Page 164 of Seizing Control: Part Two

On the surface her request is iron-clad and easy to follow; reasonable even. We are expected to be good dads, to show up for our kids, to use that time to prove that we will no longer lie to, keep secrets from, or leave the woman we love again—all things we planned on demonstrating anyway. It’s clear that Cherub has enlisted our friends and family to keep us at bay. She clearly believes she’s covered all her bases and enacted enough contingencies to thwart any attempts we make to circumvent her boundaries.

The only problem with her strategy is her underestimation of the law of cause and effect.

Time is arbitrary.

Space is immeasurable.

Two things my wayward wife is about to learn the hard way.

29

LILY

“Hey, hey,” Nadia murmurs. Tears stream down my face, dripping from my chin as I succumb to the turmoil lashing me with the ferocity of cyclonic winds. She pulls me in for a hug, turning me away from the front door so Toker can close it behind us. “You have five minutes to cry before I slap some sense into you.”

“Gee. Thanks.” I hiccup. “Your sympathy is overwhelming.”

“Last thing you need is sympathy,” Hunter tells me. The stoic younger man regards me with a thoughtful look. “Hope you’re ready for their games?”

“You saw Lazarus—I’ll be lucky if he ever speaks to me again.”

My brother-in-law shrugs. “It’s Slash you needa be worried about—my boss will come at you head on. The other one—” He visibly shudders as disdain flickers across his face. “—He’ll prey on your soft heart. Wear you down. Make you subservient to his needs.”

“Hunt... maybe it’s time to cut Slash some slack?”

The question I pose is the final straw for Hunter.

He spins on his heel and strides deeper into my home.

I sigh. “And there goes another man I’ve upset?—”

“I think you need a circuit breaker,” Ziva interjects. She hands me a tissue. “Your babies are home, the little man has missed you, and you have a new house to explore. Forget about men. Take some time for yourself. The walking red flags can be ignored for the rest of the day, can’t they?”

My good friend’s obvious heartbreak makes my issues feel insignificant. Her lover, Rio Costa-Rey, has vanished, and despite the best efforts of his powerful family and the Philadelphian chapter of the Black Shamrocks MC, no one has been able to find him. I have a sneaking suspicion that his disappearance is linked with the rest of the problems occurring on the periphery of my family’s chapter, but I haven’t had time to confirm it because I’ve been concentrating on the twins and Garrett.

And Slash and Lazarus...

After wiping my damp face, I push all thoughts of the men I evicted from my home and concentrate on my fragile friend. The smile Ziva offers me is as timid as my own, but it increases when I ask, “You want to meet the twins?”

Apart from myself, Lazarus, and Slash, Crystal and Nadia are the only people to have spent time with Ezra and Asher. We had a private NICU of sorts and the rules were bent for us. Some standards had to be maintained for the twins safety. Their immune systems are low. The risk of a cold turning into pneumonia was to high to even think about allowing anyone else near them.

Now that they’re home, I don’t want to gamble unnecessarily.

Ziva Navarro is a professional hermit—her words, not mine. She’s a successful author who works from home, and she rarely ventures outside her home on the Philadelphia compound. If she does, it’s to visit her therapist, or hop on a private jet to see one of her fellow Moscato & Monet club members. Unlike the others, she wasn’t at the nightclub last night, so I think the risk-reward analysis falls in her favour.

“Are you sure? I know they are doing much better... I can wait if you are worried...”

My energy is flagging.

An adrenaline dump after the confrontation with my men.

The ache that throbs in my lower abdomen reminds me that sitting down in the nursery is a welcome reprieve. Chatting to one of my oldest friends while I do it is a bonus. We haven’t had much of an opportunity to catch up during her visit. I think an hour in quiet isolation with the twins is exactly what we both need.

“I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t sure.”

“Okay.” Ziva’s amber eyes glimmer as her excitement breaks through the fugue that’s had her in its grips since her arrival in Perth. “Tell me what I need to do?”

“Nads?” My best friend purses her lips. I can read her like a book, so I know she’s grappling with annoyance at not being the first to visit the twins in my new house. She pretends not to see the pleading look I send here as I ask, “Can you introduce Ziva to the nurses—they’ll be able to show her how to wash up and all that. I need a minute with Gabbi and Sera before I join you.”

---