Page 2 of The Homecoming: The Island

Fabian didn’t answer right away; for a long moment, he studied Alexander, the hate and despite in the man saddening him. “Ardan…what do you know about him? What do you know about the relationship he and I have?” He inhaled sharply, then stared into the other man’s eyes, an indecipherable expression on his face. “I’m immensely grateful to you for bringing us together. There is something to think about in the afterlife.”

Fabian stood and left, dignified, head up high, back straight, his stern face brightened by an affectionate smile. He headed to the lounge area, where the boys were waking from the short nap, stretching under the blankets and yawning.Energetic little things.The man wrapped them in an affectionate gaze.They need so little sleep these days.

Gavin opened his turquoise eyes, worriedly checking on Jeroen, who had the habit of kicking off the blankets in his sleep. Grumbling under his breath, he tucked the platinum-blond boy in and softly kissed his temple, smiling small against the other one’s skin. Feeling Fabian’s gaze on him, Gavin violently blushed, burying his head in Jeroen’s shoulder.

Ardan came from the plane’s kitchen with a tray stacked high with sandwiches. The preceding aroma tickled the nostrils of Tarrin, Ira, Thorvald, Lorcan, and Gavin, who opened their eyes, casting smiling, grateful looks in Ardan’s direction. As usual, Jeroen was the last to wake up, making all the others, except Gavin, roll their eyes.

Carrying an equally heavy tray in his hands, Daniel entered the bedroom, placed the tray on the nightstand, then crouched at the foot of the bed, waiting for Nico, Cian, and his sons to react to the delicious aroma circulating in the air. Indeed, one by one, the boys woke up, and, after rubbing the sleep off their eyes, attacked the tray with enthusiasm, soft moans of appreciation filling the air.

After witnessing the scene in the lounge area, Ardan came into the bedroom to check on Cian and Nico. His turquoise eyes becoming incandescent at the sight of Lochlin and Emery, mouths stuffed with large bites of sandwiches.

Soon, we will be home, and this horrible nightmare forgotten,he thought, heart filled with hope, joy, and gratitude.

CHAPTER 2

“Welcome home, boss, doc Alasdair, Advisor Bloom,” Lothier greeted the three most important people from The Base at the private landing strip near LaGuardia airport. “How are you? Where are the boys? Did you manage to bring them all home? You messaged me to turn the seats of one van into two makeshift couches, which I did.” The Base’s security chief looked around worriedly.

“We are all well.” Ardan hugged his longtime collaborator and trusted friend. “The couches are for two poor boys we rescued from the claws of a monster; one of them is in pretty bad shape, the other is very weak. As for our own boys, take a look yourself.” The man pointed to the plane’s staircase.

“Lothier!” Tarrin ran down the stairs, a worried Ira hot on his heels. “I missed you so, so, much,” the boy sighed softly, as the guard wrapped his muscular arms around his fragile form. “It’s so good to be home.” He put his head on the man’s broad chest.

“Here they are, my favorite blondies.” Seymour came from where the vans were parked, arms wide open for Emery and Lochlin, who were climbing down the stairs. “Welcome home, boys, you were missed by everyone.” He hugged the two, his soft-brown eyes brimming with tears.

“We missed everyone.” Lochlin finally allowed himself to express the fears he made such great efforts to hide under a brave façade on the island. “I was so scared,” he whispered in the man’s ear, on the verge of crying, “I thought we would never make it back home.”

“Well, you are here,” Seymour spoke in a soothing voice, “and your sisters can’t wait to meet you, they want to know everything about the time you spent there, so they can tell their friends at school. There is someone else who is waiting for you to come back to The Base,” the man whispered in Lochlin’s ear, making him blush.

“Praised be the gods, this sour virgin will get laid at last.” Whitey grinned, showing all his teeth, as he wrapped his arms around Seymour. “What? Don’t tell me you and Lazarus aren’t going to do the deed,” he continued, ignoring Lochlin’s murderous glare.

“Says the one who will die a virgin,” Emery quietly replied, defending his twin. “At least, my brother has a boyfriend, while you…”

“How do you know he doesn’t have one?” Gavin spoke in a half-serious, half-amused voice, making everyone turn to him. “Whitey here has all the qualities of the perfect boyfriend, he’s loyal, supportive, attractive and has a great, although sometimes weird, sense of humor.”

“Everyone knows you MacNamara boys and men are the nicest of gods’ creations, but to praise this one here like that…” Lochlin tsked, shaking his head, making Lothier, Seymour, and the other guards accompanying them grin sweetly.

“I’m sorry to interrupt…whatever you guys are doing here,” Ardan playfully shrugged, “but Saint, Zachary, and Brennan need help with transferring the injured boy, his younger brother, and the medical equipment into the van Lothier modified according to my instructions.”

“Sure.” Seymour nodded. “I’ll message Landon to bring the van here, and I’ll go inside and help you with whatever you need,” he continued, in a slightly shaky voice. Suddenly, uneasiness took over the man, sending chills down his spine. “Ardan…the injured boy and his little brother…who are they?”

“Alexander Kane’s sons,” the answer came in a pain-filled voice. “The older one paid for the sins of the beast who sired him, but he and his little brother are as innocent as our boys.” The Base’s boss cautiously looked around, then started to walk, gesturing to Seymour to follow him. “We have the monster, too, and this time, I won’t take mercy on him.”

“Good, because I’ll rip out that black heart of his with my bare hands, feed it to the dogs and make him watch.” The other man balled his hands into fists, eyes burning with rage. “Even if Rayne healed the scars on my body, the memories of what he did to me, and the others, are forever etched into my mind.” With no one to see him, Seymour let the tears flow.

Without a word, Ardan wrapped his arms around his friend, rubbed his back, and waited for him to calm down. “No,” he spoke softly. “That devil doesn’t deserve such a quick, easy death; what I have in store for him is humiliating, slow, and painful.”

Seymour nodded and turned around, joining the other guards, who already started to transfer Elias, Abernathy, and the medical equipment into the modified van. For a second, Ardan caught Alasdair’s eyes, filled with concern, worry, and a tinge of defeat.Spitfire won’t give up on that unfortunate kid, but he doesn’t think he is going to make it,the man thought, feeling a pang in his chest.

The bearded, tattooed guards, members of Steel Raiders MC, gave Elias and Abernathy compassionate looks, praying they would have the strength to come out of the hell they’d been put through. Most of them had sons, cousins, or nephews of the same age, and felt helpless and enraged at the sight of them, especially the older one.

With utmost care, they placed the two teens on the improvised couches, whispering words of reassurance and encouragement, then headed to the plane again, splitting into twos. One of the resulted groups surrounded the kids, creating a shield around them, while the other formed a safety corridor, ready to restrain Alexander if he managed to escape from Saint, Zachary, and Brennan’s tight grip.

The three climbed down the plane’s stairs, the prisoner in the middle, with very little room left for maneuvers. As he and his guards passed through the two walls of human bodies, Alexander cast contemptuous, defiant looks in the bikers’ direction, mumbling insults under his breath, in an attempt to make the muscular, tattooed men lose their temper.

To his great irritation, everyone ignored him; they looked straight ahead, like he wasn’t there, talking among themselves or to Saint, Brennan, and Zachary, who also didn’t give any importance to Alexander, except the occasional shove when he slowed down.

You brainless idiots, he thought, anger boiling inside of him,this is not the end of me, just wait and see.

An expression of ugly satisfaction twisted his face into a scary mask when he saw Ardan heading his way. “Are you enjoying the show, whore? I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed plowing your tight, virgin ass all those years ago. Or that of your sweet son, Tarrin, who gave me tenfold the pleasure I took from you.”

---