Chapter 10

When all this…? Keiran stared up at Rhodey. “Will it be done by tonight?”

“Yes. The girl didn’t go far and she almost backtracked to the Center again a few times. She’s rethinking giving up her kid. Jamie was right not to bring anyone else in yet, it would’ve scared her off. Hopefully knowing she’s not alone will get her back on track.” Rhodey lifted his shoulders. “He can get her set up somewhere good and feel better about the whole situation. Focus on this Christmas thing. Everyone’s happy.”

Keiran liked the sound of that. With the gang activity building up again, the last thing anyone wanted was an innocent little baby caught in the mix. Steps had already been taken to protect their own little ones, and the Center itself. But still… “It’s going to be rough on Jamie...letting the baby go. I think he got a bit caught up on the idea of raising her.”

The edge of Rhodey’s lips twitched. “Get back to the Center. Tell me if you still feel the same way.”

Yikes. I’m not sure I want to.

Almost like Rhodey’d read his mind, his Dom laughed and nudged him toward the driver’s seat. “Go on, that poor little baby is waiting on you. And Reggie just added about a thousand dollars to Jamie’s purchases. If nothing else, that girl is going to be set up for the next year after this.”

It was kinda scary sometimes, how on top of everything Rhodey was. In a good way, if that made sense, though not really surprising. He could break down complex missions in seconds, even when shit went sideways, and lead them through an execution that ran like clockwork.

But he was at a complete loss when wayward emotions didn’t make sense to him. Like when Danny accidentally broke a mug Dallas had stuffed in the back of the liquor cabinet. It had been an impulse buy on Father’s Day, a gift he’d likely never have given his father, but Danny immediately understood the meaning behind it and felt terrible. He’d cut his fingers trying to figure out how to put it back together before Rhodey grabbed it and threw it in the trash. Dallas had been really quiet for days after that. Both Keiran and Avery could tell Rhodey didn’t quite get it.

He tried, though. And listened more than people assumed.

Curving his fingers in the front pocket of Rhodey’s jeans, Keiran tipped his head back to look up at him. “Jamie’s going to be sad. And Noah will do everything he can to make things better for him, as soon as he knows what happened. He’ll hate that Jamie kept this from him. You’ll have to be patient with both of them while they figure it out.”

“I’m always patient.” Rhodey’s brow furrowed slightly as he combed his fingers lightly through Keiran’s hair, holding his gaze. Then he nodded, giving Keiran’s hair a light tug. “All right, I’ll let them have all the feels. We got a shrink for a reason.”

“Yeah, about that…” Keiran poked the center of Rhodey’s chest. “Keeping him prisoner is a bad idea.”

Another tug, this time Rhodey holding him in place, the sting in his scalp a mild warning not to push it. “Stephan isn’t a prisoner, he’s a carefully guarded guest. And he has an office by a damn indoor pool. If that’s how we make people suffer now, I’m losing my touch.”

“If he can’t leave, he’s a prisoner.”

“He can leave. He doesn’t want to.” Rhodey gave him a slanted smile. “The man’s dedicated to his job, even I can’t fault him for that.”

Keiran shook his head, sliding his Dom a dry smile before brushing a kiss over his lips, getting in the SUV and strapping in while Rhodey shut the door. They both knew why Stephan wouldn’t even try to leave. Being a therapist to the core meant he was privileged to a lot of secrets. Secrets Rhodey wouldn’t let him live with until he trusted him completely.

That Stephan was willing to wait as long as it took did show a shitload of dedication. Having him around had been really good for everyone, and he’d barely scratched the surface of the issues left to untangle.

Maybe keeping him here was a morally gray area, but...well, the man had Vani as an ally. And if he really wanted to leave, he wasn’t exactly helpless.

Once all the baby supplies were loaded up, Keiran drove back to The Center. Parked in the small lot behind the massive church, he hefted up the largest box, almost dropping it at the sound of a few familiar voices from the gang’s more prominent members.

Jaw clenched, he looked to the other side of the fence surrounding The Center’s parking lot. The gang members were handing candy to several kids from the local elementary school, out on their lunch break. Recruitment tactics that always made Keiran’s stomach turn.

Many of those kids went back to empty houses, single parent homes where mothers or fathers worked two jobs to support them. The attention from the gangs often filled in what they were missing. Those vulnerable little kids looked up to the thugs and were willing to do almost anything to please them.

The Center gave them another option, but there were still too many limits. And some parents wouldn’t take advantage of the free programs because of deep seated biases. Which was all kinds of fucked up, but…

We help who we can.

Eying the small group, Keiran swallowed back his own fear, lowering the box to the pavement and leaning it against the side of the SUV. He might not be able to do much for those kids, but he didn’t have to stand back and let the gang prey on them.

“Don’t.” Avery caught his wrist before he took a step, at his side with a silence that was nice and familiar. He gave Keiran a sympathetic smile. “I know how it looks, but those fuckers are losing their hold here. The Center, your restaurant, Matt’s coffee shop—that’ll take away even more of their power. We focus on that. Like with missions—we might not be able to save everyone, but long term? Shit gets better.”

A deep breath and Keiran was able to stay put. Relaxed a bit as the kids ran off with their candy. He met Avery’s navy blue eyes. “And if I wanted to go over there and kill them all?”

Hooking his fingers to Keiran’s belt loops, Avery pulled until they were facing one another. “Half the deaths would be at my hands. Is that what you want?”