House on Edge
The steady hum of the plane’s engines changed to a drone.
Travellers folded blankets and stashed books and e-readers, getting ready to disembark.
Jack followed suit, shutting down his laptop and unplugging the two tablets he’d set up beside it.
Flying business class from London to Tokyo had been a novelty—the pod-like seating offering elbow room along with the illusion of privacy.
The return trip in First Class—which Tempest had insisted on—was another step up in terms of space, and Jack had taken full advantage.
He’d scrutinised code while listening to Tempest’s songs, enjoyed the wine, and pondered the last few weeks.
Neither finding common ground with a rock star, nor working with Max again had featured on his to-do list when he’d set out for Tokyo.
And unravelling the old kidnapping case had been little more than a pipe dream.
Jack yawned and stretched. He’d packed a lot of work into four weeks away. And he’d even made it back in time for his birthday barbecue—British weather permitting.
The plane angled down to begin its descent, and Jack couldn’t wait to be home.
They made it to the tarmac without incident. The hum of conversation in the cabin ramped up a notch, and then the captain’s voice crackled over the intercom.
“Can all passengers please remain seated.”
This wasn’t the usual taxi announcement.
The aircraft had come to a stop with the jet bridge connected.
Movement near the front of the cabin caught Jack’s eye and the sight of two uniformed police officers boarding the plane gave Jack an odd sense of déjà vu.
When they stopped in the aisle beside his seat, he wasn’t even surprised.
“Dr Horwood?” one asked, his tone authoritative but not hostile.
“Yes.”
“We need you to come with us, please. Now.”
Around them, passengers murmured and shifted.
Jack felt the weight of their gazes, the speculation and judgement, and wondered who was pulling his strings this time around.
Making a scene wouldn’t help him get out of this situation and home where he belonged, so he grabbed his carry-on from the overhead compartment and followed his escort.
The two officers led him onto the jet bridge and Jack stiffened when he spotted Raf Gallant under the sign directing passengers towards baggage claim.
Unease grabbed him with cold hands, urged him to run, get to Raf, demand answers.
The officers kept an even pace, and Jack gritted his teeth and dug the nails of his free hand into his palm.
The riot of pings, chimes, and alerts as his phone connected to the network had every person in the vicinity turn towards Jack. He dug the phone from his pocket, but before he could check it, Raf was beside him and stilled his hand.
“Everyone is safe,” he said. “This is the reason we got you off the plane. You don’t have to read all this crap when there’s no longer an emergency.”
Jack stopped in the middle of the skyway. “What emergency?”
“Give me a chance, will you?” Raf nodded his thanks to the two officers, then turned his attention to Jack. “Come on. I’ll explain while we walk. I’m sure you’ll want to get home.”
Jack didn’t argue. Whatever had happened, getting home was his top priority.
“Mitrovic’s brother and one of his goons broke into your house this afternoon when only the boys were home,” Gallant said as they walked.
“Nico and Daniel heard the alarm, barricaded themselves in their bedroom as you taught them to, then went up on the roof. Gareth got home in time to detain the attackers.”
“Any damage?”
“Your backdoor, I think. And Pavel Mitrovic has a broken nose.”
“I’d prefer if he had a broken neck.”
“I think your other half would prefer that, too, but… you know how it goes.”
Jack did. “Daniel and Nico?”
“Physically undamaged, as far as I know. Not sure about the rest. Gareth is with them.”
They reached baggage claim and found the carousel where his flight’s luggage was arriving. He picked his second bag from the conveyor and turned to Raf. “Let’s roll.”
Raf stared in consternation at the fleet of cars lining the road. “Shall I just dump you here? I’d meant to come in, but you’re already overrun.”
“What the fuck is all of this?”
“Crime scene and forensics, by the looks of it. Need the evidence if we want a conviction.”
“Oh, we want a conviction, never fear.” Jack climbed out of the car and retrieved his bag and carry-on from the boot.
They might have Mitrovic’s brother and his companion in a police cell, but that didn’t mean they could be sure about securing a conviction.
Jack remembered holding Nico as he threw up his breakfast after identifying brothel customers for Lisa’s team.
He didn’t want to put the boys through it again. “Thanks for coming to get me.”
“Couldn’t let you have a meltdown over nothing.” He waved at the string of cars. “I mean… not nothing, but… you know what I mean.”
“I do. I’ll give you a shout when they’re gone. We’ll get the grill going.”
“Sounds good.”
Raf hopped back into his car and took off, leaving Jack at the top of the drive with his bags. This wasn’t the homecoming he’d expected, but it was on par with the crazy he’d left behind in Japan.
Jack slalomed around the cars to the front door, only to find his way blocked by two uniformed constables. He had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. “Care to let me in? I happen to live here.”
The older of the two constables glared hard enough to determine what Jack had had for breakfast, but then he did step aside. “I understand your family’s in the kitchen.”
“Thank you.” Jack gave the front door a once-over as he passed and couldn’t see any damage. Seems Raf had been right about Mitrovic having come in by the back way. Not for the first time he contemplated electric fencing, however illegal it might be.
He was about to call out when Nico came flying around the corner. Jack had just enough time to set his bags down before he had an armful of clingy teen. Nico held on as if his life depended on it, and Jack didn’t stop him. He stood in the middle of the hallway, his arms around Nico, and breathed.
“Are you okay?” he asked after a while.
Nico nodded. “We couldn’t reach your phone,” he mumbled into Jack’s collar. “We texted like mad. And called.”
“It takes a while for phones to connect once you’ve landed,” Jack said. “Raf sent two police officers to get me off the plane before that happened, and then he told me not to look at my phone.”
“We didn’t want you to get upset.”
“I appreciate that,” Jack said. It had been a waste of time. Being escorted off a flight by uniforms was no less upsetting, especially given where he used to work, but he didn’t need to burden Nico with that. “Are you sure you and Daniel are okay?”
Nico squeezed his middle one more time and then stepped back. “We’re okay. We went up on the roof to hide. Gareth and Aidan were there first, and then the police came. We only saw them on the monitor, and they didn’t see us.”
Jack didn’t prod. He wrapped an arm around Nico’s shoulder and turned him towards the kitchen. “I need a bathroom,” he declared. “And then coffee.”
Nico didn’t argue, and when Jack returned from the washroom, Gareth was setting a stack of sandwiches next to his largest coffee mug. Jack smiled at his lover. “You know me too well.”
Gareth moved in for a hug, his clutch tighter than it usually was. “Hey.”
“Hey yourself. What’s with the treats? They fed us on the flight.”
“Airplane food.”
“It wasn’t half bad. I liked the wine.” He winked.
“Well, that was lunch. Now it’s almost dinnertime, and you’re about to nod off. I don’t want you waking with a headache.”
“I appreciate that.” Jack bit into a roast beef sandwich, grateful for the kick of the horseradish.
“I’m sorry we weren’t there to get you.”
“You had more important things to do. And you sent Raf. Though the police boarding the plane gave me a moment’s pause.” He met Gareth’s gaze, the memories of their trip to Sweden right there.
“He broke Pavel’s nose.” Daniel had wedged himself into the farthest corner of their dining nook, back against the wall, the table in front of him like a barricade. Jack didn’t try to coax him out.
“I keep telling you, that was Conrad.”
“He wasn’t all bloody,” Nico objected. “There wasn’t a speck of blood on him when you looked like…” He shot Daniel a quick look. “Well…”
“It was still Conrad who broke Pavel’s nose. I’ll get a mop out once the crime scene people are finished.”
Jack nodded, no stranger to the mess a broken nose could cause.
The crime scene techs with their charcoal and chalk weren’t any better, and both those stained.
Add in the psychological effects, and Jack wondered if it’d be wise to repaint the hallway and all rooms leading off it in a different colour.
“You’re asleep on your feet. You didn’t close your eyes on the flight, did you?”
“Not at all, but that’s nothing new.”
“Fancy a nap?” Gareth’s expression said he should fancy that very much. “Daniel and Nico could keep you company, while I’ll look after the police.”
Gareth’s voice was tight with stress, hinting that he had a few too many plates spinning in the air. Despite that, he remembered how hard Jack crashed after a flight across time-zones, and only asked Jack to anchor Daniel and Nico? There was a reason Jack loved that man.
“A nap sounds lovely.” He pushed himself back from the table and held out a hand to the two boys. “Are you coming with me? You can tell me what else has been happening.”
“You won’t be awake to hear it,” Daniel whispered, but he uncurled himself from his huddle and came to Jack’s side.
“I would like to debate that, but you’re probably right.” Jack hugged him. “Come snooze with me anyway.” He held his other hand out to Nico, wishing he could entice Gareth upstairs, too. Gareth didn’t turn his way, though, too spun into whatever he had on his mind.
Jack couldn’t fathom it right then, but he determined to work it out once he’d slept.
“Yes, they’re gone.” Gareth slumped at the kitchen table, head propped on his hand and phone in front of him.
He was too tired to bother with proper posture.
Too tired, even, to keep his eyes open. He’d looked forward to this day, to Julian sticking it to his family, to picking up Jack from the airport and welcoming him home.
How had all this positivity devolved into a nightmare?
“Why are you awake at two in the morning?”
“I was staying up in case you needed me to represent you,” Aidan said in a soft, matter-of-fact tone. “Though in that case, they’d have knocked on my door, too. How are Nico and Daniel? And how’s Jack? This wasn’t quite the return he expected.”
“Jack doesn’t sleep on planes and he didn’t say how long he’d been awake before he boarded. He was crashing when he got here. Nico bounced around like peas on a hot shovel, and Daniel huddled in a corner, not talking.”
“Very much like when you got them.”
“Yeah. I sent the two upstairs with Jack, hoping he’ll settle them.
Especially since he wasn’t here. When I looked in on them at midnight, they were all three dozing rather than asleep.
I guess Daniel’s having nightmares.” Nico and Daniel’s sudden alarm when they’d seen him had indeed reminded him of their early days.
He wasn’t one for praying, but he hoped with all he had that this attack didn’t take Daniel and Nico right back to where they’d been.
They’d come such a long way, all four of them.
“How about I invite the boys over for a couple of days?” Aidan suggested. “Until the backdoor no longer looks as if just anyone can walk in.”
Gareth’s chest constricted. For a moment, the pain was so sharp he couldn’t draw breath. Nico and Daniel, he reminded himself. Do what’s right for Nico and Daniel. He still struggled to keep the bitterness out of his voice. “At least you’re not telling me to put the house on the market.”
“Who… oh. Your mum?”
“Yeah.” Gareth sighed. “I shouldn’t grumble. She cares about the boys.”
“True, but running at a setback isn’t your MO, nor Jack’s.
From the beginning, you’ve been all about stability, and that’s what Daniel and Nico needed most. What they’ll need now and going forward.
Remind them how much they contributed to their escape and see how you go.
My offer stands if they need a break for a day or so. ”
“Thanks, Aidan. I’m too tired to think right now, but I’ll ask.”
“Do that. And don’t forget to talk to Jack, too.”
“That’s the daftest thing you’ve said tonight.”
“Maybe. Now stop loitering and get some sleep.”
“You, too.”
Aidan hung up and Gareth folded his arms on the kitchen table and rested his head on them. He’d go to bed in just a moment.