by Lexi Blake
Who the fuck was Roman? What did Levi know that he didn’t?
“Hey, Levi’s coming up the hill and he’s got the cops with him,” Tucker shouted. “Owen’s almost here.”
Her uncle stepped back and allowed them in.
Kim took off again even as he heard the thud of the chopper. It would be coming from the south, hooking around to approach by sea.
He started to walk in. It looked like he would have to drag her away from whoever this Roman person was. He couldn’t assure the safety of some random man. Maybe it was a dog. He would be the bad guy if he made her leave her dog behind.
Her uncle stopped him, and for a moment he worried it was all a trick to keep them on the outside.
“You will take care of them, Mr. Kent?” Francis Bruno asked.
Shit. He was going to have to take them all. “Yes.”
The brother nodded and allowed them all to enter. “You must hurry. Despite what many believe, Maltese law is in force here. I can keep the police at bay for an hour at most, but they will and can come in.”
“I’ll have her out of here in five minutes,” he promised. “We’ll be in Sicily tonight.”
“Ezra will know where to go,” he said.
“What?” Did her uncle think he still went by Ezra’s name? He’d never met the man, but he was sure Kim had talked about him.
Theo pressed through before he could ask another question. “He needs to get that gate closed. We need to go.”
Tucker shook his head. “Rob and I are going to stay. We’ll see what he has to say. They won’t find anything on us. If we get taken in, Tag’ll send someone to get us out.”
Theo pulled his gun and pressed it into Rob’s hand. “He’s right. We’ll deal with the authorities. You get her out of here. Call Ian when you get wherever you’re going.”
He stepped back out and Francis closed the gate.
“Hurry,” Francis said. “I’ll slow them down, but you must leave. And Beckett, remember that forgiveness is next to godliness.”
He didn’t stop to ask what the brother meant by that. He had to get Kim and apparently all her friends out of here and find a way to get to Sicily in the middle of a storm. He stepped out from under the stone roof of the tunnel and onto the large plaza. It was big, and he didn’t know where Kim had gone. Fuck. Was she trying to get away again?
The chopper started a descent, and he could barely see Owen in the pilot’s seat. The ladder unrolled and he hoped whoever was coming with them had a steady stomach.
“Kim!” He shouted her name because they were running out of time.
She ran from behind another set of gates, and she wasn’t alone. He almost felt his heart stop. She had a child in her arms. Not a baby or a toddler. He had to be five.
Or six. Yes, that kid could be six. Six years and some change.
He felt like the breath had been knocked out of him. Then he knew it had been because a man came running behind her, carrying a bag and a backpack.
The rain didn’t matter. It couldn’t change his vision, couldn’t make him think that he was seeing a ghost. He knew that face, knew the set of those shoulders and the grim look in the man’s eyes.
His brother was running toward him. His brother. Her uncle hadn’t been mistaken when he’d spoken before. Her uncle had been talking about Ezra Fain, who was alive.
Forgiveness. This was what he’d been talking about.
Kim stopped a mere foot away and the child in her arms stared back at him, his arms around his mother’s neck. “I need to know you’ll protect him. I’ll explain everything, but I need you to take him. If you can’t stand to look at me, take him with you. Even if you can’t forgive me, please save our son. Roman, this is your dad and he’s going to make sure you’re safe.”
This is your dad.
Kim was talking about him. She hadn’t run because she was afraid of him. She’d run because she’d been desperate to get to her son. Their son.
“It’s true.” Ezra came to stand beside Kim. He was standing there as the rain shifted from pouring to a drizzle. “He’s your son, Beck. I know you’re angry with me. I promise I’ll explain everything, but I need to go with you. I can get us off the island. Hate me later. Save your wife and son now.”
He forced himself to move but his limbs felt numb. He didn’t have time to think. Owen couldn’t stay in that position for long, even though the storm seemed to be abating. They would have to move very quickly if he didn’t want to get taken in. What would Levi do to this boy? “Give him to me. I’ll take him up.”
The child—Roman—clung to his mother, but she whispered something to him and he let himself go into his father’s arms.
His son. He wrapped an arm around his son. “Hold on tight, son. I won’t let you go. I promise.”
Roman clung so tightly he nearly cut off Beck’s breath, but he climbed that ladder.
When the chopper took off, he was still holding his son.
Chapter Ten
Kim paced the small kitchen and wondered if Beck was going to completely ignore her. How long could he do it? The wait was making her sick, and that was saying something considering the fact that she’d spent two hours traveling by helicopter and then small ship in the middle of a storm.
She’d managed to be solid through all of it. She’d made it through Owen and Jax being utterly shocked at the sight of her. Well, she thought they were pretty prepared for her. It had been the sight of Roman and the real Ezra Fain that had thrown them. They hadn’t actually known who Ezra was until Beck had introduced him.
This is my brother who’s supposed to be dead. He’s been living with my ex and raising my child. He can get us a boat that isn’t being watched by Levi Green. Work with him.
That was all he’d said. Then he’d gone into one of the bedrooms of the safe house and changed clothes. When he’d come out, they’d immediately gotten into a van and traveled to a small marina where they’d made the passage to Sicily in rough waters, and then made their way to this small townhouse. Beck had stayed in the wheelhouse with Jax. Owen had proven that while he could fly almost anything, boats were not his thing.
Ezra had taken care of him, instructing Kim on how to hold pressure points to alleviate Owen’s nausea until he’d been able to find Dramamine.
Her son had proven he was far more tired than scared. Once he’d had a blanket wrapped around him, he’d fallen asleep, and was now tucked into the little bedroom along with his uncle.
The whole time spent crossing to Sicily she’d managed to concentrate on helping Owen and watching over Roman. Now things were quiet, and she couldn’t quell the questions in her head.
Why was Beck here? How the fuck had Levi found her? Who’d found her first? Because it was too much to believe that they’d both coincidentally shown up at the same time.
She’d lost it all again. No more bookshop. No more quaint school for Roman. No more afternoon teas in the sun.
She might lose her son, too.
“Hey, you okay?” Jax stood in the doorway. “We didn’t get much of a chance to talk since we had to get out of Malta so fast.”
Jax. She wanted to ask about River, wanted to know how the last seven years had gone for the woman she considered to be a good friend. But they hadn’t parted on great terms. By the last time she’d seen River, they were friendly, but it was obvious River hadn’t forgotten her lies.
“I’m okay. How’s Owen doing?”
“Better, thanks to you and Ezra. He’s sleeping now. Remind me not to take him white water rafting.” Jax moved in, grabbing a coffee mug. “Is there enough for me?”
She was happy he wasn’t worried about her drugging it. At one point he might have. “Of course. There’s sugar and some creamer. It’s a powder though.”
Jax grinned. “Oh, I’m not picky. I’ll take what I can get. I spend a lot of time making coffee over a campfire. I’m used to instant and powdered everything.” He poured himself a mug. “I suspect you won’t say anythin
g more than you personally are fine. So as one parent to another, how is your son?”
She felt tears fill her eyes. There was something else she hadn’t thought about. Not that she hadn’t wondered over the years, but she’d grown to believe she would never see River and Jax again. Never see Ariel. “You and River have kids?”
“Yeah,” he said with a glowing smile. “Two boys. My oldest turns six next month. His name is Caden, and then Rio is four. I’ve got some pictures on my laptop I can show you later.”
She felt her heart constrict. “I love the names. Rio for River.”
“Yeah, she picked Caden. I got to pick our second son’s name. She was very much against it. She thinks he’s either going to be a cowboy or a male stripper.” Jax chuckled. “I wanted to name him after his mom.”
She was not going to cry. If she let go, she might never stop. “I think it’s a beautiful name. Are you still in Bliss?”
“Yes. We’re still in our cabin by the Rio Grande, though we did add on. We’ve now got a third bedroom and a garage.” Jax set his mug down. “I know. It’s impressive. Nell protested my use of materials, but we have a fully functional garage.”
She wanted to ask about everyone in Bliss. “It must have changed a lot over the years. I bet I wouldn’t recognize it.”
Jax snorted as though that was an inconceivable thought. “Nah. Everything’s pretty much the same except there’s a school in town now and way more kiddos. Big Tag bought a cabin and they come up a couple of times a year. There’s a few new residents, but Bliss is still Bliss.” He sobered. “River told me to send you her love.”
She sniffled, trying to clear her eyes. “She doesn’t still hate me?”
Jax reached out and covered her hand with his big one. “She never hated you. She was tossed into a world she didn’t understand, and it threw her for a loop for a while. She’s home and back to being River again. She wants you to know that we would both love for you to come out and spend time with us. She misses you. She’ll be more excited when she finds out about Roman. I think he would like our boys.”
She nodded and couldn’t help but shed one of the tears in her eyes. “He would love them. He would love Bliss. Did I see Tucker and Rob? Is he still with Ariel?”
“We’re all still together, though we’ve spread out a bit. Owen and Rebecca are in Sweden for her work. He’s staying home with their two kids. I have no idea how those kids are going to survive,” he said with a sparkle in his eyes. “Tucker and Roni opened a clinic in Wyoming. They’re up to three kiddos. I think he’s trying to beat Big Tag’s army. Theo was there. He and Erin stopped at two. They’re still in Dallas.”
“And Rob?” She asked about Rob, but she was really desperate to hear that Ariel was happy.
A tender expression came over Jax’s face as though he knew what she was truly asking. “Ariel and Rob are still at The Garden. She had a baby ten weeks ago or I assure you she would be here. A girl they named…”
“Daraja. She always told me she would name a daughter Daraja.” Oh, she wanted to meet Ari’s baby girl. She would be as gorgeous and fierce and amazing as her mother.
“That’s her name. I haven’t met her yet but Rob’s got pictures. She’s beautiful. It should tell you how much they care that Rob’s here.”
“Did Beck ask you to help him?”
“Yes, but this is about you, too. I assure you I wouldn’t have left my wife and kids if Beck had just wanted to do a job. I’m out of that life. Many of us are, but we’re back here because we care about you and Beck.”
“When did he stop using Ezra’s name?” She’d been surprised when Owen and Jax had called him by his real name. At first she feared he’d done it because the real Ezra was alive, but neither man had hesitated or corrected themselves. They were used to calling him by his given name.
“A long time ago. We got together after it was safe for us to. Those first couple of years were rough because of the pandemic. But we kept in touch and when it was safe, we had a reunion in London and Ezra was suddenly going by Beck. I think he’d been Beck for a year by then,” Jax said, his voice low. “He’s a different man. He’s put in a lot of work.”
“Work?”
There was a sound from the doorway, and she looked up. Beck was standing there, looking all big and manly, and she wanted to wrap her arms around him and beg his forgiveness. But forgiveness wasn’t Beck’s strong point, and there wouldn’t be any of it for her. All her sins were laid out, and she feared his vengeance might be swift.
“Jax, I just got off the phone with Tag. He’s worried he’s got a leak in the office now,” Beck said. “If you could reach out and let him know you’ll help in any way, I would appreciate it. He might need an outsider, if you know what I mean.”
“Of course. I’ll call. I don’t think we have Wi-Fi here.” Jax pushed his chair back. “Tell me we’re not staying for long.”
“Theo’s working on it,” Beck explained.
“They didn’t get arrested?” She had to know if she was the reason Rob and Tucker and Theo had been thrown into jail.
“Your uncle is a quick talker,” Beck allowed. “According to Theo, once Levi realized you were gone, your uncle started in on the cops and pointed out that they were working with the CIA, who have no jurisdiction. Apparently Levi had given them some kind of story that fell apart pretty fast. So the good news is our guys are safe.”
Jax sighed. “And the bad news is Levi’s in the wind, and he’ll be looking for us. We need to move again. Do we have a way to get her back to the States?”
“I don’t think Dallas is a good idea. It’s the first place Levi will look,” Beck replied. “And he’ll have resources there. I know he’s not supposed to work in the States, but he’ll have friends who can.”
“I wasn’t thinking of Dallas. I meant she could come back to Bliss with me,” Jax replied.
Her heart leapt at the thought. And then she remembered that she would be bringing Levi down on all their heads. “No. I can’t go back to Colorado. It’s the second place he would look. I think he knows how much I loved it there.”
Beck’s jaw tightened but he moved into the kitchen. “I don’t think the States are going to be safe at this point. If Levi hadn’t shown up, I might have taken the risk, but he knows we’re involved, and he’ll have eyes out. Rob is making arrangements, but he’s going to need help. I set up a satellite connection for you. I assure you it’s better than Wi-Fi.”
Jax’s eyes lit up. “Thank god. It’s been a couple of hours. I don’t like being disconnected.”
He winked her way and then took his coffee and went back to the front room, leaving her alone with Beck.
She’d wanted him to say something, but now that they were here, she had the greatest desire to slink away and postpone this argument forever.
“Are you in love with him?”
She frowned. “Why would I be in love with Jax?”
“My brother. Are you in love with him?” Beck walked in and poured himself a cup of the dark coffee she’d brewed after she’d put Roman in bed.
“Of course not.” She should have expected this. When she looked at it logically, she could understand the question. “Roman isn’t Ezra’s son. I was pregnant when I went to Malta, though I didn’t know about it until a couple of weeks after I got there.”
Beck frowned her way. “I wasn’t saying that. He’s obviously mine. I thought you were on birth control.”
She felt herself flush. “I was. I had an implant. I was supposed to get it changed out every four years, and my four years were up. I didn’t think about it and I hadn’t been home in months, so I didn’t get the handy reminder. Things were kind of crazy after we found all that information. It looked like my job was on the line and I was told to stay in London. So I guess I wasn’t very careful.”
Beck’s expression softened. “He looks a lot like my dad. Ezra and I share a mom, not a dad. But you hid Ezra from me for a very long time, and when you ran, you ran
to him.”
“He was with my uncle. Ezra’s been with my uncle for the last ten years. Before that he was, well he should tell you that story,” she replied, a bit surprised he wasn’t demanding a paternity test. “Have you talked to him?”
His jaw tightened and he sat down at the table, mug in hand. “I need to calm down. I say things I don’t really mean when I get angry. I’m very angry right now.”
She hadn’t imagined he wouldn’t be, though she’d rather thought he would come in yelling and threatening to burn the world. “I’ll go and try to get some sleep then.”
“Kim, please sit down. I have questions. I won’t lose my temper. I promise.”
But he had to be really angry. Volcanically angry. Still, he was here, and she had questions too. “How did you find me?”
“Hutch and Adam found you,” he replied. “Hutch connected you to Francis Bruno, which led Adam to check the CCTV cameras around Malta.”
She forced herself to take a deep breath because she wasn’t going to cry. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t cry around him again. He wouldn’t view it as anything but a manipulation. “I shouldn’t have bought the shop. That was my mistake. Having any kind of a life. I didn’t for a long time. I stayed in the residence. I didn’t actually leave it until it came time to go to the hospital and have Roman. I guess I thought no one would care after a while. Time is funny when you’re stuck in one place. It goes by slow, and then one day you look up and a year is gone.”
“I understand the feeling. Sometimes it feels like that day was yesterday, and others I’m sure a hundred years have passed since Paris.”
There was an ocean of time between them, but she still felt like not a moment had gone by. He looked the same except for a bit of gray at his temples. She still saw the young man she’d fallen so madly in love with. This was the danger of being anywhere close to Beckett Kent. She forgot all her good sense and longed to be the twenty-two-year-old idiot she’d been when she’d fallen for him. She needed to focus on the problem at hand. “How do you think Levi found me? Do you think he followed you? Or did you follow him? He was in the bookstore before you.”