Page 28

Dylan

T he dining room was a vision of old-money grandeur, its long mahogany table covered with a pristine white tablecloth and the perfect number of centerpieces. As a backdrop, the fireplace crackled with a warmth I was only now beginning to understand had always been there.

My parents had pulled out all the stops, staff gliding in with a menu of roast lamb, herbed potatoes, and sorbet. Every last detail would have passed even the most stringent of inspections, but today wasn’t about formality.

I sat to the right of my father, holding Jennifer’s hand, her touch sparking memories of last night’s intimacy. Each time our eyes met, she blushed as if she could read my thoughts. Across from me, Mark, my twin, nudged Lanie with a grin. His easy-going nature a stark contrast to my intensity.

Jesse and Thane had been raised by a wealthy man. They swapped quips with boardroom polish, while Scott and Zachary, less accustomed to this level of pomp and circumstance, eyed the staff’s silent efficiency with raised brows. We were an interesting group.

Jennifer leaned closer, her voice low. “Dylan, I’m trying to keep up, but who’s who here?” Her smile was playful, but she looked a little overwhelmed.

I chuckled, squeezing her hand. “Fair. Let’s fix that.” I caught Thane’s eye, his crisp suit and controlled demeanor reminding me of my father years earlier. “Thane, help me out. How would you describe everyone?”

“That’s a tough spot to put anyone in.” Thane’s lips twitched, a rare grin breaking his facade. “Fine, but I’m not responsible for any dented egos.” He stood, glass in hand, and the room quieted, eyes turning to him. “Welcome to the twin menagerie. Let’s start with the troublemakers.”

He pointed to Zachary, who was seated beside his pregnant wife.

“Zachary, hothead extraordinaire, and Charlotte, his better half, Simmons’s granddaughter, which is.

.. complicated . Zachary arranged for Mark and Dylan to meet, kicked this all off, and feels guilty for the fallout.

Don’t let his scowl fool you—he’s a softie for Charlotte and goes to mush if you mention that he’s soon to be a dad. ”

Zachary snorted, but Charlotte’s laugh eased him. “That’s pretty accurate,” she teased.

Thane moved on, gesturing to Jesse, polished in a tailored jacket, arm around Crystal.

“Jesse, bold businessman, thinks he’s the smartest person here.

Crystal, flavorist genius, keeps him humble.

They have a little boy named Declan, Molly the cow and Winnie, her emotional-support donkey.

Don’t ask about any of them unless you’ve got an hour. ”

Jesse raised a brow. “Not only smartest but also best-looking, Thane.”

His twin, Scott joked, “I agree, although I might be biased.”

Crystal elbowed Jesse and rolled her eyes playfully. “The two of you are shameless.”

Thane’s grin widened, pointing to Scott.

“Scott, happy-go-lucky, married to Monica who is brilliant. They’re also expecting.

Together they designed the fuel for Walt Bellerwood’s space station.

Bellerwood’s her father, but we’ll let them have that win.

They have an indoor pig, Bella, and Alphonse the duck with a prosthetic leg.

You’d have to see their place to believe it. ”

“You’re welcome anytime,” Monica said warmly.

Scott beamed, “For now, my bean paste is a fuel, but someday...”

Monica shook her head. “No one wants to eat the bean paste, Scott. I’m sorry. We’ve all tried to make it palatable.”

Thane nodded to Mark, whose steady support matched Lanie’s. “Mark, loyal as they come, runs a maple-syrup empire with Lanie’s help. His parents, Gene and Leslie, brought maple syrup and a rose bush that has Dylan’s mother crying.”

Gene hooted, raising his jar. “To sugar and happy tears!”

Thane linked hands with his wife. “I’m Thane, the ‘uptight’ one, and this is my wife, Ashlee, who makes me less of a pain.

Jesse and I were raised together and have recently done some business with Monica’s father.

Someday, when you’re on his space station and can breathe, you can thank us.

We left Sage, our daughter, at home because this would have been too much for her.

She’s beginning to think all daddies come in pairs. ”

Ashlee winked. “Thane’s not that uptight, Jennifer.”

Jesse interjected, “Yeah, he is. Just not with you.”

Laughter erupted, and Thane sat, smirking. “And, of course, you, Dylan. I haven’t known you long enough to say much, but I do believe Jennifer will have her work cut out for her.”

I laughed, pulling Jennifer closer. “She can handle me.”

There was a lull in the conversation that I decided to take advantage of. “Tonight should be awkward. You should feel like strangers to me, but you don’t.”

Jesse nodded. “We share something unique. Some might say something horrific, but we’re making it into something that isn’t. We’re choosing to go on this journey together and to make good out of what was birthed in evil.”

We raised our glasses, clinking them in a solemn toast to be there for each other.

Mark leaned forward, eyes twinkling. “I was impressed thinking you owned ski resorts, Dylan. This?” He waved at the room. “Next-level.”

“Money doesn’t make a person,” I said, guilt for botching our first meeting returning. “Look how you turned out. And your incredible parents. I’d say you had everything you needed too.” I glanced at Gene and Leslie, whose jar of spiced maple syrup sat beside Leslie’s gift to my mother.

Mark nodded in agreement.

Scott piped up, his drawl cutting through. “I didn’t know I needed a wiseass brother before I met Jesse, but it’s been nice having him around.”

Jesse snorted. “I used to care how people smelled until Scott lowered my standards.”

“I was trying to stay poor and alone before Dylan came in and ruined that plan for me,” Mark joked. Lanie rested her head on his shoulder and smiled.

Thane raised his glass, arm around Ashlee. “To our growing family.” Zachary’s brief smile at Charlotte’s belly echoed the sentiment—proof that Simmons’s experiment failed. Love, not environment, defined us.

After the toast, I cleared my throat, leadership settling on me.

I wasn’t scared of tough talks. “Thank you for coming today,” I said, my voice steady.

“My memory was spotty for a while, but I believe it’s back now.

I understand that Simmons split us up and tracked us to prove something to himself. He’s dead now, though. Right?”

“That’s correct,” Charlotte said quietly. “But if his work is exposed it would put my family at risk. My mother was one of his first ‘experiments.’ My father was his son, and I’m afraid someone might blame him for something he had no way of knowing was going on.”

“Does anyone know where the list is now?” I asked.

“No,” Zachary answered in a tight voice. “We have leads, but nothing concrete. And without them, we can’t find more twins.”

“No one considered making a copy of the list?” Steven asked from the end of the table.

The room went quiet.

Bethany added, “I guess they didn’t.”

Defensively, Zachary said, “We thought we had time because everyone involved was dead.”

“Apparently not,” I echoed Bethany dry tone.

Charlotte placed her hand over Zachary’s fisted one.

“Whoever took the journals left a note: Your silence is the only thing keeping these people alive. Go to the police, and they die one by one. I’ll clean up the mess you made this time, but if you search for another set of twins. .. your family is next. ”

Mark and I exchanged a look.

Zachary added, “I took the note to Thane. He went to see you, Dylan. And that’s when all shit broke loose.”

Mark nodded, “I was nearly run over.”

I let out a breath. “And they almost succeeded with me.”

Steven leaned forward. “I think I met the bastard. Some man with dark hair and glasses came to the hospital. Said he was an insurance adjuster. He wanted to check on Dylan. I told him to take a hike.”

“That was a bold move,” Mark said.

“And a stupid one,” I added. “Now we know what he looks like.”

Thane said, “Unless he was working for someone else.”

My father laid a hand on the table as he’d often done when I was younger. It was a sign that he was about to speak on a subject of importance. “I don’t like how many unknowns there are. We’ll be hiring an additional security detail.”

“To monitor the one I hired?” Steven asked in challenge.

“Yes,” my father answered without hesitation. “You didn’t protect anyone the first time.”

“Harlan,” my mother said, touching his arm. “I don’t know who is coming after my baby, but I do know that as soon as we start turning on each other, he wins.”

My father sighed and sat back.

Steven cleared his throat. “I did fail Dylan and Mark. This all sounded too fantastical for me to believe. But I’m all in now. No one will get hurt on my watch—that I swear to you.”

I met my father’s gaze. “Do you know how Steven and I met, Dad?”

When my father shook his head, I shared how, after storming away on my own, I’d accidentally bought a resort the mob had their eyes on. “They gave me a good beating and left me for dead. I wouldn’t be here today if Steven hadn’t found me and taken me in until it was safe to surface again.”

My father’s expression was strained. “You should have come home, son. We would have helped you.”

I raised and lowered a shoulder. “I was young and proud. And angry. But I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere. I just need you to know I owe Steven my life and when I felt like I had no one else, he became my family.”

My father looked across at Steven. His eyes were shining with emotion. “How old are you? In your forties?”

“Yes, sir,” Steven said gruffly.

“My lawyers will doubt my sanity when I have them draw up adoption papers, but if you’re willing, Vivienne always did want more children.”

At first, Steven looked offended, assuming my father was mocking him.

“That would give me two brothers,” I said.

Jennifer laced her hand with mine. “You did say you wanted a big family.”

“I did,” I said, looking back and forth between my twin and the man who’d chosen to stand by me. My gaze skittered over to Gene and Leslie, Mark’s parents. “Thank you for the elephant. You have no idea how much that meant to me.”

They looked at each other, then back at me. Leslie said, “We meant what we said. You’ll always have a home with us.” With a wink, she nodded at Steven. “You, too, I guess. As long as you don’t eat too much.”

That brought a huge smile to Steven’s face.

Bethany’s too.

Damn, pretty much everyone’s.

Mark nodded, eyes full of emotion. “Dylan, I didn’t handle our first meeting very well.”

Lanie spoke up, her voice firm. “I say we focus on the future and how amazing it is that you all found each other.”

Gene raised what looked like a maple syrup jar. “I’d drink to that.” Laughter rippled, my mother dabbed at her eyes, and my father relaxed.

Thane leaned forward. “We all have more in common than what shows on the surface. Zach and I are twins, but different. Dad taught me to contain my temper. Zach wielded his anger to survive. Nature made us stubborn, nurture shaped how we use it.”

Zachary grunted, a half-smile for Charlotte. “Grew up rough, no money, my mom was called paranoid for suspecting Simmons. Charlotte, and our baby—they brought me back from the edge.”

Jesse thumbed at his twin. “Scott and I couldn’t be more different—me in boardrooms, him with all his freaking animals. But I can’t imagine my life without him now.”

Scott grinned, Monica’s hand in his. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me, Jesse. Look, Monica, he does love me.”

His wife chuckled.

I looked at Mark, my physical mirror. “You’re steady and loyal.

I’m impulsive and defiant. But we both built homes for the woman we love, and once we gave our hearts, we never wavered.

There’s something I need to ask, though.

I knew I was missing a piece of me. I could never put my finger on what it was.

There was something out there calling to me.

I thought it might be treasure. It was you . ”

Mark nodded before smiling at Lanie. “I also felt something was calling to me. I just assumed it was ghosts. Turns out it was something better. Lanie, how do you feel about there being two of me?”

She wrinkled her nose and rolled her eyes. “Still getting used to the idea.”

The conversation began to buzz with silly stories of farm animals and mistaken identities.

When talk turned to switching places, Mark gave me a pointed look that I had no reference to decipher.

Did he want to switch with me? Sorry, buddy, I’m exactly where I want to be and I’m not messing this up again.

After dinner, my father approached me near the fireplace. “Dylan, you and all your... friends... are welcome here anytime.”

I hugged him, even though for just a moment it was awkward before he hugged me back. “Dad, I’m here for good. You raised me strong and maybe too proud, but I’m not going anywhere again.” My voice lowered. “I’m Marrock, but I won’t stop flying, I promise.”

His eyes glistened. “We should’ve believed you about Carla.”

“I was young, running wild,” I said. “You were right to consider the possibility that I’d messed up. I misread your realism as betrayal. That’s on me. And it’s in the past.”

He clasped my shoulder lightly, and we both let out a relieved breath. Across the room, Jennifer was beside Bethany and my mother, laughing, her footing found, her strength radiant. We’re going to be okay. More than okay.

Zachary spoke, his tone reluctant. “An FBI agent contacted me. Asked me if I had ever heard of a man named Simmons. Of course, I said no. I can’t endanger Charlotte’s family.”

“I can’t believe anyone would think ill of them. Especially since her mother was part of the experiment herself,” Jennifer said in horror.

Monica replied, “You never know how deep something like this goes or who is on the payroll. If exposed, they’d blame anyone they could. But together we have the resources to protect each other—better than any alphabet agency could.”

Thane nodded. “I agree. We keep this to ourselves. Talk to no one about it.”

Just above a whisper, Jennifer asked, “What about the man who tried to kill you?” I slipped my arm around her, breathing in her scent and hopefully lending her my certainty that everything would be okay.

“We are far from defenseless, Jennifer. We’ll be fine.”

Her smile wavered, but she nodded. “We’d better be because I’m not losing you again.”