Forsaken Duty (Red Team #9)(65)

Val laughed.

“Assholes,” Selena muttered. “I’m gonna cause Greer some pain.” She looked around for him, but he’d slipped away from the group.

Ace came forward. “Good idea, Sel. My brother’s an idiot. Let’s go make a plan for that pain.”

“Shit,” Val said as they walked away. “That can’t be good.”

“You weren’t in on that bet, were you?” Wynn asked Angel.

He started to nod, then shook his head, making a full circle. “No. No, that would have been inappropriate.” Wynn’s brows lifted. He looked over Wynn’s head and mouthed, “Help me,” to Val.

Val grinned and tucked his hands up under his armpits as he looked around at the group, his expression soft. “I love my family.” He nodded toward the two women who went outside. “Even the vicious ones.”

Mandy gave him a hug. “We love you too.”

“So, did you find my fake parents?” Wynn asked Angel.

“We did,” Angel said. “They seem legit. Max is processing them in the bunker. We were going to give them some time to get settled, maybe let them eat in their room. They’re anxious to talk to you.”

“Yeah, me too. But I don’t want to do it alone.”

“I’ll be there,” Angel said.

“Can everyone be there? I don’t trust them. And I don’t trust myself to hear them properly, if they really are my parents.”

Val nodded. “We got your back. How about after dinner, we bring them down to the living room? I’m sure Greer’s got a thumb press somewhere.” He looked at Angel. “You got the water board?”

Angel laughed.

“Torture isn’t necessary. Just don’t leave me alone with them,” Wynn said.

Angel put his arm around her shoulders. “Never. How about we go see those puppies? They make everyone’s day better.”



“You sure it’s okay to leave Troy with them?” Addy asked.

“Absolutely,” Owen said. “Mandy’s as fierce a mother as you are. If she needs us, she’ll come get us.”

He opened the door, then kicked it closed behind him, setting her on her feet outside the bathroom.

“I’m not fierce.”

“Aw, sweetheart. You are the very definition of fierce. It’s an honor to have you in my heart.”

She pressed her hand to his chest.

He caught her fingers and lifted them for a kiss. “Addy, I know that things between you and others haven’t been good. I need you to know I’m not like them. I will never shame you or hurt you.”

Her eyes lowered to his chest. He bent a little to get her to look at him.

“So much hate. So much time lost,” she whispered.

He nodded. “And so much time still to come. We can begin again. Now. Here.”

“Shut the door on the past?”

“Yeah.”

“I can’t until I get Augie back.”

“Just our past. Augie’s our future.”

“Your letters were beautiful.”

“Did you read them?”

“All of them. I’ve been crying for days.”

Owen sucked in a sharp breath. He smoothed his thumb over her cheek. “That was never my intention.”

“I wish I’d gotten them when you wrote them.” She looked up at him. “Did you get the man you were after? And the doctors?”

“We got the doctors. They’re a little traumatized, but safe now. Jafaar got away.” He kissed her forehead. “Addy, I desperately need a shower.”

She nodded. “I could use one too.”

He smiled as he stared into her eyes, framing the sides of her face with his hands. She’d always been smaller than him, but now he realized how much smaller. Something about her big personality always made her seem larger than life. Her hands moved from his forearms to his shoulders. He looked at her as he started to unbutton her shirt. He hoped she didn’t notice his hands shaking. Shadows still filled her eyes.

He leaned close to whisper, “There is only us now, my Laidy.”

She shook her head, sorrow in her eyes. “There’s never only us when there’s everything else in between us.”

He knew what she was talking about. All those years. All the others they’d been with—through choice and force. He took hold of her waist and pulled her close. “Let’s let it all go, all of it, even if it’s just for this moment. I accept your past. I hate it. I would undo it if I could. But we’re here, safe, together—just where I always wanted us. I’ll make you forget the others.”

Panic flashed in her eyes. “I don’t want you to make me do anything.”

He reached over and locked his door. “Can I at least make you scream with pleasure?”

She shook her head. “Especially that. No sex that makes me scream.” Tears filled her eyes.

Owen brushed them away with his thumbs as he leaned his forehead to hers. He just wanted her to know that she was safe with him, that’d he’d never hurt her, that they could stop whenever she wanted. But all this talking was digging a hole for them fast.

“Laidy,” he said as he caught her face between his hands and brought her focus to him. “There’s so much I want to say, but I don’t think words matter now. Only time does, and that’s not something we can have instantly, so I’m just going to ask for your trust.”