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We found a big car that could take us all, and our luggage filled with presents, and Crew gave the driver the address of Hillcroft.
Blake wanted to sit next to Jack, and she fell asleep again in two seconds.
I had Julian in his car seat next to me, and he blinked sleepily at his surroundings. Even Mattie was on the cuddly side this morning. That happened too rarely these days. I put my arm around him and kissed the top of his head.
“Should we stop for breakfast on the way?” Jack wondered.
Crew shook his head. “No, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from Adrien’s Instagram whenever he and Elliott are in DC, it’s that Hillcroft serves one hell of a breakfast spread.”
Seriously. A few times a year, they came here to host a couple seminars and to put a handful of security guards through rougher training, and every morning began with breakfast in their own cafeteria.
Crew and Jack had come down for dinner the other night, and we’d bitched about missing our husbands, so here we were. It was our year to have Blake for Christmas, allowing me to make a snap decision to just move the holiday across the country. Nicky had tagged along with Elliott this time, giving me all the more reason. Missing Elliott was bad enough, but Nicky too? No, I had limits.
I’d been on the fence from the beginning when Elliott had told me they’d be home again on the twenty-third. This way, we got two extra days with them—and we’d get to see the Tenleys and the Paynes for dinner tomorrow night.
We arrived outside Hillcroft’s own building less than ten minutes later, and I paid the fare while the others climbed out and got our bags.
“Daddy, I’m too sleepy to walk,” Julian complained as I removed his car seat.
I chuckled and picked him up.
The building didn’t even have a logo on it. Nor any character. It was a silvery metal box, four stories tall, and it blended in perfectly with the neighboring addresses. This was the headquarters for private security and US military.
“It’s so cold.” Mattie shuddered. “How do we surprise them?”
Unfortunately, it didn’t get better than this. “By texting them to come out, I’m afraid,” I admitted. “We don’t have clearance to get past the lobby.”
If we’d arrived even earlier, we might’ve been able to surprise them at the company condo they kept not too far away, but it was almost eight now, so they were definitely at work already.
My breath misted in the air as I sent Elliott a message.
You can pick up a few Christmas presents in the lobby right now.
“Let’s go.” I piled Blake’s luggage on top of my own and grabbed Mattie’s bag too.
Crew walked ahead of us and threw an arm around Jack’s shoulders. “I’ll give you ten bucks if you look away when I greet Dad, ’cause it won’t be a kid-friendly peck.”
Jack glanced up at Crew with a flat expression. “When is it ever?”
“I knew you’d understand.” Crew landed a loud smooch on Jack’s cheek.
I shook my head to myself. Those two had developed an interesting relationship. In their day-to-day life, they were more like brothers, or uncle-nephew, but Jack liked to talk about Crew as his stepdad, especially online. And Crew was the same. At work or around friends, Jack was his stepson or “mini-me.”
It was sweet.
We entered the large lobby through the revolving doors, and having been here before, I knew that this area said absolutely nothing about what was behind the locked doors. It was quiet and sterile to the people who never got past the first floor.
The basement was probably the wildest. That was where they had their private shooting range, gym, martial arts studio, vending machines all over the place, every trash can filled with takeout containers, and rec center.
The woman behind the circular reception desk glanced up with a polite smile. “Can I help you?”
“Nah, it’s okay—our men are on their way,” Crew responded.
He’d barely gotten the last word out before I heard the ding of an elevator opening.
Nicky was the first to step out, and he lit up.
Fuck, so did I.
