Page 10 of Remade (Hillcroft Group #3)

“You’re torturing me,” he groaned into the pillow.

I smiled and pushed my tongue inside him again. And again and again and again. I just fucking loved feeling him squirm, all desperate and ready to do anything for a hard fuck.

“We don’t need to resort to a quickie this mornin’,” I murmured. I pulled him back some more so I could slip a hand between his legs and stroke his cock. He moaned like a slut. “That’s my baby boy. Moan for me.” I went back to tongue-fucking his sweet little ass, and he arched his back and cried out.

“You fucking beast,” he whimpered. “I swear, that’s what I’m gonna call you from now on.”

The beast and his pup? I liked that.

“How badly do you want your beast to fuck you?”

He groaned and pushed against me. “So fucking bad. Please, Bo. Please fuck me. I need your big cock. I need it.”

Music to my ears.

I held out for another few minutes before I caved to both our needs. Then, with a tight grip on his hips and a bit of oil on my cock, I rammed into him, causing the headboard to crash against the wall.

Leighton choked on a breath.

I groaned as the pleasure washed over me.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

It’d been a while since we hadn’t had to stay quiet or hurry up, so I took my time and went rough. I wanted him loud, and I wanted him desperate. Over and over, I pushed my cock in and out of him to elicit those sweet-ass pleas and cries.

Now that he was comfortable with tongue-fucking, and getting off on it, I had more fantasies I wanted to turn into reality. Like tying him to my bed and sucking him off, but he wouldn’t be allowed to come if he moved. Like fucking him in a more public space. Like denying him for a while until he was on his knees and begging for me.

“Let’s hear you choke, baby.” I eased back on my heels and yanked him with me, and I slid a hand up his throat. “Fuck yourself on me as hard as you can.”

“Oh fuck,” he moaned.

He was so indescribably beautiful, especially in moments like this one. His walls were down, his filters were gone, and he obeyed his urges. And me.

I kissed his neck and latched on, tasting his skin, while he went to town on me.

My hands were all over his perfect body.

I’d never get enough of him.

Jesus fucking Christ, I really couldn’t get enough. No matter how roughly I grabbed at him, I needed more. I needed his tongue with mine, his heels digging into my ass, and—fuck it. Without warning, I lifted him off me and threw him down on the mattress. I gripped his leg to turn him over, and then I pounced. I wrapped his legs around my hips, pushed my cock against him, and slammed in.

He cried out and nearly arched off the bed, quickly followed by his pulling me down on him. We met in a hungry kiss, and I got what I wanted. We made out as I fucked him into the mattress, and time lost its meaning.

Whenever we got close, I brought us back down again.

Lungs burning, perspiration beading, muscles protesting, red marks forming, and the frenzy increasing, we came at each other like animals and rolled around the bed until it was a mess of twisted sheets and—shit, a pillow knocked over the light on my nightstand.

He let out a breathless laugh that morphed into a moan, and we switched positions again. We were getting there. He was back on all fours, and he gripped the headboard, panting, gasping, and pushing back against me. He met every fucking thrust, and the rougher I got, the needier he became.

Goddamn dream come true.

I sucked in a breath and screwed my eyes shut.

“I gotta come,” he whimpered. “Please, Bo. Please, please— fuck .”

“Let go,” I said, out of breath. Mouth dry. Too close. “I’m there with you.”

He let out a long groan and stroked himself off faster, and I pounded into him, ready to surrender to my own orgasm.

He wasn’t the only one getting loud. The pleasure was almost overwhelming, sharp and forceful, and I groaned and let my head fall back as the climax crashed down on me. Holy fuck, just like that. I fucked him as hard as I could, and his tight little ass milked my cock as I filled him.

I slowed down eventually, the euphoria fading and leaving shivers behind, and I blinked and panted.

I saw his back. His hips. My fingers digging in. Christ. I loosened my hold. Blotchy red marks everywhere.

I dipped down and rested my forehead in the curve between his shoulder blades, and we kinda fell down on the mattress together.

“You’re incredible,” he croaked. “Like, what the fuck just happened?”

A breathless chuckle slipped out, and I kissed his neck. “It’s all you.” He did this to me. He made me react so strongly. Feel so strongly.

“We need a shower and a nap before we face the holiday shoppers,” he said.

Ugh. Holiday shoppers. Fucking hell.

“I think I need to carb up,” I muttered. “You almost killed me.”

He snickered, having caught his breath already. His recovery was a lot speedier than mine.

The shower could wait.

I wanted to nap in the mess, for once, partly because I couldn’t fucking move.

Goddamn.

“I fucking hate malls.”

“I’m glad we have that in common. Can we leave?” I peered out over the mayhem as we took the escalator. “I’m not sure I’ll make it.”

“I’ll do my best to keep you alive.” He smirked and squeezed my hand. “I’m not leaving until I’ve bought everything, because I’m not coming back.”

I grunted and braced myself for war. But it was official. I was gonna ask the nerds at work to create an online persona for me so I could do online shopping without compromising my own identity with targeted ads, data mining, and AI. Most operators did that in some capacity.

I’d never had to worry about this with Kat around. She’d bought everything. Except for my annual gag gift exchange with Coach. This year, I was getting him an Italian dictionary.

He’d bought a run-down villa in northern Italy years ago, and the place still didn’t have electricity or running water. I wasn’t sure it had windows. So every time Coach bitched about needing a vacation, we, his best friends, got on his case about fixing up his pile of Italian rubble.

He was currently deployed, so maybe when he came home, he could take that vacation.

I wouldn’t mind a vacation either, to be honest. Training our recruits with Danny filling in for Coach was an experience.

Leighton and I buckled up and faced the holiday shoppers with a single goal. To get the fuck out of here as soon as possible. We started with Alex. Leighton was giving her a kit to make homemade slime, which was near the top of her wish list. As the overcompensating uncle, I’d already bought her an ATV for kids, but I needed some smaller shit for the plastic tree in our room. Coloring books and glitter markers and whatnot.

The big problem was the Quinns. We were flying out on the twenty-third, and Leighton refused to arrive empty-handed. He wanted something for each family member, and that wasn’t easy when you barely knew them.

My problem was what the fuck I should give Leighton.

The ideas running through my head were more suited for a hopefully near future when we lived together. He missed cooking. He said he wasn’t awesome at it, but it’d once been a nice distraction for him. He liked doing it.

I’d already signed the papers for a new place in Lincoln Towers, but I was dragging my feet with the actual moving part. I’d rent this time. Next time I bought my own place, I wanted it to be a house.

So, another idea for a gift was obviously a key. If I moved out, I wanted Leighton to come with us. I’d become so used to having him near me every day that I wasn’t sure I could consider the alternative. But Alex really missed having her own room, and nobody could blame her.

We lost our first hour focusing solely on Alex’s gifts. Leighton bought more than that slime kit, and I couldn’t help but feel ridiculously good about their Lemon and Nugget connection. He was genuinely fond of her, and that mattered to me.

I definitely spent too much money on her, and I didn’t see that stopping anytime soon. I was never going to be the stand-in parent Kat could be, so I had to make it up to the girl somehow.

Before we got in line, Leighton came up with an idea to put together what he called an activity basket for the kids in the Quinn family. Shit they could do together—and he included stuff for kids of all ages. Crafts, tools, more slime kits, some toys, and jewelry-making kits. In short, a big-ass basket with something for everyone. I couldn’t lie; I wished I’d come up with that sooner for my nephews. It took a lot of pressure off, and he didn’t have to buy individual gifts for all two thousand of them.

“We’re gonna need extra luggage on the flight,” I said.

He chuckled.

Once that was out of the way, we dropped everything off in my truck before we steeled ourselves for the second round.

Christmas was fucking exhausting.

December 24th, 2024

I yawned as I drove past the sign welcoming me to Camassia Cove.

After a night in a hotel close to the airport in Seattle, we’d checked out at four in the fucking morning so we could get to the Quinns’ hometown early. On the flip side, I appreciated a peaceful drive when both Alex and Leighton fell asleep in the back seat.

Strong coffee and silence kept me company.

I always felt somewhat removed from the real world on the West Coast, but it was certainly beautiful here. Lush forests and glimpses of the ocean painted the early dawn scene, and it almost made me wish we could’ve brought Alex’s main gift. It’d be fun to explore the woods here, and we’d get our chance since we’d be staying with Darius and Gray. They had a guest cabin for us, and they lived in the middle of nowhere up in the mountains.

Instead, Alex was gonna have to wait. We’d brought everything else, and then she’d get her purple ATV when we got home.

I yawned again.

Alex had her head on Leighton’s shoulder, and both were gonna catch flies sleeping with their mouths open like that.

It was cute as fuck.

Shira was supposed to call me in a couple hours, and I hoped she had nothing to report. Not yet. It’d be nice to get through the holidays before I refocused on our new case. But chances were, she did have something, considering what Intel had dug up yesterday.

Omar Said had just purchased land north of Richmond, and the interesting part was that he’d done it in his own name. It screamed smoke and mirrors to me, but it was something we had to keep an eye on anyway.

I kept following the GPS, and we eventually reached a bridge that took us over a river and up into the mountains to the north. Zero shock that Darius Quinn lived up here. Zero.

Snow was coming down heavier the higher we climbed, though I doubted it would stay on the ground for long. It wasn’t that cold.

Alex woke up with impeccable timing, when the paved road ended and dirt roads took over.

“Oh my gosh, it’s snowing, Uncle Bo! Nugget, wake up.”

I smiled and caught Leighton yawning and scrubbing at his face in the rearview. Then he blinked and peered out the window, and he frowned. Our gazes met in the rearview before he leaned forward and glanced at the GPS.

“We were gonna take turns.”

I’d just said that to get him to agree to rest. You didn’t need to take turns on a two-hour drive.

“I lost track of time, I guess,” I replied.

He huffed.

I didn’t care. For as much as he loved getting to know his family, it exhausted him too. It didn’t have to be a bad thing whatsoever; I just noticed it was an overwhelming experience, especially leading up to this holiday. He’d poured countless hours into finding gifts for everyone, including practicing his profiling skills and studying their social media accounts for clues on hobbies.

Add the emotional stress of managing expectations, hopes, and online interactions, and it was no wonder he was fucking tired.

He’d visited Jake’s grave at Arlington for the first time this fall, claiming he hadn’t had the guts earlier. He’d felt he was encroaching on someone else’s territory by being there, which hadn’t been true before, and it wasn’t true now. In short, it’d been a fall with a fuck-ton of firsts for him.

Hell, I’d had a lot of firsts lately too. The thought of me noticing something going on with my partner without them telling me was unheard of in the past. Now, there was something almost every day.

Being with Leighton had given me a conscience too, it seemed. Because it wasn’t like I was bad a reading people; for fuck’s sake, I was professionally trained to do it. I just hadn’t cared enough with previous partners, so now I felt like a bigger dick than before.

I’d get over it, though.

The last minutes of our ride up the mountains, Leighton and Alex discussed gift-wrapping strategy. She was going to help him, and they had a lot to do. We wouldn’t have been able to fit everything into our luggage if we’d wrapped the gifts beforehand, unless we wanted shit to break on the way, so that was the plan for today. Get settled and get prepared.

I’d been promised the best coffee I’d ever have, so things were looking bright for me too.

“Uncle Bo, do we have snacks? We’re gonna need snacks when we wrap gifts.”

“We have some left from last night,” I said. A few chocolate Santas and a bag of chips oughta do it.

“What about the jerky?” she pressed. “I want the jerky.”

What kind of kid preferred jerky over chocolate?

I cleared my throat and slowed down as we approached the gate Darius’s and Ryan’s families shared. Their two properties were fenced in “for the most part,” according to Leighton.

“I think Uncle Bo’s silence is letting you know he ate all the jerky,” Leighton said helpfully.

“That is so like him,” Alex answered. “He’s a jerky thief.”

“Mouse, it’s Christmas,” I told her.

Alex gave me a look in the rearview. “So?”

So, I was just…saying. To change the topic.

Thankfully, I was saved by the gate opening, so someone must be keeping an eye on us.

I drove through and followed the dirt road until the trees cleared and revealed what had to be Darius’s favorite place on earth. Their homestead sat at the foot of a cliffside, and they definitely had everything they could ask for if you hated people. A creek or a stream split the property between the buildings and the field where they grew stuff, I guessed. There was a greenhouse too. Main cabin, guest cabin, a chicken coop, and…I wasn’t sure. Something for pigs and rabbits, I’d been told.

Apparently, Leighton had connected well with Gray on Instagram.

“I know I’m not supposed to have favorites, but I really like Gray, Lias, Elise, and Willow.”

It seemed fitting for me. They were closer in age.

I pulled in between an old Wagoneer and a truck similar to my own back home. There was another truck, too, and two four-wheelers.

“There’s no garage,” Alex noted.

“They have their own gravel parkin’ lot.” I killed the engine.

“Daddy always said a garage was important,” she argued. At that, I turned and looked back at her. “Bird poop can ruin the paint or something.”

I chuckled. That sure sounded like my brother. I’d never met anyone who coddled cars the way he had. He’d named every car he’d ever had, for starters.

My chuckle morphed into a sigh as I pictured him in my mind. Damn, I still missed him so much. Even though I had some anger left to process, it would never diminish my grief. It was just…adding some complication to realize my hero of a brother hadn’t been perfect.

When push came to shove, the best-trained operator would make mistakes in the field. We were human. That was just the way things were. But his mistakes might’ve cost him his life. The fucking tattoo…? Not requesting previous Hahn cases to be compiled for our intel team? Leaving highly personal information at his safehouse?

That was a lot, and it hurt to work my way past it.

Nobody wanted their hero to have flaws.

“Is that Gray?” Alex asked.

I looked out the window and spotted Darius crossing their stream.

“No, that’s Darius,” Leighton responded and opened the door.

“And he’s your uncle?” Alex pressed.

“Um, yeah. He is.”

I smiled to myself and walked out too, only to flinch at the cold. Fuck me, it was way colder up here than down in Seattle. Maybe the snow would stay on the ground for a while after all.

Leighton and I started hauling luggage out of the trunk when I noticed another guy crossing the stream, and he looked younger. It wasn’t Gray, so maybe it was Lias. Leighton had mentioned they were meeting up today.

“I see Washington greeted y’all with sunshine,” Darius said as he reached us.

I chuckled and shook his hand. “Good to see you again, man.”

“You too. Welcome to my slice of heaven.” He moved on to greet Leighton. “If it ain’t my nephew. I hear you’re makin’ candy apples for us tomorrow.”

“Yessir. I’ll give Gray the recipe too,” Leighton replied.

“That’s what I wanted to hear. We have plenty of apples in the cellar—go nuts.” Darius grabbed one of the bags as Leighton introduced Alex. In turn, Darius shook her hand too, and he said, “My daughter’s excited to meet you. She claims there aren’t enough girls in our family.”

Alex beamed. “She’s probably right!”

Cheeky brat.

The Quinns were in full preparation mode for tomorrow, and Leighton wanted to get the gift-wrapping out of the way so he could help out later. Alex was glued to his side, and both Lias and Gray were keeping them company.

I didn’t feel in the way or anything, and we had plenty of space in the guest cabin. But I reckoned it was a good time to give them some privacy to catch up, and I was curious about the property. Besides, when Gray and Darius’s three kids walked in, it was officially a full house.

Once I had unpacked for Alex and me, I bundled up and headed outside, just in time to see Darius walking by with two dead chickens. Or hens. He had a couple dogs following him too.

“Dinner?” I guessed.

“Yeah. I’m just gonna leave this in the shed for Gray,” he said. “Meet me on the porch. I’ve promised you coffee.”

Damn, I liked this. I took a deep breath, inhaling the scents of snow, pine, and soil.

Vince would’ve loved this place. There’d been a homesteader in him too. I was too comfortable to go all the way, but I did like the idea of being semi-independent. We’d grown up with a hoarder for a mother and a cynic for a father, so self-reliance had been a part of our childhood. Our old man had trusted the government for two things, to ensure our taxes went to all the wrong places and to keep the war machine running.

If Leighton agreed to move in with me, I might start testing the waters to see if he’d like a house with me one day. Maybe on the outskirts of a suburb or like Emerson and Danny’s place; they had a few minutes to the nearest town.

I trailed up the steps to the big porch of the main cabin, and I looked around. It was a sturdy place, built to house a family and shield them from harsh winds and snow and rain. The porch alone was big enough to host family dinners in warmer weather, and you better believe there was a rocking chair in the corner near the front door.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Darius had built everything himself. The times we’d crossed paths back in the day, he’d been our resident MacGyver with a toolbox. He had an engineer’s brain, that was for sure.

Just don’t ask him to help you with anything tech-related. That engineer’s brain would forever be stuck in the ’50s.

The 1850s.

Darius soon came up onto the porch, and he told me to switch on the heater above the table, and then he went inside to get our coffee.

I glanced up at the wall, and sure enough. They had a heater installed there.

I reached up and turned it on, and a red glow spread across the grid.

Perfect. Leighton and I should have a porch too. I preferred being outdoors, and we didn’t get enough of that at Hillcroft.

I pulled out a chair and sat down, and a guy could definitely get used to this. So far away from assignments and Hillcroft, not necessarily the geographical location of Washington, but this…this right here, the forest, the cabin, the fresh air, the environment.

Countless friends had taken the same path. Hillcroft had its way of pulling us all back, but when we were off the clock, we wanted the opposite of what the agency offered. Darius had his homestead. Danny and Em had their farmhouse and rescue dogs. Doc had a house in the middle of nowhere too. Coach had bought his run-down villa in Italy, with miles to the nearest neighbor. Most recently, I’d heard about the Tenleys. They might live in McLean, but they’d made sure to have a property big enough to escape neighbors, and according to Reese, the goal was self-reliance in terms of energy and power. Even Shira had opted for a longer commute to get away from the city.

In the end, it wasn’t weird. We knew how quickly the world could go to shit, and it was instilled in us to be prepared for anything.

Darius came out with two mugs and a plate of…something.

“What’s that?” I leaned forward.

“Homemade pork rinds. My latest obsession. Gray makes ’em.”

Fuck me sideways. I loved pork rinds.

“You have all my envy, man.” I snatched one up and stuck it in my mouth, and it was like dying and going straight to heaven. “Jesus Christ.”

He smirked to himself and got comfortable across from me. “I have no complaints. Wait till you try our jerky.”

Aw, man. He used the magic words.

I chewed around the snack, getting all the crispy saltness, something smoky too, which made sense. They definitely had their own smoker here. Fucking delicious.

“At this rate, I’m going from asking Leighton to move in with me at the Towers to buying a house in the middle of nowhere without asking his opinion and then just moving his shit in there.”

Darius chuckled. “I do not miss the Towers.”

Yeah, no shit. It was only convenient, nothing else.

The coffee came next, and he hadn’t been lying. If it wasn’t the best I’d ever had, it was damn close.

“I have a personal question, if you don’t mind,” he said and set down his mug. “It’s about my brother-in-law.”

I cocked my head, listening.

“Do you know how Gray and I met?” he asked.

I cleared my throat and nodded with a dip of my chin. “I know the gist.” Darius had rescued Gray from a human trafficking ring. I’d caught some of the details once the shitstorm had made national news.

He nodded once too. “What I’m about to say is only speculation, but I don’t think I’m wrong,” he went on. “Gray’s big brother didn’t react a whole lot outwardly when Gray was taken—or when he returned to safety, for that matter. Much of that focus landed on Gray’s younger brothers and their mother.”

Understandable. The big brother who felt the need to stay strong and so on.

“But now I have reason to believe something major shifted with Gage anyway,” he said. I presumed that was the brother’s name. “Survivor’s guilt, maybe? Feeling the need to do good? Wanting to make a difference? Whatever?—”

“Uncle Bo!” I heard Alex yell.

Fuck. “Hold that thought.” I got up from my chair and walked over to the other end of the porch, from where I could see the guest cabin. “What’s up, mouse?”

She grinned goofily, standing on the steps and clutching the door. “We’re gonna play land nav in the snow, okay?”

What snow? The thin layer that turned the lawn a minty green color?

“You go ahead and play land nav,” I said. “Just stay where I can see you or make sure Leighton’s with you.”

“Yessir!” She returned inside, hollering for Leighton to help her with her coat and boots.

I smiled and went back to the table.

“Did she say land nav?” Darius chuckled.

“Oh yeah, I’m totally fucking her up.” I got comfortable and took a swig of my coffee. “That girl knows more about drills than ponies and tea parties.”

The other week, she’d wanted to go swimming in the pool at Hillcroft, so she’d said she wanted to play water quals.

“My brand of fuckup, then,” he replied firmly. “I’m sure your brother would agree.”

“Undoubtedly.” Vince had been worse. At least I let the girl use glitter markers. “Speaking of brothers…” I brought us back on track.

“Right.” He sat forward a bit. “Last year, Ryan brought something to my attention, but it wasn’t enough for me to push the kid for answers he’s not obligated to share with anyone. It’s his life.” He cleared his throat. “Fast-forward to just last week. Gage was supposed to come home for the holidays, and then Gray was on the phone with him. He mentioned what’s been going on here, with Leighton joining the family, that he’s a recruit at Hillcroft, and…yeah. Then two days ago, Gage called their mom and said he’s sick. He won’t be here.”

“All right,” I said slowly. “I’m assuming there’s gonna be a Hillcroft connection somewhere.”

He inclined his head. “He’s certainly heard me mentionin’ Hillcroft over the years. It wouldn’t be difficult for Gage to find the place if he, for some reason or other, decided to switch careers.”

In other words, he wondered if we had a Gage at Hillcroft…?

Not only was I not allowed to share that information, but I was usually shit with first names. Gage didn’t ring a bell. He could also be working under an alias.

“Has he mentioned anything about switching careers?” I asked.

Darius shook his head. “He claims he’s a car mechanic. He also claims that he lives in Vancouver—which he used to. Gray and I helped him move once, but it’s been years since anyone visited. He always comes here, and he’s got creative excuses each time someone suggests driving up to see him.”

I furrowed my brow. “It would take you about ten minutes to figure out if he lives there—and where he works. Three if you call your sister.”

He laughed through his nose and lifted his mug. “I’m tryna respect his privacy. It’s his choice if he wants to become an operator. I won’t dig for dirt. But I figured I could ask my nephew’s boyfriend a simple question.”

I nodded slowly and finished my coffee in two quick swallows.

Then I sat back and threaded my fingers across my stomach.

“I know you’re not at liberty to divulge anythin’,” he said.

That was the case. But since I hadn’t heard of a Gage, that I could remember…I shrugged. “I’ll be honest enough and say his name doesn’t ring a bell.”

The sound of giggles reached my ears, and I looked out over the yard and saw Alex and the little girl—Cass? They ran along the stream. Darius and Gray’s daughter was younger than Alex by at least a couple years, but they clearly got along.

Darius spoke up again. “What about Gage Nolan?”

Well, shit.

I’d never let my facial expression give anything away, including now. I turned back to Darius and went for pensive, as if I was racking my brain to remember anyone by that name.

I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I wasn’t allowed to share anything, period. Just like Reese hadn’t been allowed to divulge anything to confirm my suspicion about the Quinn family. And this was family.

I knew Operator Nolan. I’d fucking been there when he’d graduated. I hadn’t been his mentor, but I’d been one of several senior operators to guide him through our final selection in Ecuador.

That was one of the years we’d had so few applicants that we’d accepted recruits without military experience. Which we hadn’t done in ages before then. But even so, he’d proved himself. We’d had a shit-ton of dropouts that year, and he’d soared to the top on determination and anger.

Anger he was still in therapy for. Now it made me wonder what the anger was about. I mean, it couldn’t have been noteworthy enough to pull him back; Coach and Danny wouldn’t have let him graduate if it was too serious.

“You’re frustratingly difficult to read, Beckett.”

I feigned confusion for a beat before I chuckled. “My bad. I was just thinking. When the hell did Hillcroft become a family business? You and Ryan, Vince and me—we have a new recruit now whose brother graduated this summer. Coach and Doc…”

He hummed and peered out to where the girls were inspecting something on the frozen ground. Leighton, Lias, and Gray were talking nearby while keeping an eye on the giggling mini operators.

I didn’t know where the boys had gone. Jayden and Justin were older, with at least one of them a teenager around high-school age. I didn’t know which one, obviously.

“You convinced Leighton to reach out to us, didn’t you?” Darius didn’t wait for me to respond. “If I discovered Gage worked at Hillcroft, I’d do the same thing. I’d want him to at least tell Gray.”

He didn’t have to convince me he was digging with the best intentions in mind. I believed him, and I wanted him to know.

“I understand that,” I said, shifting my gaze back to him. “I’m grateful Reese was willing to connect a few dots about y’all.”

He hummed. “He told me last time we spoke.”

I wasn’t surprised.

“He reminded me of something your brother told me about you,” he went on. “He used to say you were a by-the-book kind of guy—right up until you weren’t.”

My mouth twitched. “Aren’t we all?”

He smirked and finished his coffee. “I always viewed the book as a recommendation.”

Of course he did. So had Vince, with less success.

I got what Darius meant, though. And glancing back at the girls, I had an idea.

“Alex!” I called.

She perked up from whatever she was inspecting on the ground, and she sprinted toward me, with Cass in tow.

“Yeah?” She was panting by the time she skipped up the steps and joined me.

“How’s land nav going?” I asked. She leaned against my armrest, so I put an arm around her and touched her rosy cheeks. Not too cold.

“It’s tough without a compass,” she said and sniffled. “But that’s south, ’cause it’s down.” She pointed east.

“Hi, Daddy! Alex learned me to draw a map,” Cass announced. She was as rosy-cheeked as Alex.

“She did, huh? That’s a great skill, angel,” Darius replied. “Where’re your brothers?”

Cass huffed. “Nobody knows.”

I grinned and tugged lightly on Alex’s ponytail. “Darius and I were just talking about work. You like runnin’ around there, don’t you?”

She nodded and beamed. “It’s better than school.”

I smirked and faced Darius. “Who was it you asked about, again?”

He furrowed his brow but caught on quick. “Gage Nolan.”

I sighed and shook my head. “Yeah, I just don’t remember anyone by the name Nolan.”

Alex made a giggly-snort sound and looked at me all weird. “What? Operator Nolan helped me tie my shoes when I almost fell in the cafeteria!”

I frowned, confused. “Huh? No, I would’ve remembered.”

She widened her eyes. “Are you being silly? He swims really fast! He fights lots and lots with Operator Slater, but it’s a joke. Danny says they’re best friends also.”

I just shook my head. “Nah. Go off and play some more with Cass instead. I wanna know where northwest is.”

She rolled her eyes and grabbed Cass’s hand. “You’re weird, Uncle Bo. Come on, Cass. I’m gonna teach you about ass mouths.”

What the f— Oh, Jesus fucking Christ.

“Azimuth,” I corrected.

“That’s what I said!” she griped.

Right. I scratched my forehead and watched the girls skip off again.

I was really screwing her up, wasn’t I?

I wondered if, at what point, I could get Leighton to shoulder some of the blame too. After all, Alex clung to every word he spoke.

I cleared my throat and shifted my gaze back to Darius, who smiled faintly.

“Thank you.”

“For what? Don’t listen to Alex. She’s a kid.” I smiled back.

He laughed through his nose. “By the book until you’re not.”

Yeah…maybe.

I looked toward Leighton and figured it might be about damn time I stopped being so me about a certain thing. The book of Bo? I didn’t wanna be by the book when it came to him. He’d already changed everything, and I’d been certain of how I felt for a while now.

I should tell him that.