Page 39 of The Story of Danny Rose

Danny took over, darkening his voice. “Never say no to a hug—that’s how you get up close enough to feel if they’re wearing a suicide belt.”

Reese cracked up. “Watch us travel all over the Middle Easthuggingmotherfuckers.”

I sighed and rose to my feet, and my movement must’ve registered. All three boys saw me.

“I’m glad you’re taking the class seriously,” I said. “You’ll be surprised to find out how customary hugs are in those countries.”

“I already know,” Danny chuckled, walking over to me. “It was just funny the way he said it.”

Uh-huh.

I glanced at River, only to find him watching me already.

“Did you learn anything valuable?” I asked him.

He pursed his lips and nodded once. “Yessir. And you’re leavin’ again, aren’t you?”

Yeah, he was definitely observant.

“I am.” I nodded with a dip of my chin and shifted my gaze to Danny.

“Where and when?” he demanded.

“I’m afraid I can’t say, and I ship out tomorrow morning,” I replied. It sucked, but it was part of the job. “It’s a short contract, though. I’ll be back in two weeks unless something goes wrong, so I’m not going to assign a temporary mentor to you. If you have any questions, go to Sid or Todd. Understood?”

“Yessir,” they answered.

Danny became broody like the flip of a switch, so I was glad I’d decided to send the twins downstairs for target practice. I needed a moment alone with my boy.

I turned to the twins. “I reserved the shooting range for you two at noon. I don’t know if you have plans after, but I’ll order pizza for dinner at seven. That okay?”

“Yeah, of course. We’ll be there,” Reese said. He nodded toward the exit. “We’re just gonna grab a smoke.”

Meanwhile, I caught Danny’s gaze again. “You and I are going home.”

“Okay.”

Danny didn’t say much on our short ride back to my place, and I let him be until we were alone.

I locked the door and threw the keys on the hallway table. “You wanna talk about this, little one?”

Calling him that hopefully served as a reminder. He didn’t need his walls up for this conversation; we were no longer at Hillcroft, and I could be both his Daddy and his partner. Whatever he needed.

WhatIneeded was him in higher spirits.

He let out a breath and kicked off his shoes, then trailed toward the couch in the living room. “It’s just something to get used to, right? This is the job. We’ll be away from each other during assignments.”

Right. That was the job. And fuck me if that didn’t pack a harder punch than I’d expected. I’d been in a shitty mood since I’d left my meeting. Hell, since the words “we need a pathfinder in Kabul. You and Paul are heading north.”

On paper, it was a single meeting. I’d been part of countless before. They were usually over in a few hours. First, you talked and negotiated terms. Then you split up for an hour or two for deliberation, and then you came to an agreement. That was that. An in-and-out gig.

It was the way there and back that posed dangers and took a lot of time.

I suspected the CIA was on the other side of the contract.

Joining Danny on the couch, I couldn’t describe the relief when he immediately dove into my arms. Fuck me, it almost shook me to the core. I swallowed hard and squeezed him tightly, and I closed my eyes and buried my face against his neck.

It wasn’t the easiest, balancing our dynamic with work. The two were like night and day. I couldn’t be doting and fuss over him at Hillcroft. But as soon as we got home, something broke within me, and I could no longer hold back my cravings.

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