“I hope you got a cold beer. I sure could do with one,” Conrad said as Kylo’s thoughts raced, all of which came at him.
“I might be able to rustle up a couple.”
Conrad hugged Wyatt hard after getting out of the boat. “I missed your ugly face.”
Wyatt held him hard. “Missed you, too, brother.”
A snarling sound coming from behind Wyatt drew them apart, and Conrad grinned at James. Who, to Conrad’s mind, looked much more human than the first time he’d seen him. And a bit bigger, too. “Nice to see you as well,” Conrad said, tongue in cheek. More amused when Wyatt gave James a quelling look that stopped the sound he was making.
Conrad looked at Kylo, whose mouth remained open. “Kylo, meet James.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Kylo
Shut your mouth. Shut your damn mouth.A tsunami of emotions flowed through Kylo in that moment. The magnitude of what Conrad had done was front and center—the trust his mate showed him with the secret that had admittedly gnawed at Kylo’s insides since the day they met.
Swiftly following that was,what the fuck?At first glance, James appeared so ordinary. Good looking. Lean except for a bulge around his middle. A mop of light colored hair and a mass of tanned skin on display, seeing as both he and Wyatt were only wearing shorts.
Kylo realized, as he stared, that he had seen James in the twenty years he’d been searching for him. Standing in front of him was the man in the bookstore who’d ducked his head when Kylo went by. He was the guy waiting behind him, as Kylo ordered his morning coffee only six months before. He was in the grocery store, seen walking down the streets—a regular guy who blended into each situation, exactly as they’d trained him to be.
You always knew who I was.
The question must’ve been in his eyes because the man now known as James smirked. “I wasn’t following you, in case you’re wondering. I was testing me.”
“Well, fun as this is, the sun is hot under these wards,” Wyatt said, a possessive hand on his mate’s shoulder. “Let’s head up to the house. We prepared lunch, and we only have an hour.” The two men turned away and headed across the beach and up a sharp trail that ran up to a house that peeked between trees at the top of the hill.
“Lunch?” Kylo turned to Conrad, who was watching him intently. “We’re just going to sit and have lunch, like civilized people, after… after…. Aftereverything?”
“We can get in the boat and leave now, and Wyatt won’t think you weird for doing it.” Conrad’s voice was deliberately low, and Kylo realized his mate was concerned about him. “You wanted to see… this. It took a lot of planning so I could give you this. None of us could predict the outcome until we got here. From what Wyatt reported and from what I can see here today, James is more stable than he has been. The time limit was necessary, however. He functions better when there is a set routine in place, and our visit is disruptive.”
Kylo cast a longing glance at where the two men had disappeared and then back at the boat. It had been difficult to accept that when Ana—Devil—James disappeared, there were some questions he’d never get answers to. What, how and who, came to mind, but the biggest question was “why.”
Looking around at the sun-kissed beach and then back at the hill—at the very pretty prison Wyatt and his mate were living in—he reached for Conrad’s hand. “We can do lunch if it won’t upset things here too much.”
“Wyatt loves James, the same way I love you,” Conrad said simply. “That’s all you need to remember.” Their feet sank into the soft sand as they made their way to the trail.
He loves me.Kylo had guessed, although Conrad never said the words directly.Not until now,he thought with a rueful grin as Conrad held his seat for him at a beautifully laid table. James and Wyatt, with wary smiles, sat across from him.
“You have the most incredible view,” Kylo said, looking out across the treetops to the sea beyond as he realized the others were waiting for him to take the lead. “Do you see many dolphins or whales from up here?”
~/~/~/~
The hour was almost up. Kylo was as conscious of the ticking time limit as he was of every interaction he saw between Wyatt and James. Twice James had snarled at something Conrad had said. Wyatt quietened him, with just a glance and a firm hand on the back of his neck. It made Kylo wonder, as they ate the delicious salad and fish Wyatt and James had caught themselves, how much Wyatt had given up to be with his mate.
They seemed happy, and Kylo hadn’t expected that. Wyatt had traveled all over the world as part of his work, and Kylo imagined James had done the same. He hadn’t always lived in the jungle. And yet, on their solitary island, with no one else around, Kylo could see how it would appeal to the mated pair, although he knew for himself, that he’d be stir crazy in about a week… maybe a month.
The difference was family, Kylo realized. Wyatt’s family was his fellow assassins—hybrids like him, who had shared horrific life experiences and forged incredible bonds because of them. Conrad had blended into Kylo’s family, but there were still times when he seemed almost shocked at the love and acceptance Kylo’s parents and brothers gave him. Like he didn’t expect it. Like he didn’t think he was worthy of it.
James never believed, for whatever reason, he had anybody either. And yet, in a weird, Frankenstein type of way, he’d tried to build that sense of connection for himself with his hybrids. But because of what they’d done to him, there had been a disconnect… something that eluded James’ grasp his whole life.Until he met Wyatt.
There were a million things Kylo wanted to ask, as the men—mostly Wyatt and Conrad—talked about the Thalassas and Conrad’s experiences with power tools while they were making a few changes to their new house. Questions about the children buried in the jungle, things he so desperately wanted to know about James’ relationship with Selina, burned his tongue. Was James a pawn in her sick game, or was it something more?
And yet, sitting at a beautiful table, his stomach appreciating the simple food, Kylo couldn’t do it. He couldn’t voice any of the things he’d imagined he’d ask James when he dreamed of finally facing him.
Because when it was all said and done, the answers didn’t matter. What was done was done. Wyatt let Kylo know, in his subtle way, that the two men would likely never leave the island. “It’s for the best,” Wyatt had said when Conrad asked directly about it. “And it’s our choice, which, as you know, bro, means a lot in our profession.”
“That was a delightful lunch,” Kylo said, pushing his plate away. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had fish cooked so delicately, and it was really nice, thank you.”
