For the Sake of Their Son (The Alpha Brotherhood #5)(11)
Author: Catherine Mann

Mama chose hubby.

Lucy Ann finally went to live with her aunt for good—no more dodging groping hands or awkward requests to sit on “daddy’s” lap. Her aunt loved her, cared for her, but Carla had others to care for, as well—Grandma and an older bachelor uncle.

No one put Lucy Ann first or loved her most. Not until this baby. She would do anything for Eli. Anything. Even swallow her pride and let Elliot back in her life.

Still, keeping on a happy face throughout the wedding was hard. All wedding phobia aside, she worked to appreciate the wedding as an event. She had to learn the art of detaching her emotions from her brain if she expected to make it through the next four weeks with her heart intact.

“Lucy Ann?” A familiar female voice startled her, and she set her juice aside to find Hillary Donavan standing beside her.

Hillary was married to another of Elliot’s school friends, Troy Donavan, more commonly known as the Robin Hood Hacker. As a computer-savvy teen he’d wreaked all sorts of havoc. Now he was a billionaire software developer. He’d recently married Hillary, an events planner, who looked as elegant as ever in a green Grecian-style silk dress.

The red-haired beauty dropped into a chair beside the stroller. “Do you mind if I hide out here with you and the baby for a while? My part in orchestrating this nationally televised wedding is done, thank heavens.”

“You did a lovely job blending local traditions with a modern flair. No doubt magazine covers will be packed with photos.”

“They didn’t give me much time to plan since they made their engagement announcement just after Christmas, but I’m pleased with the results. I hope they are, too.”

“I’m sure they are, although they can only see each other.” Lucy Ann’s stomach tightened, remembering her mother’s adoring looks for each new man.

“To think they were professional adversaries for so long…now the sparks between them are so tangible I’m thinking I didn’t need to order the firework display for a finale.”

Lucy Ann pulled a tight smile, doing her best to be polite. “Romance is in the air.”

“I hope this isn’t going too late for you and the little guy.” She flicked her red hair over her shoulder. “You must be exhausted from your flight.”

“He’s asleep. We’ll be fine.” If she left, Elliot would feel obligated to leave, as well. And right now she was too emotionally raw to be alone with him. Surely Hillary had to have some idea of how difficult this was for her, since the alum buddies had been party to the kidnapping.

Her eyes slid to the clutch of pals, the five men who’d been sent to a military reform school together.

Their bond was tight. Unbreakable.

They stood together at the beachside under a cabana wearing matching tuxedos, all five of them too damn rich and handsome for their own good. Luckily for the susceptible female population, the other four were now firmly taken, married and completely in love with their brides. The personification of bad boys redeemed, but still edgy.

Exciting.

The Alpha Brotherhood rarely gathered in one place, but when they did, they were a sight to behold. They’d all landed in trouble with the law as teens, but they’d been sent to a military reform school rather than juvie. Computer whiz Troy Donavan had broken into the Department of Defense’s computer system to expose corruption. Casino magnate Conrad Hughes had used insider trading tips to manipulate the stock market. He’d only barely redeemed himself by tanking corporations that used child-labor sweatshops in other countries. World famous soft rock/jazz musician Malcolm Douglas had been sent away on drug charges as a teenager, although she’d learned later that he’d been playing the piano in a bar underage and got nabbed in the bust.

The groom—Dr. Rowan Boothe—had a history a bit more troubled. He’d been convicted of driving while drunk. He’d been part of an accident he’d taken the blame for so his overage brother wouldn’t go to jail—then his brother had died a year later driving drunk into a tree. Now Rowan used all his money to start clinics in third-world countries.

They all had their burdens to bear, and that guilt motivated them to make amends now. Through their freelance work with Interpol. Through charitable donations beyond anything anyone would believe unless they saw the accounting books.

Now, they’d all settled down and gotten married, starting families of their own. Was that a part of what compelled Elliot to push for more with her? A need to fit in with his Alpha Brothers as they moved on to the next phase of their lives?

Lucy Ann looked back at Hillary. “Did you know what Malcolm and Conrad were up to yesterday?”

“I didn’t know exactly, not until Troy told me, and they were already on their way. I can’t say I approve of their tactics, but it was too late for me to do anything. You appear to be okay.” Hillary leaned on her elbows, angling closer, her eyes concerned. “Is that an act?”

“What do you think?”

She clasped Lucy Ann’s hand. “I’m sorry. I should have realized this calm of yours is just a cover. We’re kindred spirits, you and I, ever organized, even in how we show ourselves to the world.” She squeezed once before letting go. “Do you want to talk? Need a shoulder? I’m here.”

“There’s nothing anyone can do now. It’s up to Elliot and me to figure out how to move forward. If I’d let him know earlier…”

“Friend, you and I both know how difficult it can be to contact them when the colonel calls for one of their missions. They disappear. They’re unreachable.” She smiled sadly. “It takes something as earth-shattering as, well, a surprise baby to get them to break the code of silence.”

“How do you live with that, as a part of a committed relationship?”

She couldn’t bring herself to ask what it felt like to be married to a man who kept such a chunk of his life separate. She’d known as a friend and as a personal assistant that Elliot’s old headmaster later recruited previous students as freelancers for Interpol. She’d kept thoughts about that segmented away, since it did not pertain to her job or their life on the race circuit.

But now, there was no denying that her life was tied to Elliot’s in a much deeper way.

“I love Troy, the man he is. The man he’s always been,” Hillary said. “We grow, we mature, but our basic natures stay the same. And I love who that man is.”

Lucy Ann could almost—almost—grasp the promise in that, except she knew Hillary helped her husband on some of those missions, doing a bit of freelance work of her own.