Henry was chuckling as Caden and Rio and Buster basically tackled the former operative. He simply opened his arms and let in all the love. “Hey, River! I’ve got some bread from Nell and the girls. She wants you to know we’re happy to help at the office if you need it.”
Of course they would. It was what the Flanders family did, what everyone in Bliss did. They helped.
“I hope you’re still saying that by the time summer camp rolls around,” Jax said, kissing his wife one last time. “Boys, come say good-bye to your old dad.”
In a heartbeat he was covered in giggling little boys and a dog who thought he was a giggling boy.
His life was so full, and it was time to pay back two of the people who’d helped make it all happen.
* * * *
Solna, Sweden
Outside of Stockholm
Owen Shaw ran the last few hallways that led to his wife’s lab. He prayed she hadn’t been called to the hospital. She rarely performed surgery anymore, but she did assist with some of the neurosurgeons in the city to keep her skills up.
The Karolinska Institute was all modern angles and smooth lines, and it made it easy for him to find his way to Rebecca’s offices, though they hadn’t been in Sweden for long. She’d finally found the research project she couldn’t pass up, and because she’d once given up her whole hard-fought life to be with him, he’d felt good about doing the same for her. Being a stay-at-home dad wasn’t a dream job, but he found it utterly satisfying to spend so much time with his children.
He hoped she wouldn’t see what he had to do now as a betrayal of the pact they’d made when they’d agreed to move to Sweden.
“Mr. Shaw,” the assistant said as he rushed inside. He was a young Swede, still in medical school, hoping to study the mysteries of the brain with the best. “We weren’t expecting you. Is everything all right?”
His wife was the best. “Is Rebecca around?”
Please let her be around. He wasn’t sure he could wait, and he didn’t want to call her from the airport to tell her he’d left their son and daughter with friends.
“Hey.” Rebecca walked out of her office, her eyes wide with alarm. “Has something happened? Where are the kids?”
“They’re fine.” He moved to her, taking her hand in his. He had a hastily packed duffel slung over one shoulder, and her eyes went to it. “I got a call from Dallas. The one we’ve been waiting for.”
She led him into her office, shutting the door behind her. “They found Solo?”
She asked the question in a hushed tone that let him know she still remembered those days when they’d been on the run, hiding and praying they wouldn’t be found.
“Aye, and she’s here in Europe,” he replied quietly. “Love, I…”
She put her hands on his chest and tilted her head up. “You have to go help your team. Are Hannah and Arran at Lilly’s?”
Their next-door neighbor was a retired physician who’d taken to their kids. Hannah was six and Arran only eighteen months. Lilly and her husband had no grandchildren yet and seemed more than happy to offer the new couple some babysitting from time to time. “Yes. I didn’t want to bring them up here. I hope it’s all right. She said they would be fine there until you get home.”
“Good. I’ll call her and let her know I’ll try to leave a bit early.” She wrapped her arms around him. “It’s okay for you to go. I know it’s hard. I hate it when I have to go to a conference. I’m always scared I’ll miss something with them, but you can’t skip this one. They’re your brothers. They need you.”
He thanked god every day for this woman. “I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’m heading to the airport. Rob got me on a flight to London. I’ll stay at The Garden tonight and then fly down with him tomorrow morning. Beck and Theo are picking up Jax and Tucker and meeting us in Malta. I’m not sure if we’re extracting her or merely doing some surveillance.”
It didn’t matter. He would go when his brothers called. They might be spread across the globe, but they were still a family. Once a year they got together and had a reunion—usually at The Garden, but they’d all gone out to Colorado one year and had a lovely time catching up. This wouldn’t be a fun reunion. This would be the chance they’d been waiting for—the chance to pay back the man who’d helped them all those years ago. None of them survived without the help of Beckett Kent.
“I assure you there’s zero chance Beck leaves without her.” She looked up at him, her eyes getting that steely, stubborn look he shouldn’t find so sexy. “Do not let Levi Green get the jump on you.”
“I promise. And I promise I’ll take the fucker out if I get the chance.” He kissed her and wished they had more time. “I’ve got to make the train if I’m going to get to the airport. I’m so sorry, love.”
She stepped back and slipped out of the white coat she wore at work. “I’ll drive you. I can take the afternoon off.” She grabbed her purse and keys. “Now tell me everything.”
He followed her out of the office, already missing his children.
But there was an energy to his step he couldn’t deny. He’d missed this, too.
“All right, love. According to Rob, she’s been living in this fort,” he began as they made their way to the parking lot.
* * * *
London, England
Robert hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed. It had been a hell of a night, and it
