When the older man looked up, Ken spotted the tears in his eyes. “When they met, Maisie was in heaven. Tam was so delightful, and we couldn’t believe our good fortune. We immediately fell in love with her as a daughter and felt blessed she was in our lives.” He wiped at his eyes. “Nothing we do will bring Maisie and Rupert back. But it’s been the better part of a year now, and if it’s a mate bond, absolutely we’ll support them.”
“And,” Dewi continued, “Aisling is worried that if she reveals it to Tamsin that the complexity of Tamsin’s emotional state might complicate matters. She absolutely doesn’t want Tamsin to jump for an emotional life ring instead of dealing with her trauma in a healthy way. She would rather Tamsin feel it independently without knowing how Aisling feels first.”
“Ah,” Trevor said. “That’s quite considerate of her. I suppose I can see her point of view.”
“That was very diplomatic of you, Dewi,” Peyton said.
“For a change,” Trent snarked.
“Okay, fuck both of you assholes,” Dewi growled. “I’m PMSing and itching to pound something. Just keep it up.”
“Trent,” Ken said, “remember that I’m not there to distract her to save your ass if you wind her up.”
“KMAG-YOYO,” Jake snarked.
“What?” pretty much everyone asked.
Jake grinned. “Kiss My Ass, Guys—You’re On Your Own.”
“Anyway,” Dewi growled, “I also think part of Aisling’s thought process is the age difference, especially in relation to Aisling’s career. That she’s…well, she’s seen some shit, and she’s worried she might not be the best mate for Tamsin.”
“Bollocks!” Trevor said. “That girl—Aisling, I mean—has never been able to see herself the way we all see her.”
“As a pain in my fucking ass?” Dewi muttered.
“I will say she feels she’s a failure, but she doesn’t deserve that,” Trevor continued without missing a beat. “She hates herself for the attack on the safe house, but it wasn’t her fault. Then she lost Faegan’s trail, and she blames herself for that, too, when again I’ve tried, repeatedly, to convince her I do not hold her responsible.”
They all fell silent for a moment.
“Well, goddammit,” Dewi said. “That means I need to fucking be nicer to her. Aisling, I mean. Gee, thanks a lot.”
Ken laughed at Trevor’s confusion. “Their first meeting was…contentious.”
“You were naked in our kitchen, and she was ogling you!” Dewi said. “And she had my favorite coffee cup, goddammit!”
“At least I had a gun,” Ken said.
Peyton clapped a hand over his eyes and groaned while Hamish and Duncan burst out laughing.
Trevor looked at them. “Um, may I request context?”
“Let’s put a pin in that, too,” Peyton said.
“Anyhoo,” Dewi continued, “Peyton probably needs to be the one to speak to this so I don’t spill beans that are supposed to remain unspilled?—”
“Again,” Peyton muttered.
“Fuck you. Then you explain the other reason Aisling doesn’t want to claim her yet. At least I didn’t tell Tamsin you’re alive—that was your fuck-up, Mr. Prime Prick. And I’m still punching you when you get home for scaring the crap out of me and not letting Ken at least tell me you were alive before he left. Fucker. I was worried about both of you?—”
Ken cleared his throat and looked at Peyton. “I don’t know everything,” he said, “but I do know I had to make a phone call to Aisling as part of your instructions when all this shit hit the fan.”
Peyton nodded. “Yeah. Since I know we’ll need Jake, I want him to know all of this, too.” He focused on Trevor again. “You were here when I talked to Aisling and recruited her. You remember the things I discussed with her?”
“Yes?” he said, looking confused. And then Trevor released the most somber sigh Ken had ever heard from anyone. “Aisling’s worried her duties may get her killed, and she doesn’t wish Tamsin to go through that again,” Trevor quietly said.
Peyton touched his nose. “And that was before all this shit happened, and I disappeared, and we knew about the lab. Plus, she doesn’t know I’m alive yet. She’s under the assumption she may need to return here to begin carrying out our scorched earth plans. Unfortunately, now that we know about the lab and what we might be up against to put it out of commission… Well, she might be right.”
Trevor sagged, eyes closed, head thrown back. “Bloody hell,” he muttered. “You’re right.”
