“Yeah. Maybe so,” Thomas agreed. “I just want them to have time to be children. There’s going to come a time when we all have to decide whether we let them in on our family secret, tell them who we are—who wereallyare—or hide it from them and pray they don’t find out.”
“Those are August’s children. There’s a chance that no matter how good August’s and Lucas’s parenting skills are, they may be predisposed to their father’s psychopathy,” Aiden said.
Thomas nodded. “But we now know not all psychopaths kill. Especially those raised in loving and nurturing homes. I could have just tried to protect them when they were little instead of stealingtheirchildhoods. My boys. I could have given them therapy and…burrito blankets…and maybe they would have never wanted to kill at all. I… Maybe I ruined them.”
Aiden sat up, turning to face him, legs crossed to tuck himself against him as closely as possible. “Sure, you taught them how to shoot and fight and kill. But you also let them swim, let them play sports, let them be mathletes and drive race cars.”
“As a cover,” Thomas said, shaking his head.
“They had a blast. And look at them now. They’re all married, all successful, all thriving. The only one who doesn’t truly enjoy what he does is Atticus and he was smart enough to fall for a man who not only enjoys killing but who also brought along his own school of murderous muppets to join the party. There’s a whole school full of psychopathic Gen-Zers who are proving that your theories—though slightly self-serving—have merit. You didn’t ruin anyone or anything. Someone has to take out the trash society can’t. That’s us.”
Thomas sighed. “I just want Adelyn and Arabella to have a normal childhood. The same with any other grandchildren I have.”
“Did you want more?” Aiden asked, studying Thomas’s face intently.
“More? Grandchildren? Not really my call. But I hope so. I love when the girls are in the house. Just knowing they’re there is…a relief, I guess.”
“I meant children…of your own?” Aiden asked. “Ofourown.”
Thomas felt like he’d been sucker-punched. “Our? Children…”
Before Thomas could formulate some kind of intelligible response, Aiden’s phone began to silently vibrate its way along Thomas’s side table.
He picked it up and looked at it before saying, “Hello?” There was a female voice on the other side. “Did you find something? No, don’t tell me yet. Let me get the rest of the group together and I’ll FaceTime you—Nobody cares if you have on makeup—or a bra—Fine. Fine. Thirty minutes.”
Thomas chuckled when Aiden hung up, happy to shelve their current topic of conversation before he had a panic attack. “Lola found something?”
“I guess we’ll find out. Archer and Mac were doing some digging last night and found some stuff, too,” Aiden said, climbing over Thomas, making sure to drag himself against him as he stood.
“Like what?” Thomas asked, taking Aiden’s offered hand and allowing him to pull him to his feet.
“I’ll fill you in while we shower.”
“We’re showering together?” Thomas asked, not resisting as Aiden tugged him towards the bathroom.
“Yes. Do you have a problem with that?” Aiden asked, giving him a stern look that went straight to Thomas’s dick.
“No, sir,” he said, voice low with just the slightest hint of mocking.
The heated look Aiden gave him showed him he was choosing to ignore the teasing and focus only on the dirty suggestion in his tone.
* * *
Thomas had spent a lot of time wondering about what Lola looked like ever since Aiden said they were…close. But nothing could have prepared him for the woman who was now staring out over a sea of strangers with a look of both curiosity and confusion.
She was tall, at least six feet, but currently wearing brown suede boots that went to her thighs, tight jeans that hugged her curves, and a sweater that looked like it had been painted on under a brown leather jacket. Gold jewelry adorned her neck, her ears, her fingers, and her wrists, highlighting terracotta-colored skin that looked like it glowed. Lola was stunning and probably scared the shit out of insecure men. Thomas liked her immediately.
“Am I doing a debriefing or a TED talk?” she asked.
There were some snickers from around the room. For the most part, everyone had returned to their seats from the previous night. The only exception was that Thomas and Aiden sat across from Calliope at the conference table, chairs turned towards the large screen where Lola currently loomed.
“Lola, my family. Family, meet Lola,” Aiden said, amused by the varied expressions on their faces. “Where are you?”
She ignored his question, then plopped herself up on her kitchen counter, legs swinging as she grabbed a mug of what Thomas could only assume was coffee.
“Charmed, I’m sure,” she said with a heavy fake Southern accent.
“She’s a goddess,” Seven said in wonder.
