Lucas stared down happily at both his sons, Ryan and Wyatt Hamilton-Stevens, born thirty minutes apart. He was tired but proud of himself even if he wanted to give up more times than he could count during the delivery. The twins were a month early but they were perfect in every way, all fingers and toes accounted for. Identical in their appearances until the caps on their heads are removed.

Ryan had Tucker’s blond hair with dark tips, and Wyatt had jet-black hair. Their features would probably change the older they got. Lucas could only imagine the troubles his little monsters were going to get into. He was so overwhelmed with emotions, one minute he felt like screaming "finally, it’s over and they’re here" and the next he wanted to cry simply because he could hold them in his arms.

“I guess some secrets were worth keeping.”

He looked up when he heard his mother’s voice. “We wanted to give Ethan and Tyler their moment of happiness.”

“You wouldn’t have taken away from their moment.”

“Maybe not, but we . . .”

“Wanted to keep it to yourself for a bit.”

“Yeah,” he answered finally realizing where he was going but didn’t comment on it. “Where is everyone else?”

“They’re in the visiting room. I asked Tucker to give me this moment with you before you get bombarded with everyone dying to see the new additions."

“Thanks.” He hadn’t realized how much he needed the time with just his babies.

“They are adorable,” she said sitting down beside him on the bed taking one from his arms. He would have objected being separated from his son, but he realized it was his mother. “Why Wyatt?”

“It was your dad's name, we never got a chance to meet him, but I knew you loved him from all the stories you told.”

“I did, he would have loved this little guy. And Ryan?”

“In honor of Rochelle and Rebecca.”

He gently caressed Ryan’s cheek smiling down at his sleeping son. He looked up when the door opened, and Tucker walked in with Zoi in his arms. His heart skipped a beat at seeing his husband as it always did.

“This little one wanted to meet her little brothers.”

“Baby,” Zoi said as Tucker sat in the chair right next to the bed.

“Yup, not one but two.” Tucker held up his fingers and her little green eyes grew wide.

“Tats lots,” she said in awe.

“You're right, baby girl, that’s a lot,” Tucker said kissing her on the side of her head. “But that’s how we like it.” He looked over at Lucas and winked.

Gods, the man makes me so happy.

* * *

“How do you feel?”

“Tired,” Lucas said then smiled. “But happy.”

“I’m so proud of you,” Tucker said glancing down at his husband. “Thank you.”

“Why?”

“You brought joy back into my life.” He got up from the chair he was sitting in and sat beside Lucas, gently pulling him into his arms, hoping not to hurt his stomach. “I’ve never been so scared in my life, you and Zoi mean the world to me and now add the boys . . .”

Lucas touched his lips, stopping whatever he had to say. “Don’t think about it now, we are fine now.”

“I know, but I can’t lose you, Lucas.”

“You won’t because you promised.”

“What did I promise?”

Lucas yawned and closed his eyes. “Next time you’ll carry the baby.”

Tucker smirked moving Lucas’ curls back and kissed him on his forehead. “Anything you want.” He closed his eyes and fell asleep with a thought on his mind.

Thank you, Rochelle.

* * *

“Okay, Ryan’s changed and ready for his bottle.”

Lucas nodded. “Okay, let’s switch babies. Wyatt needs to be burped.” In the three weeks since they’d brought the twins home, it’d been and still was an adjustment trying to be parents to newborns, and a two-year-old that was used to have all of his and Tucker’s attention and now had to share. Lucas could tell that Zoi was trying to be patient with her little brothers getting all the attention. But Lucas had a feeling that sooner or later her patients will run out when she’s not able to garner the attention of both the central adults in her world. They’d tried involving Zoi with everything they were doing so that she didn’t feel left out.

“Okay, Zoi, are you ready to help Daddy feed Ryan?”

“Uh huh.”

“Okay, get on the bed like Daddy showed you.” He helped her the best he could. He was still healing and would be for a while. Tucker did all of the heavy lifting. Zoi got beside him and placed her hand on his. He watched her in awe and was proud of his daughter. She might not understand everything that was going on, but she was taking things in stride.

“Stinky,” Zoi said.

“What?” Lucas asked glancing down at her. She stood and moved to the other side of the bed covering her nose.

“Ew . . . Ry stinky.” Still unable to say her brother’s names fully, she shortened their names to Ry and Wy.

But he was just changed.

Lucas sniffed, chuckling as he glanced down at his son who had the most satisfied expression on his face as he continued to drink even with a disgusting scent coming from him. Babies are a wonder in so many ways.

“You used to do the same thing before you learned how to use the potty.”

“Go potty, Ry,” she said pointing to her little brother.

Lucas chuckled. “Not yet, but soon.”

Not wanting to hear anymore or stick around because of the scent, Zoi got off the bed running out of the room, maybe to tell Tucker about little mister stinky bottom. 

* * *

“Gods, this is harder than I thought it would be,” Tucker said getting into bed beside him. “I’ll take an undercover operation any day.”

They were in bed finally for the night along with all three kids who were fed, clean, and in bed. Lucas groaned glaring at the mountain of laundry that they accumulated in just one week. He'd forgotten what it was like to relax in his home. He’d been spit up on, peed on, and everything else he’d forgotten about when Zoi was born. He was thankful that his house was quiet for the first time in hours. They’d turned down his parents' help to come over daily and help with the kids; they wanted to do things on their own.

“Hey, bub,” Lucas said to Tucker. “You helped make those two little cuties in there, and you will stick around to help me take care of them.”

 Tucker turned his head and gave Lucas the "I want to fuck your brains out" expression. “Is that an order?”

“You better believe it.” They met partway and were about to kiss, stopping when the twins started crying. Tucker went to get up, but Lucas stopped him. “Stay, I’ll get him.”

“Yeah, not going to happen, from the echoes, it sounds like the both of them.”

“Then let’s get to it before we have baby number three crying.”

Tucker quickly kissed him then got off the bed and started walking out of the room. Lucas' eyes instantly went to the dip of his back and down to the swell of his ass. He licked his lips thinking of all the things he would love to do to Tucker’s ass once he was fully healed.

“Stop staring,” Tucker said looking over his shoulder.

“What? I can look if I want.”

“It’s off-limits to you for the next six weeks.”

Lucas got off the bed and met his husband at the entrance of the door pinching Tucker as he passed by him. “I call dibs once I’m healed.”

Tucker chuckled. “We’ll see.”

Lucas smirked gleefully, excited that for the next six weeks he’ll be able to tease Tucker to distraction.

* * *

“Lucas, you have to wake up!”

He burrowed his head under his pillow ignoring the voice and wishing that whoever was the nagging voice disturbing his sleep would go the hell away.

“Danger . . . babies . . .”

Fuck, shut the hell up! Lucas mentally screamed.

It had been eight weeks since he and Tucker brought the twins home, and they had developed an imperfect schedule, but it worked for them. The twins were starting to sleep a bit longer during the night and Tucker had gone back to work two weeks ago. His body had found a way to work with the twins' sleep schedule, and he knew that he had another thirty minutes before he needed to get up. Lucas was still working from home, well, he tried to in between the twins and Zoi's nap time. Last night, Zoi had spent the night with his parents because they planned on taking her to the zoo and wherever else she wanted to go.

“Lucas, wake the fuck up!”

Lucas sat up quickly in bed, ready to yell at whoever it was that woke him up and couldn’t believe who he saw in his bedroom. To be sure, he cleaned the sleep from his eyes and looked again and he knew he was seeing a ghost. He knew who it was. Her pictures were still hanging on the walls of his new home, showing the happy life she and Tucker once had.

“You’re supposed to be dead,” was the first thing that came out of his mouth.

“I am dead, but he’s not,” Rochelle said pointing to the figure sitting in the leather wingback chair facing the other way.

That can’t be right. He’s supposed to be dead. His body was turned to the side, but Lucas recognized his broad shoulders, and his short platinum-blond hair that he always made sure was styled and edged just right.

“How?” he asked needing answers as to how two people he knew for sure were dead were in the same room with him. “How are you alive?” He was speaking to both Rochelle Stevens and Daniel Ritter.

“I’m still connected to Tucker,” Rochelle explained. “But my connection is fading really fast. I don’t have that much time.”

Well, that explains how one person got into my house. It doesn’t explain the other person sitting across from me. Fuck, I can see dead people topic will be the next family dinner.

Daniel turned around in the chair and Lucas gasped. He wasn’t scared before, but that changed the moment he saw he was holding a sleeping Wyatt in his arms.

“You’re losing your touch, Shadow.”

Lucas hadn’t taken his eyes off his child. He wanted to rush over to Daniel and snatch Wyatt out of the man’s arms, but the gun resting on his lap told him not to make a move, or he or his son could die. This wasn’t a friendly visit to say hello and that he was alive and well. Daniel was there for something different altogether, and Lucas had no idea what it was all about. He glanced up at Daniel’s face, studying the man that used to be his friend and old partner. He looked the same only slightly older, with laugh lines in the corner of his eyes. His albino complexion complemented his gray eyes that no longer had the same glint he once remembered. There was something different behind them.

“I . . . I’m no longer apart of Seekers.”

Daniel snorted. “You and I know that’s not true, once you’re in, there’s no turning back.”

“It was you the entire time, wasn’t it? You were the one behind this whole thing? You knew Gianni was being transferred, paid January's debts. Did you kill him and all those other agents and informers?” Lucas shook his head. Daniel didn’t need to answer the question, Lucas already knew the answer—the truth was written all over his face. “I must say, you’ve been busy for a dead man."

“You know what they say, no rest for the wicked.”

Wyatt stirred in Daniel’s arms, and Lucas’ reaction was to get up and comfort him but stopped when the man reached for his gun and pointed it in his direction.

“I’m not ready to kill you yet, Lucas, so don’t make me,” Daniel said to him.

“I just want to comfort him, it’s almost his feeding time,” Lucas explained.

Daniel glanced down at Wyatt and then back up at him. “Okay, but don’t try anything funny or I will kill you here and now.”

I wouldn’t try anything stupid when you’re holding my son hostage, you fucking asshole.

“You need to buy time, Lucas,” Rochelle told him. “Just enough time for Tucker to get here.”

How? he wondered, but he must have uttered the word out loud.

“How am I alive?”

“Yes.”

Lucas nodded and got off the bed then walked slowly over to Daniel and Wyatt, taking his son from the man’s arms. He started walking out of the bedroom but stopped when Daniel wrapped an arm around his waist and his hand landed hard on his stomach. He winced in pain, he was almost healed according to his doctor, but he still needed one more week before he could go back to normal.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going? Did you forget who’s in charge?”

 Lucas closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m going to his room so that I can change him then get his bottle from downstairs. I need to take care of him before his brother wakes up.” He opened his eyes and looked sideways at Daniel. Lucas was trying to stall just like Rochelle’s ghost instructed and hoped that she was right in that Tucker was on his way to save them.

“Okay,” Daniel said, and Lucas started.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” Lucas said walking as slowly as possible the short distance to his sons' room. “I saw you die, Daniel.”

“No, what you saw was me jumping in front of a bullet to save you before telling you to run.”

Lucas opened the door to his sons' room and walked over to the changing table, setting him down. He remembered that night as if it was yesterday. He’d replayed the entire thing over and over in his mind like a video recording. They’d already caught Gianni, and as they were leaving with the man, they'd come under fire. Lucas had run out of bullets and didn’t have a refill clip, the next thing he knew Daniel pushed him and Gianni and took the bullet meant for him.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked, taking his time to change Wyatt, pulling all the information he could from the man that used to be his friend.

“I don’t think you’d understand if I told you,” Daniel said to him.

“Try me,” Lucas snapped. “You used to be my friend, Daniel. Why the hell are you doing this? What the hell did I do to you for you to break into my home and hold my innocent kids hostage?”

He was getting angrier and even though he realized he should keep his tone down and try not to irritate the man with a gun pointed at him or wake Ryan, he couldn’t help it. He wasn’t thinking about what could happen to him, he was simply trying to figure out what the fuck was going on.

“I’m not going to hurt your kids, Lucas,” Daniel said.

“And I’m supposed to fucking believe you with a gun pointed at my head.”

“Yeah, because I’m your friend or I know we used to be friends.”

“Funny that, the friend I knew died a couple of years ago trying to save my life.” Picking Wyatt up, he laid him down in his bassinet to check on Ryan who was starting to stir but went back to sleep. He looked up at the man that used to be his friend.

“I saved your life because I wanted to, but if I knew then what I know . . .” He stopped speaking, closing his eyes as if trying to compose himself.

“What do you know now, Daniel?”

“Are you almost done because we need to go,” he asked not answering Lucas’ question.

Buy time she said. Well, how much time do I need before Daniel realizes what I’m trying to do and kills my kids and me? Fuck, I still can’t believe I’m listening to a dead woman.

“No, I still need to feed them and get them re—”

“They’re not coming with us,” Daniel said stopping him.

“W . . . what do you mean they are not coming with us?”

“Let the last good memory you have of your boys is taking care of them. Lucas, just be glad I’m giving you a chance to say goodbye.”

Well, that answers the question of what will happen to me. So why am I not scared out of my mind? “What happened to you, Daniel?”

“I saw people for who they really are, Luc,” Daniel said putting his gun away. “I learned a lot about the real me, and what I’m capable of.”

Lucas knew that even though Daniel’s weapon was out of sight, he had one weapon hidden that he could pull out before he could take a step to disarm him. Knowing that he was still healing there was nothing he could do but hope that Tucker got there quickly.

“Am I allowed to go downstairs?”

“Yeah,” Daniel said and stepped aside for him to get out the door.

Daniel followed right behind him to the kitchen and watched his every move, not giving him the chance he was hoping to get a weapon.

“What do you mean you saw people for who they are? And that you now know the truth about yourself, what truth is that?” Lucas asked while he made the two bottles he needed. He was wondering why Daniel was pretending to be so nice considering he was there to kill him.

Daniel smirked. “For someone who’s about to die, you have a lot of questions.”

“If you knew me well enough, you should know I would be curious.”

“Let me ask you something,” Daniel said staring at him. “Did you enjoy being pregnant? What about when you experienced their first kick? What about when you found out you were having twins? How did you feel?”

What the hell does any of that have to do with my question? “I had different emotions for all those questions you just asked. It’s hard to describe what I felt when I found out I was pregnant, it’s hard to put in words the first time I felt them kick, and it’s hard to say what my emotion was when I found out I was having twins.” I need to find a way to defend myself. Lucas kept thinking to himself.

“Try,” Daniel said.

 “Confused, elated, scared out of my damn mind. How’s that for an answer? Now, I answered your questions will you answer mine?”

 Daniel chuckled and shook his head. “You were always a man who never beat around the bush, you always go straight to the point. And all in good time, Lucas, I promise I won’t let you die not knowing why. Go spend your last few minutes with your boys.”

Lucas glared at Daniel trying to understand what the hell happened to his friend from who the stranger was standing in front of him. Realizing that he wasn’t going to get an answer to his questions, he grabbed the boys' bottles, went back to their rooms and did what Daniel suggested which was spend his last moments with his sons.

Thirty minutes later, both boys were changed, fed, and burped. He stood at the window holding Wyatt, rocking him to sleep and his heart felt heavy.

“Don’t worry, I promise, Tucker will find them, and he will find you.”

Maybe I’m really going to die if I’m seeing and hearing dead people?

“I hope you’re right,” he whispered.

“I am,” Rochelle told him.

“It’s time to go, Lucas,” Daniel said behind him.

He turned, and his vision became cloudy, his lips started to tremble, and he turned his head kissing Wyatt to hide his fear. “I can’t just leave them.”

“Yes, you can.”

“Why . . . Daniel, why are you doing this? I don’t understand.”

Daniel walked over to him and took Wyatt from his arms before he could say anything as two men he’d never seen before walked into the room. One grabbed him and he tried to fight him, but a pillowcase was jammed over his head then a punch to his stomach caused him to double over screaming in pain. One of the men dragged him and his head bounced off the stairs making his world go black.

* * *

Tucker stared at the file in front of him. It was from the day Alfonso Gianni was shot. They needed him to sign off on the case since it was supposed to be closed. But Tucker felt that something was off, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. He snapped his head up when the silver-framed photo of him, Lucas, and their kids fell off his desk onto the floor. Creasing his brows together, he looked at the window that was closed wondering how that could have happened. Shaking his head, he got up and walked around his desk picking up the frame checking to make sure it was intact. Setting it back down on his desk, he was about to step back around to his desk when the frame fell off his desk again.

“All right, who the fuck is trying to prank me?” he asked looking around his empty office.

His guys loved playing games on each other, and they are not above playing one on him, boss or not. He picked up the frame and walked over to his door, snatching it open glaring down into the bullpen noting everyone was busy working. He looked down at the frame in his hand and stepped back into his office closing the door.

“Maybe I’m still tired.” He was still trying to adjust to being at work after being home with his family. Sitting back down at his desk, he set the frame face up and looked back down at the file he was reviewing. His eyes widened when he heard a yell in his ear.

“Tucker, you need to go home, now!”

He looked around his office again and prayed it was a fucking prank and he wasn’t going out of his mind. He started when the phone on his desk rang. Reaching out, he snapped it up answering, ignoring the thumping in his chest.

“Tucker, where’s Lucas?” Marilyn asked.

Tucker stood to his feet, worry grew in the pit of his stomach. “What do you mean 'where’s Lucas'? He’s home with the twins.”

“No, he’s not, Tucker. The twins are here, but he’s not. Tucker, there’s blood . . .”

“Don’t touch anything. I’m on my way.” He hung up the phone before she could ask or say anything. Hurrying to the door, he opened it and almost knocked Stephen over.

“Whatever it is you need to tell me later, Lucas . . .”

“Has been kidnapped,” Stephen said finishing for him.

“Ki . . .” he gasped unable to put the words together. “H . . . w . . .”

Stephen held up the tablet he had in his hand and on the screen was his husband. His face was covered but Tucker would know Lucas’ body anywhere. There were blood stains on the front of his shirt where the doctors had cut him open. Tucker reached out with shaky hands and took the tablet from his nephew; his vision was clouded with tears. He closed his eyes taking a deep breath, hoping to calm himself, but he didn’t see that happening.

“We’re trying to track down the IP address to see if we can find him, but whoever took him is very good at covering their tracks.”

He opened his eyes and looked down at his nephew. He needed to treat this like any other case because when he found the person who took his husband, he was going to kill him with his bare hands.

“How long ago was this?” he asked with a calm in his voice that shocked not only himself but Stephen as well.

“About five minutes,” Stephen answered.

“And you’re fucking telling me now?” he roared not caring who heard him. “Tell me you have more information. Did they ask for a ransom?”

“No, but we figured out what the message meant.”

“What message?”

“They will all come out of the shadows,” Stephen said looking at him as if he was waiting for him to snap and maybe he would, but right now he needed to find his husband. “They want to let the world know about the Seeker organization.”

“Find out who took him,” Tucker instructed as he walked past Stephen. He needed to get to his children, hold them and make sure they were okay.

“We know who took him,” Jaxson said coming up the stairs to meet them, stopping him in his tracks.

“Who?”

“Daniel Ritter,” Stephen answered.

“Why does that name sound familiar?”

“It sounds familiar because he was once Lucas’ partner with the Seeker organization, the one that's supposed to be dead,” Stephen said.

“Obviously he’s not,” Tucker snapped.

No one told him to calm down. They’d all gone through their own shit, from Christen getting kidnapped when he was pregnant with the triplets. And Nicholas who was taken by Brenden’s ex-girlfriend. Tucker took another deep breath, he couldn't stay there, he needed to see his babies.

“I want everyone working on this,” he ordered.

“It’s already done . . .” Brenden’s explanation was cut short when his cell phone rang, seeing that it was Tyler he answered it right away. “Tell me you have something.”

“Yeah, Chance was finally able to get into January’s computer, and I think we know where they took Lucas.”

How convenient, thought Tucker.

“Does it have anything to with this Daniel Ritter?”

“That’s where things are a bit confusing,” Tyler said to him.

“What do you mean?”

 “Lucas isn’t his real target. Or we don’t believe that he is . . . we believe that Daniel Ritter is using him to get to the real target.”

 “Well, who the fuck is the after?”

“We think it’s my father.”

 That was all Tucker needed to hear. “Get me the address and whatever else I need to know, and I will meet you there.” Hanging up, he looked at his team and family. “Gear up, we’re going to get my husband.”

He was going to kill Daniel Ritter.

No one messes with my family and lives.

* * *