Baby.
It was heady fucking thought—to know each beat of his heart, pulse of his blood, and pump of his lungs was inherently and irrevocably connected to mine.
“Benji.” Toby stepped forward then. The tears he shed had dried against his reddened cheeks but his bottom lip still quivered. He sank his teeth into the tender flesh, drawing in a breath so deep, his whole body shook.
Mr. Thomas made a noise but before any words could accompany it, Toby tapped his freckled fingers against his lips and spoke again. “You… you aren’t mad at Silas, Benji, and I don’t think you’re mad at Elijah, either. You’re looking for someone to punish because the man you really want isn’t here.” Toby fisted Ben’s shirt, staring up at him with wet eyes and a palpable type of desperation that left him a chokehold. “You need to let them help you. Donotlet this ghost man take my daddy from me. I will pull some serious Romeo and Juliet shit if you die.”
Silas pressed his cheek against mine, and I felt his wet lashes swaying across my facial hair. “Who is Romeo?”
I smiled into his skin.
“You’re lucky my voice of reason is here, Kingston.” As he spoke, Ben’s gaze remained rooted to his husband, but I knew his words were for me. “Are we going to have problems moving forward?”
“Any problem we might have begins and ends with Silas.”
“I don’t intend to harm your boy, Kingston, and I’d rather not harm you either, but if you fuck up this assignment and Toby ends up hurt, I will remove your organs from your body and place them on Silas’ doorstep.”
Silas made a noise. I wrapped my fingers around the base of his throat and squeezed just enough that the sharp words on his tongue shriveled up and died. “Take it easy, Kitten.”
“If even one organ shows up on my doorstep, I will burn his legacy to the ground. I’m serious, Daddy. I know exactly what to do.”
The small, predatory growls rumbling in his throat made my cock pulse behind my zipper. His ferocity was cute—his obsession a near perfect match to mine. I held not even an inch of doubt that Silas would set flames to Ben’s entire organization if something ever happened to his daddy.
As if I would let that happen.
I was loyal to the men of this chapter but if it came down to my life or theirs, I’d choose myself.
For Silas.
ChapterFifteen
Elijah
A lull fellover the room shortly after Ben’s threat. We hadn’t moved from our positions—Silas still in my arms, draped over my upper body. Toby fists remained in Ben’s shirt, tightening with each second as though he planned to stay awhile.
We simply stood there, encased in a bubble of feeble apologies and quiet truces until a heavy presence loomed over us and popped it with a single grunt.
Ivan.
Ben’s second hand stood at the head of the conference table, serving as a quiet witness. Thick arms folded across his chest and the tattoos there flexed in tandem with his nostrils flaring. He rubbed a hand across his head before speaking, “are we done threatening each other, gentlemen? Or should I pour myself a fucking drink?”
“Kingston.” I glanced at Ben. “Take your boy over to Ivan and fill him in on what the two of you found in Laughton’s house. I’m going to escort Toby back to rehearsal, and then—”
Toby made a noise. “No way, Benji. I’m staying. If this man is coming after my husband, I want to know everything.”
Ben’s eyebrows pulled tight, and he opened his mouth to speak but I was already walking away.
The boots I wore clapped against the thin carpeting as I carried my boy across the room. Ivan greeted me with a subtle tip of his chin when I stepped up beside the conference table. It was built entirely of glass and large enough to occupy a dozen men. It, and the chairs that lined it, were the only furniture pieces inside this cavernous room.
Silas wiggled in my arms, and when I bent to place him in one of the many seats, I grasped his jaw between my fingers and squeezed. “Donotmove from this seat unless I move you myself. Understand?”
“Yes.”
“Yes,what?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
His smile was as devious as it was shy when he tucked his feet beneath his butt the same way he did at home. Blood-stained fingers gripped the leathery armrests, and he watched me walk the length of the table and come to a stop beside Ivan.