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Speaking of good time, his gaze flicked to the clock on his screen. WherewasRyker? He was supposed to be back by now and if he kept poor Cosy waiting any longer, she was going to lose her mind. At least they knew he was coming back this time. That he would always come back now.
He hadn’t been thrilled when his partner had informed him and Ian one night last week after they’d tucked Cosy into her crib that Taj had tracked down Damon Paradiso and that he was going to join Taj and a couple of his people “to take care of that.”
“You’re going to kill him, aren’t you?” Ian had demanded.
Ryker had shrugged as well as he could with his arms folded across his chest. “I’m not going to tell you what we’re going to do. Suffice it to say he’ll never hurt Cosima ever again.”
They’d fought with him, told him not to go, told him to let the police and the courts handle it and if he couldn’t stomach that to let Taj and some of the less savory characters on his payroll deal with it. But Ryker had been insistent.
“You two give her so much. But I’m not cuddly, I’m not endlessly patient, I don’t make her laugh. There’s so much I can’t offer her, but I can offer her this. And I think we’ll all rest easier knowing that sick fuck can never hurt anyone ever again. It was my fault he took her again and the only way for me to make things right is to personally guarantee that will never happen again.”
Hudson had wanted to argue that it was ridiculous for Ryker to put that on himself—it was no one’s fault but Damon’s. Except Hudson understood how he felt—he’d live with the guilt of not having done more the night Cosy had come to Hive, of insisting she take his card, for the rest of his life and yeah, he could understand how Ryker couldn’t bear the weight of that like Atlas with the world on his back. Besides, when Ryker had lost his parents and his college girlfriend, there was no one to punish, no one on whom to exact revenge. He suspected Damon would be paying the price for their deaths as well and it couldn’t happen to a more hideous example of humanity.
“Fine,” Hudson had told him even if Ian wanted to lock him in a closet. Nothing would stop Ryker once his mind was set and at least he’d told them instead of disappearing. Of course they hadn’t told Cosy that’s where he’d gone. No, they’d all lied and told her he was going to visit a sick aunt. Sick aunt, sick fuck, po-tay-to, po-tah-to.
Then there was a noise from the door to the loft and Hudson felt a broad grin stretch across his face.
Chapter Two
Cosima
“Cosy—”
She didn’t wait for Daddy to finish but threw her crayon on the page she’d been coloring for like two hours. It wasn’t a big page and it wasn’t incredibly detailed—ugh, she hated those grown-up coloring books with their fancy designs and small spaces, they stressed her out—but she’d been so distracted, checking the clock every five seconds and trying her best to wait at least three minutes in between using the walkie to ask Daddy or Papa if Sir was back yet. It had been so hard!
It was even harder to keep from running downstairs, but running inside was against the rules and she didn’t want to be spanked for misbehavior right now. Not ever, but especially not right now. No, right now she had a Sir to hug.
She’d made him a Welcome Home banner with markers and stickers and streamers and Papa had even let her use glitter, and Daddy had helped her make Sir’s favorite cookies this morning. She’d wanted to wait by the door after her nap but Daddy had sent her upstairs to distract herself in the playroom. It hadn’t really worked.
Cosima gripped the handrail super hard to help herself slow down and it felt like forever until she’d gotten down to the first floor of the loft. But once she had, there he was, her Sir.
Shrugging his leather jacket from his shoulders, his white tee clinging to the washboard of his abdomen, and his black jeans perfectly sculpted around his thick thighs. His hair looked a little stringy and his beard unkempt but she didn’t care.
And she maybe ran, just a little, to throw herself into his arms with a cry of “Sir, you’re back!”
He caught her neatly and she wrapped her arms around his neck, hooked her ankles at the small of his back even though he was holding her so tightly she wouldn’t fall even if she didn’t hold on at all. It’s not like she ever worried he’d drop her, she just needed to be close to him, cling to him, breathe him in, surround herself with him.
Of course she loved Daddy and Papa and they’d made sure she wasn’t lonely while Sir had been away this week, but things didn’t feel quite right unless she had all three of them in her orbit.
“I missed you,” she said, wishing she could somehow be closer to him even though every inch of her that could be was plastered against him.
“I missed you too, little one,” he replied, and the warmth that bloomed in her belly made her hug him even tighter.
She must’ve held onto him for five whole minutes before she could bear to peel herself away, and she still hated it. But what she liked was sliding down his body to her knees and untying his black boots. Service wasn’t usually her jam—she was far too much the spoiled princess for that—but doing this small act for the man she loved so much made her happy, and she knew it made him happy too. Could feel the love come through his fingertips as he stroked her hair while she worked.
When she was done, she sat back on her heels and looked up at Sir, waiting to see what he wanted. Was he hungry? He didn’t seem to get tired really, although she thought there was some tension around his eyes—had it been a bad trip? Maybe he felt grimy from traveling and he’d like to take a shower. She always liked baths better but she couldn’t picture Sir playing with tubby toys or bathtub finger paints or sculpting bubbles.
It was a struggle to sit there while Daddy and Papa came over and welcomed their partner back. She felt like she was missing something, too,hadbeen missing the whole time Sir was away. Her daddies kept things from her a lot which she usually didn’t mind because she mostly didn’t like making decisions and it was so easy to get overwhelmed—how did real grown-ups do it? But this time the not-knowing had nagged at her. Usually she felt more like they just weren’t going out of their way to tell her things she didn’t want to know anyway but this felt more like keeping secrets and she didn’t like to be left out of the loop.
It rankled her more when Daddy gave Sir a big huge bear hug before turning him over to Papa who also gave Sir a big squeezy hug before biting Sir’s neck which Sir replied to with a grunt. Not that they never hugged, but…not like this. Very curious.
Her daddies chatted a little before Sir scrubbed a hand through his hair and rumbled, “I need a shower. Come, little one.”
He didn’t have to ask her twice—she took the hand on offer and came to her feet, a step behind Sir as they went up to the third floor to his room.
Chapter Three
Ryker
