“Saved by the bell,” he singsongs.
I shake my head at him as I stand to get the call.
“I’m going to decorate the hell out of that tree, Michael.” My mock-stern tone does nothing to dim his smile—exactly as it should be with family.
But when I see the caller ID, I know I can’t be smiling or feeling happy. Shit. Rory will have so many questions if she hears the smile in my voice, and she can always tell, that witch.
My cheeks relax on autopilot, and I don’t bother looking at anyone or making excuses.
I leave the room and walk to the other side of the ground floor, and only then do I answer the call.
“What?” There’s no reason for niceties.
“He’s awake,” Rory snaps, then ends the call. That’s her way, and it saves me from having to bite back the hitch in my breath.
As far as best friends go, she’s not the worst in the world, but damn it, I made my bed when it comes to her, and I’ve been lying in it for too long to start complaining now.
I see I don’t need to make excuses by the looks on my family’s faces when I return to the dining room.
“Work call,” I mutter. “Bran, we need to leave.”
“Okay, Dad,” he says simply. We say our goodbyes quickly, though I do manage to kiss the boys on their still newborn-soft foreheads, but we don’t waste any time making plans for next time, because texting exists and also we already have those plans set.
I’m gonna see Mike play this Sunday with everyone at the stadium, and then we’re gonna—god save me—decorate for Christmas. I count the days in my head and realize it’s going to be one day after Halloween.
Theo and Mike don’t waste time getting to their favorite season, and you gotta admire that.
Any thoughts of family, Christmas traditions, and football have to fly out of my head when I walk out of the front door and to the courtyard—yes, the Crawford mansion on Fifth, just three blocks up from Washington Park, has an actual courtyard.
I nod at Connor, the man I put in charge of my family’s safety the moment he left the Marines, and also someone who grew up around the family, so I’ve known him all his life and trust him.
Bran and I make our way to the side building of the courtyard and through the long hallway, up the stairs to the firstfloor, into my “bedroom,” and then out the window we use to get in and out of the property undetected.
The alley’s deserted, as it always should be, and the only cameras that point here are being monitored by Zeke—Iris’s bodyguard who I also hand selected. We get to the iron gate at the end of the alley, and after making sure no one is going to notice us, we slip out onto the sidewalk and join the late Friday stragglers.
We walk briskly for five blocks east until we get to one of the garages I use in the city, then we’re off to Jersey.
The emergency clinic I had built for the family more than twenty years ago is three blocks off the exit of Holland Tunnel, so it only takes us forty-five minutes to get there.
Rory’s waiting just inside, and as she always does whenever he’s left her sight, she scans Bran from head to toe to make sure he’s in perfect health, then nods to herself and doesn’t even spare me a glance before she’s turning away and down the hallway.
We follow her without saying a word.
She’s always been unstable at best, but the last three weeks... she couldn’t even find her happy place while cuddling with Bran.
Not that I blame her, it’s been hard for all of us, but now Duffy’s awake, and he’s surely well enough if her call and current demeanor is anything to go by. I’m pretty sureshe’d have started burning the city down one building at a time if Duffy wasn’t perfectly...fine.
It’s like my brain sighs in relief when I finally have eyes on him.
Awake, with the bed reclined up, and smiling his crazy smile up at Blake. As one of my most trusted men, he’s like family, like everyone else in the room. He’s a good, loyal man, who has proven ten times over that he’ll follow me to the pits of hell and back even though he’s a bit older than me.
Mac’s sitting in bed with Duffy and has an arm around his shoulders. His own peace of mind is obvious.
The crazy twins are reunited at last.
“Uncle Duffy,” Bran says, and rushes over before stopping abruptly right by the bed. He looks Duffy over just like Rory did to him a minute ago, then carefully leans down to hug him gently. “I’m so happy to see you,” he whispers.
Rory rushes over and throws herself over Bran to hug her brother too.
