Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
ATLAS
I’m loath to leave Calvin sleeping in bed, but I know I won’t be far. I wait until his breathing is deep and even before I slide out, getting dressed and leaving the door open so I have a perfect line of sight on him.
It’s not really so I can watch him so much as that I want him to be able to see me when he wakes up.
What I don’t expect is the two extra people in my living room when I finally come out.
North and Wylder have their heads bowed together, and Ranen is in the corner trying to make small talk with Mateo, who seems to be showing mild interest, though I notice his dark eyes keep flipping back to Wylder.
I keep my voice soft when I enter the room, my arms crossing over my chest as I take in the sight of our new visitors. “Did you tell North to come?”
North cuts me a slightly dirty look, his brows dipping in irritation. “Were you going to do this without me?”
“I told him I was here.” Wylder doesn’t sound sorry that he did it, but he does peek over my shoulder to the bedroom. “Don’t worry, I didn’t let him interrupt you…” He doesn’t take his eyes off the door. “Is Calvin okay?”
Something in my chest settles at how easily my kids seem to be accepting Calvin into our fucked-up lives. I knew North wouldn’t care, but I wasn’t sure about Wylder—he actually remembers Julia… but the faintest hint of concern is there.
Coming from him, that might as well be a full blessing on his part.
“He will be… especially once this is all over and done with. He’s got the next week off…” I cut my eyes between the two of them, steeling myself for what I’m going to say next. “I want him to be able to enjoy most of that… this needs to be over.”
“Well, lucky for you…” A voice behind me interrupts our conversation, and I watch Wylder’s expression blossom into interest before I turn to face Mateo.
“Wylder brought me. You’re looking for a man named Keegan, alias Terrance Sullivan.
He lives just outside the city in a little house on an acre of private property.
” My eyes widen, and I’m pretty sure Mateo can see that I’m impressed.
The corner of his mouth lifts into the slightest, cocky smile as he continues.
“From an aerial view, there’s a fence. There might be some guard dogs out front, unless they’re in their kennels.
Definitely a security system in place that makes him feel comfortable.
Of course…” Mateo drops his eyes in a show of mock demure innocence.
“It would be a shame if that security system went down, right?”
I don’t realize my jaw has dropped until Wylder snorts. “You’re such a showoff, Princess.”
“Stop calling me that,” Mateo snaps, then drifts his attention back to me. “I have schematics, if you want to see.”
I walk to the computer screen as he turns it around—there’s a photo of Keegan, his blond hair holding more strands of white than the last time I saw him.
The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes match my own…
but it’s him. “I’ve been trying to find him for years…
how in the hell did you manage in a few hours? ”
“One, actually. I’ve been done for a while. And…” Mateo shrugs, like I asked him how he managed to order groceries and not how he managed to find a man who has spent most of his life trying to hide from me. “I’m just that good, I guess.”
“Shit, yeah you are.” I flick my eyes to Wylder with a frown. “Where’s he been hiding you?”
Wylder barks out a laugh while Mateo makes a face and answers. “I try to avoid him.”
“You know you love me, Princess.”
“I’ll slit your throat while you’re sleeping, Wylder.”
I hold up my hands, taking a step between the two of them and shaking my head.
“Now isn’t the time.” I don’t know if I’m stopping them from fighting or flirting or some fucked-up mixture of both, but I don’t have the time to analyze my son’s love-life-potential-murder.
I turn my attention back to Mateo. “You said you can turn off his security system?”
He throws one more deadly look at Wylder over my shoulder before completely turning his attention back to me. “Yeah. It shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Are there guards?” Maybe it’s too much, asking him that, but…
He rattles off half a dozen names, and flips to a second page on his screen. “There’s usually four of them on duty at once. This Keegan guy seems pretty paranoid.”
I let out a low whistle. I’m honestly a little stunned that someone managed to figure all this out when I haven’t been able to get close to the man… then again, I’m really not that tech savvy. I’m better with my hands. “If you can shut down that security system, I’ll owe you.”
“Oh, not you.” Mateo’s smile turns a little wicked. “Wylder. Wylder owes me.”
I don’t miss the way Wylder’s cheeks are slightly flushed under his beard when he rolls his eyes. “I always pay up. Don’t worry, I’m good for it.”
A few hours later, as we’re putting the last touches on our plans, I hear a soft sound coming from the bedroom. I push away from the table without a word and make my way to the door just as Calvin starts to stir. He still looks exhausted, but there’s at least a little more life in his eyes now.
He smiles up at me as I brush my thumb along his cheek. “Sleep well?”
“Yeah,” he responds, his voice still a little thick. His eyes flick behind me to the open doorway… to the table where my two huge sons and their petite counterparts are sitting. “Uh… full house?”
“We were about to have dinner. Are you hungry?”
He frowns. “Not really.”
I figured as much. “You should eat anyway. Come on.” I walk across the room and shut the door, then help him out of bed so he can get dressed. “We need to catch you up.”
“Catch me up?” he asks as he pulls one of my hoodies on, and I find myself distracted for a moment at how good he looks in the slightly oversized fabric.
“Yeah. Mateo found Keegan…” I watch the soft, sleepy expression disappear from his face instantly. “We’re going to go after him tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Calvin’s voice pitches up with concern, and he takes a few steps to close the distance between us. “Isn’t that kind of soon?”
“Maybe.” I shrug, wrapping one arm around his waist and pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. “But I’m done with this, sweetheart. I want you to move in. I want you to be happy. I want the past in the past.”
“Is it safe?”
I open my mouth to tell him yes, of course…
but… no. I didn’t want to start my relationship with a lie, and I’m not going to give him one now.
“Not really. Keegan is a dangerous man.” Calvin opens his mouth to protest, but I cut him off.
“But I have Wylder and North. I have you,” I add, and I can see some of the warmth spill back into his eyes. “We’ll get through it.”
“Yeah… okay.” He still sounds a little worried, but he lets me take his hand and lead him into the kitchen. North is cooking something that smells amazing at the stove, and I can hear the soft conversation he’s having with Ranen.
“Look, those dogs didn’t do anything. Can’t you just let them go?”
“Baby, they’re guard dogs.”
Ranen frowns. “I bet they’re good boys. Why did Atlas tell you to take care of them?”
Across the room, Mateo is settled in my arm chair with his computer in his lap.
He told me he was working on a way to spoof the security system so Keegan thinks it’s still running as normal…
something about a feedback loop and mimicking the patrol patterns of the guards.
He lost me when he started talking tech, but he found Keegan in an hour. I trust him to handle this.
That and he seems entirely too delighted that Wylder is going to owe him.
It’s my eldest who comes across the room, and his eyes go soft for just a second when he glances down and sees Calvin’s hand in mine. He smiles, and the sight is rare enough that it makes my chest feel a little tight.
“Hey, Calvin. Feeling better?” Wylder’s voice is warm.
“Yeah. I heard we’re going to talk about a plan?”
Wylder’s smile deepens and he nods—this smile I recognize. It’s the dangerous one, the one he wears when he’s going in for a kill.“Yeah. Are you going hunting with us?”
I’m not sure how I feel about how eager Wylder sounds—I really should have considered how much he wanted to get his hands on Keegan too.
He was so young… but I guess some memories stick with you, dark and vicious tendrils that wrap around your ribs and find a place in your heart.
I wonder if those seeds taking root when Wylder was so young made him the way he is. He isn’t like North… he’s…
“I don’t know about hunting, but I’m going to make sure Atlas is safe.” Calvin interrupts my thoughts, and the gentle squeeze of his fingers is enough to make some of the tension run out of my shoulders.
“Right now, let’s settle down and have dinner. Once we’re done, we can talk plans.”
Calvin nods while Wylder fixes me with a soft, odd expression. “Family dinner, right?”
Family. Shit. Everyone I care about is here, together… and I realize this might be the last time that’s true. I told Calvin earlier that Keegan was dangerous, and I meant it.
There’s every chance that someone could get hurt, or worse…
“It’ll be okay, Atlas.” Calvin’s voice is soft as he pulls me toward the table, and my heart feels like it might burst from my chest. I would split myself open and nestle him safely between my ribs, pull out my heart so he’d have a home where it was if it meant I could keep him safe.
“I know it will, sweetheart. I’ve got you, right?”
“Right.” He beams up at me, and that pain only intensifies.
Whatever it takes—whatever I have to do. I’ll do anything to make sure we can have more nights just like this.