“How do you guys know each other?” I asked, still completely caught off guard that Ronan’s group of vigilantes would have ties to Dom’s aboveboard security business.
“My husband and I met Ronan last year when one of his men began seeing our oldest son, Eli. And we met Memphis right after that. He’s in a relationship with Logan’s and my son and our nephew,” Dom explained.
“Tristan and Brennan aren’t actually related,” Memphis clarified. “Brennan’s brother and his husband are friends of Dom and Logan’s family.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” I said, smiling despite myself.
“Cade will be so glad to know you’re helping out Nathan,” Dom said. “Beck is worried sick about Brody who’s worried about Nathan…”
God, I needed a fucking whiteboard to keep up. “Wait, Cade…Cade Gamble?” I asked.
Dom smiled. “Yep…except it’s Barretti now. He’s married to my brother.”
“Cade Gamble is married?”
I couldn’t wrap my head around that. While I’d known Cade was gay when I’d met him and Dom while we were stationed in the Middle East, I’d also known him to be a player…to the extreme. The fact that he was married, and with a kid no less, was blowing my mind.
“Yep. Five kids, too,” Dom said with a laugh. “You should stop by and say hi.”
Part of me actually wanted to take him up on the offer, but the other part…the part that still mourned David even after all the years that had gone by, sent silent warnings to my brain not to get involved. I’d had the chance for a different life, but I’d blown it.
I’d chosen wrong.
And it was too fucking late to do anything about it.
But I couldn’t discount what Dom had said. “Tell me about Cade’s son,” I said.
Dom sobered and then he glanced at Ronan and Memphis. “May I?” he asked as he motioned to the couch. Both men nodded. I went to sit in an armchair because I could tell just by looking at the expression on Dom’s face that whatever he had to tell me was not going to be easy.
“Beck is nineteen…almost twenty, actually,” Dom began. “Cade and my brother, Rafe, adopted Beck and his brother and sister when Beck was twelve. Beck has struggled with some mental health issues over the years, but we didn’t know until this past summer what was driving some of the behavior. He’s finally in a good place, but with the threat against Brody’s brother, Beck and both his men are feeling the strain. The mention of Brody in some of the emails Nathan received has made things even harder, especially on Beck.”
My eyes shifted to Memphis and Ronan briefly before they fell back on Dom. When his eyes met mine, I felt anger settle over me.
But it wasn’t directed at him.
It was directed at myself.
I’d had a chance to have a man like Dom in my corner, but I’d been naïve enough back then to think that the country David and I had served would step up and make things right.
Now David was dead and I’d served my country in a different way.
A way that would have shamed David.
I got up and went to Dom and extended my hand. He immediately stood up and shook it, though he looked both confused and surprised.
“You had my back when no one else did,” I said. “I’ve got your nephew’s.”
As much as the idea of going back to the world that I’d fought so long and hard to escape sickened me, I knew that was no longer a factor in any of this. I didn’t give a shit about Nathan Wilder or whatever bullshit he wanted to sell to the American people so they’d give him the power he needed to push his own personal agenda, but I did want to do something that might have David looking down on me with pride instead of shame.
I turned to look at Ronan and Memphis. “If I do this, I’m doing it my way.”
Both men nodded. I turned to leave, but then thought better of it and paused long enough to say, “After this, lose my number. It’ll be better for all of you that way.”
Chapter 1
Nathan
Hey Nathan,it’s me. I know you don’t want to hear from me so I’ll stop bothering you after this. I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday…
