“Stay out of it, Kaylie,” Phoenix warns. “They’re grown adults. They can figure out their own shit.”
“Just a nudge,” she counters.
“Nope,” Phoenix insists, his hands on his hips. “If and when he’s ready to make a move, Falcon can do it on his own.”
“What if Mina starts dating someone, huh? Then he’s going to kick his own ass,” she banters back.
“That’s a consequence he’ll have to face,” he replies. He softens his tone before saying, “Falcon needs to do things his way. Pushing him will only make it worse. You know him; he needs to be in control. And what if this is just a sexual attraction and it fizzles out? What, then? Falcon isn’t just thinking of himself. He knows that if, and it’s a big if, he makes a move and it goes bad, Remmi and Wire will be affected.” Phoenix reaches out to take her free hand. “Leave them be. They’ll work it out.”
Kailyn lets out a heavy sigh and mutters a very sad “Okay.”
Phoenix is right about Falcon, though. He’s once again considering everyone involved. It’s noble, and yet, he’s being unfair to himself. He deserves to be happy. I’ve only known him to be seriously involved with one other woman. His ex-wife, Lillian, was a good woman, but unfortunately, she wasn’t ready to be married, and especially not to a man who was away from her for as long as Falcon was. Falcon was rarely home, but when he was, Lillian was the center of his world.
This wasn’t enough for her. She was young and needed more attention and sought that in the arms of another man. To her credit, she regretted it as soon as it happened and confessed her affair to Falcon the very next visit he made home. But the damage was done, the trust was broken, and Falcon couldn’t get past the betrayal.
Lillian fought the divorce, begged and pleaded with Falcon to give their marriage another try, but he wouldn’t be swayed. After the divorce, he moved on. He rarely speaks about Lillian or the life they had together. I know she still writes to him, and I know he reads the letters, but he never responds. I caught him one night when we were both working late in the office, and he admitted that much.
Since then, Falcon has devoted his life to his work, to Storm Enterprises, and to the team. I know he’s gone out with other women because they flock to him like bees to honey. I can only go by what I see, and based on the number of women who try to get his attention, I have to conclude that he’s a handsome man. A date or two, and that’s as far as it goes with Falcon. He’s never brought anyone around to meet us, and I figure it’s because he isn’t serious about any of them, so why bother? Until Remmi, I never bothered to have a woman meet my buddies either. I’m hoping that Falcon finds the one for him, because he deserves to have someone who makes him happy.
“I’m going to head out and help Remmi get ready. I’ll see you later,” I say.
When I walk in the door, Remmi, my mom, and her mother are all in the kitchen chatting away while working on getting dinner ready. They look like they’ve known each other for years, they seem so comfortable with one another. Remmi’s smile lights up the room, and when she laughs, it rings throughout the house. I’m left standing at the door, wondering how I got this lucky. Remmi is a gift, so precious that I would fight for her until I breathe my last breath.
“Son, are you coming in or are you just going to stand there and watch Remmi all night?” my father teases with a grin. Mitchell is sitting on the couch next to my dad, looking over at me as well.
As I approach, Dad stands and pulls me in for a hug. “She’s a good woman, Colt,” he whispers in my ear. “Believe when I say I know a good woman when I see one, because I’ve got one myself.”
“Yeah, Dad. I know. Remmi’s amazing,” I concur. Dad lets me go, and I extend my hand to Mitchell. “How are you doing, sir?”
Mitchell looks at my hand, but instead of shaking it, he tugs me closer for a manly hug. “Thanks for taking care of my girl. Mary and I worry ourselves sick about her.” He glances over into the kitchen to see his daughter laughing loudly. “It’s so good to hear her laugh again.” His eyes get soft, and he chokes up, clears his throat, and puts a smile on his lips. “I’m sorry for crashing your dinner tonight, but Mary was chomping at the bit to see Remmi and meet your parents. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. Our home is always open. Be right back.” I leave the men and move to the kitchen. Remmi sees me, but before she can say a word, I slide my arm around her waist and tug her to me, kissing her sweet mouth. “Hey, baby,” I say when I’m done.
Remmi, her arms around my neck, snuggles closer, and replies, “Hey, handsome. Did you have a good day?”
“Better now that I’m home with you. The others will be here soon,” I reply.
“Well, the day has come!” my mother exclaims with a huge smile. I look at her, raising my brow in confusion. “Remmi must be special because I normally get the first hug,” she finishes with a laugh, then opens her arms. “But I’ll take the second.”
I wrap Mom up in a bear hug and kiss her cheek, “Love you, Mom,” I whisper in her ear.
“Me too,” she whispers back, adding, “Remmi’s lovely.” I give her a wink before releasing her, only to have Mary tug my hand to make me bend toward her. She pats my cheek, her eyes shiny and wet, holding back tears.
“Thank you for giving me back my girl. I haven’t seen her happy in so long. I wasn’t sure I’d ever hear her laugh again, but you did it. You gave her what she needs, and my Remmi is back.” Her words mean more than I can say. A mother’s love is deep for her children, and it must have been horrible to see their vivacious daughter, filled with light and love, disappear before their eyes. I engulf Mary in a hug.
“We did it together. She needs all of us. Thank you for making a strong, beautiful, resilient woman.” Then, in a teasing tone, I add, “It was like I placed a special order and Remmi appeared.”
Mary giggles but holds on tight. “Your parents did a damn fine job raising a man like you.”
Mitchell must have been watching because he comes over to collect Mary. “All right, honey. Give the man some room.” He puts an arm around his wife’s shoulders. “This is a happy time. No tears, okay?” he says. Mary nods, but her lower lip trembles as she is clearly trying to hold back her emotions.
Remmi and Mitchell were abducted and held hostage, but they’re not the only ones who were terrorized. I’m not sure if Mitchell understands the depth of the emotional trauma that Mary went through when her family was ripped away from her. Mary was threatened each and every day they were gone and lived with the thought that any mistake she might make would mean the death of her husband and daughter.
I would never tell any of them this, but in the end, they would all have been killed. Once Mitchell had outlived his usefulness, the cartel would have put a bullet in each of their heads. Mitchell had come to the same conclusion, but he could only hold out so long because he couldn’t take seeing Remmi suffer any longer at the hands of Diego Rodriguez’s men. He watched them drug her and threatened to rape her right in front of him if he didn’t comply.
After we rescued Mitchell, he confessed that he was going to give them everything they wanted. It would have meant their certain death, but from his point of view, he was a father trying to save his daughter. We arrived at the right time to get Mitchell and Remmi out before anything else happened. As soon as they were safe, we had the cops standing by to arrest the neighbor, who was working alongside Diego and was threatening Mary.
Diego has escaped to Mexico and hasn’t been heard from since. This doesn’t mean it’s over. I keep checking the international flight list for Diego’s name, and I do my best to check in with our friends at the FBI and Interpol for any sightings. So far, nothing. But the day will come when he emerges from the rock he crawled under, and when he does, I’ll be there to exact vengeance for the hurt he caused Remmi and her family.
