Page 59 of What Remains

One lonely tear falls, and he releases my chin to catch it with his thumb.

“They could have tortured you for information, and you would’ve said no. She knew the only way to get you to talk was to hurt other people.” He lightly shakes his head. “You’re my daughter, all right.”

“As if there was ever a question.” I sigh. “Well, once we met, at least.”

Dad tugs me over and wraps me in a bear hug, one where I can barely breathe, and from the sounds of it, he’s crying. And when this big, tough guy cries . . . forget about it, I’m done.

After we pull ourselves together and act like we didn’t just get all emotional—because we’re Brits, and we try not to wear our hearts on our sleeves—we finally make our way into the hotel and stop outside Carter and Diana’s suite door. I’m guessing everyone else is already gathered inside.

“Are you sure you want to do this? I thought you wanted to wait?” Dad asks as we remain in the hallway.

It’s suddenly way too hot in here, so I unzip the jacket Dad forced me to put on before deplaning. “Changed my mind.” I bite the inside of my cheek. “I’m exhausted, so I want to see everyone before that quick checkup so I can sleep.”

“Tash and Emory can sleep in your guest bedroom, and I’ll take your couch. I don’t want you alone.” That wasn’t a question. Knew the man would never let me out of his sight again.

Ugh. “Yeah, okay.” I jerk a thumb toward the door. “Any word when Sebastian and his wife are returning? I haven’t seen Holly in a while. And what about Nash?”

“They just wrapped up that op in Dublin. Nash should be back in a day or two. Sebastian and his family are heading to one of their hotels in France for a few days. He knows to increase security in case this thing extends beyond Falcon.”

Dad pushes his hands into his fleece jacket pockets, and his brows pinch in confusion. He removes my charm bracelet, and based on the look on his face, he forgot he put it in there in the first place.

I push my jacket sleeve up. “Mind clasping it back on for me?” And I’m not sure why I’m getting all emotional again, dang it, but I sniffle as he quietly puts it back on my wrist.

I fidget with the charms, then pull my sleeve over the bracelet and inhale one of the deepest breaths of my life. Once I let it go, I give Dad the signal to knock, as if I’m incapable of doing it myself.

I close my eyes.

Here. We. Go.

While Diana squeezes me to death in the middle of the living room, I check out Easton over her shoulder. He’s near the kitchen area talking with his sister, nephew, and Constantine. And he’s also cradling his baby niece, Illiana. Holding a baby is a much better sight than remembering that knife in his hand.

He must realize I’m watching him, because he abruptly pivots to catch my eyes. Time stands still for a beat, and the chatter in the crowded room fades to a dull hum. “You okay?” he mouths, and for a man who took off on me out of guilt that didn’t belong to him, he sure has a way of caring about me as if he didn’t kill me by leaving.

You came back for me.

Saved me.

You’re here now.

I let those reminders stick, replacing the pain trying to sneak up on me. The hurt his absence caused. I hope he doesn’t know why I was in Dubai in the first place—to try and get over losing my best guy friend.

“I’m okay,” I mouth back as Dallas paws my leg.

I break from Diana’s hug to crouch and pet her dog, scratching him behind the ears. “Have you been a good boy keeping your mom and Matteo safe?”

Dallas bops his nose against mine in a definitive yes but croons his displeasure as soon as I stand tall. He runs back to his dad, who’s holding his two-year-old at his hip while talking to Gray, who co-runs Falcon.

Gray’s my stepmum’s brother. A.k.a. my uncle. He was the one who opened the door for us, making him the first to scoop me into his arms for a hug. Juliette and her son were the next in line, narrowly beating Gray’s best friend, Jack, to get to me.

“I’d ask how you are, but . . .” Diana’s words trail off, and maybe she’s remembering when she was once taken? Her abduction ultimately brought her and Carter together, and Easton into my life by joining Falcon back then.

“I’m, um, hanging in there.” I remove my hair tie and slip it onto my wrist. Needing to keep my hands busy, I fuss with untangling my hair from the braid. “Zoey and Easton never had a Jesse-and-Ella moment,” I blurt out.

Diana blinks. So do I, but I also blush. Dammit. Did I really just admit that out loud?

Attempting to mask my discomfort, I take another look around the room. I don’t see Zoey, Julian, or Gideon in here, so I guess they decided this homecoming wasn’t for them. I’m sure Carter already gave them their room keys, and they’re busy settling in now.

Zoey gave Carter hell about joining us here back at the airport. She’s stubborn. But after a lot of insistence—ordering on Carter’s part—Zoey hesitantly surrendered.