“We are sad to report that businessman and tycoon, Jefferson Hart, has died. According to our investigative report, he was on his private plane on his way home from a business trip when the plane they were on blew up, killing everyone aboard. Please stay tuned, reports are still coming into our station.”

Lucas stopped what he was doing when he heard the news. Jefferson was a close friend of the family going so far back that he and his brothers calling the man Uncle Jeff. He’d woken up that morning with the weirdest craving for ice cream which was normal, but who the hell ate it for breakfast with sardines and chocolate sauce topping and a large bottle of grape soda to wash it all down. Setting his treat down, he reached for his phone and dialed his brother’s number.

“Ty, tell me it’s not true.” He didn’t have to say what he was calling about.

“I wish I could tell you it’s not.”

Lucas heard the sadness in his brother’s voice. “He’s going after people close to me.”

“Maybe or it could be something else.”

“Like what?”

“There were three other deaths that didn’t make it in the news.”

“Who were they, Ty?”

“Lee Martin, Francis Logan, and Marvin Kennedy.”

“All fairly wealthy men that worked with Seeker as informants or agents. What the fuck is going on?”

“Yeah, so was Uncle Jeff,” Ty added. “I honestly don’t know what the fuck is going on. Things just aren’t making any sense.”

“How did they die?”

“Lee was killed by a sniper while he was in his office, Francis was poisoned, and Marvin was hit by a car.”

“Fuck, I need to come home.”

“No, we need you to stay there,” Tyler said and Lucas sensed something was off.

“What aren’t you telling me, Ty?”

“Look, nothing is wrong, okay, we just need you to stay hidden a bit longer. We’re close to finding him, Luc. Just be patient a bit longer. I gotta go.”

He hung up before Lucas could say anything more, it'd been a couple of days since they spoke. Sighing, he set his phone down trying to figure out what to do. He was trying to be patient like Tyler and Tucker wanted, but it was difficult when people he knew and care about were dying because of him. Grabbing his snack and cell phone, he dialed the number of one person he could talk to on the down low.

“You’re supposed to be in hiding,” Chance said to him.

“And you weren’t supposed to know that I am,” Lucas shot back.

“Who do you think helped your father find and set up the phone and place you’re staying at.”

“Fine, then tell me what I need to know.”

“Why is it the only time I hear from you and your brother is when you need information?”

“Because we know you’re the best at what you do.”

“Yeah, yeah, just because you bat for my team now, sweet talking me isn’t going to get what you want from me,” Chance said to him.

“Fine, name your price.”

“Not so fast, buddy, I’m putting this in my ‘I owe you’ safety box for when I really need a favor.”

“All right, now tell me what I need to know.”

“I can do one better. I sent the reports to your cell phone five seconds ago. They’re encrypted so no one can trace it to you, or back to me, for that matter. But if I know Tyler, he’ll figure it out.”

“Damn, I'm glad you’re on our side.”

“That’s because I like my freedom, thank you.”

“Wait, you knew I was going to call you, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” Chance answered. “I was in earshot when you were talking to your brother, and don’t worry he has no idea yet that I sent this to you, so I’m good for now.”

Lucas sighed. “Thanks, Chance, you’re the best. Do me another favor, stay safe, okay? I can’t lose another one of my friends.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t forget you owe me big-time.”

They hung up, and just like Chance said, there was an email waiting for him. He paced his bedroom waiting for the mail to load. There were so many things going through his mind as to what else his family was keeping from him. He couldn’t ask his mother before she left a couple of days ago. He would call Tucker, but he’d promised his husband that he was going to stay far away from the case. Pulling on his nerves, he closed the email and called his father. Jefferson was like a brother to Asher, and he must be crushed to have lost a friend.

“Lucas, what’s wrong?”

“Um . . . nothing is wrong per se, I’m calling about Jefferson, I just heard the news. I’m sorry, Dad. I know how close you guys were.”

His father was silent for a few minutes. “Thank you, Son, he was a very good friend, and I will miss him terribly.”

Lucas closed his eyes and really hated the strain in their relationship.

“Are you all right? Do you need anything?” Asher asked.

“Only to come home.”

“We’re working on it, Son.”

“Easier said than done.” Lucas closed his eyes holding back his emotions, trying not to scream or act like a selfish idiot. His dad was hurting after losing a friend, and all he could think of was what he wanted.

“I know,” his dad finally said.

They hung up without saying "bye" and Lucas felt as if his heart was going to break. Needing to distract himself, he reopened his email scanning the information. Just as Tyler said, they had nothing much on Gianni’s whereabouts. He paused when he saw the message at each scene except for Jefferson.

Forcing them out of the shadows.

Sighing, he threw his phone on the bed looking around his room. What the hell does it mean?

* * *

Tucker stared at the papers on his borrowed desk and his temporary New York office trying to put the pieces together. Despite what he told Lucas a couple of nights earlier, he felt as if they were getting nowhere. He looked up when the door to the conference room opened, and Jaxson walked in, he could tell something was wrong from the look on his face.

“What is it?” he asked

“What do you want to hear first?”

“Just tell me,” Tucker said, he had no time for games.

“Damn, you’re touchy without your husband around.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose completely frustrated with his agent. Everyone who knew about the case was working just as hard as he was but they got to go home to their family at night while he was in hiding. “Jaxson, I swear I will shoot you where you stand.”

“You do know you can go and see him, Marilyn went and saw him.”

“What?” Tucker snapped his head up to look at his second-in-command. “When? Why didn’t anyone tell me? Why didn’t Lucas?”

Jaxson shrugged. “He must have thought you knew, and do you seriously think you can tell Marilyn Hamilton what to do when she has her mind made up about something?”

“It doesn’t matter, does she know how much danger Lucas is in or why we have him hidden away? One day her meddling is going to get one of her sons killed,” Tucker yelled.

“Listen, calm down, you and I know she means well, and she loves her kids to death and wouldn’t do anything to hurt them intentionally.”

“Yeah, well, if something happens to my family I won’t forgive her.”

“I get it okay, and I agree with you. Marilyn is the kind of mother I think my mom would be, meddling in my life trying to fix everyone’s problems and putting herself last. Just remember she’s doing it out of love and care.”

Tucker knew Jaxson was right. Marilyn cared about her sons, but at this moment, her need to fix the family’s problem of everyone finding out about her husband's infidelity could put the man he loved in danger. “If you’re done lecturing me, want to tell me why you came in here?”

“I think we might have found Gianni."

“Where?”

“News came in the pen that the police have a man cornered in a warehouse.”

“Are you sure it’s Gianni?”

“Yeah,” Jaxson answered.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“We think he might have hostages in the building with him. They are not sure how many. But that’s how we found him.”

“You better have a good reason to be stalling, Jax,” Tucker said to his friend.

“He keeps asking to speak with the shadow.”

“What?” Tucker yelled standing to his feet. “Shadow is Lucas’ code name. Gianni must have found out from January.

“We need to find a way to take over the scene,” Tucker said, then a thought came to him. “How did the cops find him so easily? We’ve been searching for him for months, and suddenly he literally falls into our hands just like that, I’m not buying it. Are you sure it’s Gianni?”

“Don’t think I haven’t thought about that, we already have a working theory that he was working with someone else in the Seeker organization. Only a select few know exactly that Lucas is in hiding and not on vacation. What if this is a way for Gianni and his partner to try to bring Lucas out of hiding?”

“Asking to speak to Lucas would definitely do that.”

“I get it, okay. It all seems too easy, but our only choice is to go with it. If we can bring Gianni in, we can get Lucas home.”

Tucker nodded. “So, what do you think we should do?”

“Give them what they want,” Jaxson said simply.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Tucker roared, but Jaxson didn’t back down. He was used to Tucker’s yelling whenever he fucked up on a mission. “I’m not letting my husband walk into danger all so that we can catch this mother fucker.”

“I never said it had to be Lucas,” Jaxson snapped back. “Did you forget he has an identical twin brother?”

That took the wind out of Tucker’s sails. “Shit, would Tyler go for it?”

“All we have to do is ask him.”

“All right, let’s call him and find out, we need to get over to that warehouse before we lose Gianni to the cops completely.” Jaxson nodded and pulled out his cell phone calling Tyler. It was a gamble they were taking, Tucker felt anxious, and he didn’t know why he had the strangest feeling that something was going to go wrong, and he prayed that no one he loved ended up dying. But if everything turned out okay, he could have his family home by the end of the night.

* * *

“Are you sure you can do this?” Tucker asked his brother-in-law.

“Yeah, I want him home as much as you do, it’s odd that I miss seeing his ugly mug,” Tyler said with a smile.

“I’m sure he misses you too.” Tucker smiled genuinely for the first time in days. They’d made it to the warehouse, and the place was swarming with cops and a few SWAT team members.

“He’s going to kill us when he finds out what we did. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I do, but if this brings him home, I doubt he will care.”

“All right, so the plan is to keep him talking so that we can get the SWAT team in and get the hostages out. I’ll stay in the van and will only show my face if he needs to see that Lucas showed up.”

“Yeah,” Tucker said nodding, it sounded like an easy plan, but nothing was ever easy. “I’m sorry that this could expose you and your family.”

“Stop,” Tyler said to him. “I’m not worried about that, we have it covered, trust me. We’ve been preparing for events like this since the day we signed on as Seeker agents. We never hid what we were doing, but we also didn’t advertise it either. All I care about is getting those people out alive.”

“All right, let’s do this.” Tucker got out of the standard issue FBI vehicle, pulling out his badge and walking up to the cops that were standing around looking at the warehouse. “Who the fuck is in charge here?”

“That would be me,” said an older balding gentleman. “I’m Captain Seabrook, who the hell are you?”

Tucker would have rolled his eyes but kept his mask intact. If the FBI flak jacket wasn’t a dead giveaway, the damn badge hanging around his neck should have told Seabrook who he was. “Assistant Director Tucker Hamilton-Stevens,” he said lifting his badge. “My team and I are taking over the scene.”

“What the fuck?” one of the guys that was standing beside Seabrook yelled, but Tucker ignored him keeping his eyes on the captain. “Under whose authority?"

“Mine,” Tucker snapped still looking at the captain.

“Look . . .” the guy started, but his captain stopped him.

“Stand down, Mitchell,” he said to his subordinate. “All right, what do you want to know?”

“Have you been able to ascertain how many hostages he has in there with him?”

“So far five, we have a SWAT sniper positioned ready to take a shot, but he’s kept a human shield in front of him every time he goes to the window.”

“What else?”

“We’ve tried negotiating with him, but he keeps yelling for shadow, who or what that is we don’t know, and he refuses to give us a hint,” Mitchell said to him with a lot more respect than the first time he spoke.

“Okay, I need you guys to move back and let my people take over. Keep your SWAT team positioned where they are and let me get a radio.” He ordered not adding that he knew something about what Gianni was asking for.

Captain Seabrook nodded and ordered his men back as he handed Tucker his radio. Jaxson, Stephen, Brenden, Mayson, and a few of the New York FBI took up the positions the cops had vacated. Tucker walked over to the tinted SUV and opened the door handing Tyler the radio.

“You’re on.”

“You wanted me here, so here I am,” Tyler said into the radio. He looked at Tucker as they waited for Gianni to respond. They were hoping their plan worked, although Tyler and Lucas looked alike, they sounded different.

“You took your sweet time, amico.”

Tyler grunted. “Why don’t you let the hostages go?”

Gianni barked out a laugh. “Did you think things would be so easy? You should know me by now, always such a bleeding heart, that’s what I miss about you, amico.”

“I do, so why don’t you tell me why you’re doing all of this?”

“Betrayal, little Lucas,” Gianni said. “You betrayed me when I trusted you the most out of all the men who worked for me for many years. But you, I trusted you freely.”

“I was there to do my job, Alfonso. I needed you to trust me.”

“Si, and you did a very good job of it. You should have become an actor instead of an agent. You have the world fooled and possibly yourself. Maybe I wasn’t so wrong about you, or maybe I wasn’t your type.”

Tucker’s brows creased together at Gianni’s last statement. He knew that Lucas wouldn’t lie to him about being attracted to another man, but the familiarity in the way Gianni spoke about his husband irritated him.

“Let them go, Alfonso,” Tyler said.

“What do I get in return, amico?”

“Me,” Tyler answered. “You’ll get me.”

“Not so fast,” Gianni said. “Why’d you do it?”

“What? Why did I do what?”

“Why’d you betray me? We made so many plans. It was because of that night, isn’t it? I couldn’t let them live, amico.”

Tucker and Tyler looked at each other wondering what the hell Gianni was talking about. The sickening feeling he had weeks ago that Lucas was hiding something from him came back to him.

“Do you know what he’s talking about?" Tyler asked him.

“Not a clue, see if you can get it out of him,” Tucker answered.

“It wasn’t just that night,” Tyler said.

“Don’t lie to me, amico. I think I know you better than that now. I never wanted to make you angry. You know that? But he disrespected me and my organization.”

Tyler stared at Tucker as they both tried to figure out what went on between Gianni and Lucas. “Is this your way of saying sorry?”

“No, I stand by my action, amico, you knew what I was capable of.”

“Yes, I did. But it still surprised me.”

“Let us forget the past, little Lucas, and focus on the future. I needed to talk to you, tell you everything,” Gianni said.

“I’m here now, so talk.”

“I . . .”

Whatever Gianni had to say was cut off, the sound of screams and yelling reached Tucker and Tyler. Tucker stepped away from the SUV and hurried over to Jaxson who had his gun pointed up and was looking around as people were rushing out of the warehouse.

“What the fuck just happened?” he demanded.

“I don’t know,” he said still looking around.

“What the fuck do you mean you don’t know?” He wasn’t angry with Jaxson, and he was sure his friend knew. But it was frustrating the way things kept happening the closer they got, specifically where Gianni was concerned. He couldn’t help feeling as if there was more, lots more going on than what was above the surface.

He didn’t wait for an answer, Tucker grabbed his gun and ran into the building keeping his back to the wall, looking around before walking fully into the open space of the warehouse and seeing a body on the floor. Slowly, he walked over to the body, kicking the gun pointed toward him. He kicked Gianni’s feet. The man didn’t move; a sure sign that he was dead.

Stepping closer he saw the bullet hole in his chest and blood starting to pool around Gianni’s body. He kicked the gun away from beside Gianni’s body then walked over to the window and looked out trying to figure out where the shot could have come from. Tucker was pissed. He wanted to know which idiot took the shot and who the hell ordered it. He turned around when he heard footsteps rushing into the room.

“He’s dead,” he said to Jaxson. “Find out who took the shot, without permission.”

“Already on it,” Seabrook said coming up behind Stephen.

“I want to know what the fuck happened, Jax.”

“Fuck, me too,” Jaxson answered looking around the room.

Gianni was about to tell Tyler something before he was killed. I’m sure he has a partner, but does that mean Lucas was safe to come home? Or am I just searching for something that isn’t there?

“Go on, get the hell out of here,” Jaxson said to him.

Tucker nodded taking things as what they were. Jaxson was in charge. “I want the report on my desk by the time I get back,” he said to his friend.

“Where the hell are you going?” Seabrook asked, and Tucker ignored him.

He walked out of the warehouse bypassing the cops and agents. Taking off his flak jacket, walking to the SUV where Tyler was still waiting. He got in the passenger seat, slamming the door.

“Do you have any idea what he was about to say?” he asked looking at Tyler.

“No,” Tyler answered. “What do you want to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not Lucas, and I can never tell what you’re thinking, well, except for now. You think he had a partner and you're wondering if it’s safe to bring Lucas and Zoi home.”

Tucker sighed and leaned back looking out the window at all the activity going on. The reason Lucas and Zoi were in hiding was because of Alphonso Gianni, and now that he was dead, that danger was over. Except he wasn’t sure if the danger was over. Closing his eyes, he snapped them open when there was a knock on his window and saw Mayson standing there.

“What’s up?” he asked rolling the window down.

“The shot came from one of the SWAT guys on the roof. Apparently, he didn’t get the word to stand down, and when he saw the opportunity, he took it. The paramedic on the scene said it was a clean shot, but we’ll wait for the medical examiner’s official report.”

“All right,” Tucker said in relief, he still wanted to know what Gianni wanted to talk about. The man didn’t go through all the trouble of getting Lucas’ attention. “Interview the hostages and find out what happened. Find out what they were doing in an abandoned fucking warehouse in the first place and have the report on my desk when I get back.” Nothing about the entire thing made sense to Tucker.

“You got it, boss.” He rolled the windows back up when Brenden walked away.

“Take me to the airport,” he told Tyler.

His brother-in-law chuckled.

“What?” he asked.

“I think his bossiness is rubbing off on you,” he said pulling out of the parking spot and onto the road.

“Shut up and drive.” He smiled thinking that he was going to get to hold his husband for the first time in weeks. “Keep digging,” he told Tyler, knowing the man would know what he was talking about.

“You got it. Just so you know, one of our ITs sent Lucas information on the four Seeker agents that were killed.”

“So be prepared for an argument,” Tucker said.

“Knowing my brother, it will be after you fuck his brains out.”

“If I do it right, there won’t be a need for argument.” They both chuckled, and Tucker realized he liked Tyler in a familial way. He was totally different from Lucas, but they had similar personalities.

“I never told you thank you,” Tyler said cutting into his thoughts.

“For what?”

“When Rebecca died, I thought I was going to lose my brother. He still laughed and brushed things off, but his spark for life died. I’m sure if it weren’t for Zoi, he would have continued being an agent and taken anything so that he could die and be with Rebecca. And then one day his spark came back, the old Lucas I knew was there. I have to tell you when I found out he was interested in someone I didn’t care if it was a man or a woman. I just wanted him to be happy; you’re good for him, and this is no slight against Rebecca because I loved her. But with you, I don’t know. If I’m saying this right, it just makes sense.”

Tucker didn’t say anything. There wasn’t anything he could say. Saying thanks for falling in love again didn’t seem like the right word to use. Lucas made it easy to love him. He was impulsive and said what he felt, sometimes not caring what others thought, and he wore his heart on his sleeve. A heart that Tucker planned on protecting for the rest of his life. They pulled up to the airport and drove straight to the hangar bay where the Hamilton plane was already waiting for him to get on. Getting out, he was handed a bag.

“What’s this?”

“Clothes, you might need some for the next couple of days.”

“How’d you know I might need some today?”

Tyler smirked. “I didn’t. I had Mom pack those a week ago, and I’ve been carrying them around with me for when you might need them. Oh, the keys to the house are in the side pocket.”

Tucker shook his head but took the bag regardless, thanking Tyler. “Meddlesome, the whole lot of you have a meddling problem.”

“Only when it comes to family,” Tyler said with a smile.

* * *

“. . . nd I . . .” Lucas smiled listening to Zoi in the background while he made dinner for them.

“What are you doing over there?” He turned and looked at her.

“Pi’ture or, Papa its’ prise.”

It amazed him lately how more grown-up she seemed lately. Just a few months ago, she wouldn’t let him go to work without crying. And since finding out that she was going to be a big sister, it was as if she made a conscious effort to do things on her own. In the past couple of weeks, the phrase "I do it, Daddy" rang in his ears.

“Oh really? How come you don’t make pictures for me?”

“See 'ou all time," she answered without looking up from her art. “'Ou no need s’prise,”

“I don’t think it’s fair your papa gets all your beautiful drawings and I don’t,” he pouted. “Can Daddy have one picture, please?”

This time she looked up at him placing a hand on her forehead completely exasperated with him. “Fine.”

He smiled, loving her new personality which reminded him so much of Rebecca. His stomach grumbled reminding him that it was way past time that he ate. Lately, his cravings were getting out of control. He’d kicked it up a bit adding pickles and sauerkraut with his ice cream and sardines.

He was going to seriously ground his twins for the weird things he was eating or smelling the second they were born. He was so busy preparing the last of their dinner when he heard Zoi scream, he turned around so fast he dropped the knife in his hand. He looked up to see Tucker standing halfway into the kitchen with his—no their—daughter in his arms.

“Hey, baby girl, I’ve missed you, so much,” he said hugging her and lifting his eyes looking in Lucas’ direction. “Come here.” Tucker extended a hand towards him and without argument he rushed towards his husband and sighed the second his arm wrapped around his waist. Tucker kissed him on the side of his head and, for a second, he forgot where they were until the scent of burnt food reached his nose.

“Dammit,” he cursed and reluctantly pulled out of Tucker’s arms and back over to the stove turning it off. Dinner was ruined, and frankly, he didn’t care. “How about we order out for pizza,” he said turning around to face the two most important people in his life.

“How about it, baby girl, pizza for dinner?” Tucker asked Zoi who was still in his arms.

"Yay! Pizza!”

Lucas reached for his phone and dialed the number he’s come to know by heart and ordered a large with half cheese and the other loaded with everything that popped into his mind. Hanging up he looked at his husband and daughter reconnecting their bond, and the scene was very touching. Then it occurred to him if Tucker was there that could only have meant one thing, Gianni was back behind bars and he could go home and back to his regular life.

“Since you’re here does that mean that we can go home?”

“In a couple of days,” Tucker answered looking up from the drawing and at him with a bright smile on his face.

“What?”

“You’re glowing.”

“What the he . . . heck, are you talking about? I look the same as I always do.”

“No, you don’t,” he said getting up and walking over to Lucas, resting a hand on the nape of his neck. “You look happy.” Tucker’s lips were inches away from his.

“That’s because you’re here and I can finally go home,” he said staring at Tucker’s lips before they descended on his, pulling the sweetest moans from him. Tucker's arms circled his waist pulling him closer, and he went willingly. He felt tingles all over his body simply being in Tucker’s arms and at the prospect of being inside his man before the night was out. He grunted when he felt a sharp jab to his stomach, instantly, Tucker pulled away and looked down at his stomach then back to him.

“Did one of them just kick?” The astonished expression on Tucker’s face made him smile. He reached for his husband’s hand, placing it on his stomach and wasn’t disappointed when there was another stronger kick. Tucker didn’t say anything, simply pulled him back in his arms with the same hand on his stomach.

* * *