by Elle Boon
“Nancy, do you really think I care? I loved Mark just the way he was. Every day I wake up and wish he were here so I could tell him how much he meant to me. As for Brooke, well she’s the light of my life that I’m glad we created together. Sticks and stones, baby.”
Nancy gave a bitter laugh. “Mark wasn’t your son. He was Davis’s. If I could’ve made it so, Brooke would’ve been his as well. The only reason she wasn’t was because he was overseas when she was conceived.”
Jase could see the pain lash across the admiral’s face at her words. She was talking in circles. Mark would never have been good enough in her eyes, not as a father. It wasn’t his fault Mark Jr. was gay, but the woman wasn’t prepared to listen.
“Be that as it may, I still love them both.” The admiral waved his hand, acting as if her words hadn’t hit their target.
He watched Nancy as she kept backing up until she hit the cabinet behind her. In a blur, she pulled open a drawer and came out with a gun, a small caliber one that would do some damage if she knew how to shoot and had good aim. “Mrs. Frazee, put the gun down. Right now,” he ordered. “You don’t have any major offenses against you.” He didn’t mention they were working on it, or the fact she’d kidnapped his son, had probably aided in the murder of US soldiers by giving information to the man she professed to love. All that would be up to the government.
Brooke’s mother laughed, the sound maniacal. “Oh, you all think I’m stupid. I’m walking out of here, and you’re going to let me. Davis is a very powerful man. He can and will bury both of you.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but Admiral Davis won’t be assisting anyone,” Erik spoke from the other room, his deep baritone voice ominous.
Nancy’s head whipped to the side, the gun jerking toward the sound. Chaos erupted as a single shot rang out, followed by several more. Jase dove for cover, his weapon out. Nancy ran toward the darkness, stopping with a gasp. Eyes wild, she pinned him with a hate filled glare then turned the gun toward her head.
“No,” he roared as she pulled the trigger. He looked toward the room she’d stumbled toward and could see what she’d found. The body of her lover.
Where was Erik? Jase looked around. “Status?”
“She shot me, man.” Erik leaned against the wall, holding his side.
Jase squatted down, moving Erik’s hand off the red stain. “Oh, shut up, pussy, it’s only a graze.”
Erik used the wall to get up, cursing the entire time. “Mothereffer, that shit hurts. I don’t get shot when I’m just chillin’. I mean, have you ever?”
He raised his hand up. “Shut up. I can’t even believe we’re having this conversation. Just chillin’. You were in a room with a dead body for crying out loud.”
The other man nodded. “And? We weren’t in some godforsaken country getting shot at by a bunch of enemies, sweating our nuts off. Hence, chillin’. Come on, why you walking away?”
“I need to check on my son, and you need your head examined,” Jase called over his shoulder.
“You try getting shot when the adrenalin isn’t pumping. It hurts twice as bad,” Erik called to his back.
“Why is this guy whining like a little bitch?”
Jase stopped at the entrance to the hallway at the sound of Oz’s voice. “What the hell you doing here?”
Oz shrugged. “Something seemed off with that one. I thought I’d follow and make sure the little guy was alright and shit.”
Jase’s chin hit his chest, emotion swelled inside him. “I fucking love you, too, man.”
“Hey, I followed the kid, not you.” Oz raised his arms.
“Same diff.” Jase walked over, pulling Oz into his arms. “Thank you for coming to protect my son.”
The big red haired man’s eyes searched around the room. “Yeah, well it looks like I missed out on all the fun.”
Jase nodded. “It was definitely a fuckshow.”
He and Oz walked side by side down the hall. “So, that’s clearly a lot worse than a shitshow, huh?” Oz asked outside the closed door.
“You’ve no clue man. At least Jack is still too young and innocent to know what went down. Let’s go say hi, shall we. How do I look?” Jase waved his hand at himself.
Oz looked him up and down. “Well, you ain’t got no blood and guts on you, and I don’t see no bullet holes. I call that a damn fine day.”
The other man’s words made Jase laugh as it was a familiar saying they’d say after a mission. “Hooyah,” he said.
“Oh, I forgot to ask if my truck was okay?”
Jase winced, pretending he had bad news. When Oz took a step back Jase clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m just fucking with you. Your rig is just fine.”
“You’re still a dick,” Oz mumbled.
“Love you, too.”
Chapter Sixteen
They walked into a room filled with trains, but Jase found the two people who meant more to him than anything in the world. “Hey you two. Whatcha doin?”
“Jase, Oz, look what mommy did,” Jack yelled.
On the table that had an elaborate train setup, Brooke had clearly derailed her train. “Wow, buddy, remind me not to let your mom drive my rig.”
Jack giggled, adding a lightness to the room. He wasn’t sure how to break it to her about her mother. “Hey, Oz, you wanna keep Jack company for a second. I need to speak to Brooke for a moment.”
He helped Brooke to her feet, walking out into the hall with her tiny hand in his. He could feel her trembling. They both stared down the hall then at each other. “We heard gun shots. Jack asked if someone was making popcorn.”
Hating the thought of what he had to tell her, Jase buried his nose in her hair, inhaling the sweet scent. “I wish it was just that. Your mom…she didn’t take it well; the loss of Admiral Davis broke something in her. She took a wild shot, and…I’m sorry, Brooke, she killed herself.”
Brooke pulled away, tears flowing from her eyes. “She…she’s dead. That can’t be. She wouldn’t…I mean, she said it was a coward’s way out. I heard her crying, talking to Mark like he was here, telling him how selfish he was for leaving her here without him,” she sobbed, burying her face against him. “Oh god, she loved him so much. Why didn’t she love me half as much?”
He had no words, no answers other than her mother was the selfish one. Not for taking her own life, but for not loving her daughter the way she deserved. He looked down the hall and met the dark gaze of Brooke’s dad. With their eyes locked, he hugged Brooke tighter. “I swear to all, I’ll love you and all our children with every fiber of my being. If anyone tries to harm one hair on any of your heads, I’ll hunt them to the ends of the earth and beyond. They’ll wish they were never born, by the time I get through with them.” Not once did he take his eyes off of Admiral Frazee. The other man needed to understand and accept the fact he was here, and he was staying.
“You’re a good man, Jase. I’m glad my daughter and grandson, your son, have you. You’ll always be welcome as I hope I’ll always be welcome in your home. Nancy…I loved her, and thought she’d loved me at one time. Sometimes, love on one side isn’t enough.” He ran a hand down his face, a tremble shook his frame before he continued. “Maybe we should’ve divorced a long time ago when I knew she wasn’t happy, but I was too stubborn. She said my morals kept me here, and she was right to an extent. Now, it’s too late to change the past, but I want you to know I never, not once regret you or Mark. No matter if what she said was true and Mark wasn’t mine by blood, he was still my son.” He pinned Jase with a hard stare. “I didn’t go to you in that desert to get you killed. I was trying to figure out who was the mole and…I let my prejudice cloud my judgement and you got blamed for something you didn’t do.”
Brooke moved away, or tried, but Jase pulled her next to him. Nodding at her dad, he took a deep breath. For the last three years, he’d lived with the need for vengeance at his core. Now, all the people who’d set him up were dead, and he felt all the weight lifted
off his shoulders. “At any moment, we all have a choice, Admiral. That decision will either lead us closer to where we need to be or further away. You see, it all comes down to us in the end and the choices we make. I plan to choose wisely, how about you?”
Admiral Frazee moved closer, his arms loose at his sides, stopping a foot from them. “I choose my family’s happiness. Brooke, Jack, and you, Jase. In the coming days, I’m going to have to face a firestorm from the fallout of everything that happened in there, but knowing I have my family, I can, and will, get through it.”
“I love you, dad. When I thought you…and now mom,” she swallowed. “I can’t lose anybody else. I need you guys to get along.”
Her dad tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Little girl, you’ll never lose me. Even when I had to fake my death, I was aware of where you were and who you were with. Don’t give me that look, Tyler. You think I’d let my little girl down. Those men trying to get into her apartment were the only surprise we weren’t expecting. Who do you think told you to secure her? After that, we had eyes on you until you headed into some damn mountains. By then, I knew she was in good hands. When I recognized you as the man she was with I only felt relief, knowing you’d do everything to keep my…our family safe.”
“Well, hell.” Jase wasn’t sure what to think as he remembered the call the night outside of Brooke’s apartment. No matter what else happened, they were together now, he, Brooke and Jack. “I’m sorry about your wife and about what she said about Mark Jr.” Jase held Brooke a little closer.
Admiral Frazee gave a sad smile. “You don’t have to touch something to love it or be part of its creation. Look at Jack. Tell me you don’t love him,” he nodded at the closed door. “Before Mark was ever born, I loved him more than anything in the world, only matched when Brookey came along. Whether he was my flesh and blood, or not, changes nothing with how I feel in here.” He tapped his chest.
Jase nodded. “I know what you mean. When I see Jack smile, it’s like the world lights up. If anything were to happen to him…” He stopped and cleared his throat. “Yeah, I would lose my shit.”
Brooke’s arms contracted. “Nothing would be worth living for, if I lost him,” she said.
Jase and the admiral both nodded. Maybe that was the straw that broke Nancy. They’d never know for sure, but one thing he did know, was from this day forward, he and his little family of three now had a fourth member, if Brooke’s dad wanted to be a part. He held his hand out to Mark Frazee. Her dad looked at his outstretched arm then at him. With a shake of his head, Admiral Frazee closed the small gap between them and wrapped them both up in a hug. “We’re family now and this family hugs,” the admiral announced.
Brooke laughed. “I always did love your hugs, dad.”
The door behind them opened. An excited squeal from Jack was followed by their little man yelling papa over and over.
“You came back. I knew you’d come back, papa.” Jack latched onto his grandpa’s legs.
Jase watched as Brooke’s dad picked his grandson up and tossed him in the air as if there weren’t two dead bodies in the other room. “Of course, I came back. I wanted to be here when your daddy finally came home.”
He and Brooke both froze, neither had discussed when they’d tell Jack the truth.
Mark turned with Jack in his arms. “You see that man right there?” He pointed at Jase. “He’s your daddy and one of the bravest men in the whole world.”
“Even braver than you?” Jack asked.
“Yep. Even braver than me.”
“How bout braver than batman?”
The old man pretended to think. “Yep, I’d say braver than even him.”
Jack whooped, then launched his upper body toward Jase. Luckily, both the admiral and Jase had fast reflexes and were able to keep Jack from falling onto the floor. Jack’s dark eyes lit with happiness. “Can I call you daddy?”
Unable to say a word with the lump in his throat, Jase nodded.
Jack placed both his hands on either side of his face, making sure Jase couldn’t look away. His son had no clue there was no way Jase could ever look away from him in that moment. “I’m glad you’re my daddy. Can Ozzy be my unka?”
Brooke burst out laughing at the request, but Jase nodded. “Absolutely. Yo, Unka Ozzy, my son has adopted you,” he yelled down the hall.
Oz’s red head appeared. “Um, is Ozzy what I’m being called?”
Jack clapped. “Unka Ozzy, you my best friend.”
“Hey, I thought I was your best friend?” Jase tickled his son, making him giggle.
His son squirmed in his arms, laughing. “No silly, you’re my daddy.”
If someone would have told him his heart would melt over three simple words, he’d have called them a liar. Now, with Jack in his arms and Brooke next to him, he finally understood what it was to be redeemed after years of feeling like nobody gave a damn about him. Life can throw you a lot of curves, but he’d be damned if he didn’t learn to swerve with them and come out the victor as long as he had his family and friends with him.
“You have a really bright smile on your face right now,” Brooke said, sliding her arm around him.
He kissed her cheek then Jack’s. “That’s because I’m happy.”
Oz groaned. “Ew, get a room. Come on, buddy. Let’s get the heck outta here. I think someone said the cleaners were coming.” His head jerked toward the kitchen.
Admiral Frazee sighed. “Why don’t you take Jase and Jack out through the doors in the master bedroom, the view is nice that way.”
In other words, that way they wouldn’t have to see the death and destruction in the kitchen.
“Are you going to be okay, dad?” Brooke asked, her hand rested on his upper arm.
Admiral Frazee took a deep breath. “Yeah, I will.”
As Jase walked out of Brooke’s family home, he was counting his blessings for all he had. One day in the very near future, he planned to make an honest woman out of Brooke and give both her and Jack his last name. Until then, they were going to take a much needed vacation.
“You can drive my truck back to the cabin, but I’m following you. I took the liberty of getting the little guy’s car seat out of that silver car over there.” Oz’s words reminded him they still had friends.
“You’re such a giver, Oz,” Jase joked.
Oz nodded. “I know.” He took Jack and expertly buckled him into the car seat in the back of his truck.
One thing was for sure. Life with his old team definitely wasn’t boring. “When I get you alone, I am so going to…” Jase was stopped by Brooke’s hand over his mouth.
“Don’t even say it. I’m already on edge. If you even mention,” she looked in the back at Jack, where Oz had strapped him in, happily watching a movie. “Tonight, after we put him down, it’s you and me time.”
“Damn, I love you,” Jase swore.
She leaned over the center and kissed him quickly. “I love you, too. Now, let’s go. I need to get away from here for a little while.”
Jase understood her need for distance and did as she asked. He wasn’t sure what their future was going to bring, but it would be together.
Two months later…
Brooke looked around the house she and Jase bought near her dad’s. She was still having trouble believing it was real, having the man she loved, the father of her child, in their life.
“What’s that sigh for?” Jase asked slipping his arms around her waist from behind.
She leaned into him, looking over her shoulder to meet his dark gaze. “Is this real?” She waved her arm in front of her.
The living and dining room were large, with hardwood flooring, opening up to a kitchen that would make a chef happy.
Jase kissed her cheek, hugging her tighter. “If it’s not, I don’t want to wake up.”
Turning in his arms, she locked her arms around his neck. “You feel pretty real to me.”
His finger dug into her hips a moment, the
n he lifted her up until they were at eye level. “How about if we just make for sure.”
Her legs wrapped around his waist, locking around his back as his lips covered hers. Instantly, their tongues dueled, stroking against one another while he began walking toward the master bedroom. The older ranch style home had been completely renovated with dark wood floors that didn’t make any sound as Jase carried her almost past Jack’s bedroom, but he stopped outside the door with the little plaque that had their son’s name written on it. “Let’s make sure he’s sleeping,” Jase murmured.
Love swelled in her chest even more. Her first priority had always been Jack. Now, knowing she had a partner who loved him just as much made her realize how much she’d missed Jase all this time. The fact Jack was Jase’s biological child was the icing on the cake, for she knew if he hadn’t been, Jase would’ve loved her son anyway.
With one arm under her ass, he eased the door open. The nightlight let them see a sleeping Jack snuggled under the blankets, with a teddy bear hugged tightly to his chest. Jase quietly closed the door before continuing to their bedroom.
“I love you.” The words came out a raspy exclamation. God, this man was the epitome of what a father and lover should be. One day, she hoped they would become more, but she wasn’t going to push him.
The bedroom was lit with candles, surprising her from her thoughts.
“I love you, Brooke. I love our son, but I came back for you. Thank you for forgiving me and giving me another chance.” Jase released his hold on her, allowing her to slide down his body.
She shook her head, covering his mouth with her hand. “There is no need to thank me or for apologies anymore. We’re so far past all that now. Besides, I believe we need to christen that bed.” She looked around Jase at the gorgeous bed they’d bought together. The black leather head and footboard, with the four posters on each end, was truly decadent. With the white and turquoise bedding and the light grey walls, the room was a perfect mix of masculine and feminine.