She felt her heart constrict. “I love the names. Rio for River.”
“Yeah, she picked Caden. I got to pick our second son’s name. She was very much against it. She thinks he’s either going to be a cowboy or a male stripper.” Jax chuckled. “I wanted to name him after his mom.”
She was not going to cry. If she let go, she might never stop. “I think it’s a beautiful name. Are you still in Bliss?”
“Yes. We’re still in our cabin by the Rio Grande, though we did add on. We’ve now got a third bedroom and a garage.” Jax set his mug down. “I know. It’s impressive. Nell protested my use of materials, but we have a fully functional garage.”
She wanted to ask about everyone in Bliss. “It must have changed a lot over the years. I bet I wouldn’t recognize it.”
Jax snorted as though that was an inconceivable thought. “Nah. Everything’s pretty much the same except there’s a school in town now and way more kiddos. Big Tag bought a cabin and they come up a couple of times a year. There’s a few new residents, but Bliss is still Bliss.” He sobered. “River told me to send you her love.”
She sniffled, trying to clear her eyes. “She doesn’t still hate me?”
Jax reached out and covered her hand with his big one. “She never hated you. She was tossed into a world she didn’t understand, and it threw her for a loop for a while. She’s home and back to being River again. She wants you to know that we would both love for you to come out and spend time with us. She misses you. She’ll be more excited when she finds out about Roman. I think he would like our boys.”
She nodded and couldn’t help but shed one of the tears in her eyes. “He would love them. He would love Bliss. Did I see Tucker and Rob? Is he still with Ariel?”
“We’re all still together, though we’ve spread out a bit. Owen and Rebecca are in Sweden for her work. He’s staying home with their two kids. I have no idea how those kids are going to survive,” he said with a sparkle in his eyes. “Tucker and Roni opened a clinic in Wyoming. They’re up to three kiddos. I think he’s trying to beat Big Tag’s army. Theo was there. He and Erin stopped at two. They’re still in Dallas.”
“And Rob?” She asked about Rob, but she was really desperate to hear that Ariel was happy.
A tender expression came over Jax’s face as though he knew what she was truly asking. “Ariel and Rob are still at The Garden. She had a baby ten weeks ago or I assure you she would be here. A girl they named…”
“Daraja. She always told me she would name a daughter Daraja.” Oh, she wanted to meet Ari’s baby girl. She would be as gorgeous and fierce and amazing as her mother.
“That’s her name. I haven’t met her yet but Rob’s got pictures. She’s beautiful. It should tell you how much they care that Rob’s here.”
“Did Beck ask you to help him?”
“Yes, but this is about you, too. I assure you I wouldn’t have left my wife and kids if Beck had just wanted to do a job. I’m out of that life. Many of us are, but we’re back here because we care about you and Beck.”
“When did he stop using Ezra’s name?” She’d been surprised when Owen and Jax had called him by his real name. At first she feared he’d done it because the real Ezra was alive, but neither man had hesitated or corrected themselves. They were used to calling him by his given name.
“A long time ago. We got together after it was safe for us to. Those first couple of years were rough because of the pandemic. But we kept in touch and when it was safe, we had a reunion in London and Ezra was suddenly going by Beck. I think he’d been Beck for a year by then,” Jax said, his voice low. “He’s a different man. He’s put in a lot of work.”
“Work?”
There was a sound from the doorway, and she looked up. Beck was standing there, looking all big and manly, and she wanted to wrap her arms around him and beg his forgiveness. But forgiveness wasn’t Beck’s strong point, and there wouldn’t be any of it for her. All her sins were laid out, and she feared his vengeance might be swift.
“Jax, I just got off the phone with Tag. He’s worried he’s got a leak in the office now,” Beck said. “If you could reach out and let him know you’ll help in any way, I would appreciate it. He might need an outsider, if you know what I mean.”
“Of course. I’ll call. I don’t think we have Wi-Fi here.” Jax pushed his chair back. “Tell me we’re not staying for long.”
“Theo’s working on it,” Beck explained.
“They didn’t get arrested?” She had to know if she was the reason Rob and Tucker and Theo had been thrown into jail.
“Your uncle is a quick talker,” Beck allowed. “According to Theo, once Levi realized you were gone, your uncle started in on the cops and pointed out that they were working with the CIA, who have no jurisdiction. Apparently Levi had given them some kind of story that fell apart pretty fast. So the good news is our guys are safe.”
Jax sighed. “And the bad news is Levi’s in the wind, and he’ll be looking for us. We need to move again. Do we have a way to get her back to the States?”
“I don’t think Dallas is a good idea. It’s the first place Levi will look,” Beck replied. “And he’ll have resources there. I know he’s not supposed to work in the States, but he’ll have friends who can.”
“I wasn’t thinking of Dallas. I meant she could come back to Bliss with me,” Jax replied.
Her heart
