Page 7 of Dying to Meet You

All I can do is nod.

“Eden?” Keir dons his clothes. Buttoning up his shirt he says, “You’ll figure this out. It’s a balancing act. It’s going to work out.” Coming from him means more. He was opposed to the idea of adopting Zinnea, Zachariah, and Zebidiah, thinking it would hurt our kids. Who knows what kind of ideas about the world the Revivalists put in Zinnea’s head. Luckily, Zach and Zeb are young enough that the effects won’t be as severe. But just the way Zin will break into scripture in a monotone voice creeps me out.

Fine. I’ll get dressed like the adult I’m supposed to be. With a groan, I get up to pull on a pair of jeans I’d left in a chair by the window. “Ed, honey, I appreciate you breaking the drought.” She shakes her head at me as she laughs. I turn to Keir. “Thanks for your service.” I salute him with a wink.

“You’re thinking about the military. You don’t salute someone in the FB-ya know what? Forget it. You’re welcome.”

Giving me a quick hug as she makes her way to the door, I whisper in Eden’s ear, “Tonight, just you and me? Raw, lights on, strong eye contact.”

“Mmmm.” She sucks her lips in before replying, “Count on it.”

Chapter Three

As a society, we’re doomed

Hutton

Closingtheprogramonmy computer, I lean back in my chair. “With all due respect Ambassador Rassier, I am well aware what laws I would be violating by accessing the mainframes of their country. But that’s not why you’re calling me.”

There’s a silence punctuated by a clanging noise like the sniveling bureaucrat dropped something. “It’s not, Mr. Cross? Wha-what do you mean?”

“I wonder what spring in the Maldives looks like?” I drop the code phrase on him, fighting a smile as I imagine the man pissing himself. “Enjoy the rest of your day, if you can.”

On this particular victory, I almost want to linger on the line a few minutes longer to hear the man devolve into terror. He should. Now he knows I am the one responsible for his security breach and have all the information off his phone and personal laptop. It was all given to a global organization dedicated to stopping sex traffickers. If he doesn’t disappear his life is over.

The French ambassador with ties to several Asian governments has spent much of his career abusing his power and connections. Intel leaked to me from Min-jun, a highly skilled hacker located in Beijing, pinpointed him as a coordinator. Neither Min-jun nor I believe in falling under anyone’s authority. The corruption goes deep with all government agencies. Take the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s pockets of initiatives that run unethical studies, doing things the average person would be appalled by. Do good agents exist? Matt and Keir are among the few. But I don’t trust the agency or most of their employees.

Growing up as an experiment of theirs informed my strong opinions against them.

I’m no one’s monster or super soldier.

The sound of a crash coming from outside my office catches me off guard. “Weston, is that you?” After sliding my laptop into the reinforced drawer and locking it, I stride to my locked office door.

“Sumimasen!” Wes cries out‘excuse me’in Japanese as he races back down the hall outside my office. “Look out, Daddy H, the ninjas are coming!” He’s dressed in his karate outfit with one of his dads’ ties over his white belt and another wrapped around his head. He’s got something -is that a shower curtain rod? -stuck in the belt, which clanks on the floor as he runs.

“Weston, buddy, you’re not supposed to be playing in the hallway outside my office.” Not that our six-year-old whirlwind cares much for rules. Can’t say I blame him. Like father, like son?

As Zach comes barreling into the hallway dressed in old Batman pajamas of Wes’s, his eyes bug out. “Uh-oh.” Unlike Wes, Zach doesn’t want to risk getting in trouble. He lets the screwdriver he’s holding fall to the floor.

When I had the addition built on the farmhouse, it was with the understanding I could do my work here, secluded from the activity of the main house. But Weston loves being near me if he knows I’m home. Honestly, I let it slide most of the time because being his dad means more to me than almost anything else. Next to being with Eden, the kids are my world.

I’ll even admit to caring about the rest of them.

Not to their faces, but I can allow myself to acknowledge it. We’ve built a family that seemed unimaginable to me. That is worth more than the millions I’ve amassed or the millions I’ve gifted from my grandmother’s inheritance.

It’s priceless.

“Daddy H? Can I ask you something?” Weston pulls the tie off his head, whipping it around as he turns in circles. Zach watches on with trepidation.

“What would that be?” I stop him mid-spin. “You’re going to make yourself dizzy, kiddo.”

From spinning to now hopping up and down, Wes continues, “Do you know sign language? We have a new student who can’t hear…he’s death.”

“Deaf. He’s deaf, Wes.” I put a hand over my mouth to hide the small smile forming. “And yes, I know it.” One of the perks of growing up without popular culture is all the knowledge poured into me by my handlers.

Zach sits down on the floor, still intent on watching our exchange. At least he’s stopped being terrified at the sight of me. I could never tell if it was the scar on my neck or my build and height, but he would cower when I was around. “I want you to teach me sign language, please. Then he’ll have someone to talk to.” He looks up at me with his big blue eyes. Eden’s eyes. My heart swells to bursting.

“Yes. Of course.” Picking Weston up I give him a quick hug. “I’m proud of you. I’m really proud of you, kiddo, for thinking of that.”

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