, Axel was confident.
• • •
Luciana sat cross-legged on the sofa, her son engulfed in her arms, hugging him to her chest. Since getting him back from the traffickers, she had hardly let go of him. The boy didn’t seem to mind, though he tried to put on a brave face. Javier wished he had more time to spend with his nephew, to help him understand that it was okay to admit his fears and trauma.
But it was almost time to leave again. He had hoped that once he brought Pedro back to his mother, Javier could stay home with them and figure out where to go from here. He looked at the woman on the sofa, clinging to her son. A movie played on the TV and Pedro watched, though his boyish face remained tense and his eyes vacant. Was his mind stuck back at the prison? Javier hoped that wasn’t the case but feared that it was.
His thoughts returned to Luciana. She didn’t watch TV—she watched him as he sat at the table and studied the road map. She wanted him at home… not out there where danger lurked at every turn. Releasing her son with visible reluctance, she left the sofa and came to the table. Luciana rested her hands on his shoulders and kissed the top of his head.
“You saved my son,” she whispered in Spanish. “He’s safe. Why do you have to go away again?”
She knew why and she understood—Javier was aware. Her fears caused her to cling to him as well as her son.
“Those families need our help.” He reached up and took hold of her hand, bringing it to his lips. “They need someone to care what happens to them… and there’s no one else.” He drew her around to sit on his lap and she wrapped her arms around his neck, laying her head on his shoulder. She was perfect in every way—his brother never deserved a woman like her… or a son like Pedro. It sickened Javier to admit that his flesh-and-blood brother had been as worthless and corrupt as the men Javier had hunted and put away during his career as a legit agent.
He’s gone now and Luciana loves you—she always did.
Javier held her closer and pressed a soft kiss to her throat. “I won’t stay gone any longer than necessary.” She raised her head, and he kissed her lips. “I have good men watching my back. I’ll be okay.”
Luciana pressed her palms to his cheeks and gazed into his eyes. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
She glanced at her
son—now huddled in her spot, wrapped in a soft blanket. A look came over her face that he couldn’t interpret.
“You and Pedro will be safe while I’m gone,” he said. “I’ll have someone keep an eye on you, but you have nothing to fear. You and Pedro are here legally, no one will try to send you back.”
“I know,” she whispered. That look remained as she stared at her son.
“Are you worried about Pedro? How he’s handling everything?”
She hesitated. “Yes…”
But that wasn’t the reason for the look.
“Is there something else?”
Another hesitation. “I…” She sighed and moved from his lap. “I’ll talk to you about it later.” She leaned down and kissed him. “I promise.”
Javier cleared his throat. “Should I be concerned?”
“No,” she whispered, then smiled and touched his face. “Nothing to be concerned about.”
There was no “lie” in her eyes and that eased his fears.
He thought about the diamond ring stashed away in his dresser drawer and wondered if he should let her go first and tell him her thing… before he told her his thing.
Ladies first.
He would wait.
• • •
Just before noon, Clint and Cochise headed into the city to finalize arrangements with Anthony and Angelo concerning the agent’s arrival.
Zoe showed up on Axel’s back porch soon after they left.
“Do you know what’s going on?” She grabbed a soda from his fridge. “Something is going on with Cochise and Clint.”
“Cochise hasn’t said anything to you guys?”
“He has to Uncle Kane, I think, but neither of them has told us anything.” She opened her soda and stared at Axel. “You know, don’t you?”
Axel nodded; he didn’t lie to his best friend if he could help it.
She sat at the table, her body tense. “What is it?”
“They’re leaving again.”
“What?” Zoe’s face pinched. “Are you kidding me?”