Page 5 of A Wilde Christmas

Fiona sighed. “Whatever happened between you two, you’ll need to deal with it sooner or later.”

“Later,” he decided. “Later’s good.”

She rolled her eyes and muttered something that sounded like, “We’ll see about that,” before taking a long drink from her glass.

He opened his mouth to ask what she meant, but Mom appeared in the kitchen doorway and called, “Dinner’s ready.”

And that, Davey knew, was the end of the conversation. He wasn’t going to get answers from anyone until after dinner. He studied his dad and uncles throughout the meal. Greer, stone-faced as ever. Reece, cool and collected. The twins and Dad, all quieter than usual.

Jesus, this was torture.

Finally, after dessert, Dad nodded to his brothers, and they all stood up. “Davey, come chat with us in the office.”

All gazes turned to him.

Mom smiled encouragingly.

Fiona took another long drink from her third glass of wine.

Cade’s eyes narrowed, and a scowl pulled down the corners of his lips.

Everyone else looked just as confused as Davey felt.

As he pushed back his chair and followed them to his dad’s office upstairs, he couldn’t help but feel like a kid again—like he’d done something naughty and was marching toward his punishment.

In the office, Greer took a seat behind Dad’s desk. His gray hair was still cut military short even though he’d been retired from the Army Rangers since before Davey was born. As the oldest, he’d always been the de facto leader of the Wilde brothers and carried that responsibility with admirable ease.

Reece, as second oldest and Greer’s righthand man, took up position behind him. He was a tech guy and built multiple empires in the industry. Before his fortieth birthday, his video game “hobby” had made him a multi-millionaire. His breakthrough AI technology had bumped him up into the billionaire tax bracket a few years later, but despite having more money than God, he’d never left his brothers or Wilde Security. He was probably the main reason WSW was so successful.

Dad perched on the edge of the desk and looked anxious.

Cam sat in the chair next to the bay window, still quieter than usual.

Vaughn leaned against the closed door.

In case he tried to make a run for it?

If they thought he’d run from whatever this was, they didn’t know him very well. He stopped in the middle of the room, folded his arms, and waited. He’d be damned if he’d break the silence first.

Several seconds ticked by. Enough that Dad, who forever had to be on the move, started to get antsy. Jude picked up a paperweight and tossed it hand to hand.

Finally, Greer reached into the desk’s top drawer and pulled out a tablet. He slid it over.

Davey strode forward to pick it up, and his stomach lurched at the paperwork on the screen. He looked at his dad. “What’s this?”

“We’re retiring,” Jude said.

He glanced between the men. “All of you?”

“It’s time,” Reece said.

“Past time,” Vaughn and Cam said simultaneously.

“And Wilde Security’s yours,” Greer added.

Davey’s mind raced. The five of them had built the company from a tiny office in a strip mall to one of the world’s most respected private security firms.

And they were giving it tohim?

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