Chapter 50

FIFTY

“Isaac!”

I jerk awake, and I’m out of the empty bed where my love should be quicker than I can blink. Thundering down the stairs in search of her panicked scream, I pick up a weapon on the way. Jonas has hidden them around the entire house—old habits. We might be settling into civilian life, but we cannot change who we are.

We are still soldiers.

It’s been a week since we’ve moved in and we’ve settled into bliss, apart from now, when my heart races in worry. I don’t hear the guys, only Nova’s scream echoing in my head. What if she’s hurt? What if someone came after us?

I smash through the front door, frantically searching for her. “Nova!” I scream.

“Isaac!”

I follow the sound around the house and slide to a stop when I find Nova. She’s almost crying, staring down at a donkey lying before her with its leg in her lap.

“Isaac. Help him. He broke his leg.” She pouts as I continue to stare, my adrenaline pumping through me.

“You screamed because you found a donkey that has a broken leg?” I scrub the back of my head in confusion, sliding my knife into my pants. “Babe, I’m a doctor, not a vet.”

“You’re a hero.” She widens her eyes. “Please, Isaac? We can’t leave him in pain.”

I blink before dropping to my knees before her. “Okay, go get my bag.”

She nods. “It’s going to be okay,” she tells the donkey, who whines and gently places his foot down as she rushes inside.

Scratching my head, I stare at the donkey. “It can’t be too different from a human, right?” I tell him. “I guess we’ll find out.”

Taking hold of its legs, I wince when it cries. “Shh, it’s going to be okay,” I say. “I just have to check this fracture.” I talk to it like it’s one of my patients, and when Nova comes back, I prop up the leg as best as I can and give him some pain meds before leaning back.

“We can move him into the old barn. There’s still hay there, and we can give him food until he gets—” My voice cuts off as she knocks me to the floor, kissing my face.

“My hero!” She grins down at me.

“Always,” I reply, smiling up at her.

* * *

DIMITRI

“Why the fuck is there a donkey in the barn?” I hear Nico yell, and I shake my head with a laugh.

I focus on the screens before me. I’ve checked on the kids every day. They seem to be settling in well, and I’m glad for that. I also check on my investments. We have enough money for this lifetime and ten over, so our girl will never want for anything since she refuses to touch any of her father’s money.

A message comes through just then, an old contact of mine offering us a job. Smiling, I hit accept before turning the computers off and getting to my feet. My eyes linger on the photo of Bas and me. We were so young. Pressing my fingers to my lips, I kiss the tips and then press them to the photo. “Love you,” I tell him.

“D, come see this!” Nova laughs.

Grinning, I turn to the stairs. “Coming, my love.” Glancing back at Bas, I smile. “I’ll take care of her for us.” I go to join my family, leaving the screens I once claimed as home behind and joining the real world instead.