Forsaken Duty (Red Team #9)(75)

“I will never give up on you, Laidy.”

“Today’s the best gift of my life. The only thing better would be getting Augie back.”

“Soon. Let’s just have this moment a little longer. Things are coming to a head, Addy.”

She looked up at him. He didn’t try to hide the concern he felt. “I’ll help however I can.”

Owen smiled. “I know. I just need you to be strong a little longer.”

She leaned her cheek against his chest. Holding her in his arms like this, for real, not just in his imagination, was a miracle. Maybe, just maybe, he’d done something right in his life to earn this second chance with her.



Wynn found she had a little time to herself. Angel was busy with the team, and the boys were out riding horses. Casey was doing some quiet study. Wynn went to her apartment over the garage to make a cup of tea. The kettle’s screech almost covered the knock on her door, which she’d left open in case Casey or the boys needed her. She peeked around the corner of the little galley kitchen and saw her parents—or her fake parents, since the jury was still out—standing in her living room.

She removed the kettle from the heat, then went into her living room to greet them. The wall of distrust was still firmly in place. She folded her arms, keeping her hands to herself.

“Hi,” she said.

“Wynnie,” the man said.

“Don’t call me that.”

Her snapped retort hit a nerve. She wasn’t sorry, either. Her mind scrambled to find some test, some proof that they were who they said they were. “Did you test your research on yourselves? Or did someone infect you?”

The couple exchanged a look. “We tested on ourselves,” the woman said. “We didn’t want to test it on other humans if we weren’t willing to test it on ourselves.”

“And, honestly,” the man added, “if it had had a terminal effect, it would have been our ticket out.”

A test question popped into Wynn’s head. “What was the color of Grams’ and Gramps’ living room before Grams did her renovation?” Her mom grew up in that house. She should remember that fact.

“It was green,” the woman said. “Army green. My mom missed Dad terribly after he passed, but she was sure glad to get a chance to redo the house according to her tastes.”

That was true. “When did the step break in her basement stairs at Grams?”

“I don’t know,” the woman said. “It wasn’t broken before we left.”

True. “What was my best girlfriend’s name before I moved in with Grams?”

“Page.”

True. “What was her hair color?”

“Beautiful, deep auburn.”

True. “What kind of sandwiches did her mom make us when we had sleepovers?”

“Grilled peanut butter and jelly. I never let you have those because they were messy.”

True. “What did we always do with the candy after I went trick-or-treating?”

“We checked it all for razor blades. It was a thing back then. And then I’d sneak the Krackel bars out for your father.”

True. All true. They knew everything. Wynn covered her mouth, trying to find a way to keep debunking them, but her gut was telling her they were the real deal. They looked only a little older than she was, but they were her parents. She closed her eyes and started to cry. Suddenly, her parents were there, both of them, holding her, crying with her.

God. It was real. Her parents were alive. How she wished Grams was there to see it.

“We love you, baby girl,” her dad said. “So damn much.”



Later that night, when the house was quiet and Troy had been put to bed, Addy was lying next to Owen when the house phone rang. He answered it. “Tremaine.”

“Hi, Owen.”

Owen smiled a little as he put it on speaker. “Hi, Troy.”

“Is my mom there?”

“Yes, she is. Do you want to talk to her?”

“No. I just was practicing with the phone.”

“Okay.”

“I’m not scared.”

“I’m here for you, boy, if you need me.”

“Have a nice sleepover.”

Owen grinned. “Thanks. Night, Troy.”

“Goodnight, Owen.”

Owen hung up, then released a long sigh. “God, I feel so guilty for taking you away from him.”

“He’ll be asleep in a few minutes.”

“So you told him you were sleeping over?”

She nodded. “I don’t have to, if you don’t want me to.”

“Oh, I do want you here. I want you in my arms every moment I can have you. I’m just surprised you broke it to him.”

“I didn’t want him to wake up in the middle of the night and not know where I was. I told him sometimes grownups need grownup time.”

“That what this is?”

“I hope so.”

He caught her and pulled her over on top of him. “I hope so too.” He decided to go slow, let her choose what happened between them and when. He caught the back of her head and drew her down for a kiss. It was a leisurely exploration of her lips and her mouth and his self-control. She set her elbows on his chest and dug her hands into his hair. He was glad the light was on; he wanted to see her eyes change color as her body warmed up. It was magical, like making love to a fairy. She was a one-of-a-kind woman, and she was his.