Page 21 of Sweet Little Spies

“Hey, we should go and get a drink, son.” His father seemedto want to play the voice of reason. Which was odd since reason was usually hismom’s job. “Eric’s packing up all the food, but we can probably get a plate ortwo and hash this all out over some whiskey.”

“Yeah, lubricating these two is going to lead to goodchoices.” Ian nodded. “I wholeheartedly agree, and I would be with you exceptwe’re heading back to Dallas. We need to talk about this in a safe room, andthe only one that comes close is the conference room at MT. So I’m sorry toleave you, Aidan, but this is serious. I’m leaving two bodyguards behind, and Iexpect you to listen to them.”

“Of course he will,” his father agreed.

Because he was always the good kid, the responsible one. Hewas the guy who helped everyone move and listened to their troubles and gavesound advice no one ever took. His sister was a rolling ball of good-naturedchaos, and he’d been tasked with protecting her at a young age. He protectedeveryone.

Which was probably why the image of Tristan standing there,ready to take every bullet that came their way, made him feel…safe.

It was a lie because Tristan would leave them again, and hewould be all alone trying to give Carys what she needed.

“Why do I need a bodyguard?” The impulse to go along withwhatever the military branch of the family said was practically ingrained inhim, but he pushed it aside. The last thing he and Carys needed was to be underarmed guard. They’d lost their wedding day. He wasn’t about to lose theirhoneymoon. No matter how much it would suck as a romantic getaway. It wastheirs, and the truth of the matter was he was now the dominant partner. Carysmight kick his ass if she knew he even thought the word outside a kink setting,but it was true. She needed someone who made her life easier, who took care ofthe little things like another whole human being watching them twenty-fourseven. “This wasn’t about us. Congratulations, Tris. I now fully admit you’vebeen right all this time. We’re safer without you. I’ll take my wife…fiancée,and we’ll be out of everyone’s hair for a couple of weeks.”

“We don’t know who this is about yet, Aidan.” His fatherlooked slightly surprised at his outburst.

Because he was never a brat prince. That had been Tristan’splace, but he’d been filling in for Tristan for a while now. He might as wellhandle this aspect, too. “We know exactly who this is about. TristanDean-Miles. He’s been telling me for over two years how dangerous his life is,how he can’t come home because he’s too busy chasing his James Bond dreams.”

“Hey,” Tristan began.

Aidan held up a hand, staving off the argument. “Sorry. Iwas wrong about the James Bond comment. You’re not chasing some fictionalcharacter. You’re still an eight-year-old hoping one day he can be as good ashis dad.”

“Aidan,” his father admonished.

Ian shrugged. “It’s a fairly accurate description. Youlearned a lot from your psych rotation.”

He’d been good at it.

“Fuck you, Aidan,” Tristan replied. “And you will take thebodyguards. You can take them with you or you can go into a safe house. Thoseare your only options. The honeymoon, like the wedding, is over before itbegan. So you’re the big guy making the decisions. Which one is it going to be?Keep some freedom, or are you going to behave like an angry child and get bothyou and Carys locked away?”

His rage was starting to beat out his fear. Tristan didn’tget to walk back in and start giving him orders. “You wouldn’t.”

Tristan’s lips curled up in a sneer. “Oh, I would. I will.You want to make me the bad guy? I can play the role. I’m excellent at it. Askanyone. And while we’re at it, don’t expect to go back to work.”

“I have two weeks and then I need to be back. I can’texactly call in sick.”

Tristan’s broad shoulders shrugged like he didn’t care.“Nope, but you can quit, and that’s what will happen if I decide it’s toodangerous for you. Make no mistake. I’m in charge here, Aidan.”

“Or you can hang with a bodyguard for the next couple ofweeks,” his da said, his gaze going between the two of them like he was tryingto figure out what was going on. “The guard will be happy to go to Canada withyou. We’ll handle everything. All you and Carys have to do is sit back andenjoy the trip. There’s no need for fighting.”

“Canada?” Tristan’s expression turned an odd blank. “Whywould Aidan go to Canada?”

“They’re honeymooning in Montreal,” his father explained.“They were thinking about going to LA, but they ended up choosing Montreal.”

He hadn’t exactly told his da why he was going to Montreal.“It’s romantic.”

Tristan frowned. “No, Paris is romantic. Bora Bora isromantic.”

Did Tris want to shame him? “Montreal is what we can fuckingafford. I don’t know if you know this, but we’re not made of money.”

“Montreal isn’t exactly a cheap city. I told you I would payfor everything,” Tristan insisted. “You’re being stubborn.”

He was being practical. “Which I would let you do if youwere actually a part of this marriage, but you’re not. You are not a member ofour family, Tristan. You gave up your place when you decided the Agency wasmore important than our wife.”

“I never said that.” Tristan got into his space, hisshoulders going back, and Aidan wondered if they were going to start throwingpunches. It might feel good. “We had an agreement. You were going to take careof her while I figured this shit out. You know you’re not the only one with ajob.”

“You’re the only one who chose a job over our relationship.You shut the rest of us out,” Aidan said. “I might not be able to talk aboutspecific patients with you, but I can discuss my day with my partners. Yourwhole fucking life is classified, and look what it brought us to. You think I’mgoing to let you back in after today?”

Tristan’s jaw tightened. “I think Carys will.”

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