Page 21 of Their Virgins Secret

“We had no idea you were pregnant,” Burke said, bitterness dripping.

She shrugged. “Would it have mattered? You still had a job to do. ”

It wasn’t fair, but she was jealous of their mission. They had spent a full year saving other people’s children while their own child had been born in a county hospital. She could still remember standing outside the hospital with Caleb in a car seat, waiting on a taxi to take her home. She’d been the only new mom with no one to take care of her.

She could feel Cole’s stare burning through her. “One of us would have come back while the other stayed and did the job. We wouldn’t have left you alone. ”

The door to the Lear opened, and a big man wearing a cowboy hat charged in. He wore a long-sleeved western shirt, jeans, and boots. The casual outfit didn’t hide the man’s air of authority. A lovely blonde followed behind him, her pretty face grimacing with worry.

“Dex? Seriously?” Gavin James stared at the cowboy. “You brought Hannah?”

“She’s earned a couple hundred licks. ” Dex scowled. “But she wouldn’t be left behind. Slade’s back at the house making some calls. He’s working his way up the FBI ranks, screaming all the way. Unfortunately, no one can prove that this Marco asshole has taken over his father’s business. He’s been perfectly clean for years. We’re in a bind. ”

“It wouldn’t matter,” Cole said, standing to shake hands with Dex. “Marco has FBI contacts. We could go into protective custody, and it would be a crap shoot. In fact, I think that’s exactly what the fucker wants us to do. ”

The men started talking strategy, moving to exit the plane. The pretty blonde stepped forward and sat down across from Jessa, looking both concerned and kind. She was dressed in white slacks and a colorful sweater that had come straight off a designer’s rack. She was soft and natural, and there was no doubt this woman was well loved.

“He’s beautiful. Caleb, right?”

“Yes. ” This was the woman who would take care of her baby. The blonde reached over and gently touched Caleb’s cheek, a tender look on her face. Jessa liked her right away. She had “experienced mother” written all over her.

She turned back to Jessa, holding out a hand. “I’m Hannah James. I’m married to those two and one who’s still at home. We have two babies. I promise, I will take care of yours. I love your men. ”

Jessa shook her head. “They aren’t mine. ”

They had never been.

Hannah’s perfectly manicured eyebrow rose on her face. “Say that all you like, but I promise you, those men have barely taken their eyes off you. They’re not going to give you up. But that’s an Alpha male for you. They can be obnoxious, but I wouldn’t have mine any other way. ”

Hannah was married to three men? Jessa leaned in, her curiosity getting the better of her. She stole a glance at the two men talking to Cole and Burke. They looked…difficult. “How do you handle them?”

Hannah’s smile was brighter than the lights on the plane, her laughter tinkling through the cabin. “Oh, they don’t make it easy. They gang up on me. I rarely win a fight… But making up is worth it. ” She turned serious, tears pricking her eyes. “Trust me. As difficult as this kind of relationship can be, it’s worth every moment. I wouldn’t know a damn thing about love or happiness without them. ”

Jessa turned away, the look of adoration on Hannah’s face too much for her to bear. “Well, you got lucky. ”

Hannah touched her knee. “I’ve known Cole and Burke for a couple of years now. They would talk about you on their brief trips home. I have never seen them as crazy about a woman as they are about you. Of course, they also haven’t had a case as bad as the one they’ve been working for the last year. If they say they didn’t know about Caleb, then they didn’t. ”

Did that really matter? They had left her, walked away, and not returned for a year. They had only come now because they thought she was in danger. Great. They didn’t want her to die. She bet she could find a whole bunch of people who didn’t particularly want her to die. That didn’t mean they cared. And now that they knew about Caleb, whatever they said or did would be colored by the fact that she’d given birth to their son. Jessa didn’t want to be tied to them simply because her reproductive organs worked.

She glanced at Cole. He stood, looking so masculine it hurt. And Burke’s eyes strayed to hers. She looked away, too confused and angry to meet his stare.

Burke walked over, his face a grim mask. “We have to go now. ”

Jessa put a hand to her mouth, stifling her cry. She was leaving her baby, her very soul. A moment later, Cole stood beside his brother.

“I’m so fucking sorry, baby. ” Cole started to reach a hand toward her. She flinched. Cole’s face went blank. “The faster we get out of here, the less chance Marco has of following us. We have cash. We have an untraceable vehicle. We have new IDs. I promise, I will keep you alive or I will die trying. ”

With tears falling, she leaned over and kissed her sleeping child. All this time, Caleb had been her strength. How had she ever thought differently? Shame filled her as she thought of those first, dark days when he had seemed like a burden. Now, he was the light of her life. His sweet smile, his sunny disposition, had kept her going through some very lonely times. Would she ever seen him again?

“I love you, baby boy,” she whispered against his cheek. “I love you. ”

She stood and followed Cole and Burke out of the plane, her heart aching, threatening to seize up. God, she’d give anything to return to a happier time.

* * * *

One year earlier – New York City

Cole looked around the richly furnished dining room of the Waldorf Astoria, an ornate echo of its grander past. “So, this is your idea of breakfast?”

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