He glanced down and stroked her head tenderly. “This firecracker is Alexandra. Maddie is at home with Magda right now. She brings one of the girls out to me when I’m not too busy. I get the best of both worlds.”
Aidan’s happiness made me smile. He and Jesse had each found the life they wanted, complete with a loving partner and a family. I felt a twinge of envy at their situation, but also accepted that it might be a pipe dream for me. Being demiromantic complicated things.
“Fatherhood’s treating you well, huh?”
“It’s the best decision I ever made. After taking Marcus back, of course.” He kissed Alex on the head before shifting his attention to Jesse. “What did you need?”
Jesse tapped his desk. “I wanted to know what kind of security system you have in your house. Phantom just did a check on Patrick’s, and since you’re in the same neighborhood, just trying to gauge it.”
He nodded. “You know my husband, right? I’m sure Marcus got the most cutting-edge, high-tech security system he could find. The one out here is almost identical to the one at the house, since it was originally meant to be for Magda.”
Jesse seemed satisfied with this information. “It’s a good one. On par with Patrick’s. He has a panic room, though. Do you?”
Aidan chuckled dryly. “The only panic room we have is our bedroom whenever Trent wakes up. He thinks nothing of climbing into bed with us.”
Jesse snickered in agreement. “Olivia did that for a while, too. Luckily, it doesn’t happen often unless one of us is out of town.”
Jesse seemed so content and happy, a far cry from the grief that had consumed him after we lost one of our teammates on a mission. He was the commander of our SEAL team, and he and Nate were together. We all kept it from Command, and the guilt we felt after he died almost devastated us.
Jesse was hit the hardest by it all. When we couldn’t put it behind us, the four of us decided it was time to make a change and didn’t re-up when it came time for it.
“How’s the security at the apartment?” Aidan asked, bringing me back into the conversation.
“What security? As far as I can tell, there is none. No secure residents’ entrance or cameras of any sort other than those on the city street. It’s a good thing I’m there to protect him.”
Jesse nodded, and Aidan clapped me on the shoulder. “Thanks Phantom. I don’t know why Adam kept all that from us, but I’m glad you’re on it.”
“I’ve got him. Don’t worry. I plan to train him in some self-defense if I can coax him into the gym and away from his guitar.”
“That’s a good idea,” Aidan added. “Probably wouldn’t be a bad idea for all four of them. Better to be prepared for anything that might happen on the road.”
I nodded, overwhelmed with the urge to take care of him. I don’t know what it was about him that tripped all my protective switches, but he had, and now he’d have to live with it. And that thought reminded me of something.
“Is Daredevil still going on the road with them?”
Jesse nodded, assessing me. “Yes, unless something else comes up.”
I nodded and went to stand. “I’m gonna head out.” I smiled and waved at Alexandra, nestled in her daddy’s arms.
“Bye, pretty girl. Be good for your daddy.”
As I walked out, my chest ached at the thought of being a father. I knew I could do it without a partner, but, more than anything else, I wanted a connection with someone who meant more to me. I wanted a relationship with someone I loved more than life. Someone I could protect and raise a family with.
Adam’s face suddenly came to mind, and I stopped in my tracks.
No one had ever popped into my head when I whined to myself about my love life and lack of romantic prospects—until now. This was probably because I was in protector mode, right? That had to be it.
I think.
* * *
“What arewe doing for dinner, He-Man?”
Adam buckled his seatbelt and stretched out as much as he could.
I glanced over at his long, lithe body covered in tattoos. The intricate detail looked like a piece of art. Rolling his head on the headrest to look over at me, I noticed his eyes were red and heavy, like he was fighting off sleep.
“Doesn’t matter to me. We can order something, or I can cook tonight.”
