The twins and their wives had just finished cleaning off the table, and Jessica, James, and Ezra were nearly finished loading the dishwasher when everyone grew silent. The younger kids were just bugging us to play outside in the sprinkler when Wren began looking out the window and speaking in hushed tones into his earpiece.
“Keep the kids inside for now,” Wren said to Shepley.
I helped him herd the kids into the kitchen, away from any window facing the street.
“Has Trenton changed his mind?” Taylor asked, frowning. He checked his phone again, and then set it on the counter.
A car engine grew louder outside, and I pulled Eli and Emerson closer.
“I’ve been instructed to ask you all to remain calm,” Wren said. He glanced at Jessica and James. “We’ve got incoming.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Shepley asked.
“Travis and Liis are in the drive,” Wren said, irritated that he’d had to explain that much.
We all relaxed, waiting for a signal from Wren. None of us knew what was going on, but we were so used to being kept in the dark, it didn’t seem so abnormal anymore to wait for something to happen.
The front door opened, and Travis, Abby, and Liis walked in, followed by Agent Hyde and Val. The door closed, and the moment Travis stepped into the kitchen, he was apologizing.
“Just, please hear me out. This is going to be difficult, and at first, you won’t understand, but you will.”
“What’s going on, Trav—” Shepley began, and then Thomas stepped out from behind Agent Hyde.
A collective gasp filled the room.
Jim immediately began to whimper, and then he hobbled to his son, falling into Thomas’s arms. The kids began to wail, and Hollis ran over, hugging his Papa and Uncle Thomas. Ellie and Falyn both covered their mouths, their cheeks wet with tears.
“You lied?” Shepley cried, consoling his parents.
“Why?” Tyler choked out.
“I don’t care why,” Taylor said, rushing to hug his brother. Tyler did the same, and then we all crowded around Thomas, hugging him and sobbing.
The living room was quiet except for the hushed humming of the ceiling fan and the hiss of the sprinkler outside. We comforted the kids and promised to explain later, sending them upstairs to play. They were hesitant but knew the grown-ups needed to sort it all out.
Olive remained downstairs, standing in the corner bouncing a fussy Stella and patting her back. Falyn stood next to her, trying to help. The rest of us were either on the couch or in dining chairs pulled from the table. Everyone’s eyes were red and puffy from sobbing; Deana was still sniffing and pulling tissues from the box.
Thomas sat in a chair next to his dad, holding his hand. Jim was smiling; his relief permeated the room. The shock and relief from the others had faded, leaving the brothers confused and angry. Thomas looked prepared for anything, and I could tell he was sorry for the pain he’d caused before he’d ever said a word.
“You knew about this?” Shepley asked Travis.
“Yes,” Travis said.
“Who else?” Taylor asked.
“I knew,” Liis said.
The brothers’ faces contorted in anger.
Tyler’s face flashed red, one eye squinting. “You looked my dad straight in the eye, knowing his health, and told him his son had died?”
Liis nodded.
“She didn’t want to,” Travis said. “We didn’t have a choice. There were too many people who could possibly make a mistake, and we were being watched. Closely.”
“There had to be another way,” Ellie said.
“There wasn’t,” Thomas answered. He squeezed Jim’s hand. “I wish there was. I wish I didn’t have to miss the first month of Stella’s life, but we knew if we staged my death and Liis announced she wasn’t going to pursue the case, that coupled with Mick’s disappearance might cause them to back off.”
“You did all of this for a might?” Tyler fumed.
“We had to act quickly. Hitmen were on their way to my house. They had already run Travis off the road thinking it was Abby. We needed to buy time. Maybe if we had more time to form a better plan, we could have thought of something better. Maybe moved you all to a safe house, but we didn’t. They were in position to hit every one of you. Once they caught wind of my death, they backed off.”
“Why didn’t you fake Travis’s death?” I asked.
Abby shot me a look. “Because he killed the men that came after him and walked away in front of a crowd of people.”
“You knew about this, too, didn’t you?” I said, seething. I’d never been so angry at Abby before.
“Yes,” Thomas said. “And the agents we’ve been using for security and the director. That’s it. No one else.”
We all looked at one another, shaking our heads in disbelief. No one seemed sure how to feel—whether to be happy Thomas was alive or angry that they had put us through so much hell.
Wren touched his earpiece and looked out the window. “Sir,” he began. Thomas stood and smiled. “It’s Trent and Cami.” He helped Jim up, and they walked outside to greet them. The rest of us followed.
Cami was standing outside the passenger side of her Toyota Tacoma, holding the door open and leaning in, trying to coax Trenton out. She paused, turning to see us all staring at them. She walked up to Thomas and then hugged him, closing her eyes. I glanced at Liis. Olive was standing behind her, still holding Stella. It wasn’t hard to understand their strange predicament, but for fuck’s sake, I’d expect Camille to show some restraint.
“Okay,” I said, approaching them. I pushed Thomas back, and he looked relieved. “You owe us a better explanation. You owe us an apology. All of you,” I said, pointing at Travis, Abby, Liis, and the agents.
Thomas gestured to his colleagues. “Could you give us a minute?”
“Sir,” Wren began.
“Please,” Thomas said. It wasn’t a request, and the agents understood and obeyed.
Camille tucked her silver hair behind her ear. “He’s … It took me a long time to talk him into coming here. The only reason he agreed was so that we could check on Dad.”
Thomas nodded, and Travis brought Jim forward. Trenton stepped out of the truck and walked over, trying his best not to look at anyone else but his father.
“You okay?” Trenton said.
Jim reached out to Trenton. Once he got a good grip on his shirt, he yanked him in for a hug. “You stop this. He’s your brother. You may not understand why he did what he did, but you don’t have to. That’s not what’s important.” He released Trenton and looked around at his family. “What’s important is that you have each other. I’ve said it a hundred damn times. Together, you boys are capable of anything. But you can’t let those bastards tear us apart. That’s what they tried to do with guns. Don’t let ‘em do it with lies.”
Trenton couldn’t bring his gaze up from the ground. Jim hooked his arm around Trenton’s neck. “I’m okay, now that I know he’s okay. Now, I need to know you’re all okay. Hug your brother. Tell him you love him.”
Trenton didn’t move.
“Now, goddamnit,” Jim commanded.
Trenton blinked, and then his eyes trailed up from the ground to Thomas.
“I’m truly sorry,” Thomas said, his eyes glossing over. “You have to know I would never purposely hurt any of you. I had to take a bullet and leave my newborn daughter for five weeks to keep everyone safe, and by God, I did it. Because I love you. I’m sorry I got into this. If I could go back and change it, I would.”