Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Kim sent him a suspicious look. “Somehow I don’t think that was all about me. I can have a croissant.”
“It is absolutely all about you,” Beck promised her. “You haven’t eaten. You need some food, and I’m going to make sure you get it.”
“Are you?” Her shoulders squared. It was her goddess warrior, I’m-not-letting-some-man-tell-me-what-to-do pose.
He placed the plate in front of an empty seat. “I’m hoping if you eat, maybe Roman will, too.”
She sat down and her fork was in her hand pretty damn quick. “We should all have a good breakfast. It’s going to be a long day.” She turned back to Beck once she was comfortable their son was eating. “Have you heard from Theo yet? Do you know where we’re going?”
Owen and Jax were in the office upstairs making all kinds of arrangements. “I think we’ll either be going to England or a country called Loa Mali.”
“That’s where the Green King lives,” Roman said around a mouthful of eggs. “He makes solar panels and green cars.”
“He’s also a personal friend of my boss.” He’d thought about it all night and decided Ian would be looking at either moving them to Loa Mali or to somewhere Damon Knight controlled, and that would likely mean England.
He wanted to go home. It was funny because when he’d bought the three-bedroom house on the same road as Theo Taggart’s, he’d done it as an investment. It had never truly felt like a home, but now he wanted to take Roman there. He wanted to show him the tree in the back that would be perfect for a treehouse, and where they could put a swing set. The yard was big enough for a dog to run around in. Did Roman like dogs?
“I don’t know that’s a good idea,” Kim said. “I’ve been following a lot of what King Kashmir and Queen Dayita have been doing lately. They’re trying to get the US to join them on a couple of important initiatives. My presence could stall those talks.”
“I don’t intend to let anyone know about your presence.” There were definite advantages to being in a country in the middle of the Indian Ocean where the government would be friendly to what they needed. If they went to England, the Brits would absolutely turn Kim over if they caught her. They’d already done it once.
“I still think it could cause serious problems,” Kim argued.
“Let’s not borrow trouble,” Ezra said. “I think we should all take a positive attitude. Wherever we end up, that’s where God wants us to go.”
“I’ll go where Tag tells me to go,” Beck deadpanned. “He’s got a god complex, after all. And what’s this we stuff? Don’t you have a church to clean or something? Confessions to hear?”
“I don’t have a congregation. I’m a liaison to the Order, and I work in the hospital,” Ezra replied. “I help Brother Francis whenever I can. I also do work with medical charities across Africa and the Middle East.”
“Mom would be proud.” Except of the whole drug-addict-had-to-fake-his-own-death part. “You should go do those things.”
His brother’s jaw tightened. “I’m not leaving Kim and Roman.”
“What are you going to do for them? Pray? Because last I heard prayer probably won’t stop bullets,” he shot back.
Roman’s eyes widened. “Someone’s going to shoot us? He wants to shoot my mom?”
If looks could kill, he would be struck down immediately because Kim’s stare was brutal. “Of course not, baby. Your father is angry with his brother and he can’t help but try to twist that knife. Beck, could I have a moment?”
It would be way more than a moment. It would be a long lecture about what complete shit he was at parenting.
“Roman and I will clean up the kitchen,” Ezra offered. “We can make a game out of it.”
Roman didn’t look like he would find anything fun at this moment. Beck felt his son’s eyes on him as Kim strode out into the living room. The minute he followed her, she turned on him, pointing a finger his way.
“How could you do that? He’s very smart. Do you know what that means? He internalizes his fears, and you just gave him a huge one.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it. You’re right. I was lashing out at Ezra and I did what I always do. I ended up hurting someone I didn’t mean to. How do I reassure Roman?”
Kim stared at him for a moment like she hadn’t understood a single word that had come from his mouth. “You can’t joke about those things around Roman.”
“I won’t. I promise. I’m new at this. I need your help. The last thing I want to do is scare our son more than he already is, but we also have to prepare him for what might happen. He can’t be in the dark about this. I want to take your lead, but I’ve been that little boy who knew something was terribly wrong only to have my parents tell me I was crazy.” They’d sworn nothing was wrong right up to the moment they divorced and he got hauled halfway across the country. He hadn’t missed his father, and it had all been for the best, but he’d come to realize that having his instincts questioned so early in life had an effect on him. “We need to talk about how we’re going to handle Roman’s questions during this time. It’s obvious he’s known something was wrong for a while.”