Atonement (The Protectors 6)

“Daddy said we get to stay up late to watch the fireworks tonight.”

“I said you could stay up late if you stay awake that late,” Tate clarified and the image shifted again so I could see Tate’s face. “Hi Magnus,” Tate said with a nod.

“Hey, Tate,” I returned.

“How was your flight?”

“Good,” I lied. “How’s the pseudo-honeymoon?” I asked, but the view shifted again and all I saw was what I assumed was Tate’s leg.

“I can stay awake that long,” I heard Matty declare.

“I know you can, buddy,” I heard Tate say and then the view changed once more and I smiled at the sight of Leo leaning against Hawke’s side, his eyes closed and his mouth hanging open as soft snores escaped his throat. “But not so sure about Leo,” Tate said before shifting the tablet so I could see Hawke’s face.

“Hey,” Hawke said with a smile and a small wave. Considering he was on vacation at the biggest family theme park in the world with his husband of exactly one week and not one, but two, five-year-olds, the man looked more at peace than I’d ever seen him.

Before I could respond, Matty turned the tablet so it was back on him. “He’s just resting his eyes, Pop-pop,” he insisted right before he let out a big yawn and pressed back against Tate’s chest. I knew it was barely nine o’clock in Florida so I highly doubted my grandson would be viewing any New Year’s fireworks tonight once the clock hit midnight. I listened as Matty told me all about his and Leo’s adventures that day, but within ten minutes, his eyes were starting to drift closed and the view on the screen shifted. It righted itself quickly and I suspected Tate had taken over holding the tablet. Sure enough, the screen moved so it was Tate’s face I was seeing.

“Keep us posted on things, okay?” he said, his voice low.

“I will.”

Hawke took the tablet and murmured, “Stay safe…and trust in Dante…kid’s got great instincts.”

The kid had a lot of things, but I wasn’t sure instincts were one of them. I didn’t say that, of course, choosing to nod instead. “You guys have fun and enjoy Greece.” I knew they only had a few more days left in Disney World and then just the two of them were off to Santorini for a private honeymoon. I cursed the fact that I wouldn’t be at home to watch Matty myself while they were gone, but I knew he’d do well with Leo’s family for the ten days his fathers would be gone.

Home.

Fuck, that sounded good.

“Okay, we’ll talk to you soon,” Tate said as he took the tablet.

“Pop-pop, remember your promise,” I heard Matty mumble and the view switched to the little boy who’d curled up on his side on Tate’s lap. His hands were underneath his cheek, pillowing his face on Tate’s chest, but his eyes were closed.

I didn’t need to ask what he meant because he’d made me make the same promise several times in the days leading up to him and his fathers leaving for Florida.

Promise you’re coming back.

“I remember,” I said softly. “Happy New Year, Matty.”

Matty nodded slightly and said something I couldn’t understand and then he was completely out. I said my goodbyes to his fathers and then disconnected the call. The music sounded like it had gotten even louder…that or it was just a different song that had a heavier bass to it. Either way, it further fueled my irritation with my “bodyguard.”

To say I’d been furious with Ronan and Memphis a week earlier when they’d told me they were sending Dante with me to Texas as “a second set of eyes” was an understatement. The shame of anyone thinking I wasn’t strong enough to take care of myself had been tough enough to take, but having them make that decision in front of Dante had been like salt in an already open wound, though I didn’t really understand why. It wasn’t that I hadn’t thought the young man capable of watching my back – in fact that was the furthest thing from the truth. No, it was the combination of Dante witnessing my humiliation and the unexplainable anger I’d still been feeling at memory of the sight I’d walked in on in the upstairs guest bathroom, just moments before being summoned to the office.

I felt my insides tighten uncomfortably as an image of Dante’s ass flexing flashed in my head.

Fuck, why was that always the first thing I saw when I thought of that night? And why the hell was I still thinking about it a week later?

A normal reaction that day would have been to discreetly remove myself from the situation I’d inadvertently walked in on. Hell, I could have even flipped the lock on the bathroom door so it would have locked behind me, ensuring that no one else walked in on the pair. But no, I’d gone a whole other way.