Page 45 of Thaddeus

I wanted her home safe. In my home, where she’d always belonged.

There was no use denying that despite everything she’d done, I still loved her as deeply as I did the last time I’d held her in my arms.

Fuck.

Brooks pulled up to the dock and Declan jumped out of the boat, holding it for the rest of us. Max and Kyle followed but I was rooted in place. I caught Declan’s impatient stare, but instead of getting out I turned to Emerson.

“I want you to listen to me carefully, Emerson. Listen to Brooks, he’ll keep you safe. Don’t leave his side.”

“Thad—”

“Please, agápi mou. Promise me. I need to know you’ll be safe.”

Her green eyes hardened before she gentled her face. “I promise, Thaddeus. I’ll be safe.”

Knowing I’d say something stupid like, please promise me you’ll never leave me again, I kept quiet and nodded my gratitude.

As soon as my feet hit the wood planks, Brooks motored off, taking the girls down river away from the ensuing firefight.

Max and Kyle broke off and made their way to the training facility where they’d neutralize the dogs and eliminate any guards around the kennels.

Declan and I trudged through the muck and mud, staying in the shadows of the jungle as we headed straight to the main house.

“Hate to ask, but I have to.” Declan’s voice cut through the serenading birds and the buzzing of the largest flying insects known to man. “I need to know where you’re at with Emerson. And no macho shit about how she did you dirty, so fuck her.”

“What. The. Fuck?”

“I wouldn’t be asking if it didn’t impact the mission.”

I thought about what he said, then thought back to Brooks and Tatiana. And how their situation had played out during an op and had almost ended in tragedy.

He spoke the truth—my shit with Emerson could affect the team.

“I don’t know where I’m at,” I answered honestly. “I wanna hate her for what she did.”

“But…” he prompted.

“But now that I know why she left, even if I don’t agree, I can understand. As much as I want her to be, she’s not my Emmy—not anymore. And I mean that in a variety of ways.”

“You’re not the same person, either,” Dec reminded me.

“I’m not,” I readily agreed. “And I’m not sure she and I should look back. But, I have to admit, I still fuckin’ love her. She’s the one. After she left me, I knew there’d never be anyone else I’d want to spend my life with.”

The main house came into view and we stopped and waited for Max and Kyle to radio in they were ready.

“Then make it right.”

I might’ve flinched at Declan’s statement. He was always the first one to give Zane and Brooks shit about being tied to a woman. Hell, I’d heard him razz Lincoln, Colin, Leo, and Jaxon about getting married. And Jaxon was married to Declan’s twin sister Violet.

“What?”

“I’d give my left nut to be in your position—the woman you love coming back after a decade. All the bullshit I spout out is just that—bullshit. I talk shit to all of guys, but the truth is, I’d give anything to have that life. Come home to my woman, in our house, waiting for me so I can help take care of our kids. That’s gone for me. If you have your shot, take it.”

Holy fuck. Never had Declan ever talked about wanting a woman or kids.

“You can—”

“I can’t,” he cut me off. “I had it once. Had everything I ever wanted, but it’s gone in a way it’s never coming back. Not like Emerson. She’s here. Alive and breathin’. You want that life, take it now while you have a shot at it.”