Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

G ood, they were on time. The twins had overslept the other day, so that'd been the perfect moment to present them with their new watches. Now they had no excuse.

Danny and I walked down the corridor, and River and Reese glanced up from their books. They were sitting on the bench outside the classroom, and I was curious how their morning had gone. Reese had started taking Sid's Krav Maga class, and River had clearly chosen to focus on languages this summer. He was studying Spanish and Russian at the same time.

"Hey, boys. How goes it?" I took a swig of my coffee.

"I was just thinkin' I'm so glad I didn't go to college," Reese muttered.

I chuckled. Did they think they could become contractors without studying?

Not at our agency anyway. I knew how some others operated.

"You left early this morning," I mentioned.

River nodded once. "I had an appointment with Mr. Daniels before my Spanish class. Did you have anythin' to do with that?"

I smiled faintly. "I keep him updated."

It was a fairly slow year for Hillcroft. We had enough operators in the field, so we didn't have many recruits. Including Danny and the Tenleys, we were looking at sending six young men in total to Ecuador—if they came that far. On the plus side, it gave Terrance enough time to get invested in their progress, and he was very curious about River and Reese.

"So you're actually taking language classes here?" Danny asked. "What's next, calculus and geography?"

I tipped my head, weighing my answer. "Picking up a language is something you do on your own. Here, we help you with local culture and dialects. River, for instance, has chosen Colombia, so one of our operators who's from there is helping him."

River smirked a little. "There's less to choose from with Russian."

I let out a laugh. That was true. We had one operator who'd worked extensively in Russia—Todd—and all he could do was share his knowledge. He had been born and raised in the US.

"I'm supposed to talk to a Paul about field communication," Reese mentioned. "Do you know where I can find him?"

Well, right now, he couldn't. Paul was in Jalalabad. "He's on assignment. I'll talk to TJ. He's taking over scheduling for all training next week." It included more than recruits. The classrooms might be small, but they were frequently used by established operators who wanted to further themselves in various skills and fields.

"I mean, I can help." Danny scratched his nose.

Fuck, I hadn't thought of that. I was an idiot. Of course Danny was already trained in communication.

"Wonderful idea." I nodded. "We'll work out a schedule with TJ. Do you have room for a couple hours a week?"

Both Danny and Reese confirmed.

Another recruit soon showed up—someone Todd was in charge of—and the guy's military background shone as brightly as Danny's. So he definitely belonged in the class the boys were about to begin.

"I'm Danny." Danny introduced himself. "And you are?"

"James," the guy replied.

A beat later, Sid opened the door to his classroom and told the boys to come on in.

"Hey, I already know you." Reese was surprised.

I smirked to myself. Having trained them primarily on my own thus far, they had a lot to learn about Hillcroft's education structure. Teaching martial arts wasn't Sid's main gig. He was first and foremost an operator, and second, he worked with military deprogramming.

"Ah, Reese. I thought I had a whole week to recover from our first meeting," Sid said.

I grinned.

"Aw, you'd miss me too much, sir." Reese walked in, his brother following silently, and the two opted for the chairs in the back.

There were only eight benches, and I pointedly nudged Danny toward the front.

He huffed but complied.

"You sittin' in?" Sid asked me.

"For a little while," I replied. "I have a meeting at eleven."

If my suspicions were correct, I'd get my next contract.

I wasn't exactly happy about it. The last thing I wanted to do now was leave town, which was mainly Danny's fault. Additionally, the twins had finally started their official schooling, and I wanted to keep up with the progress.

I sat down in the back too, and I sipped my coffee and kept an eye on my boy. Notepad and pen out, knee bouncing—Danny was impatient.

In the three weeks he'd stayed with me, he'd slipped here and there. He wanted to work. Make money. He wanted to be of use. And he struggled to understand why it would take so long for him to "graduate," a word he'd actually used air quotes for.

He was about to find out.

"Welcome to your military deprogramming training," Sid said, pointing a marker at the board behind him. "Over the next few months, we'll meet here twice a week not only to shake the indoctrination they drilled into you in whatever branch you were in, but to study and identify the training others might have when you meet them in the field."

The points on the board covered speech, posture, jargon, specific -isms that gave a military branch away in various countries, local customs in regions we often traveled in, and new lessons the men needed to learn.

Reese was the first to raise his hand. "Is this necessary for us? River and I walked after boot camp."

I suppressed a sigh and a smirk, and I rubbed my forehead.

"Did you miss the second part of my grand speech, kid?" Sid asked. "Do you know the difference in training between a French sailor and a Turkish? If I line up three men from Afghanistan, can you identify their military backgrounds by looking at them?"

The smartass of the Tenley brothers always had a retort. "I can venture a guess about the French sailor, but fair enough. Proceed."

Christ.

"Okay, thank you. I'll do that," Sid deadpanned. With a shake of his head, he turned back to the whiteboard and uncapped his marker. "The list of things you need to retain from your time in the service is short. We do work with military from all of the West often enough that we need to be well-versed in NATO terminology and the metric system." He wrote the title of a book on the board. "After class, I suggest you go straight to the library and borrow this book. There won't be a test—we'll just assume you memorized it all."

Danny threw me a look over his shoulder, and I could practically read his mind. I got it; he already knew this. What he didn't know was how to practice patience, a skill he'd need to master in our field.

Finally.

I swallowed around the knot that'd been sinking slowly the past hour, and I spotted Danny and the Tenleys stepping out of the elevator.

The first-floor lobby was big, and their laughter echoed.

"And forget about stiff nods and handshakes." Reese was clearly mocking something Sid had taught them.

Danny took over, darkening his voice. "Never say no to a hug—that's how you get up close enough to feel if they're wearing a suicide belt."

Reese cracked up. "Watch us travel all over the Middle East hugging motherfuckers."

I sighed and rose to my feet, and my movement must've registered. All three boys saw me.

"I'm glad you're taking the class seriously," I said. "You'll be surprised to find out how customary hugs are in those countries."

"I already know," Danny chuckled, walking over to me. "It was just funny the way he said it."

Uh-huh.

I glanced at River, only to find him watching me already.

"Did you learn anything valuable?" I asked him.

He pursed his lips and nodded once. "Yessir. And you're leavin' again, aren't you?"

Yeah, he was definitely observant.

"I am." I nodded with a dip of my chin and shifted my gaze to Danny.

"Where and when?" he demanded.

"I'm afraid I can't say, and I ship out tomorrow morning," I replied. It sucked, but it was part of the job. "It's a short contract, though. I'll be back in two weeks unless something goes wrong, so I'm not going to assign a temporary mentor to you. If you have any questions, go to Sid or Todd. Understood?"

"Yessir," they answered.

Danny became broody like the flip of a switch, so I was glad I'd decided to send the twins downstairs for target practice. I needed a moment alone with my boy.

I turned to the twins. "I reserved the shooting range for you two at noon. I don't know if you have plans after, but I'll order pizza for dinner at seven. That okay?"

"Yeah, of course. We'll be there," Reese said. He nodded toward the exit. "We're just gonna grab a smoke."

Meanwhile, I caught Danny's gaze again. "You and I are going home."

"Okay."

Danny didn't say much on our short ride back to my place, and I let him be until we were alone.

I locked the door and threw the keys on the hallway table. "You wanna talk about this, little one?"

Calling him that hopefully served as a reminder. He didn't need his walls up for this conversation; we were no longer at Hillcroft, and I could be both his Daddy and his partner. Whatever he needed.

What I needed was him in higher spirits.

He let out a breath and kicked off his shoes, then trailed toward the couch in the living room. "It's just something to get used to, right? This is the job. We'll be away from each other during assignments."

Right. That was the job. And fuck me if that didn't pack a harder punch than I'd expected. I'd been in a shitty mood since I'd left my meeting. Hell, since the words "we need a pathfinder in Kabul. You and Paul are heading north."

On paper, it was a single meeting. I'd been part of countless before. They were usually over in a few hours. First, you talked and negotiated terms. Then you split up for an hour or two for deliberation, and then you came to an agreement. That was that. An in-and-out gig.

It was the way there and back that posed dangers and took a lot of time.

I suspected the CIA was on the other side of the contract.

Joining Danny on the couch, I couldn't describe the relief when he immediately dove into my arms. Fuck me, it almost shook me to the core. I swallowed hard and squeezed him tightly, and I closed my eyes and buried my face against his neck.

It wasn't the easiest, balancing our dynamic with work. The two were like night and day. I couldn't be doting and fuss over him at Hillcroft. But as soon as we got home, something broke within me, and I could no longer hold back my cravings.

"It's too soon," he croaked. "That's my problem. I'm scared you won't come back."

Aw, bloody fuck.

I tightened my hold on him and kissed the side of his head. "For you, I will always come back." The truth of those words hit me squarely in the chest, and I knew I was screwed. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

He sniffled. "Promise."

"Hey." Time to let him know a thing or two about where I stood. I sensed he needed a reminder. I eased back and cupped his cheek, and I waited till he locked eyes with me. "I've never been so serious about anything as I am about us, Danny." I brushed my thumb over a few faint freckles on his cheek. "You were different from the moment I saw your punk ass at Fort Campbell. You always stood out. I couldn't show you , but damn if I didn't show others."

He knitted his brows. "What do you mean?"

I smiled a little. "You don't know how many times I've told other soldiers a story or two about a certain Danny Rose. I even recruited someone to Hillcroft after I told him about you."

That one earned me a rueful little grin. "Because of my temper?"

"No, you brat," I chuckled. "I told you. You're one of the best soldiers I've ever met."

He was thawing.

"The difference now is," I murmured, "I wanna be part of that story. Decades from now, when they talk about your accomplishments, I want someone to at least say something like, oh yeah, and he was with that Payne bloke, wasn't he? And someone else will confirm we were inseparable."

His eyes welled up a bit, and he threw his arms around me, so I took that as a good sign.

"You idiot," he whimpered. "It'll be our accomplishments—and they won't talk about them, because PMCs never get credit."

I choked out a laugh and squeezed him to me.

"Inseparable," he said, sniffling. "I like that, Daddy. I want us to be inseparable."

Fuck, me too.

I kissed his temple and rubbed his back. "Let's shoot for that then, huh?"

He nodded. "I'm still gonna miss you, though. If you get hurt, I will kill you."

I smiled against his skin. "I'll do my best not to get a single scratch."

He shuddered. "Good. So…now what? You just pack, and then you're off to wherever? When do you leave tomorrow?"

"My flight's at eight." I got one more kiss in before he pulled back to face me. "This is what we're gonna do," I said. "Tomorrow morning, we'll get up together as usual. You take care of Daddy in the shower?—"

"As usual." He grinned. "I love taking care of you."

He was too good at it too. It'd sort of become our thing. He worshipped me in the mornings, and then the nights were mine. That was when I had my way with him however I pleased.

I leaned in and kissed him quickly. "I'll thank you afterward with my world-famous oatmeal?—"

He laughed at that one.

I chuckled. "And instead of us going in to work together, I'll see you and the twins off, and I'll head to the airport. And then I'll be back in two weeks for more shower blow jobs, oatmeal, dates, and long nights of having you under me where you belong."

He bit his lip and nodded. "Okay."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, Sir." He took a deep breath and sank into my embrace again, this time more at ease. "I'll be a good boy and study hard."

He knew just what to say.

"Perfect. That makes Daddy happy."

He sighed contentedly and sprawled out, half on top of me, so I guessed we weren't going anywhere anytime soon.

I was fine with that.

I kissed the top of his head as he played with my belt.

"So who's this PMC who got hooked thanks to my excellence?" he asked.

I laughed under my breath, happy to hear his confidence was back.

"I mean, I deserve credit if you recruited him with a story about me," he added.

"Absolutely," I agreed. "You'll probably run into him at some point, but he's not around too much. He became an operator last November."

He peered up at me. "What story did you share?"

I hummed, thinking back. It'd been the first and only time I'd had a feeling about someone who wasn't originally military. I'd met him at a bar, similar to the one where I'd met the twins.

"Well, he was trying to find his goal in life at the bottom of a bottle," I started by saying. "His brother had joined the Marines—and he didn't know which direction to choose for himself because the military, the way it's structured, didn't appeal to him." I paused, remembering how frustrated he'd been. Enough to open up to a complete stranger just happening to sit next to him. "Once I understood he had problems with authority, I immediately thought of you."

My boy got huffy.

"In a good way," I reassured. "You still performed fantastically with your unit, Danny. And I wanted him to know he could find his way in the armed forces and still think for himself. But in the end, it had the opposite effect on him. He'd already read up on private agencies, which didn't come as a huge surprise. He was in a bar where a lot of us PMCs hung out."

"Is he older or younger than me?"

Hmm. I had to think. "He's younger. I think he's twenty-two or twenty-three."

"I wanna look him up," he said. "I…I want friends."

I exhaled, and something loosened within me. Something that'd had a much tighter grip on me than I'd thought. But Christ, that was good to hear. He wanted strings. He wanted a life here.

"Darius Quinn," I answered. "He's a bit of a loner and prefers to go home in between gigs, but buy him a beer if you see him, and you'll get him to talk."

"Darius Quinn," he repeated to himself with a nod. "What's his expertise?"

Oh. I chuckled. "He's too new to have a field of expertise yet, but he's definitely showing a lot of promise in extractions."

This made me feel a lot better. I wanted Danny to get attached here. I wanted him to have things to do and people to see when I was out of town. As long as he missed me a fuck-ton, of course.

"Sweet Jesus." I groaned and scrubbed my hands over my face. The hot water rushed down on us, and the pleasure was building up too fast. "Just like that, baby."

The sucking noises were enough to push me to the edge.

Danny kicked the shower door open, and I knew why. So that the glass couldn't fog up completely.

I peered down at him and pushed back his hair. So bloody gorgeous. Especially when he was choking on my cock.

The twins had started brushing their teeth in our bathroom, even though they had their own…

"You love it when they see how much pleasure you give Daddy, don't you?"

Danny nodded eagerly and swallowed around me. I cursed, and he gagged.

"Yeah—do that again," I panted. "Fuck, that feels so good." I slipped my hand down to his throat and massaged it. "There—that's where your little throat convulses around Daddy's cock."

"Man," I heard one of the twins whisper.

Danny moaned around me, and then I felt something other than water splash against my leg.

"Are you coming on Daddy, baby boy? You can't help yourself?"

He whimpered.

"Remember to pinch my thigh if you reach your limit." I fisted his hair and started fucking his mouth.

That did it for one of the twins. Or maybe both. Their groans grew louder alongside my own, and soon, I was forcing my cock down Danny's throat, where I emptied myself in several bursts.

Even when he gagged and choked, he squeezed my ass cheeks and pulled me toward him.

I shuddered violently and withdrew slowly. He sucked me greedily through labored breaths, grazing his teeth along my cock just the way I loved it.

"Such a good little cocksucker." I caressed his cheeks and took a mental photo of the string of come that connected the head of my cock to his lips. Until the water washed it away.

"I always wanna be good for my Daddy," he croaked.

I picked him up and hugged him to me.

The twins knew when to leave. I heard the door close.

This whole "we'll go about our morning as usual" was becoming too difficult. Today wasn't usual. I was shipping out, and I was gonna go two weeks without hearing a damn word from him. It wasn't like I could pick up the phone and call him at night when I was in the middle of fucking nowhere in the Afghan mountains.

"Miss me," he whispered.

"I already am." I lifted his chin and dipped down and kissed him.

My chest swelled with unspoken declarations. I just squeezed him tighter and kissed my way down to his neck.

I was falling for him. Damn hard and fast too.

Part of me worried we were stuck—and it was the wrong word for an addictive situation—in a bubble of bliss. He hadn't had many setbacks or bursts of anger, and I'd counted on those. I still was. I mean, nothing changed overnight, and he'd been through so much. He'd been on his own for so long.

I hoped nothing happened while I was working. Because while he'd managed well so far, I'd had something to do with it. I'd been there to calm him down the few times he'd let his anger take the wheel. And it was always related to his training, usually the one I arranged for him and the twins outside of Hillcroft premises.

If he didn't ace every task, he got furious with himself and appeared to be one small trigger away from saying something stupid. I'd seen it. I'd felt his hesitation and surprise when I'd enveloped him in a hug after an exercise he didn't get a full score in. As if he was waiting for me to get so disappointed that I didn't want him around.

I cupped his face in my hands and kissed him languidly. "Work hard while I'm gone—but remember that failure is just a cue to try again."

"Ugh. You had to bring up failure?"

With him? Yeah. Unfortunately, I did.

"Remember what I told you?" I murmured with a pointed look.

He sighed and frowned. "You'd rather see me fail a million times during practice if it prevents a single mistake in the field."

Damn right.

"The more we sweat in peace and all that," he finished.

The less we bleed in war.

"Exactly—because I will always need you to come home unharmed too," I said.

He sobered and nodded once. "Yes, Sir. I get it. I, um…" He cleared his throat. "I'll make room for mistakes. Okay? Like, I'll test my limits more."

That right there. That was the way to go. Without drill instructors from the military around, we had to push ourselves harder. "Perfect." I kissed him again, then reluctantly turned off the water.

Thankfully, he had a full day planned. It would keep him distracted. He had his first target practice, which I was sure he'd ace, and then he had classes. He and Reese had agreed to join River to learn Spanish. Well, in Danny's case, it was more of a matter of choosing a particular region to go from fluent to local expert.