Forsaken Duty (Red Team #9)(30)

They walked hand in hand down her hall to the wide landing that led over to the guest hall. Tall windows admitted the faint blue light that came from the conservatory between the wings. There were four bedrooms in each of the upstairs halls. And another four in the rooms below.

She led Owen down to the last room in the hallway—the tower room. Their hands were still joined. His was big and warm around hers. She regretted having to let go of him to open the door. She flipped on the lights, illuminating the floral wallpaper that had been reproduced to match the original in here.

“Flowers? Really, Addy?”

She pressed her lips together as she sent him a frown. They went to the next room. And, of course, he had an objection. “I don’t like silk. Gives me hives.”

“I’ve never heard of a silk allergy.”

“It isn’t pretty.”

She went to the next room.

“Can’t do pink.” He scrunched his face up and covered his eyes as if the room was too bright. “Jesus, Addy, it’s blinding.”

She bit her lip to keep from laughing at him. She was sure the final room in the hall would work. It was blue, after all, but he nixed it as well.

“It’s too far from you.” He started back toward her room.

She followed him. “It’s the closest one in this hall.”

“I’m good where I was.”

“You can’t sleep on the floor.”

“I was doing just fine before you woke me for this impromptu tour.”

“You need a bed.”

“Then put me in yours.”

A gasp broke from her before she could stop it.

“I’d give my soul to hold you in my arms through the night,” he said. “I can’t, though, because you already own it.”

“It’s not going to happen, Owen.”

“Don’t be so sure, Laidy.” He dropped to the ground and resettled his pillow.

Addy took that invitation to leave, and hurried into her room.



Sometime later in the night, Owen was roused from his light sleep by footsteps shuffling down the hall. The dim light showed a still-sleeping Troy stumbling toward his mother’s door. Owen sat up, which woke the boy. He stood there, blinking and frowning at Owen.

“Mr. Tremaine.”

“Troy.”

“Did you have a bad dream, too?”

“Yes.” A decade-long nightmare.

“Why don’t you go get my mom? She fixes nightmares.”

“I didn’t want to disturb her.”

Troy crawled into Owen’s lap and pulled his blanket with him. “Okay. I’ll stay with you.”

Owen stiffened, uncertain how to behave. The boy folded himself completely in Owen’s lap, resting his head on Owen’s shoulder as if that was the most natural thing to do, as if Owen was a safe haven. Crazy thing was that it felt good, like he’d found his home.

At last, someone didn’t see Owen as a monster.

He sighed and shoved his pillow behind his back, then wrapped his arms around Troy and settled against Addy’s door. He had to accept that nothing would ever be as he expected it. He’d spent his whole life trying to be the architect of his own fate, but he’d failed miserably.

Worry for his son, for Addy, for his team, for what the Omnis were about to unleash on the world…all of it ate at him. How much had he missed in life because he was always somewhere other than in the here and now?

Right now, with this boy curled up on his lap, he felt like he was enough.



A scant few hours later—far too few, in fact—Owen felt Addy’s presence near him. Troy didn’t stir. Owen gave himself a delicious few seconds to breathe her sweet scent, a faint floral fragrance, like moon flowers that only bloomed in the night. He opened his bleary eyes to meet her angry gaze.

“What are you doing with my son?” Her question had the carrying volume of a stage whisper.

He stared into her eyes, struck by her vibrant passion. To see her defending her son, you would never know she was dying. “I love you,” he whispered. Something about her shredded his defenses. Maybe it was his lack of sleep. Maybe it was their lack of time.

“No, you don’t.”

“I do. I always have and always will. I was born for you. And you for me.”

“No.”

Owen tore his eyes from her vehement denial, looking down at her son instead. “Troy had a nightmare. I asked him not to wake you, so he climbed on me and dropped back off to sleep. As far as I could tell, there were no more bad dreams.”

Addy’s face softened as she knelt next to him. She reached over and stroked Troy’s back.

“Shall I put him back in his room?” Owen asked.

“That would be good. He’ll sleep for a few more hours.”

Owen adjusted his hold on Troy as he stood up. His body hurt from another night stretched out on a hard, cold floor. He hid that from Addy, however. He refused to let her see his discomfort; he’d be damned if she would force him into a bedroom an entire wing away from her at night.

He put Troy down on the bed then stepped back as Addy covered him up and kissed his cheek. Troy didn’t look anything like his mom with his dark features. He didn’t look anything like Edwards, either. So who was his bio dad?