Rose and Oz looked at each other. Mirth danced in the depths of her eyes, and Oz gave a solemn nod. “You realize I’m going to ask for pictures of you with all the furry characters.”
Alex cocked a brow. “We were thinking more along the lines of the hot princesses.”
Rose snorted out a laugh and jumped up to hurl herself at their sons. Oz watched them embrace, noting the extreme affection they all held for each other. Impossible for him not to wonder if he could ever become part of that intimate circle.
But then they all stood and Alex circled the coffee table to Oz. They faced each other, at a crossroads. Oz held out a hand, and Alex took it in a firm grip. Their gazes met, and then Oz could hold back no longer—he pulled his son into his arms for the very first time.
When he released Alex after a long, tearful moment, Nick stood there waiting for his turn. After Nick pulled free, he eyed Oz. “Mom, what do you say about me getting some tattoos like Dad?”
* * * * *
Oz stood at the window, staring out over the grand grounds of the plantation. Some of the property had been turned into grazing land for cattle and the rest planted with crops. But she knew neither interested Oz.
The slump of his shoulders spoke of an inner turmoil she was quickly coming to recognize in him. While nothing in their lives felt certain right now, one thing stuck out—she never wanted to see him suffer. She walked up behind him and slipped her arms around his middle.
He dropped his fist from his mouth and covered the back of her hand with his big one. As she pressed her cheek against his muscled spine, she sucked in deep breaths of his masculine scent. Soap, cotton and musk. Over the years, none of that had changed, and the mix still proved deadly to her libido. Deep in her core, the first ripples of desire stirred, despite his long and thorough loving the night before.
When he issued a heavy sigh, she slid around his body, positioning herself between him and the tall window. She tipped her head to look at him. “I don’t like that sigh, Oz.”
His hard lips tightened. “I’m sorry. It’s just that…”
“Go on and tell me. Even if it’s going to break my heart.”
His eyes widened, and he gripped her upper arms. “I’ve told you how I feel about us. I’m not going back on my word, Rose.”
She nodded, but he pressed her chin up using his knuckles, his stare intense. “You believe me, right?”
A quick search of his eyes told her everything she needed to know. “Yes. So what is going on? Does this have to do with Lobo?”
“No.” He cut his fingers through his dark hair. “It’s about Lars.”
“The man you defended as not being a traitor.”
“Yes. Some of the members of the Church don’t yet believe that he didn’t turn spy for the Russian government. See, he’s Russian-born. Adopted here in the US as a baby, but they believe his heritage would sway his alliance. That’s one part of the problem.”
“What’s the other?” She trailed her fingers down his biceps.
“I broke quite a few of my own rules of the covenant, and I have to stand up for them.”
She sucked in a breath. “What does that mean for you?”
“It could mean my position is stripped from me.”
“No,” came out as a hot whisper.
He drew away and strode across the room, head bowed. Several heartbeats passed where she had no idea what to say. Oz leaving for his own reasons was one thing, but to be thrown out of the organization he’d built from the ground up and spearheaded for years must be a bitter pill. If she knew her man—and she did—he wouldn’t swallow it.
“How do you combat these claims?”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I have to return for questioning.”
“When?” She knew the answer by the look on his face. “Today,” she said.
He nodded. “Fuck, I don’t want to leave you and the boys. I…” He cut off, struggling for a long minute.
She crossed the room to his side and caught his hand in hers. “I’ll go with you.”
“And leave them?” He shot a look toward the ceiling, where the boys were still sleeping. “No way. I won’t split you from them.”
“Then we’ll all go.”
He studied her eyes, as if trying to determine if she was serious.
She gave a hard nod. “It’s easy to pack—none of us have anything. We can be on the road bound for Maryland in ten minutes.”
“How do you know where our base is?”
“Madeline,” she responded.
He grunted. “I’m surprised she told you anything.”
“We made friends, in a sense. I’m not sure we’ll be braiding each other’s hair and going out for margaritas, but I do consider her a friend now.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know, Rose.”
She wanted to shake him. “Are we in your life or not? Because if we’re in, we need to be part of everything. And don’t tell me this is different. I let you in to my life—all in. I even provided a stolen password for you.”
“Look what happened after that.” Again, he shot a glance at the ceiling.
“Yes, I admit shit went sideways. But you’re underestimating how strong I am.”
Crinkles appeared around his eyes. He gently brushed his thumb over the crest of her cheek, and she leaned into his touch. “Your strength continues to amaze me, sweetheart.”
A step sounded at the door of the parlor, and they turned to see Nick standing there, dressed but barefoot, his hair rumpled. He started to turn away at seeing their moment together.
Oz dropped his hand. “It’s all right. You don’t have to go, Nick.”
She stared at her lover. “Out of curiosity, how are you distinguishing the boys apart? They’re identical and the differences are small.”
Oz grinned. “You forget that my job is to focus on the smallest of things.”
Nick raised a hand and rubbed it over his hair, ruffling it more. “Is there food?”
Rose chuckled. “Through even the roughest moments in life, you think with your stomach.”
“Well, yeah, Mom. Alex is on his way down too.”
A thump of bare feet on the hardwood announced her other son had arrived and would also be searching for food. She threw Oz a look. “Do we have time for breakfast, or…?”
He gave a nod. “Go on.”
They all went into the kitchen, outfitted in all the modern necessities. When she opened the fridge to find it fully stocked like the beach house had been, she wasn’t surprised.
“Whoa. Did you buy all this?” Nick turned to look at his father.
“The house comes equipped.”
“Is this how all the special forces work? You get to stay in mansions with all the food you can want?” Nick asked.
He laughed. “No. You’re pretty much living off MREs in special forces. This is just us.”
“Can we join when we’re ready?” Alex’s voice came gritty with sleep.
Without even looking to Oz for his response, Rose said, “No.”
“But our father is the head of the organization, Mom. He has the final say.”
“No,” she said more firmly, cracking eggs into a pan. She threw a look over her shoulder to see Oz openly sizing up his sons. She whirled, spatula in hand. “You’re not seriously considering this, Oz.”