Page 88 of Saving Summer
His girls—melting the ice around his heart faster than he would have thought possible. Their happiness, their wellness, their safety meant everything to him. And now that he knew the truth…he couldn’t send them away.
There wasn’t a place on the planet safe enough for them.
Not with the threat of Dominion hanging over their heads.
A computer virus capable of bringing the world’s superpowers to their knees. Capable of toppling governments and altering the lines on the global map. Capable of giving the wrong people the opportunity to seize control and form a totalitarian society under the rule of a select few.
The meeting with Diane Heughan had revealed the full measure of the threat they were dealing with, and it was the stuff of nightmares. The stuff people like him had fought long and hard against as members of the US Military. As members of the JTT. As brothers in arms and individuals who dedicated their lives to making the world a better, safer place for all.
A single key code.
One little bit of JavaScript meant the difference between the nightmare of an enslaved society becoming a reality or a global fucking apocalypse. By accident or set loose with intent—didn’t matter—if the worm got free without the key in place, there’d be no surviving the destruction and devastation resulting from the collapse of the world’s supercomputers.
Either way, there wouldn’t be a dime-sized corner of the planet where it’d be safe enough for Summer and Halia to be. Not without him guarding their backs and the JTT guarding his. God damn, he smoothed his hand down Halia’s velvety sleeper until he cupped her little diapered bottom in his hand. He couldn’t let anything happen to Kosamina’s child.
Couldn’t let anything happen to Summer’s daughter. Anyone with eyeballs could see the love between the two. See the bond they’d formed. The two of them together. Pure. Sweet. Innocent. Beautiful.
His.
His to protect. His to cherish. His to keep safe.
Fear twisted his heart into a knot. The pain as bad as any he’d ever experienced. How? How would he keep his girls out of harm’s way? Unless the JTT managed to destroy Dominion and expose the Imperium Council, war loomed on the horizon.
Fuck. He owed Jay and the rest of his team big time.
If they hadn’t found him. Hadn’t brought him back from Managua. He would have made the worst mistake of his life. A mistake with consequences far beyond what he intended. Yeah. Jonas Johnson needed to die. No question. But he was the only known link to Imperium.
And Imperium was the biggest threat—to his girls, to his country, to humanity.
“Are you okay?” Summer asked. He lifted his gaze to find her baby blues on him. Her expression filled with concern. “Maybe you should take a quick nap before you go back to work?”
“Actually, we need to talk before I start my watch.”
“Okay…that sounds ominous.” With a frown, she set her guitar beside her on the bed. “I’m not leaving, Jamie. Halia and I belong here. The JTT is our family. I don’t care if you gave me the greatest gift in the history of gifts. You can’t force me to—”
“I’m not here to argue with you, buttercup.”
“You’re not?” She bit the corner of her lip, uncertainty making her appear vulnerable.
“No. And I’d never try to bribe you with a gift.”
“Oh…” She glanced at her guitar before swinging her gaze back to him. “So you’re not going to ask me to take Halia and go?”
“No. I want you to stay. Both of you. Here. With me. But we do need to talk about some serious shit, and you do have a decision to make.”
“Oh!” Her smile lit the space between them. “I’ve already decided. I’m staying.”
“Come here.” He patted his lap. The JTT had agreed, the women of the house needed to be brought into the fold. Needed to know the truth of the situation and the scope of the threat they were facing. Chase had gone to find Gray. Adam was briefing Eve.
And Jamie would be damned if anyone but him would be having this conversation with Summer. No. Hell no. She was his responsibility, and he wanted to ensure she made her decision to stay or go based on all the facts.
“Jamie, your knee.”
“I’m not asking you to sit on my knee, baby. Get up here and sit on my dick.” This conversation needed to happen face-to-face. The two of them together as one, deciding what their future would be. What Halia’s future would be.
“You’re so bossy,” she grumbled, scrambling to throw her leg over both of his and hovering her weight above his lap.
“I said sit.” He smacked his hand down on her butt cheek and pulled her in tight against him. She squirmed until his cock was nestled against her pussy. “You comfortable now?”
