Fiona glanced around, but when no one else objected, she handed the box to him. He cupped it in his hands and closed his eyes for what felt like a long time before he pressed the button.
BOOM!
The shock wave shook the plane as the monitor feeds went black. Outside, the moon illuminated the cloud of dust and debris that rose from the destroyed base.
Ransom handed the box back to Fiona. Without a word, his face expressionless, he got up and took a seat at the rear of the plane.
Everyone settled in. The plane was small enough that they could all talk to each other, including the pilot. As Carter taxied down the runway and took off, Ethan and Destiny put their arms around each other. They settled into each other’s warmth and together watched the jungle and the ruins of the base dwindle beneath them.
Once they were on their way, they placed a call to Hal on a satellite phone.
“How’s Ellie?” Ethan asked immediately. “Is she still in labor?”
Hal’s rumbling voice seemed to fill the plane. “She’s fine. And so are our new twins!”
“Oh.” Ethan was immensely relieved, but also disappointed. He’d missed the birth, like he’d missed so many things in his sister’s life. “Give her my love.”
“You just did,” Hal said with a chuckle. “You’re on speakerphone.”
Ellie’s clear voice came through. “Ethan! You’ve got a nephew and niece. Hurry up and meet them.”
“I’m flying as fast as I can,” Ethan replied.
“Come straight to the house,” she said. “Hal intimidated the doctor into letting us leave early. His bear was demanding that the cubs go back to the lair, where they belonged.”
“I’ll come as soon as we land. Hey, do our parents know yet?”
“Yeah, I called them.” Ellie sighed. “Mom is on vacation in the south of France. She said, ‘Congratulations. Don’t you dare name the boy after your father.’ Dad is busy at work. He said, ‘That’s nice. I hope you won’t have the bad taste to name the girl after your mother.’”
“Well, for once I agree with them. Neither of them deserves namesakes.”
Ethan couldn’t help glancing around the plane to see how everyone else was reacting to this. Destiny squeezed his hand, and he felt as well as saw her love and lack of judgement. Lucas, who had largely been raised by a cold and hostile uncle, had sympathetic understanding in his golden eyes. But while some of the others looked angry or sad or appalled, none of it was directed at him or Ellie.
“I’ve made my peace with it,” Ellie said, and he could hear in her voice that she really had. “Hal’s parents are going to be the best grandparents ever, even if they drive Hal and me nuts doing it. And the kids are going to have the best extended family ever. They can ride on panthers and dragons and leopards and wolves—”
“And lions and tigers and bears—” Ethan put in.
“Oh my!” Ellie exclaimed, and they both chuckled. “And they’ll have the best uncle in the whole wide world.”
Ethan had to swallow back a lump in his throat before he spoke. “Thanks. Have you named them yet?”
“Got any ideas?”
“Sig and Sauer,” Ethan suggested.
“No!” Ellie exclaimed indignantly. “Any sensible ideas?”
“Cloud and Tifa?”
“No! Good Lord.” Ellie snorted, but Ethan was touched that she recognized the characters from his favorite video game, even though she’d never played a single one herself. “Anyway, you’re too late. They’re Haley Catalina and Elliot Ethan, and they’re both Brennan-McNeil. I wanted there to be a McNeil family that loves and supports each other—one that’s bigger than the two of us. We needed that for so long. And now we have it.”
The lump in his throat returned, along with a prickling in his eyes, but Ethan no longer cared about hiding his emotions. “Love you, sis.”
“Love you too.” A baby’s shrill wail rose over her voice. “Uh-oh. Here, I’m giving Hal the phone.”
Hal took the phone back, and they gave him the report on what had happened. The one thing they left out, at Ethan and Destiny’s request, was that they were mates. They’d wanted to tell him and Ellie in person.
When they were finished, Hal said, “Merlin, Roland, Pete, Ransom, Carter… Your lives have been turned upside down. You don’t have to deal with everything alone. I’d like to help you. My team would like to help you—the same thing happened to some of them. Why don’t you all stay in Santa Martina for a while, and we can help you sort things out?”