“I’ll let that curse slide because you just made my day.” Gray ruffled Jayden’s hair. “Can you show me the survival kit now?”
“Fine.” Jayden pretended to be ticked off and dropped to his knees in front of the basket. “You gotta have Band-Aids and antisp…antisepsis wipes…”
“Antiseptic,” Darius provided.
Jayden nodded firmly and continued digging through the basket. “Fishing line and hook to catch fish, a compass to find your way out of the woods, a whistle because it’s louder than your voice—right?” He glanced at Darius, who nodded approvingly. “And, um… He said I don’t need matches because I have a fire starter with my knife, and if I can make fire, I don’t need a flashlight. He said something else about the flashlight too, that it can be bad.”
“If you’re in the woods, yes,” Darius confirmed. “Chances are the light will blind you. It’s better you let your eyes adjust to the darkness.”
“Yeah, that.” Jayden held up the last item. “This is crack chocolate. It will keep you awake longer.”
Darius laughed. “Caffeinated chocolate, you mean.”
“Same shit, man.” Jayden snickered.
Gray shook his head in amusement. “With all this focus on survival, I feel like we need to take the boys to Disneyland or something soon to balance things out.”
Justin gasped. “I like Disney!”
Judging by the face Darius made, he didn’t. But he wasn’t gonna say anything, and he knew Gray was right. Darius had even been the first to bring it up, probably to reassure Gray. Survival and preparedness as a hobby was fine with Gray—encouraged, actually—but they had to draw a line somewhere. It couldn’t be what the boys’ childhood was all about.
“What do you say, buddy?” Gray knocked his fist lightly to Jayden’s chin. “Roller coasters till we puke and so much food that we can’t button our pants.”
Jayden smiled and shrugged, and he scrunched his nose a little too. “Can we go camping also?”
Oh, for…
Safe to say, that earned him an extra-tight hug from Darius.
“We’ll do both,” Gray settled for saying. “Are we ready for Applebee’s?”
“Yes!” Justin exclaimed and scrambled to his feet.
When they returned home that evening, they noticed someone parked outside the gate.
Gray didn’t recognize the car, so he immediately turned to Darius, who had his eyes narrowed.
“That’s a government car,” he said and opened the door.
A beat later, a woman stepped out of the black sedan in front of them.
“Here we go,” Darius muttered under his breath. “You here on official business, hon?”
Gray eyed the woman. Pantsuit, modest makeup, hair in a tight bun.
“I’m not sure yet,” she responded with a smirk.
Darius wasn’t having it. It was clearly someone he knew—well enough to call hon—but he wasn’t in the mood for games. “Then make up your mind, Sandra, and you better have a warrant in there if you’re here as an agent.”
She was a Fed?
“You gotta lighten up, Quinn,” Sandra replied coolly. “Open the damn gate. I’m not even on that case.”
Darius huffed and closed the door again, and he nodded to Gray.
Gray swallowed, a bit nervous all of a sudden, and rolled down the window to punch in the code.
“Who’s that, Daddy?” Justin asked.
“A suit with a badge,” Darius answered. “A cop with better fashion sense.”
Gray snorted and drove up the road. “She’s an FBI agent, sweetheart. Kind of like a police officer. She just wants to talk.”
That was all, right? It had to be. Willow and Darius were so certain that no evidence could be traced back to Darius and the others, and Gray clung to their promise.
As Gray slowed to a stop and killed the engine next to the Wagoneer, Darius turned around and addressed the boys.
“Jayden, I want you to take your brother upstairs. Put on a movie or something. Gray and I won’t be long.”
Gray glanced at Jayden in the rearview and noticed the boy worrying his bottom lip.
“Is something wrong?” Jayden asked.
“Not at all,” Darius assured. “It’s just irritating government talk, and you know how I feel about the government and government people.”
That coaxed a smirk from Jayden. “They suck.”
“So hard,” Darius agreed.
Jayden had received the reassurance he needed, and the family climbed out of the truck with their leftovers from Applebee’s and survival gear.
“Always a pleasure to see you, Darius,” Sandra said, walking over to them.
Darius side-eyed her. “Yeah, I was just telling my son how much I care for government people.”
Sandra rolled her eyes and shifted her attention to Gray instead. “It’s nice to meet you in person, Gray. I’m Sandra McCormick. I’m married to one of those impossible PMC types, so unfortunately for Darius, I won’t take his shit.” She jerked her chin at Darius.
“Mac broke the cardinal rule,” Darius said. “He went to bed with someone crazier than himself.”
“Mac McCormick?” Gray inquired, mildly amused.
“Just a nickname.” Darius ushered Justin up the porch steps and unlocked the door. “All right, boys. Movie time. You don’t have to go upstairs if you’d rather sit down here. Sandra’s not staying long, so we’ll talk on the porch.”