Tucker smirked when he felt Lucas’ arms circle his waist. He stopped what he was doing and turned in his arms. “Is Zoi asleep?”

“Finally, I think she’s worried you won’t be here when she wakes up tomorrow.”

“I’m not going anywhere without you two anymore. It killed me to be separated from you both this long.”

“Good, because we don’t want to be separated from you either.”

He cupped Lucas’ cheeks staring into his eyes. “I love you.”

Lucas’ eyes brightened. “I love you, too.”

They leaned in closer as their lips met into a passionate and loving kiss, two lovers reconnecting after being separated for so long. They separated, and Tucker pressed their foreheads together. He enjoyed moments like this where no words needed to be said between them, simply letting their emotions surround them. They stayed like that until Tucker felt another kick from one of the twins, making him chuckle, breaking the mood.

“Are they always this active?”

“Yeah, they are,” he answered looking down at his stomach. “So, are you going to tell me what happened?”

“Gianni is dead.”

“Who did it?”

Tucker took his hand and they walked over to the bed and sat down. He waited for Lucas to get comfortable before he explained what happened, including Gianni holding hostages in an abandoned warehouse, and how he wanted to talk to the shadow and no one else. He explained how Tyler pretended to be him and was surprised when Gianni didn’t ask to see his face. Nothing seemed right the more he talked it out with Lucas. Gianni was dead that was for sure, but to Tucker, there was still an air of mystery surrounding the whole thing.

“Then he’s definitely dead?”

“Yeah, saw his body with my own eyes.”

“So it’s over?”

“Yeah,” he said with a bit of a hesitation.

“You don’t sound so sure.”

“He died just as he was about to reveal something. It just doesn’t add up.”

Lucas was quiet for a few seconds. “Do you think the cop that took the shot was paid to kill Gianni at the right moment? I know that he had a lot of enemies that wanted him dead.”

“Maybe, or maybe I’m reading into something that’s not there,” he said then remembered there was something that Gianni said that he couldn’t get out of his mind. “Gianni kept referring to 'that night.' What was 'that night' about?”

Lucas sighed. “It was a crazy night, I think he was trying to show me how evil he could be or try to impress me. He was someone who valued loyalty above even his own family. I knew he had affection for me; it wasn’t a secret among us. He always had time for me whenever I would show up. Funny thing was I didn’t see him that way. I wasn’t lying when I said I’ve never been attracted to another man before you. When I looked at him, I saw a man that needed to be put behind bars or in the ground where he could rot for eternity. One night he was so drunk he tried coming on to me, but I laughed it off and simply used his attraction for me to my advantage and got what I needed."

"But that’s not the night he was talking about?”

“No,” Lucas answered then look away.

“What happened?”

“Like I said, I knew he was dangerous and as much as I wanted him locked away, I needed hard evidence. I wasn’t around when he abused his wife, but I saw the evidence on her body, hell everyone knew, but she wouldn’t go against him. I had to pretend that I didn’t notice what he was doing. Any information I collected would have sent him to prison, but not for long. He would have been out in five years. It wasn’t just because he had the best legal team known to man. We had to find a judge and jury that he couldn’t pay off, and witnesses who weren’t scared they’d be on his hit list. One night he found out that one of his men was stealing from him. Alphonso didn’t pay the people that worked for him well, but he expected their loyalty and for them to die for him no matter what. If you had a family forget about it, in his views, it wasn’t his fault. He called Roberto Menza into his office and, at first, everything was fine, but I should have known it was an act. Alfonso confronted Roberto and showed him proof that he knew he was stealing.”

Tucker watched Lucas stand and walk over to the window, leaning on the sill. He stayed where he was, realizing that Lucas needed the space between them.

“Of course, like an idiot, Roberto denied it no matter how many times he asked for the truth, I expected Alphonso to beat the shit out of the guy, scare the man into telling the truth, but instead he brought the man’s family into the room. They had three kids and one on the way. Before I could stop him, Alphonso killed the wife then the three kids, in front of everyone. You steal from me, so I take from you. Those were the last words Roberto heard before Alphonso killed him. Want to know what the fucked-up thing about it was? Roberto was his cousin, not in friendship but blood.”

“Damn,” was all Tucker could say.

“I couldn’t move, Tuck, I remember standing in the same spot thinking what I should do? How can I save them? But it was too late. My reaction was too late. I felt like I was an accomplice watching that man and his family die by Alphonso's hand. I didn’t do anything to stop Alphonso. He must have realized that sometime after that I didn’t like what he did and tried to justify his actions, but it was too late. I already knew the type of man he was, and it shouldn’t have shocked me, but it did. But this was also the hard evidence I needed to put him behind bars. I somehow convinced his wife and then his daughter to testify against him.”

Tucker stood and walked over to his husband pulling him into his arms. “You’re not responsible for Gianni’s actions. There was nothing you could have done to save that guy and his family; the blame lies with the man who denied what he was doing and put his family in danger.”

“I know you’re trying to ease my guilt . . .”

“I’m not,” Tucker said interrupting him. “You were there to do a job, and if you had done anything to stop Gianni, he might have killed you for defending the guy.”

“You might be right,” Lucas said sighing, sinking weepily into their embrace. “I still wish there was something I could have done.”

“You did, and that was the job you went there to do.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Lucas said sounding unconvinced.

“We all have to do things that we don’t like, baby, sometimes things work out for the best and sometimes they don’t. But that was one time you had to put yourself first.” Tucker rested his chin on the crown of Lucas’ head and sighed in relief when Lucas relaxed. Not wanting to break the mood between them, but there was still something that he needed to address with his husband. “Speaking of safety, why didn’t you tell me your mother came to see you?”

“I thought you knew she was coming?”

“Nope, I found out earlier before the whole Gianni thing. She could have put you both in danger.”

“I’m sorry about that; sometimes she oversteps the boundaries in her need to fix things.”

Tucker nodded. “It's over now, but I wouldn’t have forgiven her if something had happened to you or Zoi.”

Lucas turned fully and stared in his face. “You’re not afraid of upsetting my mother, are you?”

“Am I supposed to be?”

“No, it’s just most people let her do what she wants because they don’t want to hurt her feelings.” Tucker took one of Lucas’ hands. “I get that she has a big heart and wants to make everyone around her happy, I can’t fault her for that. But sometimes she needs to back off and let things happen on their own. I get the nickname smother now, and I know how much her family means to her, but my only priorities are you, Zoi, and the babies, no one else.”

“You’re right, and I will talk to her about it, but I can’t promise she will listen.”

“Good,” Tucker said cupping one of his cheeks.

Lucas leaned in and kissed Tucker. “You are so fucking sexy,” he said against his lips.

“Why? Because I’m not afraid of your mom?”

“No, because I find it seriously hot that you want to fight my battles for me.”

“I want to do more than fight your battles,” Tucker said making his voice go deeper.

Lucas quirked an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”

“Yes, really,” he said kissing his husband’s lips, cutting off all conversation. He was talked out at that moment and all he wanted to do was show his husband how much he loved him.

* * *

“You know we don’t have to do this,” Tucker said looking at him and then back to his parents’ home.

They had gotten back the night before just in time for a Sunday family dinner. Lucas was still a little upset with his father and not ready to talk about things. He didn’t miss the hypocrisy that he’d already forgiven his mother but not his father. He knew the longer they put things off it would only give him more time to be angry. “No, I think we should do this now.”

“All right, let’s go,” Tucker said getting out of the car, then getting Zoi. Together they entered his parents’ home and were surprised to see Seth sitting on the sofa with two beautiful women he’d never seen before.

Seth stood, walked over to him and pulled him into a hug. “This wasn’t my idea,” he whispered. Nodding, he patted Seth on his back still not sure how to take his new brother.

“It’s fine,” he whispered. He knew exactly whose idea this was. “Introduce me to your parents.”

They separated, and Seth went to stand between the two beautiful women. “Mum and Mother, I’d like you to meet Lucas and his husband, Tucker,” he said turning to the two women who were now standing. “Guys, I’d like for you to meet my parents, Helen and Ann-Marie Harrison.”

Why do those names sound familiar to me?

“Hello, Lucas, I’m Helen.” She smiled and extended her hand. She was beautiful with pixie cut blonde hair and bright blue eyes as clear as the Caribbean Sea. With her tall, slender frame, she did not look like a woman with a son in his thirties. He couldn’t help but stare and saw one reason why his father couldn’t resist her. A light shove to his shoulder pulled him from his stupor.

“Um . . . yes, it’s nice to meet you, as well,” he said taking the offered hand.

“And I’m Ann-Marie, but you can call me Ann.” Her smile was also bright, but Lucas saw the slight tension between her brows. She was just as enchanting as Helen with long dark flowing hair and brown eyes. Both women were the same height, and with Seth standing between them with a happy smile on his face, Lucas got a chance to see how much he resembled Helen.

“And who is this lovely little one?” Ann-Marie said looking at Zoi.

“This is our daughter, Zoi,” he said turning around to look at Tucker and his daughter who had a very tight grip around his husband’s neck.

“Well, you are simply the cutest thing I’ve ever seen, isn’t she, Nellie,” Ann-Marie said stepping over to Zoi who seemed to loosen her grip just a bit. Helen stepped away from Seth and over to Tucker.

“I’m not sure if I should be jealous that your daughter has stolen my mums from me.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me your parents were so gorgeous?”

“I did tell you they were models,” Seth said to him.

“Um . . . no you didn’t.”

“Oh well.” Seth shrugged. “Now you know they were models before they opened up their fashion boutiques."

“Oh shit, dude, your moms are Helen and Ann-Marie Harrison of Helen Marie’s Boutiques!”

“Yeah,” Seth said unimpressed. “We weren’t going to come today.”

“Let me guess, my mother was very convincing?”

“Very,” Seth answered. “I called my parents the night you found out about my mum and Asher.”

Tucker was right, there were some things his mother needed to let happen naturally and stop meddling in everyone’s life. “Don’t worry about it.” He nodded and stepped around Seth and headed for the kitchen where he knew his mom would be. She was pulling a roast out of the oven when he entered the kitchen. “Did you invite them hoping we would be on our best behavior?”

She didn’t look up when he spoke. “I’d rather we air things out now and not let things fester like a sore.”

“Why can’t you just let things work themselves out?”

“How would you have done things, Lucas?”

“I don’t know what I would have done. But why can’t you just . . .”

“What?” she snapped looking up at him. “Ignore everything as if it didn’t happen? Well, it did. Your father cheated, hell, even I did to some degree. But what happened between your father and Helen gave us a young man I can’t wait to get to know.”

“So, you go and invite them to the family dinner as if nothing happened, as if they’ve been a part of this family from the beginning? Why do you always push others' boundaries when things aren’t going your way?”

“What the hell have I done that’s so bad? Is it wrong to want to see my family happy the way it used to be?”

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to see your family happy, but you have to give everyone time to adjust to things. You never fucking listen to what others want. It’s always what you want.”

“So now you want me to put all of my faults on the table?”

“Don’t do that,” Lucas said. “Don’t try playing a guilt trip on me; it’s not going to work.” He stepped back and ran his hands through his hair.

“When are you going to let this go?” Lucas couldn’t give her an answer. She walked over to him and rested a hand on his left cheek.

“You don’t feel guilty at all for butting in, do you?”

“Not when it comes to keeping my family together." Lucas shook his head not understanding his mother. She always did what she thought was best for everyone, sometimes making the situation a bit worse.

“Listen to me. I get that you and your brother haven’t had years to deal with what happened as I did. But all I’m asking is that you guys listen and see things from their point of view.”

“What point of view is that?” Both Lucas and Marilyn turned to see Christen and Tyler standing at the kitchen door. “How could you, Mom?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” she cursed stepping back from Lucas. “Listen to me, you three. This is my house and my marriage, what your father did is forgivable, and you should not hold it against him. He’s a good man and has been a good father to you three. All I’m asking is for you guys to remember in between passing your judgments that I almost did the same. I might not have slept with her, but I wanted and needed her in my life at that time.”

“Almost and doing is not the same thing, Mom,” Christen countered.

“You’re all acting like children.” She walked back over to the counter, picked up the roast, and walked out of the kitchen while calling everyone to dinner.

“What do you think?” Tyler asked him.

“Fuck if I know,” Lucas said honestly.

“Well, I don’t like it. I mean Seth seems like a good guy, but I can’t forgive Dad for cheating. Not yet,” Christen said.

“We agree on that,” Lucas said to his brothers. “As much as I hate to say this, we have to hope Mom knows what the fuck she’s doing.”

“Did she think we’d all become one big happy family?” Christen asked.

“No,” Tyler answered. “I think she expects us to act like the adults we are and hear Dad and Helen out. Then make a decision on our own whether we want them in our life or not.”

“You’re right,” Lucas said just as his stomach growled.

“It seems someone is hungry,” Tyler said chuckling.

“By the looks of him, two someone’s. He’s almost as big as Ethan, since he’s having twins,” Christen added and Lucas was happy his little brothers had their backs turned or they would have seen his blush.

When he walked into the dining room, Zoi was sitting on Tucker’s lap holding on to his shirt, a sure sign she wasn’t comfortable with the unfamiliar guests in the room. He sat down beside his husband refusing to look at his father and knew that it must have hurt him. But he was still coming to grips with the fact that his father betrayed his mother.

“Are you all right?” Tucker whispered in his ear.

“I will be,” he answered.

“I’m here for you,” Tucker said, kissing him on the side of his head.

“Thanks.”

* * *

Tucker wished he was anywhere else but sitting at the Hamilton dinner table. The room was thick with tension that even the kids who were usually very talkative were as quiet as church mice. Zoi refused to leave his side and kept narrowing her eyes at the newcomers as if they were invading her happy space. Lucas and his brothers hadn’t looked at their father, and the conversation grated like nails on a chalkboard. Not even Mark, the man of many words or fun stories to tell, could seem to break the tension.

Poor Ethan looked the most uncomfortable considering that he should have had his twins already and hadn’t given birth yet. Ethan and Tyler had announced a couple of months back that they were expecting twins and they weren't going to reveal their gender. It prompted Lucas and Tucker to keep their news a secret a bit longer, letting Ethan and Tyler soak up the attention.

“All right, that’s it,” Marilyn said. “Kiddies, Grandma left cookies cooling on the counter, how about you guys get some with a cup of milk?” Their eyes got wide as they got up from the table and ran out of the room without sticking around to hear more. Tucker wished he could run out of the room with the kids. “Okay, now that the kids are out of the room, let’s put everything out on the table.”

“All right,” Christen said breaking the icy tension. “I’ve been trying to reason why or how it could have happened. You’ve always been in control of everything.”

“So, what you’re saying is that I’m not allowed to make a mistake?”

“Dad, I don’t think that’s what Christen is saying,” Tyler interjected.

Tucker looked at Lucas who remained silent while pushing his food around his plate. He had a feeling what Lucas might be thinking—that it was a mistake showing up for dinner and dealing with family drama.

“Then how should I take, Son? I get that you’re hurt and upset and I’m not asking for your forgiveness. Nor am I making excuses. What happened between Helen and me does not concern you and your brothers.”

“The hell it doesn’t, you had another child,” Lucas snapped looking at his father for the first time. "Dad, I get that accidents happen, I really do. Hell, I’ve made a few mistakes myself. What I can’t get is how your dick accidentally or mistakenly ended up inside someone else other than Mom. The only thing I can come up with is that you really wanted to hurt her.”

“Yes, mistakes happen, and I’ve forgiven you for every single one of them!” Asher yelled, silencing the room.

“He wasn’t thinking of me that night,” Helen said speaking up for the first time.

“Helen, you don’t—” Asher started.

“No, Asher, they need to know,” she said cutting him off. “That night we were both so lonely. We were in the middle of one of the longest undercover stints we’d ever done. I went as a model and Asher was my handler. I was missing Ann, and I knew of Marilyn and Asher’s troubles. The night started out with us simply talking and drinking, and one thing led to another.” She paused and turned to Seth who was sitting beside her and gently touched one of his cheeks.

“You were a child made from love and admiration. Asher was and will always be my friend. I love your mother, and I know that Asher will forever love Marilyn, so it didn’t surprise or cheapen what happened between us when he called out her name when he climaxed.” She turned and looked at everyone else at the table who was stunned to complete silence.

Well, shit, how the hell do you counter that?

“Look, your mother, Helen, Ann-Marie and I talked things through and realized that keeping this from everyone was a mi . . . the wrong thing to do. Since that day, I have never given your mother cause to doubt my trust. She is the only woman I’ve ever loved and will love until the day I draw my last breath. I just hope one day all four of you will forgive Helen and me for what we did"—Asher turned and looked directly at Lucas, Tyler, and Christen—"forgive me for what happened and embrace Seth and his moms as a part of this family. Because everyone at the table is family.”

“One that’s about to get a bit larger,” Ethan said. “My water just broke.” 

* * *

 “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” Lucas said looking at Tucker and then down to his twin nieces.

“Yeah, they are.”

Ariel and Gabriella Beaumont-Hamilton came into the world kicking and screaming wanting their say. They looked so much alike that Lucas couldn’t tell them apart. He looked over at Ethan who appeared tired but happy. They had made it to the hospital just in time for the twins to be born. The doctors didn’t have time to give Ethan an epidural because the first twin wanted out immediately. Lucas looked over to his father who was standing at the window staring out with a lost look on his face.

“Go talk to him,” Tucker said to him. “You don’t have to forgive him but just talk to him.”

Lucas nodded and walked over to his mother and kissed her on the cheek, she was meddlesome and smothering, but he loved her. He realized he was more upset about his father cheating because of how it must have hurt her when it happened. Their family was still intact, and he never once doubted if his father loved her the entire time he was growing up, he was sure Tyler and Christen felt the same way.

“Hey, Dad, can we talk?” he asked stopping beside his father.

Asher turned and looked at him and smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. His eyes were filled with sadness when he should have been happy to be a grandfather again. “Yeah, sure, Son.”

“Hey, Ethan, can I borrow Tyler for a few minutes?”

“Yeah,” he said with a tired smile and looked down at his daughters. “I’ll be fine.”

He touched Christen and Seth’s shoulders tilting his head for them to follow him. They walked into the visiting room, and he was happy that it was empty. He sat down and waited for his brothers and father to follow his lead. He was quiet for a few minutes trying to figure out exactly what to say.

"I’m so angry, Dad, but I think I’m angry for the wrong reasons. I’m angry because, to me, it seemed as if Mom forgave you when the woman I thought I knew would be so angry she could spit fire. I’m angry because it felt as if I was the one you cheated on. I know how crazy that sounds, but it’s how I feel.” He paused and looked at his brothers who seemed to understand where he was coming from. “I’m not saying I don’t understand why or how it happened, drunk or not it shouldn’t have happened. I’m not going to stop loving you because you’re my father and that will never change, and I don’t want it to. All I’m saying is that it will take time to earn that trust back. But now that we know what happened between you and Helen the question is how do we move forward?”

He stared at his brothers one second at a time, but his eyes stayed on Seth. He was a Hamilton, and there’s no denying the resemblance except for his curly blond hair and pointed nose.

“Seth, I know you must feel like you’re the cause of all of this and I want you to know you’re not. Families go through shit and this is simply one of them. The question is, are you going to stick around for what comes next? If you’re not, you should get up and walk out of our lives now.”

“There’s an unspoken rule,” Tyler said speaking up for the first time. “Once you’ve been claimed by the Hamiltons and you accept, there’s no turning back. You’re one of us, until the day you die.”

“Think of us as a wolf pack,” Christen added. “A family for life, we look out for each other and stick together no matter what happens.”

“Before I say yes, what do I get out of the whole deal?”

“You think you have two meddling mothers now? You'll get another one who is dying to smother and marry you off to someone for more grandchildren,” Lucas said.

“Brothers who will have your back,” Tyler said.

“But brothers can be quite annoying. Just a warning, you may be my big brother, but I will kick your ass if you try to prank me like these two idiots have been doing my whole life.”

“Oh, for crying out loud, Chrissy, we weren’t so bad.” Lucas chuckled.

“Chrissy?” Seth asked in confusion.

“Long story . . . so, what do you say . . . want to be a Hamilton officially?” Lucas asked.

“You also get me,” Asher said. “You get me as your father, if you still want that.”

Seth leaned forward resting his elbows on his thighs, looking from Lucas to their father. “Ever since I found out I had another family, all I’ve ever wanted was to be a part of it, but I never dreamed it would ever come true. I’ve had a good life with my mums, but I was an only child, and I used to be jealous of my mates who had brothers. And now that I do, I’m not walking away from you guys, not now or ever.”

Lucas stood and walked over to Seth who stood and instantly pulled him into a brotherly hug. Other arms wrapped around them and Lucas knew his brothers had joined in. They were a family, and that was all that mattered, they will deal with it. A throat cleared, and they all looked up to see their dad standing and looking at them.

“I know I’ve hurt you all and your mom, but I hope one day you guys can truly forgive me.”

His dad went to walk away, but Lucas grabbed him and pulled him into their hug. He felt his father relax, letting go some of the tension that he probably had been holding since the entire thing happened. They pulled apart, and Tyler and Christen hugged their father then Lucas. When it was Seth’s turn, they paused for a second.

“Welcome to the family, Son,” Asher said before hugging Seth for maybe what was the first time.

“Thanks, Dad,” Seth said holding onto Asher as if he was a lifeline.

Lucas almost cried at the touching scene but held back. Fucking hormones.

“Don’t go getting all mushy on me,” Tyler said beside him.

“Fuck you, asshole,” he said with no bite in his tone.

“Everything is going to be fine, isn’t it?” Christen asked.

“Yeah,” Tyler answered, and Lucas had to agree.

“Wait, so if we are like a wolf pack who’s the alpha? Mom or Dad?” Tyler asked.

“Mom,” they said together and chuckled at their silliness.

They were about to leave the visiting room and Lucas figured now would be the perfect time to talk to his brother about something that he’d been thinking. A decision he hadn’t discussed with Tucker yet. “Hey, I need to talk to you about something.”

“What?”

“How would you feel about me working from Providence and only coming into the office for important meetings?”

Tyler smirked. “I guess we are both thinking the same thing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ethan’s been thinking of building another academy, and since everyone already lives here and the drive back and forth whenever we want to see Mom and Dad is too much. I can only imagine what you and Tucker go through every weekend. Plus, Dad’s setting up a new Seeker operation . . .”

“How long have you been thinking about this?”

“A couple of years,” Tyler said looking down at his feet.

“Have you guys found a place for the academy?”

“Yeah, and a house as well.”

He didn’t have to ask when his brother was going to tell him, he figured Tyler was simply waiting for the right time to bring the subject up to him. “So, I guess we need to work out a few things before we open up an office here in town.”

“Yeah,” he said and looked at the door. Lucas could tell he wanted to get back to his babies and husband.

“Go, we can deal with this some other time.” Tyler didn’t stick around, and a few minutes later Lucas walked out of the visiting room and bumped into Tucker who was speaking in a clipped hushed tone.

“I don’t give a fuck what you or your parents want, Diane, it’s my house.” He was silent for a few seconds listening to what Diane had to say. “Well, I guess I’ll see you in court.” Tucker closed his eyes and sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Is everything all right?”

“Yeah,” his husband answered, opening his eyes and looking at him. Tucker cupped his cheek lifting his face by his chin. “How did it go in there?”

“It’s not perfect, but we’ll get through this.” He stifled a yawn just realizing how tired he was.

“Come on, let’s say goodbye to everyone and get you home.”

They started walking back to Ethan’s room. “Speaking of home, Tyler and I decided it was about time we buy a building and set up a new location for Hamilton Enterprise.”

“Is that right?”

“Yup, I’m not sure how long it will take to sell my house.”

Tucker stopped walking and turned to look at him. “Are you sure?”

“I am, I know that we really don’t talk about the whole back-and-forth thing, but, it’s time for us to give our marriage some real stability. I know it’s the house that you and Rochelle shared with your Laura, but I want it to be ours.”

Tucker cupped the back of his neck and pulled him close, his lips hovered over his. “It’s been ours since the first night you walked through the door.” He kissed Lucas stopping anything that he had to say.

* * *