Page 25 of Gideon

“Nineteen. She thought he was nineteen, too. He lied about his age when he started working—he finished high school at fifteen because he wanted to get on with life. My mom broke up with him when she found out the truth.”

“Did he marry any of the women who had his children?”

“Yes,” Raven said, his tone softening. “He married Ellie’s mom. They loved each other like nothing I’ve ever seen. She passed away three years ago when Ellie was born.”

“What?” I whispered. “I have a three-year-old sister?”

“You do. Our dad hasn’t recovered from Marie’s death. She had complications during Ellie’s birth. You wouldn’t think thatcould happen in this day and age, but… she didn’t make it. It shook all of us. We all loved her.”

“That’s so sad,” I said, my heart aching. “Poor Ellie. At least she has family to take care of her.”

“Our dad takes care of her himself. He’s not a salesman anymore. He owns a big ranch in Oklahoma, near where you grew up.”

“Maybe I’ll meet them one day,” I said. “But for now, I need to focus on my life now that Jonah is out of it.”

“You don’t have to leave,” Gideon said, his voice behind me.

I turned, my breath catching as my mind betrayed me, flashing to him between my thighs. “Gideon, we can’t stay here. Haley and I need to get our own place. School starts next month, and I need to get her enrolled.”

“Laney, we’ll talk about that later,” he said firmly. “Right now, I need to get ready for the mission. I guess I’m going with you, Raven.”

“Yes,” Raven said. “River just called. Kat’s too close to delivery, so he’s staying home. By the time we get back, they’ll already have their babies.”

Gideon turned back to me. “Please stay here, at least until we’re sure there’s no lingering threat. I don’t want anyone coming after you and Haley.”

I nodded reluctantly. “I’ll stay, but I’ll start looking for a place. Sean gave me a new computer. Raven, can you send me the family photos so I can share them with Haley?”

Raven nodded. Gideon leaned against the counter, watching me. “So, you got the DNA results?”

“Yes,” I said, though my thoughts were still tangled. “I have five more siblings, a father, an aunt, and grandparents. How long will you be gone?”

“A few weeks.”

“Where are you going?”

“To Iran. That’s all I can tell you.”

“We’ll stay here until you get back,” I said, my stomach tightening at the thought.

“Sean and his family will stay in Kat’s house,” Raven added. “We bought her house just for this reason.”

“When do you leave?” I asked.

“Five tomorrow morning,” Gideon said.

My heart lurched. Iran. How dangerous was it? I hadn’t truly thought about what Gideon’s missions entailed. My eyes darted between him and Raven. “Please,” I said softly. “Tell me what you do in these dangerous places.”

“We are going to rescue someone falsely accused of a crime he didn’t commit. We know he didn’t do it because he’s an Army Special Force officer, and he would never do anything like they are accusing him of.”

“Would he want you to risk your life trying to rescue him?”

“If we were in his position, he would do the same thing. This is what we do. We rescue people and guard them. It’s no more dangerous than running from the head of the mafia. We know what we are doing.”

“I know how good you are at your job. I’m sure you will return your friend to the United States soon. I would like both of you to be careful while you are there.”

“You will most likely have a visit from our Dad within a week, maybe even some other family members,” Raven said, glancing at me.

“I’m not going to worry about that right now. I have so much more to do,” I said, getting up to find Haley.

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