Chapter Twenty-Three

Stefano

Roughly two years later—July 2012

“It’s the only way, Stef.”

“No,” he turned on Rossi, “I disagree.”

“I don’t want him to know.” Rossi’s voice held that flat tone he’d heard so much over the past five years.

While he loved Rossi with all of his heart, sometimes the man’s stubbornness drove him crazy!

“Just contact him and offer him a job,” Rossi said.

A job was what they could offer Noah—during Rossi’s time in the military, he’d assisted the Secretary of Defense with several situations. As a result, the two men had become close friends. When Rossi left the Army two years ago, the SecDef had offered them both work.

Dave had needed Stefano and Rossi to create an elite team of operatives to be on hand for the occasional odd job. The job Rossi wanted him to offer Noah was with Phoenix. Why Rossi insisted on keeping his identity secret was beyond—.

“Stef?”

“Yeah…” he caught Rossi’s squinty-eyed look. “Ah,” Stefano cleared his throat. “I’ve been watching Noah. He’s one the best I’ve ever seen.”

“He’s my son.”

Stefano nodded at the pride in Rossi’s voice and he wanted to smile, but when the man turned away and back to his computer, Stefano quietly left the office.

Rossi had been in the building for two years. It was located in San Francisco and the view overlooked the bay. Stefano didn’t see the view this time, though. Every step he took away from that office—an office he wasn’t a part of—made his chest ache.

It wasn’t that he didn’t feel for Rossi. He knew it was hard for the man to find out that his son had been alive this whole time.

On that day, Stefano had been there—the news had literally broken Rossi. It was the first time he’d ever seen the man cry.

But instead of meeting Noah, Rossi had now decided to bring his son into the fold without telling Noah who Rossi was.

Not only did he keep the fact that he was Noah’s father quiet, but he also kept his identity as the Chief of Phoenix on the down low.

He gave a heavy sigh and stabbed at the elevator button. He would do like Rossi asked and keep the man’s name out when he approached Noah. But Noah was pretty damned smart—it would only be a matter of time before the man figured it out.

Stefano had to keep reminding himself that it wasn’t his problem. Rossi had made that clear. Besides, Stefano had more pressing issues to deal with.

Like growing the unit.

Those odd jobs Dave wanted them to handle? Well, those had turned out to be more than they’d anticipated. They would surely need the manpower, more than the four they now had.

He rolled his neck and slid into his car and pulled it out of the parking structure. He did enjoy the hell out of his work, he kept reminding himself. Well, with a few exceptions—one being that Rossi had changed. Not only was Rossi all business now, but the man had also become hardened over the past few years. Gone was the boy of his youth, only to be replaced with a grim, unyielding soldier.

Stefano’s biggest regret was that he and Rossi remained apart. Oh, they worked together, but other than that—no. He’d stupidly assumed that Rossi would change his mind, but he’d been wrong, and fuck, it hurt like hell.

With a heavy heart, he’d done the only thing he could do—hide his hurt by digging into his work as Phoenix’s commander.

“Hey,” Frost said when Stefano entered his own living room an hour later. They didn’t have a Phoenix office, so it made sense to use Stefano’s house.

“Hey.” Stefano placed his keys on the mantle above the darkened fireplace and kicked off his shoes on the small mat that sat next to the red brick.

He had decorated the place on his own and he was proud of the thick leather couches, flat-screen TV, and mosaic artwork on the cream-colored walls.

He frowned at Wild on one of the couches, control paddles in his hand as he maneuvered an online game. Wild waggled his fingers at him and went back to whatever the hell he was doing.

Stefano couldn’t be mad. Wild was like a son to him.

“I need you on a job,” Stefano said, passing Frost on the way to the kitchen. The man followed him.

“How’d it go with the chief?”

“Just business as usual.” He pulled a soda from the fridge and walked to the sink to open it. From there, he could see his backyard. The plants he’d put in a few years ago in anticipation of Rossi’s return from the Army were thriving in his garden. Stefano had anticipated they’d sit on the wrought iron bench together. He shivered despite the cold.

“Stefano? You okay?”

He turned and smiled at the note of concern in Frost’s voice.

“I’m good.” He jerked his head toward the hallway that led to his office and Frost followed him. As soon as he sat behind his desk, Wild darkened the doorway.

He waved the operative inside and waited until both men were seated in the tweed-covered chairs in front of his desk.

“I need you in Istanbul. A Senator’s son has gone missing. I’ll send the details via email.”

“Sounds simple enough,” Wild popped up and headed to the door. “See ya, Stefano.”

Frost was slower to stand. “What about Lash and Storm?”

“They’ll meet you at the airport.”

With a quick nod, Frost hoofed it out of his office and Stefano turned to gaze out his window that looked over his backyard and the tall fence he’d installed that lined the property.

He thought for a split second of calling Rossi again, but vetoed that.

He couldn’t count the number of times he’d tried to get Rossi to talk with him…but after a while, it just got old.

Stefano shook off his funk.

He had a task to do, and offering Noah a job with Phoenix was at the top of the list.