She nodded and burrowed herself into me.
And that was what we did. We went to sleep.
17
DOMINIC
I gota late start to the day.
I couldn’t remember the last time I had slept in so late, but I had woken up this morning when the sun was already high in the sky, and Emmy was snuggled close in my arms.
I wasn’t in a rush to start the day, and even though there was a shit ton for my men to do, we couldn’t really do it until we had more information.
My number-one priority was finding the traitors, the men responsible for hunting down my son in the street and traumatizing him. And the moment I found them, they were gonna wish for fucking death.
I looked out the window.
I was in the living room. Lucy was out grocery shopping, and Emmy was upstairs taking a shower after I took her three times this morning to distract her from asking me to wear a fucking condom.
I scowled at the thought.
I wasn’t letting anything get between us, so she might as well get that fucking idea out of her head right now.
I glanced down at my phone and waited.
My schedule didn’t allow me to talk to Braxton much, considering the time difference between here and New Zealand, but I was expecting him to call as soon as he had breakfast there.
Sure enough, my phone rang with a video call, and I transformed my face into a soft smile that only Braxton and Kai—and even Emmy, to an extent—had ever seen on my face.
“Hey, buddy,” I said when I answered the phone.
“Dad! I miss you! Did you miss me?”
My smile widened, and I could feel my shoulders relaxing at the sight of his happy face. Before Jude’s death—Jenny’s adopted son—she had been a permanent fixture in my kids’ life. They were close with their aunt, but Braxton understood why Jenny decided to distance herself from me, and him as well. I was sure he was happy spending time with her again.
“I miss you, baby. So much.”
“Well, duh,” he said, making me laugh. So confident about his role in my life. The way it should be.
“Are you having fun?” I asked.
He smiled and nodded enthusiastically. Then he told me about everything he had done, including some of the things he had texted me before about. I listened patiently to all his stories, comforted by his voice, chubby red cheeks that were quickly fading with each year that passed, and the light in his green eyes.
I waited until he was done before I spoke. “Are you being good for your aunt?”
“I am always good, Dad,” he said.
I laughed. My boy was good, but he also had Madden genes. He was just as wild as Kai had been at his age, and almost as wild as I had been.
“I like it here in New Zealand.”
“I’m glad you’re having fun, buddy.”
Face serious, he asked me, “When can I come home?”
I took in a small breath of air. I could feel my heart hurting at the sight of him. Despite having a good time in New Zealand, he missed home and me and his brother.
I missed my boy so much.
