by Camryn Rhys
His father was dead. The father he’d never known. The man who had kept his mother captive, who’d raped her. Did he care?
“I think so,” he whispered back.
Rain continued to talk over them, with Francis, but Marco had tuned out. He turned around and took Aria in his arms and brushed his lips over hers. Her groan turned up in laughter as he slid his tongue into her mouth.
“You are too predictable.” She bit his lip and nipped little kisses down his neck. Near his ear, she said, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“A father I never knew is now dead. I’m not sure what to feel.” He touched her forehead with his. “I know that I’m home here.”
Her lips spread into a smile. “Francis has been like my father since I was a girl. He can be your father, too.”
Marco glanced across the bright kitchen and couldn’t help feeling grateful for the round-faced man who turned his old wedding ring over and over on his finger while he tried to lead an old and storied pack through the aftermath of a madman’s actions. He was a good man. He had a good daughter, and a good niece.
“I like that option,” he said, lowering his lips to Aria’s again, breathing in her warmth and love, and turning his back on Adrian Rossi.
Forever.
“Lani?”
Her name rolled softly on her mate’s lips. She’d never tire of it, but it was different this time. This was the call the pack had stayed up all night with her to wait for.
Her new mother-in-law squeezed her hand and nodded toward the small silver piece of technology that she still didn’t quite understand.
“You can do this, mija.”
Daughter.
Teresa had taken her in with so much love and affection, it frightened her at first. Then made her angry. Then made her sad. Her own mother had never called her daughter with so much regard.
In her own broken way, she’d cared for her, but it had never been like this. Lani hadn’t realized what a family could truly be until Tomás had shown her his home. Introduced to all the people he called family. They protected each other much like her tribe back on the mountain, but here life was not so harsh.
She was allowed to make choices about everything. No one tried to force her to do something she didn’t want. No one ordered her about.
Teresa had sat in silence with her the first few days.
Tomás had hovered, paced, and worried. But his mother told him to leave each day to help his father with the ranch and she’d just sat there across from her, making baskets from straw. Never speaking. Just waiting for Lani to be ready, weaving that straw in and out, in and out, growing the bowl of the basket deeper and deeper.
After three days, she’d moved closer to Teresa and picked up straw to make a basket of her own. For two days and five baskets later, she’d finally been able to talk. Finally been able to reach for the love her mother-in-law offered.
Lani reached for the phone, but her hand trembled and it slipped from her palm.
Tomás picked up the phone from the hay bale where it’d fallen and pressed the screen. A familiar male voice came through the speaker. “It’s alright, love.” Tomás’ words were like balm on her chapped soul.
She loved his parents and this pack. Over the past three weeks they’d shown her how completely they’d accepted her. But Tomás had been her rock. Fate had truly blessed her.
“Citlani?”
She recognized Rain’s voice. “I’m here,” she croaked. Had the murderer escaped? Had more innocents died? Or was the monster who’d viciously murdered her mother paid with his life?
“It’s over. He is dead.”
Air rushed from her lungs. The whole barn was silent. Dozens of men and women waited for her. Awake until the early hours of the morning, just so she would feel their support. Their love.
She’d never felt so much love. All their faces watched her, calm, not judging. She could scream. Laugh. Cry with joy. And they would still just be there. No matter what choice she made. They’d still be there.
Lani was going to make it through this because of Tomás and his family. And his pack. Life was going to be good, better than it’d ever been before.
“Thank you.”
“I hope you find peace, Citlani.”
She looked up into her mate’s warm brown eyes. Tears welled and cascaded down her cheeks. “I already have,” she answered. She squeezed Teresa’s hand, smiled at Tomás, and then up at his father who sat just behind him. “I’ve found a good home where I am loved.”
Luther Frost ran his hand along the white fiberglass hull of the White Pearl for the last time. When Alex had come to the hospital and told Luther they had used his old home to transport the girls from Rossi’s island, a swell of pride had cascaded through him. He liked the idea of it being used for good.
After having been used for evil, for so long. Even unwittingly, it didn’t matter. It was still evil.
“You have something face,” Maggie said, stepping onto the dock beside him. She slid her hand into his and the warm ocean air ruffled her short hair. “What’s wrong?”
He patted the hull again. “It’s strange, Mag. I haven’t had a home since Boston.” He gazed out over the rolling water and leaned against the boat, pulling Maggie into his side. “When I was on the run, it was one job after another—Vadik could tell you, I was a mess. But somehow, Rossi saved me from that. I don’t know why, and now that I know who he really was…I…”
“You don’t have to say it,” she said, touching his chest and rubbing at the fabric that covered him. “I can feel the ache.”
“It’s still confusing, to feel so much gratitude for a man who basically ruined every life he touched.” Luther shook his head and leaned it back against the boat. The sun was low in the sky, giving the ocean vista a purplish-gold look. Clouds streaked across, like white streaks on a bright canvas.
The island was out there, still. Sitting in the hot sun all day. Dead bodies everywhere. They may have gotten the live ones out, but the dead would remain until the enforcers or the Rangers went to clear them out.
Rossi himself was there, somewhere. The details of the raid had been fuzzy, even after Alex had told and re-told what he’d heard.
“You think Hannah’s okay?” Maggie leaned her forehead on Luther’s chest. “I can’t even imagine.”
“We can go over to the landing strip and see her if you want.” He stroked her back as they stared off into the horizon together. “I just wanted to come and say goodbye to the old girl before we get on the plane with Dani.”
“Rain swears she’s okay.” Maggie’s voice took on a far away quality after he said Dani’s name. She had cried when they first told her about Niko, and her eyes were still somewhat red-rimmed, even hours later. She and Andrea had held each other and sobbed, but nothing could be done.
He was gone.
Even Donovan and Alex had gotten emotional when they heard. And someone was going to have to tell Niko’s family. Luther was glad not to have that job.
“Well, I think we should go.” Luther pushed off from the hull. No sense prolonging an already sad goodbye. He touched the fiberglass one last time. “You’ve been a good home.”
He threw his arm around Maggie and walked down the dock. His footsteps sounded hollow on the wood, and seemed to echo around them as they landed. When they turned to walk up toward the parking lot, a familiar face was darting through the vehicles toward them.
“Alex!” Maggie called out. “We’re over here.”
“There you are.” He jogged up to them and put his hand on Luther’s shoulder. “Hang on. Julianna is right behind me.”
“What’s wrong?” Maggie’s pulse began to thunder and Luther squeezed her to help her settle.
The pace of the last couple of months had worn on her. It was going to be a challenge to stop seeing crises everywhere she turned.
“They just released Andrea and Clara from the hospital.” Alex held up a hand to shield his eyes from the low sun. “I
think the Rangers are going to bring most of the kids to the hotel so we can put them up until the alpha council decides what to do with them.”
“Julianna is okay with that?” Maggie asked.
“Hell, it was her idea.” Alex glanced behind him and a smile spread across his face when he saw his mate weaving through the last of the cars to join him. “Here she is.”
“What do you think the alphas will do with them?” Luther said.
“We’re not sure.” Alex opened his arms and Julianna stepped beside him, mirroring his smile.
“I’m so glad we caught you,” she said, reaching for Luther’s hand.
He took hers, but felt something hard inside. He turned his palm up and found a big silver key. “What’s this?”
Julianna and Alex exchanged a warm glance. She put her hand on her belly, resting it there like every pregnant woman seemed to do, naturally. There was a part of him that couldn’t wait to see Maggie with that glow. Someday. Soon.
“It’s the key to the White Pearl,” Julianna said.
Luther turned it over and over in his hand. He should’ve known it felt familiar. But it had been so long since he’d held it. He’d forgotten.
“We’re giving you and Maggie the boat.” Alex patted Maggie’s shoulder and she jumped forward, wrapping her arms around his neck. He grunted and walked back with the force of her hug.
“Oh, Alex,” she sighed. “You don’t know what this means.”
Luther’s throat closed up with emotion and tears burned up his nose. He tried to hold them back, pulling his brows together to stop them, but a little water leaked into the corners of his eyes. “Really?”
Julianna closed her hand over his and squeezed. “I don’t need it. And frankly, I’d like to know that it’s being put to some good use.”
He gripped the key, hard. No one had ever been this generous to him before, not in his entire life. Maggie clung to his side, smiling up at him with that infectious, spritely smile of hers.
God, he loved her.
“How can I repay you for this?” he said, feeling the emotion crawl up into his voice. “I don’t have a lot of money.”
“You don’t have to pay us for anything.” Julianna leaned into her mate’s arms, the contented look of impending motherhood brightening her face. “If you didn’t take it, it would rot here. This way, at least I know it’s out in the world doing some good.”
He slid the key into his pocket and shook Alex’s hand, then Julianna’s again. “I can’t ever thank you enough.”
Maggie gripped him hard and looked up into his eyes, overwhelming him with how much he loved her. He pressed a kiss to her lips and she giggled against his mouth.
“You know what this means,” she whispered into his mouth, returning his kiss with a fervor that made him forget the rest of the world. Maggie grazed his cheek with her hands and electricity fired through him.
“What?” he asked.
Her eyes lit up with that mischievous audacity he loved about her, and she smiled. “Road trip.”
“I’ve spoken to our food supplier, and let them know how many children we have, and that they are staying at the resort indefinitely until other arrangements can be made. The chef said he needed at least two extra people hired for the kitchen. And we need extra staff to care for them as well,” Diana said, reading from the tablet in her lap.
“Yes, anything we need. I’ll approve it. Are the extra beds and furniture on the way?” Julianna asked, rubbing her belly. The baby didn’t show yet, but she could feel the hard little ball inside her abdomen when she rubbed.
“Yes ma’am. Everything is in place and the contractor said the furniture will start arriving by this afternoon.”
“Good. Thank you.”
Her assistant rose from the couch in the penthouse.
Julianna hadn’t been able to rent out this place since sharing it with Alex. When the Rangers had brought back all the kids from the island, she’d need to be in the hotel to help monitor their care.
She’d had Diana move all her things and Alex’s back to this suite. It was temporary. Once her father’s estate had been liquefied and divided, then put into trust funds to care for all his children, she fully intended to return to Miami with her mate.
It was time to leave all this pain behind and start fresh.
Alex missed his family terribly. She could see it in his face every time he got on the phone with his mother or one of his siblings. She just hoped they’d accept her. She wasn’t a wolf. But her child would be.
Scary and exciting at the same time to find out about an entire world hiding beneath what most people accepted as reality.
“I’ll check in with you later this afternoon.” Diana paused at the door, stepping aside as it opened and Alex walked in.
“Good morning, Diana. Everything okay?”
“Oh, yes, just going over details for the suites being renovated temporarily for the children.” She smiled and slipped out, shutting the door behind her.
Julianna gazed up at her mate’s tired face. He’d been going non-stop since they’d gotten back to the beach. He’d barely slept. Barely showered.
He turned the deadbolt on the door and crossed the room toward her. “How are you, love?”
“I wish I could say I knew exactly how everything was going to go down with all these kids…with my siblings…”
“Well—”
“I know, I know. You ran my DNA and I’m not even related to Adrian Rossi. But he played the role of my father, and he is their father. I can help. I can make this just a little easier for them.”
Alex sank into the cushion next to her and pulled her into his arms. “You’re an amazing woman, Julianna. You might not be blood to these kids, but you are the best thing that has happened to them in their lives.”
She smiled and turned to give him a quick peck on the cheek. “Come relax with me in the pool.”
“Now?”
“Yes, now. Before someone else calls. Or some other emergency pops up.” She stood from the couch and unbuttoned her shirt. His gaze glued itself to her weaving fingers and she gave him a teasing smirk before shirking off her blouse.
“You are evil,” he chuckled.
She dropped her skirt next as she continued toward the sunken pool on the balcony. Turning, she bent a finger, beckoning him after her.
He obliged. Quickly rising and stripping out of his tired wrinkled clothing.
Julianna stepped into the cool water with a sigh. A boom from out across the ocean made her stand straighter.
Alex was beside her a second later as an orange and black cloud mushroomed into the sky. She tensed, gripping his arm tightly.
“It’s really gone now.”
“Rain didn’t say they were going to blow the whole island up…” Alex’s voice trailed off in confusion. He moved to leave her, but she tightened her hold on his bicep.
“They don’t need you anymore. Your part is over. We take care of these kids and then we go home.”
He kissed her temple and hugged her against his body. The cool water lapped at her skin and she breathed a sigh of relief.
“You’re right. Once everything is settled with all of the children, it’s time to take you home. Mama is dying to meet the woman carrying her first grandchild.”
“It will feel good to start fresh. Build a new home with you.”
Alex sighed. “You don’t know how happy I am to hear those words.”
Rain DuBois walked through the dark corridor of the command center, smelling the familiar scent of the base and seeing the familiar sights, but still somewhat trapped back on that island. Every other moment, he was replaying the sequence of events in his head.
The stale smell of the bunker.
The darkness.
The flashes of gunfire.
The movements of the children in the corner.
Rossi, dead on the ground.
His only order from the alpha council had been to bring Rossi in. What
may have started off as a revenge mission had quickly turned too complex for a simple kill. They should’ve taken him alive. Interrogated him.
If Rain had made it to the bunker before Niko and Dani had stormed the place, he might’ve been able to save Niko. Save Rossi.
His plan had always been to make this walk down this hallway with Adrian Rossi struggling along in handcuffs, ready for interrogation. Instead, he was alone, holding the paperwork for his deceased friend in his hands, ready to make a full report about the failure of the mission.
When he reached the last door, with the frosted glass, he knocked.
“Enter,” the dark voice said.
Rain glanced around the empty hallway as he opened the door. Something felt off, but he couldn’t quite place it. He walked past the dark wood bookshelves, across the plush carpet of the general’s office.
He stopped in front of the desk and saluted.
“At ease, soldier.” General Doyle held out his hand for the files. “I heard from LTC Brock that you’re a man down. I’m sorry to hear about that.”
“Yes, sir.” Rain relaxed his gait and passed along the paperwork. “We lost one soldier, and several more were wounded. Lieutenant Duke hasn’t yet made a full recovery, but he was taken to the infirmary when we landed.”
The old, bald man opened the files and clucked his tongue. “Brown. That’s too bad. He was a good soldier.”
“Yes, he was, sir.” Rain took a breath, ready to give the report when asked, but something still stuck hard in his craw. He’d been mulling it over since they’d stepped back onto the MC-130 outside Choaca.
Doyle raised one silver-black brow. “You have something to say, soldier?”
“Permission to speak freely, sir?”
Doyle nodded, closing the folder and placing it on the desk in front of him. “You know I always want to hear from my team leaders honestly, DuBois.”
“Something doesn’t compute for me, sir.” Rain gripped his hands in front of his body. “The alpha council ordered us to take Rossi alive.”
“But you don’t answer to the alpha council, DuBois. You know that.”
“Yes, sir. But Francis led me to believe that he’d been in contact with you, with the Major General, and that their plans had been communicated fully.”