Page 3 of Paradise Ties

He turned at a tap on his shoulder and saw Daniel beside him with his tiny daughter strapped to his chest like a koala, his big hand resting on her tiny rump. A sense of peace invaded him at the sight of his niece. Granted, he’d not been happy to find out about Daniel and Megan, but it was hard to hold a grudge when he saw Daniel look at her as if she was his entire reason for being. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Did you clock the five guys that came through passport control just behind us?”

Daniel seemed hyperaware and alert, instantly putting Dane on guard. Looking around, he saw the men Daniel referred to. To anyone else, they’d just be five friends out for a good time. The shorts and loud Hawaiian shirts gave them a frivolous air but as he examined them closer, the way they continually scanned the interior of the airport for threats suggested they were trained. That didn’t immediately cause Dane to worry as the same could be said about their group. He wondered what Daniel saw that he didn’t. “I see them. What’re you thinking?”

Daniel shrugged. “Not thinking anything really, just wanted your take on it.”

Dane turned back to study the men for a minute and decided they bore watching. The five men were now moving towards the conveyor belt as cases began to move through from the aircraft. “Let’s keep an eye out for a bit and see.”

“What’re you two old women gossiping about?” Zin asked as he, Celeste, Roz, and Kanan caught up to them. Zin was Roz’s younger brother, and his girlfriend Celeste was Kanan’s half-sister. It should have felt weird and somewhat incestuous with siblings being with siblings, but it didn’t. The four had a bond that nothing could come between.

Dane snorted. “Fuck you, I’m not old.”

Roz laughed. “But you are acting like an old woman.”

Dane quirked his eyebrow at her in mock annoyance.

Daniel moved his head towards the men who were now grabbing large, black duffels from the carousel. “We were just discussing the Hawaiian shirt brigade over there.”

Zin followed his chin lift. “I spotted them as we got off the plane. They look military to me.”

The group went on alert as they assessed the men. Roz moved closer to her daughters, putting a gentle, protective hand on Natalia’s and Katarina’s shoulders. It was something Dane would never have imagined from her, but he’d been wrong. Roz was as fierce as any lioness. She’d do whatever it took to protect her young daughters who had been through so much before she and Kanan had rescued them from hell. The woman had even joined the Parents, Teachers and Friends Association—otherwise known as the PTFA—at their school and had somehow installed herself as chairperson, whipping them all into shape, though Dane suspected the other members were just afraid of saying no to Roz. She had that kind of personality.

Dane knew she’d been shaped by the trauma she’d gone through as a young girl. The path it’d put her on had left her hard and unyielding. Now he could see the soft innards behind the hard shell that her love for Kanan Phillips had pulled from her. “They’re hyperaware of the exits and have probably clocked that a few of us are trained,” he said.

Kanan glanced across at the men. “Well, as long as they aren’t going to the same resort, I don’t really care. I want a cold beer, my kitten in a bikini, and peace and fucking quiet.”

Dane nodded. “A-fucking-men!”

The five of them continued to watch the men as they collected their bags and moved outside just ahead of them. An almost physical sigh of relief went through the group as the men got into a taxi and headed in the opposite direction to the Paradise Bay Resort.

“Thank fuck for that,” Zin said and walked away to catch hold of Celeste who’d gotten bored with them talking bad guys and had joined Lucy and Skye. Even before Skye had married Nate, another of the Fortis guys, she and her son Noah had been accepted into the group with open arms. Skye’s marriage to Nate had cemented their place within the group.

As Dane boarded the coach and settled in beside Lauren with Aaron in his arms, he sighed with deep contentment. He was finally going to make Lauren his wife. He’d loved her since he’d first watched her heart-shaped ass walk up the stairs to her flat. They’d survived untold horrors together, and his love for her had only grown after the birth of the twins. He welcomed the sleepless nights and now she would become his wife and carry his last name.

Aaron, who sat on his knee, patted Dane’s face, putting sticky fingers all over him. “Buddy, you’re a messy little toad.” His voice was warm as he growled the words, making his son giggle. “Oh, you think that’s funny, huh?” Aaron just laughed harder as Dane lifted him and blew a raspberry on his belly. The giggle was infectious, and Dane smiled at his son as he pulled his hair and wriggled with glee.

“You’ll make him sick,” Lauren cautioned.

Dane looked up with a devilish grin. “No, I won’t, will I buddy? You’re made of sterner stuff than that.” Aaron seemed to sense his mood and clapped his hands together, a trick he had recently learned from Lucy. “See, he likes it.”

Lauren rolled her eyes. “On your head be it.”

After a short drive they arrived at the Paradise Bay Resort. Dane had seen some fantastic parts of the world in his military travels and he’d also seen some shitholes, but this place was beyond anything he’d expected. He could see why this island was Kanan and Roz’s sanctuary. He was surprised they were staying at the hotel and not in their beach shack, but Roz had said she wanted to be with her family, and that included them. He’d been touched by that, by the strong, cold woman he’d first met who’d changed so much since she found love again with Kanan and their girls.

As he juggled Aaron on his hip and went to check-in, he saw Will smirk. He didn’t react, even though he sensed something was up.

He was greeted by the receptionist, who was smart and professional in her uniform. “Hello, sir, how may I help you?”

“We have a room booked under Bennett.”

He watched as she clicked a few keys on her computer before nodding. “Ah, here it is, one of our Luxury Suites—The Presidential Suite no less.”

Before he could protest the mistake, Dane felt a hand land on his shoulder and turned to see Will and his girlfriend Aubrey smiling at him. “A wedding present from us both.”

Dane wasn’t sure what to say. The suite must have cost them thousands of pounds, and they had already paid for them to fly first class.

“Will, that’s…” He stopped and got his shit together. His friends were the best, and they were family. “Thank you. I don’t know how to thank you.”