by Lexi Blake
Was this why sex had been so good with him? And what would sex be like with this version of the man?
“God, I remember this,” he said against her lips. “I remember how good you felt in my arms. I remember that this felt like home, and I hadn’t been home in so fucking long.”
He kissed her again and she held him tight, emotion welling inside.
“Veronica? I’m sorry to interrupt but Violet woke up. She’s asking for you. I can tell her you’re busy.”
She practically jumped back at the sound of her mother’s voice. She was absolutely certain she was a bright shade of red. Violet was awake? She was in a foreign place and she’d woken up and her mom wasn’t there. Of course she was scared. What was she doing? He’d been back in her life for a single day and she was ready to give it up?
“I’m sorry. I’ll be right there.” She turned to Tucker. “I should go.”
“Do you need help?” His hair was mussed because at some point she’d run her fingers through it. It was soft and she liked that it was slightly long. It framed his gorgeous face. “I could rock her.”
They were moving way too fast and he was right. His life was complicated. She hadn’t come here to fall madly in love with the man she’d thought had ruined her life. She’d come to build a new one with her daughter. She shook her head. “No. I should get to bed. I’m…this was…”
“A mistake?”
She nodded.
“I accept that, but Roni, it’s one you’re going to make again and soon. I’ll see you in the morning. I want to have breakfast with my daughter.”
Was that a good idea?
He continued. “I might not be able to be in her life later. The unselfish thing to do would be to stay away, and I would if she was older. But she’s so young. Can’t she know even for a few days that her father loved her?”
“She usually gets up around seven. I don’t know what I have for breakfast,” she admitted.
He’d placed much needed space between them, as though he knew how close she was to simply running away. “I’ll be here at seven with breakfast. I’ll handle everything. And Roni, thank you for letting me know her. I’m down the hall if you need anything.”
He walked away and Roni turned to her mom. “It didn’t mean anything.”
Her mother’s eyes rolled. “Sure it didn’t. That boy. He’s good. Damn, even I wouldn’t have been cold enough to turn his hot ass down.”
“Mom.” She rushed inside and found Violet crying. “I’m sorry, baby girl.”
“No, I’m sorry,” her mother said as she walked in. “The situation might not be what we thought it was. I talked to Taggart and despite the fact that he’s a massive ass, he’s also solid. He’s willing to stand up for the kid. I shouldn’t have interrupted you but it’s habit. I’ll try to go easier on him. But, sweetheart, even if he’s everything they say he is, even if he didn’t leave you willingly…”
“He’s still dangerous.” She finished the sentence, reading her mother’s mind with ease.
Violet clutched at her, but her little head had turned as though she was looking to see where the new guy had gone.
Tucker was dangerous for all of them.
Chapter Six
Four days later, Tucker sat back in his chair and put a hand on Buster’s head. “She tried broccoli for the first time last night and it did not go well. Neither in the eating process or the digestive process.”
Robert chuckled. He occupied the desk across from Tucker’s. All of the Lost Boys shared a single big office space when they were in London. “I think Ari and I will hold off on the kiddos for a while. They’re cute, but I want to avoid diapers as long as I can.”
“I’m not going to be able to,” Owen complained. “I’m terrified of nappies, but Rebecca’s got that look in her eye. She knows Jax and River are trying. And I saw her playing with Vi and Ollie the other day. All of the sudden she’s asking what do I think would be a good name for a kid. She was not amused when I told her I liked the name Ten Years Down The Line. I’m worried but then I think if Tucker there can have a kid, I’m probably okay. He’s a baby himself.”
He sent Owen his middle finger. He was settling in nicely to being a father, including watching over her while Damon’s boy sized her up. Yeah, he had his eyes on Oliver Knight. Though she could do worse. Ollie would be well educated, and Damon was both wealthy and polite. When they eventually got to Dallas, though, he would watch those Taggart boys.
“Hey, he’s been a doting dad,” Robert pointed out. “He spends all his free time with Roni and Violet. Have you made any headway with Roni? She seems to have opened up a bit. I saw her downstairs having lunch with Rebecca and Ariel.”
“Rebecca and Roni had a breakthrough,” Owen admitted. “It involved wine, and then they yelled at each other for not talking when things were going bad at Kronberg. I thought I should break it up at one point, but Ian said it was how women worked things out. There was a lot of crying and then the tequila came out and now they’re best friends.”
It was the emotional equivalent of guys punching it out.
He and Roni needed to do the same thing, though it wouldn’t involve punching. It would involve getting nasty, though. The tension between them was building and had been since she’d kissed him so sweetly and then he’d eaten her up like a starving man. He just needed more time.
“Explain the delay again,” a deep voice said, reminding Tucker why he had a hundred-pound dog seeking his comfort.
The big mutt who had followed Jax and River halfway across the globe rested his head in Tucker’s lap. Normally he would have stayed close to Jax, but Jax was currently being interrogated by Ian, who was anxious to get home. Buster had an excellent sense of self-preservation.
Ian loomed over the resident computer guru. “Why is this taking so long? You’ve had days to do a simple job. Do I need to bring Adam over?”
Jax’s head tilted up to look at their boss. “I thought Adam was working for himself now. I don’t know that he can drop everything to come over and fake a couple of IDs for you. That’s like asking Michelangelo to paint a portrait of your dog.”
“Fine,” Ian said, his jaw clenched. “I can bring Hutch over if you can’t do it.”
He had to give it to Jax. His brother was cool under pressure. “I thought Hutch was holding down the actual paying work while Adam’s company is searching for Robert’s mom.”
“I told you I would help with that.” Robert stood at his desk. “But I also don’t want to put her in danger. We don’t even know if she exists. She could be dead for all we know. My brother, too.”
“That’s not what Green said,” Jax pointed out.
“Green lies.” Robert sat back down, his eyes going to the screen.
Tucker wished he knew what was going on in Robert’s head. He didn’t want to talk about the family his former wife had described. Despite the fact that Levi Green had told them Emily Seeger hadn’t been lying about Robert’s mother and brother, Robert didn’t want to talk about the potential of finding them.
Jax seemed to understand Robert needed a moment. He looked back to Ian. “Do you want to pull them off important work so they can forge a couple of documents? I’m waiting on the right tools. This is a delicate thing, Tag. Especially considering we’re dealing with a baby and an elderly woman.”
“Elderly woman my arse,” Owen said from his desk. “She talked me into sparring with her yesterday and then she kicked me in the balls. Bloody hell. She said ISIS wouldn’t play fair and they wouldn’t care about my future baby-making prospects. I tried to tell her I wasn’t planning on going up against ISIS anytime soon.”
Tag pointed Owen’s way. “You should always be ready to go up against ISIS. Sandra Croft is the most awesome thing I’ve found in a long time, and I want to recruit that woman. I think she could make an excellent operative if we could get her to stop calling everyone an asshole. And Jax, I’m going to tell her you called her elderly.”
J
ax proved there was pressure that could faze him. He paled considerably. “Hey, I was only pointing out that we don’t usually have to move women like her. We don’t normally move whole families. I have to have a cover story and I have to deal with the baby and… Tucker asked me to slow things down.”
He groaned. Fucking tattletale.
Tag had already turned on him and Buster whimpered and shifted away. “I knew it was you. Listen here, you little shit, I can’t go home without them. They want to go back to Dallas and I can’t send them out without an escort. I have a pregnant wife and three kids. Do you understand how pissy the wife gets when she’s left alone with three kids for two weeks because I’m waiting on Jax to do his damn job?”
“I’ll go with them.” It was what he wanted to do. He needed to move around a lot. Why couldn’t this move be to Dallas for the time being? “You can leave tonight and I’ll go when everything’s ready. I can help out around the office and get them settled in.”
“Or you could go to jail and be extradited to any number of countries.”
Tag was being overly dramatic. “It’s only four countries. That’s a specific number. Four whole countries in the world want to throw me in jail. One of them is New Zealand. How bad could that be?”
He didn’t remember robbing that bank in Auckland, but he was sure it had been a polite crime.
“Yeah, well the other three aren’t known for hobbits,” Tag shot back. “I haven’t spent years of my life trying to keep you alive so you could get tossed in a freaking gulag in Siberia. Am I clear?”
He’d been clear all week. It was frustrating. He wasn’t going to let Roni leave without him. He couldn’t lose Violet. “That is my child. Tell me you would let Kenzie or Kala go alone? Anything could go wrong.”
“Which is precisely why I’m escorting them, and Solo is going to monitor things so I’ve got a heads-up if we need to change plans. We’re going on a private jet.” Tag seemed to rein himself in. “I get that you’re worried, but I think it’s safe for her to go. I think it might be safer for her than staying here, and you should know that I’ve talked to Ezra about moving you guys again.”
That had them all sitting up.
“What?” Jax said.
Tag held a hand up. “I’m worried because I think German intelligence is sniffing around MI6. Solo has information that places two known German operatives in London at MI6 headquarters talking to the new boss. And we all know both agencies are interested in you. Kronberg has a new VP. You remember Arthur Dwyer? The one who we’re pretty sure lied about seeing Tucker and Veronica at the airport, but he definitely knew they’d gone somewhere?”
“I remember he watched my wife’s arse and breasts the whole time he was having lunch with her,” Owen said with a frown.
“Yeah, well, he’s gone from research to the corporate top floors, and I think that can’t be a coincidence.” Tag stared at him. “I think it’s a matter of time before MI6 puts the pressure on Damon to give you up, and he won’t. What do you think that will mean?”
It meant trouble.
The door came open and Ezra strode through. He stopped when he realized everyone was looking at him. And frowning because he hadn’t said a damn thing.
Ezra turned to Tag. “You told them? I told you not to tell them until I had a plan in place.”
“Why the hell do we have to move?” Jax asked, standing. Buster sat at his side. “I’ve moved my wife three times in the last year. You know we’re talking about having kids.”
Ezra pointed a finger his way. “Which is precisely why you shouldn’t have gotten married. You knew what would happen when the heat was on us again. River knew exactly what she was getting into. Robert and Owen are free to stay here. You and Tucker will come with me. I think whoever was checking out Solo’s place the other night was intelligence.”
“I don’t understand why they would come after us at this point. You’re working with MI6 and the CIA,” Robert pointed out. “You’ve been feeding them intel on us the whole time.”
“In order to protect you.” Tag’s arms had crossed over his chest. “Damon and I have been working with trusted members of those teams. Damon’s old boss recently retired, and it wasn’t his choice. We think one of the reasons they forced Nigel out is because they want someone who will put more pressure on us. I would fight, but the truth of the matter is I am harboring two fugitives. I was able to get the charges against my brother and Robert resolved because of the countries those charges came from. I haven’t been able to do the same for the secondary team.”
Because McDonald had used them far more than her alpha boys. Because she’d been willing to risk them in a way she hadn’t with her favorites.
“And would that change if Tucker and I offered to fully cooperate with the Agency?” Jax asked. “Would the Agency be able to get them to back down?”
It was funny because a few days before he wouldn’t have even considered it since it would mean medical tests, and he didn’t trust the Agency as far as he could throw it. But now, the thought of being separated from Roni and Vi made him sick. If there was even a chance they could have any normalcy at all, he would take it. “Yes. What if we were willing to do whatever they asked in exchange for full pardons or the promise to fight any extradition attempts?”
“River and I will be perfectly happy in Bliss. We don’t need to leave the country again,” Jax said, his eagerness apparent. “Tucker’s more than welcome to come with us. Or he can stay in Dallas. I’m done with leaving home.”
He would have options if he could get his name cleared. Or at least the promise that he wouldn’t be arrested and tossed into some international jail. He could have a relationship with his daughter, and he was desperate enough to use that to forge a new bond with Veronica.
He wanted her. He needed her. She was the one and he needed time to make her see that they worked. She’d softened up enormously since that first meeting. She let him stay at her place until it was time for Violet to go to bed. He ate most of his meals with her. She cooked and he did the dishes and Sandra told him all the ways he was doing it wrong. Once they’d watched TV afterward and he’d sat beside her. It had been a British show about ghosts trying to get rid of a couple in their home, but he hadn’t really watched it. He’d watched her laugh. He’d watched her lips curl up and her chest move.
She hadn’t let him kiss her again, but it was coming.
Then he would be coming. But only after she came.
He couldn’t do any of that if she was in Dallas and he was holed up in Liechtenstein or some other European country with cheap hotels and not a ton of security. Yeah, it probably wouldn’t be Liechtenstein.
“You don’t understand what you could be getting into,” Ezra said, a grim set to his face. “I don’t know what they want. I know what Solo says, but she’s not working directly for the Agency in this case. I’ve told you there are factions in the CIA, and they don’t change the way a president does. Hayes is up for reelection.”
“He’s probably going to win,” Robert pointed out.
“But if he doesn’t, we have no idea how the other guy would handle our case.” Tag continued Erza’s line of thought. “Or if he even would handle it at all. Most presidents take a hands-off approach, hence places like The Ranch existing. They don’t want to know what the Agency is doing so they don’t get any blood on their hands. You could go into this and it could be fine for a couple of months, then there’s a regime change and suddenly you’re worth more dead than alive.”
The Ranch had been a secret facility deep in the woods of Colorado. According to the records they’d found, he was fairly certain he’d been there, working with Hope McDonald. Would he end up in a place like that? Would he deserve whatever he got there? He knew Jax didn’t.
“You can’t do it.” Robert moved to stand next to Owen. “You have to give us time. We can find out what happened to that intel. If we have the intel—that list of everyone who knowingly worked with McDonald—then
we’ve got the advantage. We can handle this. I think you had something to do with it, Tucker.”
“We all do,” Owen agreed. “We think you figured out exactly what was happening and you decided to go to the authorities. Maybe that’s what you were doing that day you disappeared. We’ve got some leads to follow. And Rebecca and I will go with you. Wherever you go, we’ll be there. She won’t even question it.”
Because Rebecca had become a part of the team. Rebecca would put her career on hold, place herself in danger, do anything it took to stay with them.
Did he want that life for Roni and Vi?
No, but he also didn’t want them out in the world on their own. He didn’t want his daughter to wonder what had happened to her father for the rest of her life. She should know that he fought for the right to stay with her and her mother.
“How long do we have before you’re going to move us?”
Ezra seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “I think we should do it next week. I’m putting Rob on logistics. But you should understand that I am going to try to convince Rob and Owen to stay here. We’ll move faster as a foursome than in a big group.”
“Not going to happen,” Rob said.
“Even if I wanted to, Rebecca won’t let Tucker go without a physician,” Owen explained. “She doesn’t like the idea of him working so soon. She definitely won’t like him traveling.”
“I’ll minimize it as much as possible,” Ezra promised. “I’m worried that the Agency seems to be here in London. That’s three intelligence groups. I don’t like it.”
“Solo would know if something is about to go down. Wouldn’t she?” Jax asked. “She would warn us.”
“Only if it suited her purposes.” Ezra moved toward the desk he used. “I worry she’s staying here to keep an eye on us in case we do move.”
“And I worry that your emotional state won’t let you see an ally when she’s standing right in front of your face,” Tag shot back. “She’s the one who told us she thinks MI6 is working with German intelligence and might be ready to make a play.”
