“It’s probably no surprise that expressing emotion is not something that comes easy to me. In my position and experience, becoming emotionally involved with anyone, forming any kind of attachment, means putting myself and those I may come to care about at risk. Over the years, it’s been difficult to keep myself distanced from all of you, and although I still believe that there’s a great risk involved in letting people in, I will say that I’ve learned a great deal from Destructive Delta.” She swallowed hard and took a seat behind her desk. “I learned the true meaning of family. I also learned that your emotions don’t make you weaker, but stronger. Thank you for all you’ve done.” She smiled warmly at them. “I am exceptionally proud of you. All of you.” She faltered, her eyes getting glassy before she quickly looked away, and it was gone. “You should all get some rest before the celebrating begins.” She smiled at Dex. “You have a wedding rehearsal to prepare for.”
“What about the Chairman?” Sloane asked. “Someone obviously put in the order for the Makhai to fall back.”
“Intel informs me that the Chairman is in the wind. It’s possible he’s going to try and leave the country to regroup. We’re monitoring all aircrafts. I’ll let you know as soon as I know more. In the meantime, remain alert.”
Everyone turned to go, but Tony spoke up. “Dex, Cael, could you stay?”
Sloane put his arm to Dex’s elbow and leaned in. “I’m going to hit the showers. I’ll wait for you in the locker room.”
Dex nodded. The door closed, and it was just the four of them. Cael crossed his arms over his chest, the stubborn set of his jaw telling Dex this was not going to be fun.
“I’m not talking about this,” Cael said, eyes narrowed.
“Cael,” Tony said with a soft sigh. “I’m sorry things came to light the way they did. That’s not how I wanted you to find out.”
“That’s the problem, Dad. You kept this from me.” He frowned at Dex. “You both did.” He turned back to Tony. “Were you even going to tell me?”
“Of course I was.” Tony took a seat on the edge of Sparks’s desk. “I was trying to find the right moment.”
“There is no right moment,” Cael replied heatedly. “I mean, really, Dad? Her? Out of everyone you could have picked to get into bed with, you pick her?”
Tony’s expression hardened. “Mind your manners, son. I taught you better than that.”
Cael pressed his lips together in a thin line, his fists at his sides before he replied. “Yes, sir.”
“My relationship is my business, just like your relationship with Ash is yours, and Dex’s relationship with Sloane is his. We’re all adults who know how to handle ourselves.”
“Really? Because when you found out about Ash and Sloane, you showed up at Dekatria with Old Betsy.”
Sparks’s eyes went comically wide, and Dex had to put a fist to his mouth to keep from laughing. Shit. Cael totally called their dad on that one.
Tony blinked at Cael before rubbing his chin. “I did, didn’t I?”
“Yes,” Cael replied, crossing his arms over his chest again. “Because you thought they were messing with your boys.” Cael shot a look at Sparks. “So, tell me, Dad. How is this situation different?”
“The difference is, no matter how worried I was, I love those boys. I watched them grow from uncertain youths to fierce grown men. I may not have trusted them with your hearts, but I trusted them with your lives. Whereas you two never failed to let me know how much you disliked and distrusted Sonya. Yes, I should have told you both sooner, and this is on me, but you didn’t exactly make it easy for me. I love you boys. The last thing I ever wanted to do was let you down, and I felt like somehow by developing feelings for Sonya, I had.”
Dex glanced over at Sparks, who was looking off to the side at nothing, lost in her own thoughts. It was obvious she knew, and for the first time, Dex felt bad for her. She knew Tony felt like he was letting his sons down by being with her, and she still stuck by his side? Dex frowned at his dad. “That last part was, uh, kinda harsh, Dad.”
Tony arched an eyebrow at him. “I know, but I was honest from the beginning.”
Dex turned to Sparks. “And you just accepted that?”
Sparks lifted her gaze, her expression unreadable again. She was hiding from him. “Why wouldn’t I? I never gave either of you a reason to feel any different toward me. You and Cael are your father’s whole world. Of course he would feel that way. Whatever you may believe, I never intended for this to happen. We both fought it for a long time.”
Dex turned his attention back to his dad. “You’ve never let us down.”
“I must have at some point. I mean, why else would you two not confide in me? When did I start needing to be coddled and protected?”
It struck Dex then just how bad they’d shaken their dad’s confidence. “You’re right. We should have confided in you from the beginning. We told Sparks as much when she called us out on our bullshit.”
Tony’s brows shot up. “She did?” He turned to her. “You did?”
She nodded but remained quiet.
“She was right. How long have we been going behind your back, getting caught up in all kinds of shit, and keeping it from you? We thought we were protecting you, but this whole thing has proven that no matter what we do, we live in a world with no guarantees. We’re family. Of course we’re going to worry, but we need to trust in one another, and that means trusting in the decisions we all make.”
Dex turned to Cael, who was scowling at him. “So, does that mean we’re telling the truth about everything?” Cael narrowed his eyes, and Dex knew exactly what his brother was talking about. Tony might know about Sparks being TIN, but there was no way he knew about Dex being left to get tortured by Wolf, or they’d be having a completely different type of conversation. From the corner of his eye, Dex saw Sparks tense, a barely audible gasp escaping her. There was something there. Something Dex couldn’t quite put his finger on. Dex met his brother’s gaze. Cael’s big gray eyes waited expectantly.