Chapter 6: Jason

He never held what my old man did against me in any way. Instead, he’d only drawn me in closer and never allowed me to feel a moment’s unease, never made me feel less than or not part of them. I owe him my life, him and my ‘sister,’ his wife. Our family dynamic is all messed up, but it works for us. He’d adopted me, but I’m his little brother. I grew up with her, risked my life for her; she’s my big sister.

Their kids are my nieces and nephews, though, on paper, they’re my brothers and sisters. We’re very clannish, very overprotective of each other. And the few who tried coming between us over the years, those uninformed few who tried claiming that because there was no blood shared between us that meant that we were not each other’s kin, had been sent away wishing they’d never crossed paths with any of us.

I’ve watched him stand between me and danger too many times to count. Hear my sister go to bat for me at the worst times in my life, those times when my past caught up with me, and I wanted to pack it in. She still doesn’t know the worst of it, that I’d ended my old man with my own hands because Gideon had kept that from her, and from the rest of the world.

Only his men knew the truth about what happened that night. Those same men who along with my brother, had taught me how to be a man. Not only how to protect myself and my loved ones physically, but how to be the kind of man they could be proud of. I live my life only to give back to him for everything he’s done for me.

He brought me back from the edge of hell, from imminent despair, and gave me a life of luxury and what’s more, unconditional love. So yeah, even though I’d vetted every man in this room and had seen firsthand the work they’d done so far in bringing home stolen children, something my brother and I care very deeply about, I’m still not willing to risk my little family.

Now, this Mancini guy wants me to hook up with some kid to find someone who’s offing predators. I need more information on that before I give the okay, but since Gideon doesn’t seem to find anything off about it, I’ll keep my cool for now. Usually, I’d be the one taking out the assholes; it’s what I do.

Gideon had wanted me to go into the family business. To keep my nose clean, rake in the dough and live the life of Riley. That just wasn’t for me, though. I’d seen too much by the age of sixteen, both from my time living on the streets and from learning about the sh*t my old man was into at a very young age.

Part of what I do is to make amends to the world for the sh*t he’d done. The craven asshole should’ve got worse than I did to him when I gutted him that night ten years ago. If I’d had the time, I would’ve made him suffer a hell of a lot more for all the horror he and his cronies had inflicted on the innocent.

And since my sister Ashley is a daily reminder of that, there’s no way that I can live my life in a cushy job behind a desk. I’d gone to school because that’s what they both wanted, but there was never any chance of that happening. I’ve spent every day since Gideon forced me to move into his mansion, which Ashley, to this day, refuses to let me leave, honing my skills.

I’ve rescued or been part of the rescue team that brought home more than fifty young kids over the years. Each one is like saving Ashley all over again, as well as retribution for the ones I couldn’t save from my dad back then. I can’t stop, I won’t ever stop, not as long as there’s one kid missing and being exploited out there in the big f*cked up world.

I looked around the room again, at all the men gathered there. There was a lightness in the air as everyone teased the Lyon guy about his lineage. He didn’t look like the type you should be teasing like that unless you were a lion tamer. Guy looked like he was the type to throw your ass out a high-rise window and not lose any sleep.

Then there were the SEALs. Even when they were across the room from each other, they moved together like a well-oiled machine. It was hard to miss and beautiful to see. Gideon had already thrown his hat in with these guys since the last time they worked together, so I know there’s nothing for me to worry about. Still, I won’t rest easy until I’ve got the lay of the land myself.

“I’ll be right back; I don’t see Dana and Jenna.”

“They’re with Lyon’s kid.” Just then, the door opened, and a man and woman walked in. One look is all it took to see what he is; stone-cold, and you can add whatever else you wanna add at the end of that statement. The guy oozed wealth and breeding, but there was an underlying element that might be hard to miss unless you were someone like me.

But it was the woman that drew the eye. She was tiny like most of the women here, including my sister, but there was an edge to her that you’d miss if you weren’t looking. She’d cased the room in seconds and didn’t relax until the man beside her did. “Everyone, you remember Shane and Arianna Flanagan.” Mancini addressed the room.

“Oh sh*t , Gideon, is that?”

“Yep!” Things just got real f*cking interesting. The prince of the city had just joined the room. What the hell is he doing here? If these men are playing around in his sandbox, then they can’t be as straitlaced as I first thought.