Page 42 of Rescuing Erin (Red Team #5)

Not waiting for Rose to respond, I went in search of Ivy.

Gone were the days of us living in the penthouse way up high above the city.

Ivy had talked me into buying a house, complete with a white picket fence, down the street from Linc.

It took months for the guys to stop giving me shit about it.

I gave zero fucks I was the butt of their jokes. I was living the dream.

I made my way to the bedroom, finding Ivy getting ready for a shower.

“How was your class?” I asked.

Three times a week, she and the girls did yoga or Pilates or some shit. I didn’t know what it was called and I think the class changed each time they went. What I did know was her ass looked fantastic .

“Jeeze. You scared me. It was good. Mason has a new girlfriend, and Vi hates her. Francesca has a boyfriend, and Leo has all but lost his mind, both of his daughters are dating. He’s complaining Marco, Dante, and Nico aren’t watching out for their sisters like they should be.

Erin is freaking out that Colin’s mom planned a trip to Florida and is taking Lex, Tommy, Max, and Ben for a week. Colin is—”

“Baby, I appreciate you giving me a rundown on everyone’s kids, but I don’t give a shit what Colin is. Though, I can imagine he’s probably thrilled to get his wife to himself while his mom takes the kids.”

“You’d be right. Class was good,” Ivy said, peeling off her skin-tight spandex pants.

“Sore?”

“No.”

“Good.”

I yanked my shirt off and tossed it on the bathroom floor next to her discarded pants.

“The kids?”

“Occupied. After we’re done, remind me to talk to you about homeschooling Rose.”

“We’re not homeschooling her.”

“Yes, we are. Those little fucks at school keep looking at—”

“Zane. Do you wanna stand here and talk about homeschooling or do you wanna get in the shower and help me wash my back?”

Homeschooling was the last thing on my mind when she tore off the loose T-shirt and sports bra.

Standing in only her panties, I took her in from top to toe and back again.

I was one lucky son of a bitch. I’d never understand how I got so fortunate or how and why Ivy put up with me. And I wasn’t asking .

“Shower, now.” I stepped out of my pants and palmed my semi-hard cock.

“Can I take my undies off first, Mr. Bossy?”

“Only if you’re quick.”

Her thumbs went under the elastic, and ever so slowly she pulled them down.

The minute they pooled around her feet, I was on her.

I lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around my waist. Two strides and we were in the shower, two more her back was against the wall.

And one single thrust later, I was home.

“God, I love you,” she moaned.

“With every breath, I love you more.”

Six months later

Lincoln

Watching your child take the oath of enlistment is a surreal experience, watching your twin sons take it was exceptional. Overwhelming pride washed over me, and I squeezed Jasmin’s hand.

I could still remember the day I swore in.

I was running, looking for an escape, and serving my country seemed like the best option.

It had been good enough for my brother, Zane, I figured it was good enough for me.

When I went to BUD/s I wasn’t prepared, not that one could actually prepare for the worst experience of your life, but I hadn’t had a clue.

I hoped I’d prepared my sons. Today both of them were swearing in to the United States Navy, and while I was proud as hell they’d joined, I was still worried.

The world we lived in was a brutal place.

I knew Jasmin was thinking about the day she enlisted, too. She stood tall and brave next to me, just as I knew my little hellcat would. I also knew she shared my fears but would never show it. Not now, not in front of her boys.

“. . . so help me God.”

Robert and Asher lowered their right hands and remained at attention while the other recruits filed out of the room. This was it. The busses were lined up, waiting to take those who were shipping out to the airport.

My sons turned, and Jasmin’s quick intake of breath was the only sign she was affected.

“You guys set? You have your orders?” she asked.

“We have everything,” Asher answered, not surprisingly. He was always the one to talk for the pair.

“Good. Come here and give me a hug so you can say goodbye to everyone else.”

Asher stepped forward and pulled his mom into his arms. He was so much bigger than Jasmin, she all but disappeared.

He kissed the top of her head and moved to his Uncle Zane.

Jax, Leo, Colin, and Declan all waited to wish my boys well.

Not boys, my sons, they were men now. Eighteen and off to start their lives.

I’d tried to get them to go to college first, God knows they had the grades and athletic ability to go anywhere, but neither of them would hear of it.

Asher was soaking up all the last-minute advice from the men who’d helped raised him, when I noticed Robert still hadn’t said goodbye to his mother.

The two-minute warning was called, and we needed to make our way outside. My wife’s stoic mask was firmly in place, while Violet, Ivy, Olivia, and Erin were all sniffling and wiping away tears.

Just when I was getting ready to kick Robert’s ass for not talking to his mom, he stepped in front of her, preventing her from exiting the building.

“Mom.”

Jesus, when had my son’s voice taken on such a hard edge? Where had the last eighteen years gone?

“You better hurry. There’ll be hell to pay if your ass isn’t planted in that seat in about sixty seconds.”

“Mom. Look at me.”

Jasmin, being the stubborn woman she was, shook her head. “Linc, tell him. They need to—”

“Look. At. Me.”

Her eyes shot up to his, and I knew why she’d been refusing. There were tears.

“We got this. You know we do. You and Dad gave us everything we needed. In nine weeks, we’ll see you at our Pass in Review. This is a walk in the park.”

“I know,” she clipped.

“Right.” Robert smiled at his mom’s short answer. “I love you, Mama.”

Jasmin nodded.

“It’s an easy day.”

She nodded again.

“We’ll be careful.”

“Promise?” she muttered.

“Promise.” Robert yanked his mom forward, and she collided with his chest. Her body shook, and Asher walked to the pair and wrapped his arms around both of them.

“I love you both so much. Watch each other’s six. No matter what, you two stick together.”

“We will,” Asher said.

“Shit and damn. Now I’m crying. I don’t freaking cry. Hurry up. Get to the bus.”

Robert passed Jasmin to me, and she tucked in close, just like she’d done for the last twenty years. With a lift of their chins, my sons were boarding the bus to basic training.

“Good old Great Mistakes.” I laughed.

“I miss them,” Jasmin whispered. “Already, Linc. I fucking miss them so much I feel like my heart has been ripped out. ”

“I know you do, sweet Jasmin.”

“What do we do now?”

“Now we get to sit back and wait.”

“For what?”

“For greatness. For them to need us again. I figure we got at least ten years until they learn that just because you’re men doesn’t mean you don’t need the guidance of the men and women that have gone before you.”

“That long?”

“Baby, they’re your sons, we may have to wait closer to fifteen.”

“Are you saying I’m stubborn?”

“As they come.”

“You trying to piss me off?”

“Is it working?”

Her pretty eyes narrowed as she caught on to what I was doing. At least she wasn’t crying anymore.

“You guys ready?”

When I turned to reply to Zane, the significance of the day hit me.

Not just my sons leaving but the families we’d created.

Never would I have thought two kids growing up in West Virginia the way we did would have all this.

For a long time I’d been afraid my brother would let his misplaced guilt keep him from finding happiness.

Then Ivy had shown up and rocked his world.

When Ivy was pregnant with Eric, I paid him back for all the shit he gave me when Jas was carrying the twins.

If everyone thought Leo and I had been over the top when our wives were pregnant, Zane was worse, way fucking worse.

And Leo, the overachiever that he was, had filled his home with two daughters and three boys.

He would’ve kept going but Olivia announced she was done after Nico.

Three little Leos running around was more than she could handle.

Jaxon and Violet were the only smart ones out of the group and happily stopped after Mason.

Erin, much like Olivia, gave up after her third boy in a row.

She and Lexi were outnumbered in the Doyle house.

“We did it,” I said, instead of answering.

My brother’s gaze left Ivy and came to me. “That we did.”

Six men and one woman stood in front of a granite headstone.

“It’s been a long time, brother,” Jaxon started. “Twenty damn years since we’ve seen you.”

“We kept moving forward, just like we promised. We didn’t squander your sacrifice,” Leo said. “Gia’s getting married. I wanna hate the little fucker, but I can’t. He’s a good kid and loves my girl. His only problem is, he’s in the damn Chair Force.”

“Fuck off.” Jaxon laughed. “I never heard you bitchin’ about the Air Force all those years when I was saving your ass.”

“Right. That’s why your boy, Mason, went into the Army,” Leo continued.

“I blame that on Jasmin. She got her hands on Mas and sold him on that human intel shit, and it was all downhill from there.”

“Downhill?” Jasmin laughed. “You’re full of shit.”

“Did Rob and Asher get their orders? Are they splitting up?” Colin asked.

“They’re both going to Virginia. The higher ups saw the value in keeping them together.”

Zane was only half listening to his men’s banter.

This is what they did, what they promised each other.

Visiting Eric Wheeler’s grave was not the time nor the place to mourn.

Some might think it disrespectful standing in a cemetery laughing and joking with a dead man.

But not them. Eric had lived and died a hero.

A man worth celebrating, a man worth remembering.

And they did remember. His memory would live in each of their children.

The families they were all afforded by Eric’s sacrifice.

The fuck of it was, Zane still harbored guilt.

Now it wasn’t the guilt over the men he’d lost, but knowing he wouldn’t change anything.

Eric giving his life for his team meant that fourteen souls were born into this world.

Grief and loss had turned into happiness and family.

Over the last twenty years, Eric’s light had never dimmed; it was still shinning upon them, breathing life into their families.

And at the end of each one of the days, Zane and his team knew family was all they had, the families they’d created, and the bonds they’d forged.

The laughter began to fade as the time came to leave. Each one touched the headstone as they made their way to leave. Zane lingered for just a moment, allowing the grief of Eric’s absence to soak in.

“Miss you, brother. Every fucking day. Rest easy.” With a slap of his palm on the cold granite headstone, Zane left.

Long Live the Brotherhood.

*