by Sybil Bartel
“If you say so.” I pulled out one of the chrome and leather stools from the kitchen bar and sat.
“Drop the attitude, chica.”
I tried to rein it in, I really did, but André’s comment may as well have lit a fuse. “I had a gun pulled on me, I was taken from my home and my kid’s now caught in the middle of my loser, gun-stealing ex and a biker gang. I don’t have an attitude, I’m pissed off. And why are we even sitting here discussing this after what happened this afternoon? Just give Candle what he wants.”
Viking glanced at André. “Call Roark.”
André’s hands went to his hips. “For?”
“Roark the pilot?” I glanced at Viking then André, but neither of them acknowledged me.
Viking gave André a look. “I will take the child north.”
André shook his head. “He’s on an assignment for me. He won’t be back for seventy-two hours.”
Viking switched to Danish.
“Speak English.” Goddamn it. “Give the stupid guns back and no one is taking my son anywhere without me!”
Viking cut his sharp gaze to me. “The guns will not be returned. You are staying here and I am taking the child north.”
Wait—what? “No.” No way. “I’m not letting you take him to some strange place and leave him with some stranger.” No. No. No. Of course I wanted Conner safe, but I got to choose who and where. “He can go to my—”
André interrupted. “He wants to take him to Talon’s.”
I practically levitated off the stool. “Talon?” I knew their ex-Marine medic buddy. Yeah, he was about as badass as Viking, but his two purposes in life were women and surfing. Nowhere in that scenario was there room for a little boy. “What the hell does he know about taking care of a kid? Conner should go to my mother’s.” North Carolina was far enough away, he would be safe there.
André and Viking exchanged a glance but it was André who spoke. “The LCs will be able to track any connection to you, especially your mother. Talon has experience with kids, Conner will be fine. And Neil’s right, you shouldn’t go with them. Candle and half his brothers will follow and I don’t have enough manpower right now to send backup with you. You’re staying here, in the building.”
I started to panic. “But it’s okay if he goes alone with Conner? That’s bullshit! Candle will follow him.”
“He doesn’t know you passed the guns off to Neil,” André stated calmly.
“Like he’s too stupid to figure it out? You just said the LCs could find anyone connected to me.” My voice reached a new high pitch and I jabbed a finger in Viking’s direction. “They’re gonna find him!”
“No one followed me here,” Viking interjected.
I spun toward him. “But you don’t know that for sure, do you? You can’t guarantee that if you drive my son all the way to Talon’s in Daytona Beach that you won’t be followed and that Conner will be safe.”
“I will not be followed and he will be safe.” There wasn’t an ounce of emotion behind his assurance.
And that scared the living hell out of me. Desperate, I looked to André for help. “And what happens when Neil needs backup, huh? Have you thought of that?”
“Ariel,” André warned. “You know this is the smart way to do this. If you’re in the vehicle, it’s guaranteed you’ll be followed. Without you, the odds go way down. Neil knows how to handle this.”
But Conner was my son. Not theirs. “I’m his mother. I get to make the decisions.”
Viking crossed his arms. “Then decide.”
I pointed at the ridiculous muscles of his bulging biceps. “What does that mean? You hardly ever cross your arms. Is that some kind of signal?” My gaze whipped back to André. “You’re in on this. You’re speaking in code and that’s bullshit. You’re forcing me to make a decision but I don’t have a choice. You already decided on this. Talon isn’t a babysitter. He probably can’t even change a diaper.” Every word out of my mouth fueled my panic.
“Chica,” André placated.
Viking uncrossed his arms.
Defeat settled in the pit of my stomach and I couldn’t help it, my eyes welled with tears. “He’s my son.” André stepped forward but I held my hand up. “No. He’s not some animal to pass around.” I looked at Viking. “Or an object you call child. He’s a little boy.”
André’s voice softened. “We’ll take good care of him. There’s a reason you called me this morning. Let me do my job.”
“I’m not your client,” I protested.
“You’re right.” André grasped my outstretched hand of warning and pulled me into his arms. “You’re part of mi familia now.” Strong and reassuring, he held me tight for a moment then released me. “We got this.”
“If anything happens to him…” I couldn’t even speak the words. Conner was my world.
“I won’t let it.” André reassured. “Neither will Neil.”
Viking’s quiet but firm voice filled the apartment. “I will leave in thirty minutes. When I get back, we will handle the father and the biker.”
André nodded and Viking walked out of the apartment without even a glance in my direction.
I stared at the stupid door like he owed me a good-bye. “Where’s he going?”
“His place.”
“He has an apartment here?”
“No.” André didn’t elaborate. “Are we gonna talk about the fight you had with him in the parking garage? There’s a reason he warned you off.”
Is that what he was doing? Warning me off by grabbing my hair and asking me if I wanted to be fucked? “One, you shouldn’t have been listening. And two, I’m not interested in him.”
“I’m trying to do you a favor.”
“You’re already doing me plenty of favors.” I’d never be able to afford to pay him back for his time and resources.
“Then one more won’t kill you. Stay away from Christensen. You can’t handle him.”
Even if I’d wanted to get close, it didn’t matter. Viking had made it abundantly clear that he wanted no part of me, but that wasn’t the point. André needed to butt out. “I’m not asking for advice from an ex-Marine workaholic who doesn’t date.”
André pressed his lips together. “I mention you should back off and you mention dating.” He rubbed his hand over the scruff on his face that told me he’d had a long day, because he was always meticulously groomed.
I threw my hands up. “I’m not dating him, André.”
“But you like him.”
“Like him? Oh my God, what are you, twelve? I’m not having this conversation with you.” I hopped off the stool. “I’m going to check on Conner and for the record, I am one-hundred percent not okay with handing my son over to a Viking or a womanizer.”
“Ariel,” André cajoled, “Conner’s going to be fine. I wouldn’t let him go with Christensen or Talon if I thought differently.”
I spun. “But that’s just it. You think. You don’t know, you think. There’s a big difference between thinking and knowing.”
André was looking at me but all of a sudden I could tell he wasn’t seeing me. His focus drifted, his posture went straight and his hands fisted. “I do know,” he said quietly.
“How?”
Inhaling, he shook his head once as if clearing a memory. “You never wondered how a bunch of US Marines met up with a Danish Special Forces soldier?”
I wondered a lot. “I assumed it was in Afghanistan.” André, Blaze and Talon had all been to Afghanistan and they all knew Viking, but none of them ever talked about how.
“It was.” André leaned back against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms. “But if I tell you, this stays between you and me. Christensen is private as hell. He wouldn’t want me telling you this. But since you’re about to entrust him with your son’s safety, I think you deserve to know.”
My stomach knotted and I waited, not entirely sure I was going to like what André had to say.
André focused on his bo
ots. “It was my second tour. Two days into a mission, shit got heavy. We were taking fire from so many different directions that we’d scrambled. Talon was trapped a few klicks behind us. I couldn’t see him, but I knew he was there. Then out of nowhere, this huge Hunter Corps—”
“Hunter Corps?”
“Jaegerkorpset or Hunter Corps in English. It’s the Royal Danish Army’s elite Special Forces,” André explained. “Anyway, this huge soldier comes out of nowhere, geared up like I’d never seen, and walks right through the middle of the firefight, blowing away every T-man in his path. But that wasn’t the shocking part.” André glanced at me. “He was doing this single-handedly because tucked under his left arm was a kid.” He paused for effect. “An injured kid.”
I stared at André.
“He disappeared out of my line of sight and next thing I knew, Talon was calling for a medevac of a critically wounded Afghani kid. From that day forward, during the rest of our deployment, Christensen systematically found Talon wherever we were and brought him injured kids. Rumor had it he saved thirty of them, well, they both did. No one ever knew where Christensen found the kids and no one asked. Not that anyone had a chance. He’d disappear as fast as he’d appear. I never actually met him until I was stateside and Talon introduced us.”
My mind spinning, I tried to add up the facts I could wrap my head around. “You met in Florida?”
“Yeah. Christensen was living in Ocala when Talon retired. I always suspected it’s the reason Talon settled in Florida instead of going back to Texas.”
Viking saved kids. A lot of kids. “How did Viking wind up in Ocala?”
“His brother lived there. The brother was married and had a kid but then he and his wife were killed in a car accident. Christensen became the guardian of his nephew until he turned eighteen.”
“Myles.” I breathed. I’d met Myles at Layna’s wedding. She’d told me once he was a lead singer in some famous band but I’d never heard of them.
André nodded then eyed me for a moment. “You can trust Christensen with Conner. He’s not going to let anything happen to him.”
Viking—war hero, savior—it fit. But it didn’t tell me why he was compelled to save those kids in the first place. There had to be a reason and I wanted to know what it was. But like most of the shit in my life, that didn’t mean I was going to get what I wanted. “Thanks for sharing.” I almost meant it.
“After he takes off with Conner, I want you to stay out of sight in the apartment until he gets back. I’ll have one of the guys bring you some food. If you need anything else, make a list.” André turned toward the door.
“This isn’t a long-term solution. As long as Candle doesn’t get his guns, I’m always going to be a target.”
André sighed. “Tanner’s gonna have it worse than you but I hear what you’re saying. If giving the guns back was going to guarantee your safety, I would’ve already considered it, but there are more players in this than just Tanner and Candle. And until we know what all we’re dealing with, we’re not going to make a move. Christensen’s working on a plan and I’ve got your back. So let’s get Conner to a safe location, you sit tight, and we’ll do our job. Deal?”
“Fine, but I’m working.” I couldn’t sit in this apartment all by myself without Conner. I’d go crazy. “You need me on the phones.” His business was busier now more than ever.
“I need you safe.”
“I will be. Candle’s not going to come into the office.” At least, I didn’t think he would, but who knew what the hell he was capable of.
André’s hands went to his hips. “I told you it’s not just Candle I’m worried about.”
“Jason’s out? You know this for sure?” I didn’t trust what Candle had said in my apartment, and Viking had been cryptic.
André hesitated. “He posted bail but I’m talking about the LCs. Candle wasn’t alone today, chica.”
I asked the question I should’ve asked back at my apartment. “What happened when I went into Conner’s room?”
“Candle’s not stupid. It’s only a matter of time before he rallies,” he evaded.
“That’s not what I asked.”
André studied me for a moment like he was trying to decide how much to tell me. “He gave us a timeframe to produce the guns.”
Jesus. “Or what?”
“Let me worry about that.”
I sucked in a breath. “Did he threaten me or Conner?”
Frown lines creased his forehead and his jaw went rigid. “The LCs have no boundaries. You know this.”
Oh God. Candle had threatened to do something to Conner. My stomach bottomed out and I twisted my hands. “I need to talk to Jason.” This was his mess. He needed to take care of it with Candle.
“If you call him and Candle has him or his phone, he can trace your call. He probably knows you’re here but I’d rather not advertise it. For now, you’re on lockdown and I’m not expending resources to find Tanner. We’re going to focus on getting Conner out of harm’s way then deal with Candle. You just need to sit tight.”
I nodded but I couldn’t help wondering how everything would be different right now if I’d just driven back to my apartment with those guns and let Candle take them. Part of me thought I would be back behind the reception desk and Conner would be at daycare, but the other part, the rational part, knew there was a chance Candle or the LCs would have silenced me because I knew too much. “How long is this gonna take?”
Determination filtered into André’s expression. “Not long.”
There was a sharp knock on the door, then Tyler walked in like he owned the place. “Boss, we need you downstairs.”
Tyler and André exchanged a look I couldn’t decipher, then André locked down his expression. “Christensen will be back in a few. Conner’s gonna be fine.” Already following Tyler out the door, there was no sentiment behind André’s reassurance.
I made my way to the bedroom with an ache in my chest so heavy it was hard to breathe. Laying beside my son, watching him sleep, he looked so innocent and vulnerable it was making me sick to think about being separated from him. I knew André and Neil were right, he would be safer with Talon than my mother, but dread pooled in my stomach and I couldn’t stop the tears.
“Ariella.”
I swiped at my face, sucked in a few breaths and reluctantly glanced over my shoulder.
Viking stood like a silent sentry in the doorway, the frame barely containing his height or his wide shoulders. He inclined his head at Conner but his eyes stayed on me. “It’s time.”
Stoic, attentive, formidable, I stared at a man I wished was Conner’s father then silently berated myself. Jason was a lot of shitty things, but he’d given Conner his joy for life. Jason’s laughter was the one redeeming quality that’d always pulled me back in. Quick to smile, happy with the simple joys in life, Jason loved to laugh and so did his son. I wasn’t sure Viking found humor in anything.
My chest constricting, my stomach in knots, I ran my fingers through silky curls that were exactly like Jason’s. “Conner,” I whispered.
Golden-brown eyes opened and a smile spread across my son’s face. “Mama.” Sleep rough and scratchy and perfect, my son said my favorite word in the whole world.
“Hi, sweet boy.” I kissed his forehead and each of his cheeks and fought back tears, knowing I wouldn’t be there when he woke up tomorrow morning. “Are you ready to get up?”
He grinned. “Apple.”
“Yes, I know, you’re hungry. We didn’t have much lunch. How about we go find you some apple?”
He squirmed to sit up and the moment he saw Neil his smile got even brighter. “Neil!” His little arms sprang up.
Viking took two strides and scooped Conner up. The second he was face-to-face with him, he spoke to him in Danish.
Conner nodded. “Hungry.”
Viking glanced at me and I knew he saw I was barely holding it together. “Take a minute. We will be in the kitchen.”
I didn’t want to lose one second of the time I had left with Conner so I pasted on a big fake smile and got up. “I’m good.”
Viking gave me a pointed look. “That was not a request.”
Conner looked between us and I knew Viking was right. If I showed I was upset, Conner would get upset, but I didn’t need Viking to tell me how to parent. I used my best mommy singsong voice. “Neil’s bossy.”
Conner giggled. “Bossy.”
“That’s right.” My son’s laugh was contagious. I grinned at him. “Do we like bossy?”
“No.” Conner shook his head as he dragged the word out.
The front door of the apartment banged open and two seconds later, André was in the doorway. He looked pointedly at Viking. “We’ve got company downstairs.”
Viking handed Conner to André. “Give us a minute.”
André nodded but he didn’t look happy. “One minute. I’ve got another issue I’m dealing with.” He managed to smile at Conner. “Come on, little man, let’s give your mama a minute.”
Jaw set, shoulders rigid, Viking reached behind him and shut the door.
The room shrunk around me and I swallowed.
Cool, colorless eyes assessed me. “Explain Scott.”
I frowned. “Who?”
“Do not play games with me.”
All of a sudden, the air shifted and I knew this had nothing to do with Conner or the guns and everything to do with something I did that clearly pissed Viking off. “I don’t even know who you’re talking about.”
Slow, purposeful, his gaze cut to my legs then traveled up my body. When his eyes met mine, they’d grown even colder. “Tarquin Scott. Candle. Are you fucking him?”
What? Was he serious? “No, not that it’d be any of your business if I was.”
One step and Viking grasped my chin. His hand was rough but his voice turned to silk. “What did I say?”
I trembled as a sick part of my brain fixated on having Viking’s hands on me and it wanted more. Staring into his anger, I wasn’t quick enough for a smart response. “You said don’t play games.”
His grip tightened. “You kissed him,” he accused.