“Ta-da,” they cried, each brandishing a sai sword.
“Are those…”
“Real?” Payton asked. “Oh, yeah. Straight from the real weapons storage.” They thrust one into each hand. “Here, take them. Feel them, play with them. Then fucking end him.”
Gift tested the grip, then spun each one in his hand, sucking in a breath at the sound the blade made as it cut through the air. He spun them both together, then separately, relieved to see that he was just as comfortable with the real thing as he was the training swords.
Wet moans dragged Gift from his thoughts, and everyone stood back as he walked to what was left of Marshall Kendrick. His fingers were missing, his face was grotesquely misshapen, and there was an object driving screws into his skull.
Killing him was probably more than he deserved. He’d assaulted his birth mother, stolen her child, kept her locked in a Thai prison for over twenty years. He was the reason his adopted mother lost her baby girl. Who knows how many other people’s lives Kendrick had ruined.
“You don’t have to do this,noo,” Anchali said softly.
Gift met Kendrick’s eyes, giving him a cold smile, before his left blade pierced the hollow of his throat, coming out the other side. Kendrick started to seize, a foul smell filling the room. Unlike with Aspen, this time Gift’s aim was dead on, his right blade sliding through the man’s chest with only the slightest bit of resistance.
He watched as Kendrick’s body stiffened then went boneless, slumping into the chair. He left both blades where they were, then turned back to the others, running and throwing his arms around his moms. They both hugged him, though Sukhon with far more hesitancy.
When they finally let him go, Anchali kissed his forehead. “Sukhon and I are going to find a place to stay for the night, but we’ll come back and see you in the morning,noo.”
“I have quarters available, if you’d like to bed down here for the night,” Boone offered. “I’m sure we can find some clothes for you to wear overnight if you don’t mind the Watch logo on them.”
Anchali looked at Sukhon who nodded, her exhaustion evident.
“Mac, would you mind showing them to the rooms in the east wing?”
“No problem. Ladies,” Mac said with a sweeping gesture towards the door. They followed him, smiling when he stopped to smack a kiss on Archer’s mouth.
“Who’s cleaning up this mess?” Park asked Boone.
“They are,” he said, pointing to the kids.
Groans sounded around the whole room.
“Oh, come on. You made us clean up after Aspen and now, we have to clean this, too?” Morgan whined, flopping onto one of the gym mats.
Boone sighed. “Fine. Just this once, I’ll let the professionals handle it. But youwilllearn proper body disposal. Got it?”
“Yes, sir,” they all said in unison.
Boone rolled his eyes. “Okay, go to bed. It’s late.”
Park slapped Boone on the shoulder with a nod, then took Gift back to his room. Gift stood in the bathroom as Park undressed him then stood him under the scalding water, stepping in behind him. Gift just sagged against him, letting Park wash him, unable to even open his eyes.
Only once they were both curled in bed did he finally speak. “Are you disappointed in me?”
Gift didn’t open his eyes but heard the confusion in Park’s tone as he said, “What? Why?”
Gift shrugged. “I don’t know. ‘Cause I didn’t want to torture Kendrick. Or because I did kill him. Or ‘cause I now have a body count higher than one.”
Park dragged him into his arms, gathering him as close as he could manage, resting his head on the top of Gift’s head. “I don’t care if you never kill again. I don’t care if you drop out of the Watch and stay home watching reruns of thePrice is Rightall day. I don’t care if you want to go back to school and get a master’s degree in…needlepoint or French cooking.”
Gift snickered. “Can you get a master’s in either of those things?”
“Fuck if I know. The point is, I love you whether you have a body count or not. It’s not going to keep me from marrying you.”
Gift’s eyes flew open. “Marriage? Marriage isn’t even legal in Thailand,” Gift reminded him.
“I’m American and we don’t live in Thailand. And I need to put a ring on your finger before Payton starts dragging you around the world as his handler and you run off with some French guy.”
