Page 8 of The Homecoming: The Island

“A little birdie told me you like kindergarten very much.” Ardan came to his Spitfire’s rescue, crouching down in front of the two children. “How about you tell me everything about your new friends and teacher, while I help your dad with the breakfast?”

“Our teacher got sick, she’s not coming anymore,” Paisley said in a small, sad voice. “She was very cool, knew a lot of things and loved us very much.” The little girl let out a soft sigh. “I’m going to miss her a lot.”

“Uncle Fergus was very sad when Miss Lane called and told him she can’t come anymore, but then Everly went to her house and kicked her mean husband’s ass.” Axel flashed a cute, satisfied grin at Ardan, making Alasdair gasp in shock and almost drop the pan filled with the omelet on the floor.

“Our youngest son is the perfect combination of MacNamara and Stark genes,” The Base’s boss commented, letting out a short, amused laugh. “However…” He gently caressed Axel’s cheek. “… your Papa is not very happy with you using certain words and phrases.”

The little boy, mature for his age as he was, understood and promised not to use coarse language again, earning himself radiant smiles from both his fathers. As Ardan, Paisley and her twin brother attacked breakfast, Alasdair studied his husband.He is here, with us.Relief washed over the redhead;Uncle Fabian was right, sleeping on the floor is my love’s way of saying he is not a sex toy anymore.

After breakfast, Alasdair rounded the twins up and embarked them into the SUV and headed to The Base. He made a stop at the kindergarten, where he dropped Paisley and Axel off, after kissing them a lot and being kissed tenfold in return. Then, letting out a long, heavy sigh, the redhead drove to the clinic, heading straight to the room of Alexander’s eldest son.

The boy, Elias, was still unconscious, but the MRI from a day earlier showed no signs of brain damage. His younger brother, Abernathy, was peacefully sleeping in the other bed, and, after looking over the older one’s other tests, Alasdair checked his temperature, relief washing over him when he detected no fever.

Meanwhile, after cleaning the table and washing the dishes, Ardan left the house, driving to The Base. His initial schedule included a meeting with the men who kept the place running during his absence, a tour of all the facilities and a meeting with the monster who nearly destroyed his life, not necessary in that order.

However, Axel’s words made Ardan change his mind, and he decided to go see his twin brother Fergus first. The man intended to do that a day earlier, right after he and the group accompanying him on the island arrived at The Base, but, with all the agitation, it slipped his mind. Besides, Fergus spent almost all day in the company of his son Nico, whose sudden disappearance affected him deeply.

Ardan’s heart ached when he remembered how his twin blamed himself for his son being taken, obsessively repeating he was a lousy father and calling himself a lot of horrible names. Only after his life partners Xavier and Dehaan talked to Fergus, reminding him how important his support was for Nico and how many times he encouraged the kid to follow his dreams did the man calm down.

After softly knocking on his brother’s office door two times in a row, Ardan cracked it open and discreetly let himself in. At first, Fergus, buried under a ton of paperwork as he was, didn’t notice his twin, who stood in the middle of the room, waving playfully and grinning. At some point, however, the man behind the desk raised his head, letting out a loud gasp when his eyes met Ardan’s.

As fast as he could, Fergus left his seat and got out from behind the desk, heading to Ardan, who opened his arms in a welcoming gesture. The occupant of the office didn’t throw himself at his twin’s chest; for a while, he stood still, a few inches away from the one he shared the same womb with, examining him with worried eyes.

Only when he was convinced Ardan was all right did Fergus wrap his arms around his twin’s waist, hugging him tight and mumbling incoherent words. Head on his brother’s shoulder, he started to sob quietly, thanking all the deities who brought Ardan, Nico and the rest of the boys and men back to The Base, safe and sound.

“I was so worried and afraid!” Fergus exclaimed when the sobs died down. “Everly kept telling me everything will be fine, but I couldn’t stop imagining the worst scenarios and…”

“Nothing and no one could stop me from going there and rescuing our boys.” Ardan tenderly hugged his twin, rubbing his back. “We were ready to turn the godforsaken rock upside down and search every inch of it, torture every motherfucker living there to make them tell us where the kids were.”

“Sometimes, I wish I was at least half as strong and brave as you are; Blair was right, I’m nothing but a pussy, a girl who was born a boy by mistake, an unfortunate accident.” The pain in Ardan’s eyes made Fergus stop talking and, after a moment of heavy silence, he decided to change the subject. “By we, you also mean the gangsters? How did you get along with them?”

“Great, as expected.” Ardan smiled, and it reached his eyes. “Those men are the embodiment of the team spirit and also know a thing or two about friendship and loyalty. Did I mention they are also loving fathers?”

“Hmm,” Fergus voiced his doubt, looking in Ardan’s eyes. “I bet that your description of them won’t correspond with that of Brennan. Our younger brother may be impulsive at times, but he’s a good judge of character.”

“Actually, you would be very surprised to hear what he has to say now.” Ardan grinned. “How about Brennan singing praises to the giant Egyptian, the one they call Cochise?” The man inhaled sharply. “Weren’t for him, Pater would have been dead now. A goddamn hunter wanted to kill and rape him. In that order.”

“How…” Shaking like a leaf, Fergus plopped down on a chair. “Is there anything else you are not telling me? Earlier, you made me stop deprecating myself, so it’s time to show me how much of a man you think I am.”

Taking a seat, Ardan let out a heavy sigh. “I fell into a trap, but Clint pulled me out, and that’s the only notable incident, besides… no, wait, there’s something else,” The Base’s boss smiled. “Something our guest of honor won’t be thrilled about. Nathan Sanitini is alive and kicking.”

“Wow, that’s…” Fergus stared at his brother, disbelief written all over his face. “So, the rumors about him being killed in prison by his wretched son’s order are just rumors,” he whispered, relief washing over him. “I’m happy about this. Nathan Sanitini was a man of honor, or so I’ve heard.”

“Most likely, he still is.” A small smile played on Ardan’s lips. “Pater told me on the way home that the two of them met once or twice in their younger years. Back then, Nathan Sanitini collaborated with Pater’s uncle, Alastair Stark. Judging by the tone of his voice, Pater had a major crush on the guy.”

Amusement flickered in Fergus’s eyes, and he spun the chair to face his twin. “I would give anything to see Alexander’s face when you are going to give him the news about Nathan.” The man grinned.

Ardan didn’t answer right away, thinking intensely about something. “I can give you that, brother. The beast wasn’t aware of your existence, so what about giving him a scare?”

Fergus nodded, a mischievous smile playing on his lips, and stepped out of the office, followed by his twin. The annex serving as temporary prison to the one all the residents calledthemonster, grimacing with disgust, was across the yard from the administrative building, a good opportunity for Ardan to inspect the buildings on that side.

Everyone, from the guards to the auxiliary personnel, gave the boss a warm, enthusiastic welcome, telling him how relieved they were he and the crew were home again. Unlike the other rescue missions, when they knew the location and had a clearly devised attack plan, this time Ardan and his men swam in uncharted waters, those at The Base worrying about their fate twice as much.

“Look who’s here, the big bad boss himself.” Xavier, one of Fergus’s life partners, smiled brightly at the sight of the two brothers. “I didn’t get to talk to you yesterday, are you all right? My man here was quite agitated, and, knowing how tight and deep the bond twins share is, Dehaan and I feared the worst.”

“Thanks for your concern.” Ardan gave Xavier a bear hug. “There were a few isolated incidents, but nothing of importance. Finding out who was behind the boys’ kidnapping was a shock for all of us, to say the least. By the way, how is our special guest?”

“Surprisingly quiet, which could mean two things: he is either resigned to his current situation or is planning his escape.” A deep frown creased Xavier’s forehead. “I don’t like his silence at all.”

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