CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
CHAPTER
FIFTY-SIX
Jayson heard his mother cry out shortly after their landline had rung. He and Ryan jumped up from the couch and ran into the kitchen, where both of their parents stood.
“Bryan’s alive! He’s in surgery, but he’s alive. Your father and I are going to go be with him,” his mother exclaimed, her hand going to her heart.
“Go, Mom. We have things here,” Jayson assured his mother when he saw the worry in her eyes.
“The kids?” she started to ask.
“Will be fine.”
Jayson whirled around to see Lana standing in the doorway with Rocky and Cullen standing behind her. He saw a couple of more women, but he wasn’t sure who they were.
“Mommy!”
Jayson watched as the twins ran to their mother and tackled her. His heart wanted to explode out of his chest at hearing all three of their laughter.
“Hi, aunties!” Dani waved at the women behind Lana.
“Hey, sprite. How have you been? Having fun here meeting your grandparents and your daddy?” Athena asked the young girl.
“Yep. I have a daddy and an uncle and a grandma and a grandpa now. Now Mommy and Daddy can get back together and not be lonely anymore.”
“Ah. The minds of little ones. So sweet and innocent, yet brutal in their words.” Charley “Country” Roy laughed, smacking Lana on the back.
“Your time is coming, bitch.” Lana laughed as she winked at Jayson.
“Not happening. My body is my temple. I’m not ruining it by spitting out kids. No offence, Ice.” Country shivered in mock disgust.
“Bitch, please. Your body is your temple, my ass. I’ve seen some of the men you’ve allowed into that so-called temple and I’m waiting for the call that you’ve caught an S.T.D. from one of them,” Rocky murmured with a roll of her eyes, making everyone laugh.
Jayson walked over and pulled Lana into his arms and sealed his lips to hers. He drank from her lips and held her tight, praying she wasn’t an illusion of his mind.
“Ew, Dad, not in front of Dani. She’ll think that’s what all girls need to do.”
“Will not! Boys are yucky. And so are you!”
“Good girl. Keep thinking like that and Daddy won’t have to beat up any boys when you get older.” Jayson smiled down at his daughter after breaking the kiss with Lana.
“You better not think you need to do that either, young man,” Lana warned her son with a glare.
“Girls have cooties!”
“Good boy!”
Jayson laughed as his son made the statement he made. “That’s not what you told me and Uncle Ryan. Don’t you like the Stevenson girl at school?”
“Hold up,” Lana started before Jayson glued his lips back on hers.
“Leave the boy alone!” Ryan grumbled, pulling the kid toward him.
“Lana, they just called and said Bryan was home. Ken and I are headed to Ft. Bragg to be with him. I just spoke with Tabitha Miller. She’s going to help with the kids while we are gone.”
“Go, Mrs. Kenwood. We will be fine here.”
Jayson waited until his parents left the room before looking at the women. He couldn’t help but wonder what they weren’t saying.
“How bad is he?” Ryan asked before Jayson could.
Lana looked at the group of women for several minutes before looking back at him and Ryan. He knew the news couldn’t be good from the look she gave them.
“If he survives the surgery, the next forty-eight hours will be his next obstacle. If he survives that, then he will have a long road to recovery. He had been badly beaten. He suffered several broken ribs, a punctured lung, and some internal bleeding. They broke his left leg in three places and his right arm and collarbone.”
“The people who did this?” Ryan seethed, his anger clear.
Jayson braced himself when he saw Lana look over at the other women again. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like her answer.
“Alive. And before anyone starts, there was a reason once the actual intel came in. Bryan’s team had been fed false intel for the purpose of going after the Soriano Cartel.
The leader of said cartel received a call from the same person who fed Delta Force the false intel saying that the team had gone rogue and were heading his way to take him out because of a deal with Colonel Hubbard gone bad.
They were both set up. Had Ortega taken out the entire Delta team, this person would have used it to start a war.
A war that would cost countless losses of lives.
All for ratings and to cover up their past criminal history. ”
“Our brother is…”
“Alive and aware of the deal. All five of them are. Be pissed at me all you want, but I did what was best and guaranteed your brother’s return,” Lana cut Ryan off before turning toward Jayson. “I’m going to the house to get a couple of hours of sleep.”
Lana didn’t wait for his or anyone’s response. She hugged and kissed the kids bye with a promise she would spend time with them after her much-needed nap.
Jayson felt confused about why she chose not to acknowledge him when she left. He figured they’d discuss it when he took the kids home.
Now was not the time. Jayson went about helping his parents get ready to head to Ft. Bragg.
An hour and a half later, his parents were on the road with their hotel booked and a full tank of gas. He packed up the kids and headed home to his place, only to find it empty.
Jayson: “Sorry to bother you, but is Lana still there at her dad’s house?”
Sgt. Bueller: “Yes, she’s passed out cold. So are Rocky, Cullen, and the other women with her. She didn’t trust herself behind the wheel after she dropped everyone off.”
Jayson: “Thank you. I was worried when I didn’t see her at the house. Let her know we are home now. I don’t want to wake her with a text.”
Sgt. Bueller: “I will. Jayson, there’s a storm coming. A huge one. Trust Lana and the rest of us. What she doesn’t tell you is for your safety. But you need to trust her with everything that you have.”
Jayson: “Always.”
Jayson put his phone down and went about making dinner for the kids. Something about Buller’s message kept tingling at the back of his mind.
Now he wondered exactly what they had discovered on the op to rescue his brother. It was days like this that he hated not being in the vault.
When eight o’clock at night rolled around and still no word from Lana, he had to admit he was getting pissed. When he received a text at nine-thirty letting him know he’d slept longer than planned and to give the kids a hug and kiss for her, he was livid.