Reading Time: 109 Minutes

Title: Heart of the Devoted
Series: Nature Provides
Series Order: 3
Author: Keira Marcos
Fandom: 9-1-1, The Sentinel
Relationship: Evan Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Genre: Romance, Alternate Universe, Sentinel Fusion, First Time
Warnings: Explicit sex, Canon-Typical Violence, Angst, Discussion-Murder, Discussion-Child Abuse, Discussion-Domestic Violence, Referenced-Rape, Grammarly Beta
Word Count: 54,675
Summary: Sentinel Evan Buckley’s world is turned upside down when a baby on a harrowing call latches on to him psionically. It takes him down a path that he was determined to avoid for as long as he could.

* * * * *

Chapter One

January 9, 2018

“Come on now, you’re never this heavy on your feet.”

Buck huffed a little and frowned as he allowed Thomas Marshall to move him around the sparring ring at the 118. He’d been with the LAFD for nearly three years and had been really pleased when Thomas had transferred into the 118 with his Guide, Oscar “Cosmo” Fuentes, about six months after he’d been on the job. They’d been a great addition to the shift, and he’d come to really rely on Thomas in the field when it came to heavy rescue. It was also great to have an engineer on the scene who really knew what they were doing.

Everything had been easier since they’d joined him, and it hadn’t felt like they were babysitting him, except for the part where Thomas made him spar. He loathed hitting someone and preferred to work the bag or just lift weights, but Thomas was a brawler, and Buck was the only member of the team that the other Sentinel felt comfortable working out with. He understood that part, really, but punching people, even in an exercise setting, was seriously off-putting, and he had to be in the right mood for it.

“You distracted?” Thomas punched him lightly in the side and laughed.

“A little,” Buck admitted but returned the favor, catching the other Sentinel twice before he waved him off with one gloved hand and walked away. “I’m not in the right head space for this.”

“Okay, focus mitts?” Thomas asked easily and backed off immediately.

“Sure,” Buck took off the gloves and retrieved the large mitts so he could give his friend a target. He slid them both on and returned to the center of the ring. “Didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Yeah?” Thomas bounced on his feet and started to punch the mitts. “Bad dreams?” He paused. “Blue dreams?”

“Nah, nothing like that,” Buck said as he pushed the other man a bit and started to move him around the ring, which he knew would provide the best work out for Thomas. “Nova is…irritated.”

“An irritated spirit animal is a cause for concern,” Thomas pointed out. “Did you call the Alpha Primes and report it?”

“Since I ended up angsting on Lou and Cristobal’s couch half the night, they’re very aware of Nova’s irritation,” Buck said wryly. “I don’t know what’s going on with her. My levels are fine; I haven’t had any sort of sensory or zoning issues in well over a year.” He used the pad to smack Thomas’ arm. “Now who’s distracted?”

“Just thinking about Nova,” Thomas admitted and stepped back to take a deep breath. “She’s never led you astray, right? So, something’s coming.” He frowned. “Nothing seismic, or we’d already have warnings going out.”

Buck agreed on that front. It was rare for an earthquake to hit without several hours of warning due to the way Sentinels instinctually responded to impending natural disasters and the noise that shifting plates made when an earthquake was imminent.

“We should hit the showers,” Cosmo said from outside the ring and picked up his coffee cup. “We’re just thirty minutes out from the start of shift anyway. Let’s check the fucking weather.”

“I already did,” Buck said sourly. “And I checked in with dispatch on the way to work to make sure there wasn’t some escaped serial killer to worry about.”

A half-hour later, Buck was in the loft drinking a protein shake and watching Thomas tease Sae Bu, the newest edition to the team and Hen’s partner in the field. The partner she’d had when he started, a man named Cameron Davis, had transferred into SAR recently. They were all super proud of him, and the training he’d done to qualify but filling the gap had been hard. Cameron was easily one of the best men Buck had ever met, and he’d left a hole behind in the station. Hen was bursting with pride but also admitted it was the second partner she’d had move on since she’d started the LAFD. The other had ended up in the private sector due to the regulations regarding certifications to deal with Sentinel/Guides.

Fortunately, Bobby had let Hen pick her new partner. Sae had settled into the shift like she’d all been there and was certified for urban search and rescue, which was a thrilling bonus. Of course, Thomas was also a firefighter paramedic, but he preferred to work on the ladder with his Guide. Buck wondered what sort of changes he’d be willing to make if he were to find a Guide that he would be willing to bond with. It didn’t seem like a possibility, really, because he’d rarely met an unbonded Guide that didn’t put him off. The singular exception had been his mentor, Cristobal Salas, who’d bonded a couple of years after they met.

Buck didn’t regret following Cristobal to LA, but he still missed Peru. He hadn’t been back in over two years. The last time he went, he’d taken Thomas and Cosmo with him, and they’d loved the valley that was and always would be his home.

A tremor of horror slid down his back and across the loft; Cosmo hissed in shock.

“What the fuck….” Cosmo demanded.

“We have to go,” Buck said and stood. “Bobby, we have to….” The alarm sounded, and he watched as the captain snagged his tablet.

“Everyone roll out!” Bobby shouted as he headed for the stairs. “We have an empathic event. Origin unclear.”

Buck focused on his own breathing and ignored the looks that Thomas was giving him from his place across him as they left the station. Hen had ended up on the ladder with them, clearly concerned about the state of all three of them. It was rare, but the captain was currently driving the ladder truck. Cosmo was in the passenger seat handling the technical command with the tablet in hand as they headed for an apartment building.

“A resident, stoned out of his mind, is reporting a baby in his wall,” Cosmo said tersely over the radio. “He’s on the fifth floor of the six-story building. No elevator. Low-income housing. LAPD is on the scene doing a door-to-door search for the source of the empathic blowout. Dispatch wants us to clear this call since it’s in the building that everyone assumes is the epicenter of the event, then we’re on standby to deal with the fallout.”

Bobby spread the whole team out with the LAPD but kept Buck and Hen with him to take the trip up the stairs to deal with the call. It was clear the captain thought it was a waste of time, and Buck didn’t blame him. Still, something was practically dancing on his nerves, and he wasn’t surprised when Nova appeared in the hallway as they left the stairwell.

“Hey, pretty lady,” Bobby said as he walked past the white tiger. “Here to keep us safe from the stoner?”

Nova chuffed and pressed against Buck as they walked.

“She’s been upset since last night,” Buck admitted and shrugged when Hen glanced his way. “No clue why. Nova’s normally pretty easygoing despite her presentation. I mean, most people expect her to be aggressive as fuck; she’s just a big kitten, really.”

“Sure,” Hen said wryly.

Buck kept his senses tucked away nearly all the time because he wasn’t bonded, and as an Alpha Ascendant, he had a lot going on the sense front. But something was pushing his barriers a bit as they entered the apartment. While Bobby started questioning the stoned guy about what he’d taken, Buck allowed his barriers to thin. Probably not ideal considering the reported empathic event that had been determined to be in the building. The stoner was probably a sensitive himself, and mixed with drugs, the empathic event was fucking with his perceptions.

Buck found the very slow, small heartbeat first, and his stomach lurched. He left the conversation with a soft shocked sound that he couldn’t keep to himself and went into the bathroom. He put a trembling hand on the dingy drywall. “Jesus Christ.”

“Buck?” Hen questioned.

“Bobby!” Buck shouted.

“What’s…oh, God,” she said. “Is there a baby in that fucking wall?”

“Tell the LAPD I’ve found the source of the empathic event,” Buck said hoarsely. “Because not only is there a baby in this pipe, she’s online.” He let his near-militant grasp of his empathy go, and his hand started to glow blue.

“Buck?” Bobby questioned.

“She’s here,” Buck said hoarsely. “She’s breathing, but her heart rate is slowing down. I can use psionic energy to keep her alive in the short term, Bobby, but we have to get her out of this wall as soon as possible. Tell dispatch we need a team from the Burton Foundation—she’s going to need very specialized care and priority placement in a Sentinel/Guide ward.”

“Okay, kid,” Bobby said. “You just keep doing what you’re doing, and we’ll work around you.”

He couldn’t say how long it took to break open the wall, but relief settled in his bones when he was able to put his hand fully on the pipe. A paw appeared on his hand, and Buck looked to the left to find a red panda clinging to the pipes.

“We’ve got a spirit animal,” Buck said as Cosmo appeared at his side with a hand saw.

“Fuck,” Cosmo muttered. “Condition?”

“Distressingly solid,” Buck reported as the red panda’s claws scraped against his skin, not drawing blood but clearly felt. “Very scared but mature, which is good.”

“Yeah,” Cosmo said. “You need to moderate your hearing so I can operate this saw. It’s going to cause some vibration and a lot of noise, but fortunately, the pipe is plastic. It won’t be as bad as it could be.”

Buck looked over his shoulder to where Bobby stood with Thomas. “I’m ready.”

“The Burton Foundation has a team on the way. ETA ten minutes,” Bobby said. “How’s her breathing?”

“Labored but consistent,” Buck said. “She probably came online because…. The psionic plane would’ve responded to the stress and the possible threat of death.”

Cosmo finished cutting the pipe loose from the plumbing, and they pulled it from the wall. Buck followed, and the red panda crawled out the wall with a mew of distress.

“It’s okay, I’ve got her,” Buck murmured. “I won’t let anything happen to her, okay?”

The panda responded by darting across the room and crawling up onto Nova’s back to cling. Distress was radiating off of both spirit animals. Buck focused on the pipe as Bobby worked the situation with Cosmo.

“Where’s Thomas?”

“Not far. Coordinating with the foundation to get a shielded medical transport on the scene,” Cosmo murmured. “Okay, we need to push her out from the bottom.”

“Let’s get some lubrication in,” Bobby said. “Buck, stats?”

“Mostly normal,” Buck said. “Blood pressure sixty-four over forty. Heart rate is fluctuating between eighty and ninety BPM. Respiratory rate is forty-six. Temperature is around ninety-six.”

“You can feel her temperature through this plastic pipe?” Bobby questioned, clearly surprised.

“Alpha sentinels can extend their sense of touch to an untold degree,” Cosmo murmured as he worked. “Which means they can discern body temperature. From an evolutionary standpoint, it’s about threat assessment. They can find an enemy in pitch-dark circumstances with that ability. Which could be important in a situation where their hearing is damaged, or they’re forced to retreat from auditory pollution.” He took a deep breath. “Okay, Bobby, you need to let Buck take your place so he can catch her. Mundanes shouldn’t touch her—she’ll be profoundly vulnerable empathically for years to come.”

“Right,” Bobby murmured. “Poor kid.”

Buck traded places with his captain and gave both men a nod. “Hen?”

“Thomas reports that the team from the foundation is three minutes out and so are the Alpha Prime pair.” She paused. “Why would they come here?”

“A very vulnerable member of our tribe has…. The attempted murder of an online Guide is an extreme thing, Hen,” Cosmo said when Buck found he couldn’t speak. “Whoever did this…is in a world of hurt on several levels.”

Buck hesitated a moment before he shrugged out of his radio harness and pulled his uniform T-shirt over his head.

“What are you doing?” Bobby questioned.

“She’s going to need body heat, and my scent will be comforting,” Buck said.

“Good thinking, Buckaroo,” Hen said with a small smile.

He focused on the pipe as Cosmo gently pushed the baby right out of it and into his hands. Buck took in a shuddery breath as he dropped back on his knees and held the trembling infant to his chest. Cosmo came around and helped him tuck the T-shirt around her.

“Fuck,” he whispered. “Fuck.”

“Buck?” Cosmo questioned, even as blue energy started to swirl around them. “Oh, God.”

“It’s okay,” Buck murmured against the baby’s head. “You’re safe and sound.”

“Okay, clear out this room,” Bobby ordered. “Hen, find out where that foundation team is and tell them they need to get here right now.”

“We’re here.”

Buck looked up and focused on Cristobal Salas’ face. “I’m in trouble.”

“I see that,” Cristobal murmured as he settled on his knees in front of him. He cupped Buck’s face. “Evan, I need you to listen just to me. Focus everything on me, okay?”

“Okay,” Buck said hoarsely, even as psionic energy started to burn in his chest. “I feel like I might catch fire.”

“Children aren’t meant to do this, as you know, but when they do, the psionic plane provides for them,” Cristobal murmured. “She’s latched onto you empathically. Do you feel that?”

“Yeah, I feel it.” Buck wet his lips. “But I’m not…. Surely, I can’t be the best choice.”

“You are a perfect choice, and this little girl is very lucky that you were here for her today. She couldn’t have done this with anyone but an Alpha Ascendant, which is why she’s going to survive when nearly all other infants in such circumstances don’t. This kind of gross physical abuse is almost always fatal for latent infants because they do come online to defend themselves, which only amplifies their trauma.” Cristobal held him firm. “You’re doing great. We’re going to get you on your feet and transport you to the retreat. Okay?”

“Is he going to be able to hand this empathic latch off to someone else?” Bobby questioned, and they all focused on him.

“Not without killing her due to psionic shock,” Cristobal said and helped Buck stand. “You’ll need to process emergency paternity leave for him, Captain Nash.”

“Are you fucking serious, Dad?” Buck questioned in shock and flushed brightly when Cristobal raised an eyebrow at him. He’d rarely ever called the man that, no matter how true it felt.

* * * *

Every time he put her down, she started screaming. Buck had been so fucking relieved when Lou had shown up with a baby sling that he’d almost cried. He knew it wasn’t her fault, but he hadn’t slept in twenty-seven hours and was exhausted both mentally and physically. A part of him knew it was unsustainable, but he wasn’t sure how to fix it. The only solution that had come to mind was the one thing he’d promised himself he’d never do.

Doctors and nurses had come and gone from the suite, and thankfully, she appeared to be perfectly healthy. The psionic plane had clearly provided for her, and that was a relief. He loved kids, of course, and always thought he’d have at least one in some fashion or another. Surrogacy or adoption seemed the most likely since the idea of a permanent relationship with anyone was intolerable. He could barely force himself to date someone exclusively for as much as six months.

Cristobal entered the temporary nursery they’d set up in the guest suite and put several shopping bags down. “Lou’s prepping a bottle. Thomas and Cosmo are at your condo setting up your guest room with the furniture you picked out for the nursery. Isla and Natalie are still shopping—she’ll be set for the next year before they’re done.”

Buck nodded. He figured he should probably be interested in picking out clothes and stuff. In the end, he just wanted stuff to put on her and didn’t care at all about who picked it out or who bought it. His only stipulation had been that he hadn’t wanted a bunch of gendered clothing. Several pretty little dresses had already been snuck into his collection at the retreat, and he wasn’t put off by it. Buck just didn’t want her to be treated like a doll.

“How are you?”

“Tired,” he admitted. “I still can’t put her down when she’s asleep.”

“We’ve bought a bassinet that will tuck against the bed—so you can put a hand on her,” Cristobal said. “Your captain is here and wants to see you.” He leaned on the dresser and stared. “He’s pretty attached to you and questioned me about our relationship. Especially since you called me dad in front of him.”

Buck huffed. “I don’t know why that came out of my mouth.”

“You were upset,” Cristobal said. “And you know I don’t mind at all, so don’t stress it. I just get the feeling that Captain Nash was a bit startled by your relationship with me.”

“I don’t make a habit of discussing it,” Buck admitted. “Most people would see it as me bragging either about my training or my personal relationship with the regional Alpha Prime pair. What did you tell him?”

“That I’d known you since you were a teenager and that I trained you,” Cristobal said. “And that I’m your next-of-kin. I’m surprised he didn’t know that.”

“The personal information of Sentinels and Guides is highly protected within the department, and he wouldn’t be privy to that stuff unless I took an injury and he needed to reach out. Even then, he’d probably defer to Thomas regarding contact, considering the foundation’s heavy-handed management of our people during emergencies. I don’t mind a visit, but I don’t think I’m going to last much longer before I just pass right out.”

“I’ll get that bassinet put together then,” Cristobal said. “I’ve given Captain Nash my contact details, Evan because I’d much prefer to get a personal call from him if something happened to you. He’s responsible for you on the job, and I’ve…always let you lead that way on that front. I wonder if that was a mistake considering what happened yesterday.”

Buck made a face. “What choice could I have made differently?”

“None, but if Bobby Nash knew about me, he might have suggested I get contacted sooner, and I wouldn’t have had to get that call from the Burton Foundation through fucking dispatch.”

“Geez, sorry,” Buck muttered and exhaled noisily. “I was just… hyper-focused on her.”

“I can’t blame you for that part, as I would’ve been no different. Her distress created an empathic event that spread out over three city blocks, and for an infant, that is astounding. The LAPD is still doing clean-up and welfare checks in the area. Speaking of, do you know Sergeant Athena Grant?”

“Yes,” Buck said. “She gives me a wide berth, normally. Not in a bad way; she just respects my space even when others don’t.” He focused on the baby, who was snuggling even in her sleep against his skin. He’d graduated to a button-down shirt, but it wasn’t closed to allow for skin-to-skin, which everyone had insisted on. “I’m going to call her Beatrice.” He looked up and found Cristobal smiling. “What does Athena Grant want?”

“Nothing, I was just curious. She’s managing the field response to the event. The birth mother was found in the chaos. She’s fourteen.”

“Son of a bitch,” Buck muttered. “Her parents?”

“Mother and stepfather. The mother claimed to be unaware of the pregnancy.”

“Did the girl name the father?” Buck questioned because he was worried about custody issues.

“She tried to lie about it,” Lou said roughly as he entered the room. “The case has been turned over to Special Victims because she’s a child herself and….” He glanced toward the baby. “The stepfather is going to jail for rape, Evan.”

“Oh, god.” Buck took a deep breath. “Will either of them have any parental rights?”

“He certainly won’t,” Lou said shortly. “And if he ever gets out of jail and tries, I’ll kill him.”

Buck tried to ignore how comforting that was. “And the girl?”

“She loathes the baby,” Cristobal said. “And never wants to see her again. She was horrified that the baby survived being shoved down that pipe and screamed at Sergeant Grant that she should’ve suffocated her before throwing her away. We’ve investigated the family, the girl’s biological father was a latent Sentinel, but he was killed years ago while serving in the Army. She’s mundane.”

“Will she go to jail for this?”

“No,” Lou said. “The Burton Foundation already agreed with the District Attorney that it wouldn’t be appropriate because of her age and the circumstances. She’s clearly very traumatized and mentally ill due to long-term abuse. They’ve already moved her to a mental health facility. And no matter what else happens, her parental rights have been terminated in the best interests of the child. We can’t take that kind of emotional risk with an online infant.”

The baby stirred in her sleep, and her small hand came to rest on his heart. Buck took a deep breath. “I can’t do this on my own.”

“We’ll be here,” Lou said.

“No, I mean…. Of course, I trust you both to have my back,” Buck said. “It’s just…I need a Guide. I can’t manage myself and her on my own, and it’s not safe to try. I need the stability of a very strong bond.” He wet his lips. “So, let’s do a Guide search.”

“Sleep on it,” Cristobal suggested. “And if you still think that tomorrow then we’ll start the process.”

Buck considered that. “I didn’t…think you’d react that way.”

“You’ve been telling me for nearly a decade that you never want to bond,” Cristobal said. “You’re emotionally compromised, Evan, and I need to know you’re making this choice from a rational place. Sleep will help.”

“Yeah, okay,” Buck said with a sigh and accepted the bottle Lou offered. “I’ll sleep after I see Bobby.” He focused on the baby as she woke up. “Hey, sweet Bea. Hungry?” She took to the bottle eagerly, and he relaxed a little.

“How does she feel?” Lou questioned as Cristobal wandered out of the bedroom.

Buck hoped he was going to get that bassinet thing set up.

“Content,” Buck murmured. “But that took hours to happen.” He cleared his throat. “I’m in way over my head, Lou.”

“I know, kid,” Lou said gently. “But we’ll get you through it. I’ll retrieve Captain Nash.”

Buck had moved to the bedroom before Bobby Nash made it through all the security in the retreat and was sitting on the bed in a pair of pajama bottoms. Even changing his clothes had resulted in a very upset baby, and he’d been near tears letting her cry for all of fifteen seconds. The baby was in the bassinet, and he had a hand resting gently on her stomach. It seemed to be working, and he had hopes for a few hours of sleep.

“Hey, kid.”

Buck looked up and offered his captain a smile. “Hey, come in. Sorry if you called; I turned my cell off.”

“No problem,” Bobby said and put a duffel down on the bench at the end of the bed. “I brought your bag. Figured you might have some stuff in it you want. You’ve got eight weeks of paternity leave set up, and I’ve no shortage of volunteers to take your shifts during that time. Sentinels all over the LAFD have volunteered.” He took a deep breath. “You really should’ve told me that the Alpha Guide Prime of the Pacific West is your…parent, Buck.”

He flushed. “It’s not anything official. I was legally an adult when he took me in.”

“Families aren’t always built on legal circumstances,” Bobby said. “I’ve had to adjust over the years and accept that. It became even more important when my wife met her Sentinel and…divorced me.”

Buck winced. “Marriages and latents don’t always work out well.”

“Her Sentinel can’t stand the sight of me,” Bobby said wryly. “And that dislike eventually transferred to my kids.”

“It’s not a common response,” Buck said and focused on Bea. “Most Sentinels adore their Guide’s children, no matter the parentage. Still, we’re just as human as the rest of you, so personality issues can come into play. Some people just don’t like kids.” He paused. “And I can’t trust those people because kids are awesome.”

Bobby laughed. “Yeah, agreed. Did you need anything? I assume they’re taking care of you and the baby here, but…I’m happy to help.”

“Beatrice.” Buck focused on Bobby. “That’s her name. Did you hear anything about the birth mother?”

“Nothing I want to repeat to you,” Bobby said honestly. “We had to restrain Thomas on the scene. If he’d gotten his hands on that girl’s stepfather, we’d have had a homicide.”

“I already know the details. I just didn’t know what you’d been told.”

“There was a bit of a dust-up with social services who were demanding access to the baby,” Bobby said. “The social worker was really upset to be told that the Burton Foundation’s authority exceeded her own and that she couldn’t legally demand anything from them regarding an online infant Guide.”

Buck nodded. “We had a pair of investigators come here last night, but Isla North, the Beta Sentinel Prime under Lou Ransone, filed the proper paperwork. They wanted a signed statement from the foundation explicitly stating the baby was online and that they won’t be held responsible for her welfare. They won’t come back around as they don’t want that kind of liability.” He lifted his hand away as a test, and the baby started to fuss, so he put it back.

“How long have you been up?”

“Twenty-eight hours and counting,” Buck admitted and yawned. “The bassinet is new because, before this, I was holding her the whole time. I don’t move much in my sleep, so I think if I can fall asleep with a hand on her, that will be okay.”

“Can a Guide help?” Bobby questioned. “A conservator?”

“She’s in no place to tolerate a conservator at this point,” Buck admitted. “And she barely tolerated Cristobal when we were bathing her, and he hardly touched her. I think…well. I think I’m going to have to bond.”

Bobby grimaced. “Hell, kid, you’ve never wanted that. It’s the first thing I learned about you, and the chief warned me about letting unbonded Guides anywhere near you as a result. I’ve turned down over a dozen very eager unbonded Guides who wanted to work for me since you joined the 118.” He paused. “Well, they probably wanted to get close to you.”

“Thanks for watching out,” Buck said. “I don’t want a Guide, but I think I need one.” He focused on the baby. “I need to make the best possible choice for her. Parenthood is about sacrifice, right?”

“Yeah,” Bobby murmured. “It is.”

Chapter Two

January 12, 2018

Eddie Diaz had participated in ten searches since he’d come online as a Guide and attended just as many meet-and-greet parties. The first search had been his own, and he’d met over a dozen Sentinels. None had been all that great as far as percentages went, but he’d wanted the best chance at a bond. He’d walked away with nothing and, almost two years later, was still unbonded. The best chance he’d ever had was with a Sentinel had come just a year before in El Paso. The Sentinel was the presumed next Alpha for El Paso itself, and his Guide search had brought over fifty Guides across the country to his side.

Eddie had rejected him outright when the man had suggested that he give up custody of his son. Christopher was everything, and it had been appalling to encounter a Sentinel so selfish that he’d demanded Eddie’s undivided attention, even to the detriment of a five-year-old child. While no one could force a bond, it had been made clear to Eddie that many disapproved of the rejection and his refusal to reconsider. After the fourth time he encountered a pair from the Sentinel’s family pride basically keeping an eye on him, he’d been ready to file a complaint with the Burton Foundation.

His father had been the one to suggest he move to LA, and Eddie was sure his mother still hadn’t forgiven either of them for it. Eddie knew, deep down, that Helena wanted custody of his child, but she’d never said it directly to his face. Online Sentinels and Guides didn’t get their children taken from them outside of extreme circumstances, and even threatening to sue for custody could be seen as an abusive act.

Eddie checked his phone as he got settled in a chair near the front of the room. There were over a hundred Guides in the room. He’d never seen a search like it and was both intrigued and appalled. He knew that big calls were reserved for emergency situations. In normal circumstances, a huge number of matches would’ve been culled down long before a gathering. There was a pending text from his grandmother, so he opened it.

Abuela: Good luck, nieto. Christopher and I are going to watch movies and eat junk food. I’m not supposed to tell you.

Eddie shook his head and put his phone in vibrate-only mode to avoid getting dirty looks if he got a phone call. His whole family knew he’d been called for a search, but his parents were micromanagers and would certainly insert themselves in the process if they could. He didn’t have time to enforce boundaries at present, so ignoring them if they called was the best choice he could make. A door opened near the front of the room, and the Alpha Prime pair for the Pacific West entered. A tremor of shock and excitement moved through the Guides around him.

“Good afternoon, I am Dr. Cristobal Salas, Alpha Guide Prime of the Pacific West. First, I must apologize for the cattle-call nature of this meeting. It’s expedient, and that’s where our needs are currently. Three days ago, we had a localized empathic event. Those of you who work as first responders were probably tasked with helping contain the situation. We’re still doing welfare checks on residents in the area in question. Second, I….” Lou Ransone shifted closer and touched his Guide. “My apologies. The last few days have been stressful and, at times, infuriating.”

Eddie had worked the aftermath of the empathic event on two different shifts. Dozens of latents and those sensitive to psionic energy had been hospitalized for unspecified mental trauma. Some of them were pulled out of their homes unconscious, so a door-to-door search had been required to make sure no one was left unattended.

Salas cleared his throat. “Second, this first phase is going to be fast and probably insulting, but we need to know as soon as possible if we need to take this search international. We started with a base compatibility rating of ninety percent. In theory, every single one of you could be a match for the Sentinel who requested the search. But the circumstances are delicate, and making a bad match could cause an untold amount of trauma.

“On January 9^th, a baby was born a few weeks premature. Her mother, a very young teenager, attempted to dispose of the infant via an open plumbing pipe in an apartment under construction in her building.”

Eddie shuddered and took in a deep breath as others around him shifted in horror and shock.

“The infant came online as a Guide.” Salas paused when several people started talking in their shock and waited a few moments as the crowd settled. “A Sentinel was part of the first response team from the LAFD to go to the scene. They were there partly in response to the empathic event and believed the person who called 9-1-1 was having a response due to sensitivity, when in fact, he was at ground zero of the event. The infant was stuck in a pipe in his bathroom wall.”

Eddie shifted in his seat and wished he hadn’t eaten breakfast. His stomach was tight, and it was hard to ignore the outright horror of everyone around him due to his own emotional response. He pushed it all down as deep as he could so he could concentrate on what was being said.

“The infant latched onto the Sentinel responding at the scene. The empathic connection is the only thing that saved her life.” Salas inhaled slowly. “The Sentinel, in question, has been online for ten years and, due to personal trauma, had no intention of ever seeking a bond.”

Eddie didn’t know how a Sentinel could be online for ten years and still work as a first responder unbonded. It was an impressive and startling accomplishment. He knew, based on compatibility, that the Sentinel had to be operating at a high level.

“I’m going to lay out a series of conditions the Sentinel in question has listed as non-negotiable.” Several people raised their hands. “I’m not taking questions during this phase.” That sent another little jolt of shock through the crowd and no small amount of displeasure. “I don’t have the time to hold your hand or pat your feelings, and even if I did, I wouldn’t be inclined to do such a thing.”

Eddie bit down on his bottom lip to keep from laughing. Several people around him were clearly offended by the lack of empathy being offered by the Alpha Guide Prime, as if he were expected to comfort them even in a process like the one in front of them.

“First, we culled married Guides at the start of the search. We didn’t, unfortunately, have data on your current romantic relationships. If you are in a serious, exclusive romantic relationship, then you are dismissed from consideration. The Sentinel doesn’t have the room to deal with that kind of potential drama and emotional stress. No need to offer any sort of explanation.”

Eddie found himself really grateful to have finished the divorce process with his ex-wife over a year before. He watched roughly twenty people get up and leave the room. The disappointment radiating off some of them was harsh, and he couldn’t blame them. He knew many of them would’ve probably given up a spouse to get a Sentinel, but such circumstances were always stressful and hurtful.

“Second, the Sentinel intends to keep this child and will not indulge in any sort of discussion regarding the potential removal of the empathic tether that the psionic plane has built between them at a later date when she’s more stable. We are uncertain if she experienced any brain damage in relation to oxygen deprivation. She is online, which means that whatever damage was done, it wasn’t so significant that it has impacted her ability to function as a Guide.

“During the second phase, you will be questioned regarding your willingness to be this man’s co-parent by me. Lying on this topic to further yourself in the process will not only be unsuccessful, and it will make me fucking furious.”

Eddie wasn’t surprised when nearly half the potentials stood up and left. Some were clearly ashamed of the decision, but not so much that they hesitated to leave. A child with a potential disability, a permanent empathic tether, and a Sentinel who’d never wanted to bond in the first place. The issues were piling up. There was already a certain sort of burden when it came to bonding with a Sentinel. He wondered if his own circumstances would see him dismissed as a potential. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d been rejected because he was a single parent with a disabled child. Christopher’s cerebral palsy had never been a burden for him, but precious few people in his life, including his own parents, could say the same.

He’d come online as a Guide while serving in the military and been discharged due to injury. Eddie hadn’t protested, despite how well he’d been projected to heal, because after getting shot three times, all he wanted was to come home to his wife and child. In the end, he’d only gotten to keep his son. He didn’t think about Shannon often, as it was just a road to impotent fury and sadness. He didn’t even know where she lived currently as she’d left California within a month of his own arrival.

A glance around the room told him there were less than twenty potentials left.

“Finally, the Sentinel is bisexual and made it clear if he was going to do this that he doesn’t want a platonic bond. To be blunt about it, he needs a Guide that will go all in from practically minute one to create an extremely strong psionic bond to the benefit of the child he’s taken as his own. He considers bonding a sacrifice, and I know that’s offensive to some of you. Guides expect to be ardently wanted by their Sentinel on some level, even in a platonic bond. We are taught that Sentinels will want our company, desire to be physically close to us, and above all else, we are taught that they need us on an instinctual level. This Sentinel does not meet those conditions.”

“How?” One woman asked from the front row, clearly appalled and frustrated. “How could he possibly be online for ten years and not need or want a Guide?”

Salas looked around the room. “Because this incredibly gifted young man is an Alpha Ascendant, and his sixth sense is empathy.”

“Son of a bitch,” one of the men not far from Eddie murmured and stood.

The man shook his head and left. Several others followed suit, including the woman who’d asked the question.

Down to twelve, Eddie thought and focused on Dr. Salas.

“Bonding with an Alpha Ascendant is not a circumstance any of you trained for. His empathic ability is on par with a level four Guide, but he operates on the high end of six as a Sentinel. I dedicated years training him, so he’s not going to be any sort of physical or empathic burden for you.” Salas looked at each of them individually. “He’s looking for a partner, ladies and gentlemen. You’ve got thirty minutes to consider your circumstances before interviews with me begin.”

The Alpha Prime pair left at that point, and Eddie watched the others adjust to the situation. Several were very agitated, and he stilled the urge to try to calm them down. If they couldn’t manage their own emotions, then they had no business going to the next phase of the search, and maybe that would be clear to someone else. He stood and went to the refreshment room just off the conference room area and snagged a bottle of water from the fridge.

“Eddie, hey.”

Eddie turned and found Thomas Marshall standing in the doorway of the breakroom. “Hey, are you working here now?”

“Nah,” Thomas said and leaned on the doorway. “Just helping Cosmo out with all of this.”

“Do you know the Alpha Ascendant?” Eddie questioned. “They haven’t said his name.”

“Yeah, it’s a thing.” Thomas shrugged one shoulder. “Politics, man. How’s my favorite person on Earth?”

“Christopher is great. He talked my abuela into feeding him junk while I’m here doing this,” Eddie said.

Thomas had been with him at the 56 until he’d met his Guide and transferred to the 118. They hadn’t had many opportunities to hang out after that. Still, the Sentinel had made time to call Christopher and chat with him over FaceTime at least once a month. They’d been thrown together on the job in the hopes that they’d bond, and Eddie had been disappointed to realize that it was never going to be a possibility. Thomas was exactly the kind of Sentinel he could see himself with—strong, personable, with a profound ethical code that he wore like a shield. He’d also adored Christopher on sight, which was a gold standard for Eddie.

“How’s Cosmo?”

“Currently working with the Alpha Prime to prep for interviews,” Thomas said. “It was his idea to put all of those conditions out front to clear out the ones that wouldn’t be worth interviewing.”

“It worked. Some of those people barely refrained from leaving tracks on the floor,” Eddie said wryly. “A few of the ones that remain probably should’ve left.”

“Oh, none of you guys got a damn thing past Cristobal Salas,” Thomas said. “The man was trained by a shaman. At any rate, I saw your name on the list when we were doing background checks this morning. I’m glad you cleared the first hurdle.”

“I was dismissed from searches in the past for being a single parent,” Eddie admitted. “It’s come up as a stumbling block in every single search in some fashion or another, Thomas.”

“It won’t this time, obviously,” Thomas said.

Eddie leaned on the counter and took a sip of water. “Any advice?”

“Nah, you’re pretty great,” the Sentinel said with a grin, and Eddie laughed. “You’ll be honest, and you’ve nothing going on that would be a problem. It’ll come down to the ability to bond if you meet him.”

Eddie nodded. “Why is Dr. Salas doing a stop-gap interview?”

“Because….” Thomas sighed. “The Sentinel isn’t vulnerable in any sort of traditional way when it comes to our kind. But it took me a whole damn year for him genuinely consider me a friend, and even almost seven years later, I think he eventually expects me to tell him to fuck off.”

Eddie considered that. “What’s up with him?”

Thomas shrugged. “Beyond the obvious trust issues? He’s not rude or hateful about it, but you have to prove yourself to the guy. You get burned enough, and you learn to hold your heart close.” He paused. “But you know that already.”

“Yeah.” Eddie nodded. “I do.”

Twenty minutes later, when he sat back down, there were only seven people left—four men and three women. Since there were a lot of unbonded Guides in LA, and he hadn’t been interested in joining a pride when he first arrived, he didn’t know any of them.

“You’re Edmundo Diaz.”

He grimaced and glanced toward the woman who’d tucked in the seat next to him. “I prefer Eddie. Have we met?” She offered her hand, and he shook his head. “We probably shouldn’t touch. It’ll muddle the sense profiles.” Her cheeks darkened.

“I’m Ana Flores; I teach at Durand. You took a tour with your adorable son last year.” She leaned forward slightly. “I was surprised when he wasn’t enrolled.”

“We went with a different option. He didn’t like the minimal STEM program at Durand.” He shifted in his seat. “My apologies, I don’t remember meeting you.”

“Oh, we didn’t meet officially. I saw you when you were on the tour with Principal Summers.” She waved a hand. “What do you think of this?”

“It’s a sad situation,” Eddie said. “I don’t know what sort of condition the birth mother had to be in to do what she did, but it must have been terrible. How long have you been online?”

“Just a year, but I’ve taken some training classes as I’ve had time. I’m studying for my Ph.D. in education, and that’s come first for me.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a smile. “I think I have the best chance, honestly, considering my educational background. I don’t have any children of my own, so I can devote myself to the child.”

Eddie didn’t know how to take that, so he took another sip of water and was relieved when the door opened to reveal Cosmo Fuentes. He raised an eyebrow at his fellow firefighter and got a quick grin for his trouble.

“Dr. Salas wanted me to warn you all in advance that you’ll be subject to a deep empathic scan conducted by him before you are interviewed. If you have a problem with that, you can leave.”

Ana frowned. “Why on Earth would he want to do that? We’re online, which means the psionic plane trusts us.”

“The psionic plane trusts a lot of assholes to do their duty to the tribe no matter how wretched their personalities are,” Eddie said, and Cosmo laughed.

“Exactly that,” Cosmo agreed. “Dr. Salas isn’t going to pull his punches with any of you because the Sentinel in this search is being conducted for is for all intents and purposes his son.”

“How old is he?” One of the men asked.

“Twenty-seven.”

“Pretty young for fatherhood,” Ana said.

“I was much younger when my son was born,” Eddie said shortly, and she shrugged a little.

“It has just been my experience, as a teacher, that young parents struggle a lot to provide properly for their children on several fronts.” She wet her lips. “Earlier, it was stated that this Sentinel works for the LAFD. Does he have plans to further his education and advance his career to ensure this child has the best possible care?”

“Wow,” Thomas said as he walked past the group of them. “As a Sentinel Firefighter, he makes four times what the average teacher makes in the state of California.” Eddie barely refrained from laughing at the look of shock on Ana’s face. “Even the ones that teach at fancy private schools.”

“I didn’t mean to be insulting,” Ana said smoothly. “He’s just younger than I expected. Though it does explain his lack of discipline.”

“Lack of discipline?” Cosmo questioned.

“Well, he allowed the infant to create the empathic tether,” Ana pointed out. “If he was maintaining his boundaries, the way he was trained to do, it wouldn’t have happened.”

“And the infant would’ve gone into psionic shock and died,” Eddie said shortly. “Which is nearly always the outcome of a traumatic onlining for a child under the age of three. They don’t have the ability to comprehend their circumstances or defend themselves in any true sense. The psionic plane seeks our survival at all costs. Mortal danger brings them online, and that very same trauma kills them.” He tightened his grip on his water bottle. “Maybe you should spend more time on Guide classes and a little less time writing your dissertation if you’re going to continue to make yourself available for the search.”

Cosmo laughed. “Okay. Eddie, you’re up first.”

“Catty much?” Thomas questioned lowly as he gently prodded Eddie through the door as soon as he stood up and left the other Guides.

“She was being rude,” Eddie said in his own defense as he was led down a hall. “And condescending and kind of elitist.”

“Pretty common for her pride,” Cosmo said. “She’s the first in her family in generations to come online, and she joined a pride that prefers its members to be Latino exclusively. I was invited to join them repeatedly. When I bonded with Thomas, their alpha reached out to formally rescind the invitation since I’d bonded with an African American Sentinel and wouldn’t be a fit for their culture.”

“I’ve ignored all the pride invitations I’ve received,” Eddie admitted. “I dealt with enough of that crap in El Paso.”

“Speaking of, the current Alpha Sentinel of El Paso had a flag on your file. He called Natalie Rutledge to tell her that you were his son’s perfect match and that he would consider it a favor if we removed you from the list of potentials being prepared for our search. She cursed him out.” Cosmo paused. “She’d still be cursing him out if she hadn’t been so loud because it caught Alpha Sentinel Prime Ransone’s attention, and he took over that call. The conversation ended with him threatening to go to El Paso.”

Eddie made a face. “His son is a level six and presumed to be the next alpha for the city. He’s also a selfish, insensitive dick who told me I should give my child to my parents to raise because he expected his Guide’s undivided attention. He said my duty as a Guide should supersede everything else and that I owed it to the tribe to set aside my inappropriate attachment to my offspring.”

“Now I want to go to El Paso,” Cosmo muttered from behind them. “And I don’t have time for that shit. What is that?”

“Leftover crap from when Sentinels lived outside of the tribe and only had children to further the spread of our legacy?” Thomas questioned. “A few hundred years ago, I would’ve been encouraged to father as many children as possible, and every single one of them would’ve been raised by someone else no matter what I would’ve preferred. I suppose the mindset evolved to make it easier to detach, and some of us are still there from an evolutionary standpoint.”

“I couldn’t father a child and walk away,” Eddie admitted.

“I donated sperm to a pair living in San Diego,” Thomas said. “Maybe not the same thing because I don’t feel any paternal attachment to the kids. I’ve met them, of course, and they’re welcome to contact me whenever they wish. But neither really considers me their parent. I’m just the guy that helped their moms have a family.”

“It would be different if you’d made those kids with the intent to be a parent,” Cosmo said. “Probably.”

Thomas shrugged. “I love kids. But I don’t have any drive to have my own. Still, I wouldn’t be mad if that little baby girl had latched onto Cosmo during that rescue. She’s a sweetheart.”

“Yeah,” Cosmo said. “Even if she won’t let any of us hold her without screaming her little head off. She’s already very attached to her daddy.”

“He’s probably providing an immense amount of security,” Eddie said. “Most of us find comfort in the embrace of a Sentinel.”

“He says that, and yet he never let me hit it,” Thomas said wryly, and Cosmo laughed. “That hurts my feelings.”

“His loss, big guy,” Cosmo said wryly and nudged his Sentinel as they came to a stop in front of the door. “Dr. Salas is here. I should warn you that this room isn’t shielded for privacy. He doesn’t allow anyone to put any barriers between himself and his Sentinel when it comes to such things.”

“Okay,” Eddie said and took a deep breath even as Thomas reached out and took his empty water bottle away from him.

“Want another?”

“Nah, I’m good.” He shoved his hands into his front pockets and rocked on his feet a bit. “Why am I first?”

“Nothing nefarious—we’re going in alpha order by last name for this round,” Cosmo explained, and he opened the door. “Dr. Cristobal Salas, this is Edmundo Alexander Diaz. He prefers to be called Eddie.”

Salas inclined his head and motioned Eddie to sit in a chair in front of him. There was an actual tea service spread out in front of the man. Thomas prodded him into the room with a huff and pulled the door shut.

“Please sit.”

“Yes, sir.” Eddie slid into the seat and let his hands drop to his thighs for lack of a better option. “I….”

Cristobal grinned. “Your nerves are understandable but unnecessary. Before we discuss the parameters of the search, I wanted to speak with you about the situation in El Paso. It’s rumored that you came here to avoid the Alpha of El Paso’s family pride. Is that true? Were they stalking you?”

“They claimed they were keeping me safe for their Alpha’s son,” Eddie said. “I don’t think any of them took my rejection seriously. It was irritating that my wishes didn’t seem to matter to them, and moreover, I began to worry that they might try to make things difficult for me regarding the custody of my son. The Alpha Sentinel of El Paso all but ordered me to turn custody of Christopher over to my parents so I could be a proper Guide to his son.”

Cristobal nodded and frowned as he picked up his tea. “Does the fact that you’re half-Mexican have any play in this situation?”

“Well, the Alpha Sentinel of El Paso and his wife are white, if that’s your question. And their son is an entitled little asshole who has rarely worked for anything in his life. He found me very attractive physically and called me exotic. He asked me if I spoke Spanish in bed and if I enjoyed getting fucked because he loved to fuck pretty boys like me.”

“Dios,” Cristobal muttered.

“Do I think they’re racist? Not specifically. I just think the family has been in power for a long time, and they have rarely ever had to face any sort of rejection due to the genuine protection and safety they provide for the city. I think the first Alpha in their family emerged in the 1700s.” He paused. “Being called exotic because I’m mixed-race was weird as fuck. I don’t know if it was some sort of fetishism or if he meant it as a compliment because of my looks.”

“I’ve rarely seen the phrase exotic beauty and not found it offensive as fuck,” Cristobal said. “You are gorgeous, so I can see his attraction and even his disappointment at being rejected. The other behavior is unacceptable, and I’ve already contacted the Alpha Prime pair of the South West to complain. I’ll be issuing a lengthy decision personally regarding the behavior, and I’ve requested an investigation to determine if they’ve had you removed from other searches. If you were, then there will be repercussions for everyone involved in that.”

Eddie nodded. “They kept a respectful distance in El Paso. I do believe they were just protecting me for their Alpha’s son. It wasn’t a comfort, but it never felt like a threat, either. It was just annoying. My father suggested I move here because his mother lives in LA. I don’t regret it in the least.” He waved a hand. “So, all of those people were from a national search?”

“US and Canada,” Cristobal said. “We’ll expand into Central and South America if there is no match made. He speaks Spanish fluently, so it won’t be a stumbling block in most of those countries. We’ll move out further if necessary. I hope it isn’t because the situation is already quite dire. He hasn’t slept more than three hours at a time since the incident because she screams her little head off whenever he tries to leave her. Thomas and Cosmo had to get in the shower with him just so he could clean up this morning.”

“It’s not just crying,” Eddie said.

“No, it’s profound empathic distress as well. She’s afraid in a very primal way, and he’s her only security,” Cristobal said. “We’re hoping that if he bonds with a Guide, it will spread the load on the psionic front and give him some room to breathe and her the additional security required to cease the psionic resonance she’s currently experiencing.”

“So, every single time he puts her down…she goes back into that pipe,” Eddie said quietly, and Cristobal nodded. “The birth mother?”

“Fourteen years old, and the father is her stepfather. She’s in a mental health care facility, and he’s in federal custody. He’s facing child abuse and rape charges on a local level. But he’ll go to federal prison for the attempted murder of an online Guide. The girl did it, but it happened because of his crimes, so he’s taking all the blame no matter his protests.”

“He survived that information being revealed?” Eddie asked.

“We had to subdue Sentinel Marshall on the scene,” Cristobal said. “For his own sake and not that monster’s. Having a homicide on his record, even a justified one, is a difficult road for a Sentinel. I’ve read your file, Eddie.”

Eddie nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“You could’ve fought your discharge from the Army,” Cristobal said. “Instead, you let them drape you in medals and cut you a check. Why?”

“When that helicopter crashed, I was consumed with the knowledge that I was probably going to die,” Eddie admitted. “I certainly didn’t give up, but I thought…I was never going to see my son again. He was four years old at the time, and that was devastating. I’d served active duty overseas most of his life, and he barely knew me. But I survived, despite being shot three times.”

“Three bullets, four broken ribs, one dislocated shoulder, and you still managed to save half of your unit personally,” Cristobal said. “If you’d been a Sentinel, the US Army would’ve taken a goddamned knee to keep you.”

“Yeah, I know,” Eddie said. “But I’d have still wanted to sever. I just needed to go home and be with my boy. I did my part, Dr. Salas, and I was done. I came to LA and eventually ended up at the LAFD. Though I did briefly consider the LAPD and even applied to the police academy. I received my acceptance about four days after I started the fire academy.” Cristobal laughed. “I’m comfortable in my job, proud of the work I do, and my son is happy. He goes to the Morgan Academy for the Arts and Sciences. It was love at first sight for everyone involved. Sometimes, I have to basically pry him out of the school at the end of the day. They’re building robots this week.”

“Your son is six.”

“Yes, he’s in the first grade.” Eddie paused. “I’m sure it’s in my file. I won’t be offended if you ask about his cerebral palsy.”

He watched the older man think then slowly nod. “It is in your file, and I have no specific questions regarding your son’s condition. I would like to hear about him, though.”

“He’s currently obsessed with space and dinosaurs. Last week he drew a T-Rex visiting Mars. It’s on my fridge and every time I look at it…. All I can think is that a T-Rex was not the best choice NASA could’ve made. What with his short arms.” He grinned when Cristobal laughed. “He excels academically and doesn’t let his physical limitations get in his way. Christopher used a gait trainer until he was five, then gradually moved to crutches. At home, he can move around without them pretty well but still has some issues with balance. I work hard to provide him all the opportunities he needs to gain strength and independence. He is a latent Guide, and that’s meant the difference on the childcare front since the Burton Foundation helps with that. I use their nanny service and have no complaints on that front.”

“Who’s your current nanny?” Cristobal questioned.

“A latent Guide named Everstar Bartlett,” Eddie said. “She’s a student at Berkley, and Christopher thinks she’s a rock star. Last month, they both used temporary blue hair dye. She asked, of course, but I had some explaining to do when I couldn’t get it all out on Monday for school. Fortunately, they encourage artistic expression, so there were no rules against it. His teacher was just startled. I did get a few snotty texts in the PTA group chat because it started a trend.”

“How does he feel about you bonding with a Sentinel?”

“He’s excited and hopeful. Christopher doesn’t know the details of the situation in El Paso. He does know I rejected a Sentinel but doesn’t know why, as I’d never want him to think he was standing in the way of a bond. Frankly, even if I hadn’t had primary custody of my son, I wouldn’t have bonded with Colton Beauregard. He put me off from the start, and it only got worse when he made it clear he’d have no part in raising a child.”

“So, you want more children?”

“My wife and I agreed to try for at least three,” Eddie said. “Then I came online, and she…wanted no part of my life at all and deeply resented me for it. Because Christopher is latent, she had no hope of getting custody of him. She divorced me, surrendered all of her parental rights, and I haven’t heard from her in nearly two years. Her mother did tell me that she left California shortly after I moved to LA.”

“I never wanted children myself,” Cristobal admitted. “Fortunately, my Sentinel feels the same. I do like them, though. When I met Evan, he was just barely eighteen and still reeling from being disowned by his parents.”

“Wait.” Eddie leaned forward a bit. “Is this Evan Buckley’s Guide search?”

Cristobal raised an eyebrow. “Yes.”

“I….” Eddie sighed, disappointment settling around him like a blanket. “I had no idea he’s been online for ten years. You should probably confirm that he wants me here, sir. He’s actively avoided me on every single scene we’ve ever worked together as firefighters. The last time I saw him, he took one look at me and went to have a conversation with his captain. The end result was that he was taken off duty entirely and left the scene. I’m surprised Thomas didn’t tell you this.”

Cristobal started to speak, but the door opened, and Thomas Marshall stuck his head in.

“Sorry to interrupt, sir. It’s not a problem. Buck just wants to bang Eddie like a drum, so he runs away every time the man gets near him. You know he has a rule about banging online Guides.” Thomas closed the door.

Eddie blushed furiously. “I…well.” He exhaled sharply. “For the record, I’d have let him. He’s hot like fire.”

Cristobal sighed. “I guess we can check sexual chemistry off the list.”

 

 

Chapter Three

“I’m surprised she’s still here,” Eddie murmured as he came to rest against the wall beside Cosmo Fuentes.

“There’s nothing really wrong with her,” Cosmo said and shrugged. “Dr. Salas isn’t going to narrow Buck’s choices without cause. They did tell her that the Sentinel in the search is white, and that put her off a bit. But she said it was ultimately fine since she’d be made part of his pride, and her home pride’s preferences couldn’t be a deterrent from attaining a bond.”

“That’s something,” Eddie said and crossed his arms as he regarded Ana Flores. She was a beautiful young woman, accomplished and soft. He wondered if that would attract Evan Buckley and what it would mean for the rest of the potentials left. “What happened with the other four?”

“The other woman turned out to be in a relationship she claimed was casual. Except, Thomas watched her take off an engagement ring during the first phase when relationships came up. If she’d been honest about it and said she’d leave her fiancé for a bond, then…maybe she’d have been allowed to stay. But she lied, and Dr. Salas is intolerant of that shit. Which he made clear from the start, so she did herself no favors. As for the guys, one was an exclusive top and made no bones about it which was a deal breaker for Buck, and the second admitted he’d want Buck to leave his job and follow him into his career.”

“And the third?”

“Psionically lazy,” Cosmo said. “You can’t bond with an Alpha Ascendant if you can’t be bothered to maintain your own damn shields. He’d have made the situation worse, and that’s the last thing Bea needs.”

“Bea?” Eddie questioned.

“Ah, he named the baby Beatrice,” Cosmo explained.

“Bringer of joy,” Eddie said.

“What?” Cosmo asked and turned to him.

“That’s what the name means. It was on the list of names my ex-wife and I were considering before we knew we were having a boy.” Eddie took a deep breath. “And it was my favorite. My father was lobbying for Beatriz, the Spanish version, but everyone was pleased with it as an option. We named him Christopher after Shannon’s father, who passed years before I met her.”

He looked up when Thomas opened the door at the back of the conference room.

“Hey, Bax, you’re up.”

Eddie watched the only other male Guide left stand up and follow Thomas out of the room.

“Baxter Harrison, a rising star in the LAPD and a favorite of Lou Ransone,” Cosmo said. “Great guy.”

Eddie nodded. “I’ve worked a couple of scenes with him. He’s very calm under pressure. Great people skills.” He shifted on the wall as Ana Flores joined them, a small frown on her face. “Something wrong?”

“Just surprised, I suppose,” she shrugged. “I would’ve thought they’d start the final phase with me as the most obvious choice. The infant needs a maternal figure.”

“Children need dedicated and loving parents. Gender is irrelevant,” Cosmo said before Eddie could. “Dr. Salas will make sure that his son is allowed as much of a choice as possible.”

Ana frowned. “Dr. Salas doesn’t appear to be old enough to have a twenty-seven-year-old son. Do you know anything about that?”

“Adopted recently to create a legal family for the baby,” Cosmo said, and Eddie wondered why that was important. “But regardless, gender isn’t a factor in the search at all.”

“At the Morgan Academy, they don’t celebrate mother’s or father’s day. Both holidays are framed as parent’s day to avoid inappropriate gendered stereotypes,” Eddie said mildly. “It’s honestly a relief to have my son in such a modern and forward-thinking school environment after the primitive conditions he had in Texas. One of his dumbass teachers told him that slavery was indentured servitude. I filed a fifteen-page complaint over that crap, and who has time to write out that much unmitigated fury on a regular basis?”

“Me,” Cosmo muttered. “I’d be happy to lose sleep over it.”

Ana shrugged. “Sometimes I think we take things too far when it comes to ignoring traditions.”

“Societal traditions are….” Eddie made a face. “The toxic expectations of dead people.” He took a sip of coffee and wished he’d gotten more water. Coffee just made him antsy, and he knew it. “And most of the time, all they do is impede progress both socially and technologically. Your perspective is off-putting, considering your chosen career.”

She made a face at him. “I am very well received in my field, Edmundo.”

“Eddie,” he corrected. “Or Guide Diaz if you can’t be considerate enough to use my preferred name.” She blushed, but he wasn’t sure if it was embarrassment or anger. “And I couldn’t be more serious about that.”

“It’s a lovely name. My grandfather was named Edmundo.”

“What’s that got to do with me?” Eddie asked in confusion but then waved a hand when she started to speak. “It doesn’t matter. Just don’t do it anymore.” Hopefully, he’d never see her again.

The door opened, and Baxter emerged. It was a little shocking since he figured the interview would take longer.

“Hey, how’d it go?” Eddie questioned.

“Not good,” Baxter admitted. “I mean…he’s great, and the baby is adorable, but we’re not on the same wavelength psionically. I didn’t realize how important that would be when it comes to an Alpha Ascendant with empathy. It was like oil and water.” He exhaled slowly. “Which sucks because he’s gorgeous and very sweet.”

“I’m gonna tell him you called him sweet,” Cosmo admitted, and Baxter huffed. “The first chance I get.”

Eddie laughed even as Baxter rolled his eyes.

“Ms. Flores, you’re up,” Thomas said from the back of the room, and Eddie watched her grab her little bag and trot off.

“That’s not going to go how she thinks,” Cosmo muttered.

“Why?” Eddie asked curiously. “She’s beautiful and a special education teacher. Seems like she might be perfect for this, considering everything going on.”

“Buck has no time for toxic masculinity or gender bias,” Cosmo said. “She’s clearly very traditional in her thinking, and that’s going to put him off like mad. I’d have told her if I thought it would’ve made her evaluate herself and her opinions.” He shrugged and focused on Baxter. “Need a ride home?”

“I do, actually. They literally pulled me off the scene of a murder and brought me here.” Baxter grimaced. “I didn’t mind, but my partner has texted me twenty-two times and offered to extract me. He’s a former Marine, so I think he meant that in a hostile fashion. I can’t let him come out here to get me. He’d probably pick a fight with someone on general principle.”

Cosmo laughed, and Eddie went in search of another bottle of water.

* * * *

“And I’ll finish my Ph.D. in education soon,” Ana Flores said with a bright smile as she looked around the living room area of the suite. “I’m twenty-nine and haven’t had a serious relationship since I decided to pursue my doctorate.”

Buck nodded and focused on Bea, who was dozing on his chest, cheek pressed against his skin. He’d yet to be able to button a single shirt since meeting her, but that was fine. Any comfort she could find was good. “Would you welcome more children?”

“More?” Ana questioned and glanced toward the baby. “Well, I would like to have children of my own, yes. But that would have to wait until the baby is older, and I would require marriage. Once she’s of an age where we can place her in an appropriate facility, then we could concentrate on building a proper family.”

“An appropriate facility?” Buck questioned. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, she’ll certainly go dormant within the next year, and it’s best if those children are placed in the hands of professionals as soon as possible.” She shrugged. “We can hope for the best, of course, but it doesn’t seem likely due to her trauma and current level of neediness. The tether that was created is probably the only reason she’s not already dormant.”

“Beatrice won’t be dormant,” Buck said.

“How can you be certain?” Ana questioned.

“Because her spirit animal has already manifested, which means the psionic plane has begun the process of healing her initial trauma,” Buck said. “You were told at the start of this that the empathic tether I have with my daughter is permanent and that I’m seeking a co-parent, not a Guide, specifically.”

“You say that, but all Sentinels want a Guide,” she said. “I’m perfect for you, Evan.”

“Our percentage is only ninety-one percent, so hardly perfect by anyone’s standard,” Buck returned evenly, and her mouth dropped open. “And while our psionic profiles are similar, I’d have to do a lot of work I don’t have time for to create a bond with you. It would be an immense sacrifice on my part, in more than one way, to bond with you. Your shields are fine but not particularly robust, considering you’re a level five. And I don’t want a Guide. I never have wanted a Guide—not once since the day I came online. I’ve encountered several I wanted to fuck, but not a single one that I wanted to invite into my head. You aren’t an exception.”

She pressed her lips together and frowned at him. “Please don’t use such foul language in front of me.”

Buck sighed. “Thank you for your time, Ms. Flores.”

“You’re dismissing me?” She asked. “You only have one other potential. He’s arrogant and a single father with a severely disabled child. That’s more burden than what you’re currently dealing with.”

“No child is a burden,” Buck said. “And yes, I’m dismissing you. I have the entire planet to search, Ms. Flores. I don’t have to settle. My father is already preparing for a search in South America.” Buck stood, fingers curling against Bea’s blanket. “Thomas.”

Thomas opened the door and motioned to Ana with a stern look. “Come along then.”

She huffed. “I think you need to reconsider this, Evan. It’s only going to get harder for you to find a match. Most of the Guides you’d meet from South America won’t even speak English.”

“He’s fluent in Spanish,” Thomas retorted. “Come along, Ms. Flores, before the Prime pair come to remove you personally from their son’s space.”

“Fine,” Ana snapped as she was taken very gently from the room.

The actual legal adoption was only two days old. They’d done it because Buck wanted to make sure that Bea had legal family besides himself if something happened to him on the job. He didn’t want there to be any questions regarding his wishes. Cristobal had been his next-of-kin for a decade, but legal ties had been relieving to create. He’d waffled on changing his name, but in the end, he felt like he owned his name, and it had nothing to do with his birth parents.

A soft knock on the door sounded the arrival of Cristobal and Lou. He’d felt them heading his way the moment Ana protested her dismissal.

“Come in.”

“Want me to have a talk with her?” Cristobal questioned.

“Nah, she just made assumptions, and now she’s disappointed. I don’t think she’s a bad person. This was her first search, right?”

“Right,” Cristobal agreed roughly. “That first rejection always stings the most. And she certainly assumed she’d be accepted because she was the only woman left. I did try to make it clear during her interview that you didn’t care about the gender of your Guide at all.”

“She seems the sort to dismiss anything she finds offensive,” Buck said thoughtfully. “Probably a self-defense mechanism. It’s hard, even now, for a woman to get treated seriously in the higher levels of academia.”

“You’re exhausted and could use another rest period,” Lou said.

“Yeah, but let’s get this last meeting done. You can start the new search tomorrow.” He yawned and sat back down on the sofa he’d left to get some space from Ana Flores.

“You don’t think he’ll be a match either?” Cristobal questioned. “Your percentage with him was ninety-nine percent, Evan.”

Buck considered that and focused on Bea. Cristobal was really the only person in his life that could get away with calling him Evan on a regular basis without it getting really irritating. Eddie Diaz had been tempting him since he’d set eyes on the man, and he knew they were compatible. He’d known it since the moment he’d set eyes on the man.

“Well, it’s not really about me at this point. It’s about her. She didn’t want either of the last two anywhere near her. Of course, Ana kept calling me Evan when I know she was told I prefer Buck. It was gross, and I probably influenced Bea’s reaction to her as a result.”

“She did the same thing to Eddie Diaz,” Lou said. “Kept calling him Edmundo. It’s clear he didn’t like her at all.”

“Thomas tells me he’s a good man,” Buck murmured. “And a dedicated father. I’ve seen him on the job, and he’s very good. I just don’t have any room to get my hopes up at this point.”

He was so fucking tired and beyond trying to hide it.

“Hey.”  Cristobal put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. “We’ll get through this.”

“The doctors tell me she’s fine despite everything,” Buck said. “Her last exam went very well, and the investment of psionic energy in her body is so immense that it was like she wasn’t born premature at all. It’s just….”

“Just what?” Lou questioned.

“It’s like…if I turn my head for even a moment, she’ll die,” Buck confessed and took a deep breath when Cristobal’s hand tightened on his shoulder. “It doesn’t feel true at all, but I can’t keep the thought out of my head.”

“So, she isn’t the only one with a resonance problem,” Cristobal said.

“Yeah, that’s probably more accurate than I care to admit. Every time I close my eyes, I see her in that pipe. Just the top of her head…before Cosmo pushed her out and into my hands. It was agonizing. She was in so much pain, and it felt like someone had put my body in a vice.” He shifted her tiny body against his chest. “How did five pounds two ounces of baby become the center of my universe?”

He took a deep breath when neither man provided an answer. Buck knew there was really no answer to be had, and he appreciated that neither tried to placate him.

“Okay, sweet Bea, let’s meet Eddie Diaz,” Buck murmured and took a deep breath against her wispy brown hair.

“It’ll be fine,” Cristobal said. “I promise.”

“You’re not supposed to make promises you can’t keep,” Buck said.

Cristobal squeezed his shoulder one more time and released him. “I promise.”

Buck just nodded and focused on his baby as they left. He felt a slight shift in the psionics around him as Eddie was escorted back to the suite. It was tempting to spread all of his senses out and get a full sensory picture of the Guide heading his way. He’d avoided Eddie for a lot of reasons, not just because of the profound sexual attraction. The fact is that he’d rarely found a Guide so alluring in his life, and it had made him nervous as fuck from the get-go, which was so off-putting that it made him itch.

The door opened, and Thomas appeared. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Buck lied.

Thomas raised an eyebrow at him.

“Bro code.” He got a skeptical face for his trouble. “Bro code times infinity.”

“Wow,” Thomas muttered and stepped aside to let Eddie in.

Buck watched Eddie Diaz close the door and took a deep breath despite his intentions. The man smelled amazing, which was irritating, so he focused on Bea.

“Times infinity?” Eddie questioned, clearly amused.

“A man’s gotta be able to lie to himself, at least,” Buck muttered. He cleared his throat and watched Eddie sit down in a chair across from him. “Sorry about the circus.”

“Be more sorry that your best friend told your dad that you wanted to bang me like a drum,” Eddie told him.

“Oh, Thomas, you bastard,” Buck muttered as his face grew hot. He hated blushing because he just turned a deeply unbecoming shade of red all over his face. Bea stirred in his arms, and her eyes opened. “Hey, sweet Bea. Ready for a bottle?” He watched her mouth purse in demand. “Yeah, she definitely wants a bottle. Come with me to the kitchen?”

“Sure,” Eddie said and stood. “Do you have bottles premade?”

“Yeah, on the top shelf of the fridge. We have a bottle warmer on the counter,” Buck found himself following Eddie into the kitchen, where the other man quickly found a bottle and set it up to warm. “Tell me about your son.”

“Christopher, he’s six and currently obsessed with space,” Eddie said and leaned on the counter. “He’s with my abuela, but I have a nanny set up through the Burton Foundation as well. He’s a latent Guide and has cerebral palsy.”

Buck nodded. “That was all in your profile. I’ve met Everstar. She’s a great choice for a science-minded kid. What’s he like?”

“He’s curious and loves to learn. Space and dinosaurs are pretty much all he talks about right now. Christopher loves school, and sometimes it’s hard to get him to leave at the end of the day. I think he sees knowledge as a form of security, and maybe it’s kind of like a weapon he can use against a world that really isn’t designed to work for him. He doesn’t let anyone or anything get in his way.” Eddie checked the bottle and shook it gently after removing it from the warmer.

Buck took the bottle when offered and extended his touch sense to check the temperature. The psionic energy moving around them felt good and safe. Eddie was clearly the source, and that was interesting. “What’s your spirit animal?” He sat down at the kitchen table, and Eddie joined him.

“Black jaguar,” Eddie said quietly and inclined his head when Buck blinked in surprise. “The Burton Foundation told me that’s pretty rare for a Guide. They suspected from the start that I’d be a Wolf Guide and sort of got weird about the jaguar.”

“That’s because the black jaguar is more likely to show up amongst non-urban Sentinels,” Buck said. He stared for a moment. “How many advanced senses do you have?”

He watched Eddie’s eyes go wide, and the other man exhaled slowly. “I…. Two.”

“Hearing and sight,” Buck guessed, and the other man nodded. “So you’re an Ascendant, as well. Alpha Ascendants amongst the Guide population are so rare that some consider it impossible in modern times. Why did you keep it to yourself?”

“Because I was assessed by the US Army, and they wouldn’t have discharged me without a fight if they’d known,” Eddie said plainly. “I had three years left on my enlistment, and I wanted to come home to my son. Sentinels are protected from forced service in the military. The law is less explicit when it comes to Guides, especially considering I enlisted of my own free will. While they couldn’t force a third tour on me, they would’ve certainly kept me during rehab with the hopes of returning me to active duty to finish up the tour I’d already agreed to. During that time, I’m sure I would’ve been subject to a hard sell regarding remaining in the Army until I was too old to serve.”

“Or dead,” Buck said.

“Yeah, that,” Eddie grimaced and sat back in his chair. “But I knew I couldn’t serve in combat without a Sentinel, and I had no matches in the DOD system.”

“If it becomes known, will you have problems with the Department of Defense?” Buck questioned curiously.

“No, I wasn’t even required to admit that I was online as a Guide. Forced disclosure is illegal. Immense patriotic-flavored guilt trips are not.”

Buck laughed. “Yeah, okay.” He yawned despite his best efforts.

“We were told you haven’t gotten a lot of sleep.”

He wanted to shrug away the concern but couldn’t. “When I’m not touching her…. It’s like she’s back in the pipe for both of us, and I just realized that a bit ago. I don’t know how to deal with it.”

“Well, I’m sure sleep would make things easier,” Eddie said quietly. “How can I help?”

Buck set aside the bottle and picked up a little towel from the table, which he threw over his shoulder and shifted Bea around to burp her. She fit in one hand, so patting her back was a deep source of anxiety.

“I feel like a giant compared to her,” he confessed. “And I don’t know how anyone can help me, really. I’m not even sure what a Guide can do in these circumstances. I asked for a search because it seemed like the best choice.”

Bea took that moment to spit up and gag a little.

“Fuck,” he shifted her around and put her stomach down in his hand to make sure she wasn’t choking.

The disgusting towel came off his shoulder in quick order.

“Reflux?” Eddie questioned.

“I think I let her eat too much,” Buck said and felt ashamed for it.

“It’s okay; mistakes like that happen. Try overfeeding a five-year-old that considers projectile vomiting a genuine life choice,” Eddie said wryly. “You’re going to want to come out of the shirt.”

“Oh, I know,” Buck muttered and shrugged one shoulder out before shifting Bea around, letting Eddie take it away completely. “She’s messy, too.”

“Can I try to hold her?” Eddie asked quietly.

Buck hesitated. “No one else has been able to hold her without…she gets really upset.”

“I don’t want to treat her like an experiment, Buck. But it feels like her acceptance of me is the real issue here, and that means I should try to hold her. It’s clear that you and I are very compatible. I’ve known that for a while, but I’ve respected the space you clearly required. There’s no need, however, to mince words on the subject at this point.”

He didn’t disagree, so after another moment of indecision, he transferred Bea into Eddie’s hands with trembling fingers. Bea shuddered as the other man brought her close and cradled her in one arm. His hand rested on her stomach. Buck stared for a moment, heart thundering in his chest.

“I have this stupid desire to take a knee.”

Eddie laughed. “How about you take a nap instead?”

Buck blinked back tears. “Yeah, that sounds good, too.”

“Hey,” Eddie said quietly as he let Bea rest on his chest. “I can have your back if you allow it.”

“It’s hard,” Buck admitted.

“I see that,” Eddie said. “How about the three of us go to the bedroom, and you can lie down? I won’t take her out of the room while you sleep.”

Nova appeared and rubbed her big body against Eddie’s leg. To his credit, Eddie didn’t move an inch as he looked down at the tiger. “Yours or hers?”

“Mine. Hers is the most adorable red panda to ever exist.” Buck relaxed as he watched his spirit animal lean on Eddie Diaz. “Her name is Nova.”

“She’s gorgeous.”

“She led me all the way to Peru when I was seventeen,” Buck admitted. “I saw her before I came online, and for a while, she was the only thing in the whole world I knew how to trust.” He yawned. “The bedroom is down the hall. I think I’ll take you up on that nap.”

Eddie followed Buck down the hall and into a bedroom. It had clearly been rearranged to deal with the situation, as the queen size bed had been pushed from the center of the room to make room for a makeshift nursery. Buck crawled onto the bed and face-planted. So, Eddie went to the changing table to clean the baby up. He put her down carefully, and her face screwed up in displeasure the moment he stopped touching her.

“Ah, I see you,” Eddie said softly and put a hand carefully across her rapidly stiffening body. She relaxed immediately. “This kind of high-maintenance behavior is a little ridiculous at your age, sweetheart.”

The area was clearly set up to handle the situation. Wipes, diapers, and clothes were easy to reach with one hand. By the time he had her cleaned up, there was someone moving around in the suite. He looked over to the doorway just as Cristobal Salas appeared. The older man glanced from him and Bea to where Buck lay sprawled, unconscious. The stark relief on the man’s face was difficult to look at, so he finished dressing the baby, wrapped her loosely in a blanket, and carried her to the bed.

“He’s out like a light,” Eddie said.

“Yes, I felt it,” Cristobal said. “I think I’d gotten so used to the amount of worry that he was throwing off that…well. I noticed when it was gone.”

Eddie sat down on the bed and glanced around the room. Briefly considered the bassinet near the bed but figured it wouldn’t be comfortable for sitting. “Is there a co-sleep thing for the bed?”

“Natalie brought a baby lounger,” Cristobal said and left the doorway.

Eddie focused on Bea, who was staring at him with the kind of focus he knew shouldn’t be possible for an infant her age. It was unnerving, to say the least. A shimmer of psionic energy drifted over her skin, and he sighed.

“Something wrong?” Cristobal questioned as he returned with the thinly padded co-sleeper.

“You haven’t held her at all, have you?”

“Not for more than a few seconds the first day,” Cristobal admitted. “I haven’t touched her again since it seemed to be agonizing for her. How did you get here?”

“I just asked if I could try to hold her,” Eddie said as he removed the pillow in the lounger, tossed it aside, and tucked the baby into it. He settled his left hand on her before she had time to complain. “And she didn’t mind. I think it boils down to the fact Buck and I have a near identical psionic profile.” He looked up and found himself being studied. It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but he’d worked hard since coming online to avoid that kind of scrutiny.

Cristobal huffed a little and became the third person ever to figure him out without an overt confession on his part. “How many advanced senses do you have?”

“Two—hearing and sight. I’ve avoided the Ascendant label ardently as I knew how both with DOD and the Burton Foundation. It just felt like something I should keep to myself.”

“I don’t disagree,” Cristobal admitted. “Alpha Ascendant Guides are so rare that you’d be subject to a great deal of scrutiny. I suspect that the people in El Paso would have gone all in on keeping you close if they’d known.”

Eddie nodded. “When I was shot, I tucked the pain away in a psionic pocket nearly the whole time I was healing.”

“Dangerous.”

“I was careful with it, but I needed the relief because painkillers were problematic, to say the least. I took the pain out periodically to monitor my healing and used over-the-counter stuff,” Eddie said. “She’s far more aware than she should be. Psionically she feels several months old.”

“Coming online changed her brain chemistry, accelerated maturation in some areas,” Cristobal said. “Her doctor spoke of this, but she’s far too young for any testing.”

“No, agreed, but she’s…cycling between two profound experiences.”

“Yes, the pipe and meeting Evan,” Cristobal said and grimaced. “And his physical presence keeps the pain of being in the pipe at bay.”

“It would be difficult to manage even in an older child,” Eddie said. “It’s just I think I can tuck that physical memory away for her permanently, but it would require that I join them in the empathic tether.”

“When Evan wakes up, we’ll work on that then,” Cristobal said.

“He doesn’t want a bond with a Guide,” Eddie murmured and glanced toward Buck, whose exhaustion had taken him down for the count in several different ways. “His discomfort pours off of him, sir. I didn’t realize how off-putting it would be.” He flushed and averted his gaze when the older man sighed. “I’m not going anywhere, of course, but there are consent issues at play here that I can’t ignore. Physical attraction aside, I think Buck would rather cut off his whole damn arm than risk bonding. And it does seem like a monumental risk to him.

“I’m not questioning your mentorship of him or the guidance you’ve given him for the past decade. But, honestly, what the fuck?”

Cristobal blinked in surprise but then settled down on the bed with a deep breath. “He came online after being wholesale rejected by his parents and sister. His parents hate him for the death of their oldest son. They only had Evan to be a bone marrow donor for that child. When the transplant failed, and the boy died, they blamed Evan for it intellectually and emotionally on a level that is insurmountable.”

“And his sister?”

“As it turned out, she’d married an extremely controlling and abusive man,” Cristobal said. “About five years ago, he finally lost it within the hearing of a Sentinel, and his neighbor’s grandson interfered in the beating. The Sentinel killed him, of course.”

“Did the sister make it?”

“She survived and tried to make contact with Evan,” Cristobal admitted. “But he doesn’t want to ever see her again, and the Burton Foundation cautioned her against ever trying to come back into her brother’s life due to how much emotional trauma her rejection caused. Evan doesn’t blame her now because he understands what she was living with. But he can’t make himself even want to trust her.

“Her name is Maddie Kendall, and she’s living in the UK. And because I do keep track of her in a casual way, I know she’s engaged to be married and is basically happy for the first time since she was a teenager. Lou and I went to see her shortly after her husband was killed. She begged us to get the Burton Foundation back off so she could be with Evan as a family. I explained to her explicitly why I’d never allow that, and I promised her I’d take care of her little brother since no one else had ever bothered to.”

“I bet she can’t stand you,” Eddie said wryly as he gently rocked Bea back and forth under his hand.

“She accused me of stealing her brother,” Cristobal admitted. “I told her it was hard to steal someone who’d been thrown away by everyone he’d ever loved, and she ugly cried herself into a twenty-four-hour psych hold because Lou doesn’t play around with that level of emotional upheaval.”

“Noted,” Eddie said wryly.

 

 

Chapter Four

Buck woke by degrees, more rested than he’d felt in days. Bea was a wispy presence in the back of his mind as he turned over and found Eddie Diaz sitting on the bed in the lotus position. He was meditating, and Bea was in the baby sling on his chest. They were both glowing gently with psionic energy. He sat up carefully as he could to avoid disturbing them and slid off the bed. He desperately wanted a shower.

There was no en suite attached to the bedroom, which wasn’t a problem. But it meant he’d have to leave Eddie and Bea to cross the suite to the bathroom. He was being housed in the most shielded and protected part of the retreat house, and it was set up like a hotel room. A very nice, well-appointed hotel room, but still sort of generic. He missed his home a lot but was already considering a move. His condo was on the ninth floor of a ten-story building, and it wouldn’t be ideal for Eddie’s son. None of the bathrooms were handicap accessible either.

He followed the gentle thud of Cristobal’s heartbeat into the office space in the isolation suite.

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself,” Cristobal said. “How do you feel?”

“Relieved and in need of a shower. How long did I sleep?”

“Ten hours,” Cristobal said. “You should eat.”

He took a deep breath. “I think he actually has her in a meditative state.”

“He does,” Cristobal agreed. “I monitored him as he took her under at his request. They’ve been like that for about an hour.” He sat back in his chair and closed the laptop he was working on. “What do you need from me, Evan?”

“Thomas and Cosmo are currently living in the bottom floor condo in our building. I was wondering if you could ask them to switch out with me. I mean, they’re basically the same, right?”

“Basically,” Cristobal said. “Reason?”

“I think…the bottom floor would be easier with the kids, and most certainly, it’s necessary for his son. If the elevator went out and there was an emergency, Christopher Diaz could end up trapped in that building.” He shuddered. “Plus, none of the bathrooms in my condo have hand railings, and he’s just six, so….” He trailed with a shrug. “I’m unsure how to handle it, but if Eddie is going to make this work with me, then I want him to know that his kid is a priority for me as well.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Cristobal said. “I don’t think they’ll have a problem with it, but if they aren’t on board with it completely, I’ll search through the other Burton Foundation-owned properties.”

“I don’t want to leverage my friendship with them,” Buck said. “So, yeah, make sure there’s no hesitation on their part.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Where’s my phone?”

“In the living room on a charger,” Cristobal said. “Should I stay, or will you be okay if I go work on your living situation?”

“I’ll be fine. Eddie’s…. Nova adores him.”

“Ah,” Cristobal said. “Really?”

“Yeah, it was like she wanted to crawl into him,” Buck admitted. “And she gives most Guides a real wide berth, as you know. Maybe she knew he would be what Bea needed.”

“And you.”

Buck shrugged. “I can’t deny the attraction—on every single level. But, it’s difficult to imagine letting someone in my life, in my bed, to stay.” He cleared his throat. “I’m going to take the longest possible shower. I haven’t been near soap since Thomas hosed me down in the shower while I tried to keep Bea from getting wet because she hated it.”

“Funnily enough, Eddie gave her a bath about two hours ago, and she didn’t make a peep.”

Buck huffed. “I’m supposed to be her favorite.”

“Your worry and fear is amplifying hers, Evan,” Cristobal said gently, and Buck nodded. “Eddie is…honestly, competent as hell on the whole parenting thing. He doesn’t seem to hesitate with her on any front and has been having this ongoing conversation with Bea about her being high maintenance.”

Buck laughed.

* * * *

Eddie released his hold on the psionic plane and allowed himself to surface as Bea went completely slack in his arms. Her breathing and heart rate were normal, steady as he laid her gently down into the bassinet.

“What did you do?” Buck questioned, and Eddie looked up to find his presumed Sentinel dressed in nothing but a fluffy white towel, clearly wet from a shower.

“Dios put on some clothes. I’m only human here,” Eddie said, and Buck laughed. “She’s just in a profound state of sleep. I basically soothed the mental stress that she can’t genuinely process. I help Christopher do the same a few times a week in meditation. He likes it, and I figured she would, too.”

“Sounds cool. Where did you learn that? Cristobal will want to know about it since it’s not something he does or taught me to do.”

“My abuela taught me to meditate and sort my emotions as a child,” Eddie explained. “As soon as I was recognized as latent, I started spending my summers here with her in LA. She wanted to make sure I had the best possible foundation just in case I ever came online.”

“Your grandmother is online then.”

“Yes, but she married a mundane and had two children with him. She used to go to meet and greets when she was younger but eventually gave up trying to find a Sentinel.” Eddie paused. “She’s a Wolf Guide.”

Buck blinked in surprise. “And never found a match? Seriously?”

“I think…she doesn’t talk about it much, but said she only ever met one potential Sentinel, and the match wouldn’t have been allowed by her family. My abuela is seventy-one years old.”

“Her Sentinel was another woman,” Buck surmised. “That’s awful, Eddie.”

“Yes, but I’ve never asked her a lot of questions about it. I just…don’t think I could deal with how much it must have hurt her.” Eddie focused on Bea, his hand resting on her lower body. “I was telling Dr. Salas that I can join you in the empathic tether you’ve created with her, but I’ll have to bond with you first.”

“I didn’t create it,” Buck protested.

Eddie lifted his head and focused on Buck. “Yes, you did. It is very clear in the root of the tether that you reached out for her and basically anchored her life force in her body, Buck.” He watched the color drain from his face. “I thought…you already understood that.”

“No.” Buck sat down on the end of the bed, hands shaking. “I thought the psionic plane did it for me. I’ve never done anything like that; I’ve never come close to such a thing. Did I do it because she’s a Guide?”

“No, because she’s wholly incompatible with you psionically,” Eddie said. “Instinct made you do it because she was dying. The psionic plane probably pushed you toward her even before the situation became an emergency.”

“Nova kept waking me up the night before,” Buck admitted. “She was clearly in a state, and nothing I said seemed to calm her down. I was out of sorts all morning, and when the call for an empathic event went down, I figured that was the reason.”

“The birth mother was probably in labor most of the night and morning,” Eddie said. “It’s clear that some higher force at play here wanted this child to be yours. In some respects, I don’t think you had much of a choice on that front. There’s no reason to get wrapped around the axle about it now. It’s done and can’t be undone.”

Buck rubbed his head with the smaller towel in his hand with a little huffy sound. “I just don’t like my brain doing stuff without my permission.”

“Your brain does a ton of stuff without your permission,” Eddie retorted. “Chill out and go take another shower if it would help.”

“No, I’ve already wasted enough water today,” Buck muttered. He stood and went to retrieve some clothes from the dresser. “How do you feel about bringing Christopher here?”

Eddie checked his watch. “He’s getting out of school soon. I was going to call him and chat with him about everything to see how he feels about it. He’s certainly open to me bonding with a Sentinel, but I doubt getting a sibling would be on his radar. He likes other kids, normally, but if we’re going to have to work him into the situation, then we should start now.” He paused. “If you want to go ahead with the bond.”

Buck huffed. “Dude, my baby adores you. You’re never getting rid of either one of us.”

Eddie laughed and focused on Bea, who was sprawled sleeping. “I was telling your father that I can probably tuck away her psionic response to being trapped in the pipe permanently. Or at least until she’s old enough to handle it. I don’t normally consider suppression a viable solution to any situation, as my abuela is big on dealing with trauma and processing powerful emotions. But, she’s too small for it, and there’s no need to let her suffer with different kinds of less-than-perfect management.”

“I’m on board with permanent suppression of the entire experience,” Buck said flatly. “No one should have those kinds of memories, Eddie. The rest of us don’t remember birth or even the months following. Why should Bea?”

Eddie nodded. “I might need my abuela. She has a lot of familial knowledge on psionic maintenance that I’ve never seen anywhere in any class taught by the Burton Foundation. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, of course. I’ll ask Lou about bringing them both here this evening.” He took the clothes he’d gathered and left the room.

Eddie hoped that meant getting dressed because watching Buck walk around in a towel was a lot. He focused on Bea was still sleeping, and inclined his head as he studied her. The psionics around her were chaotic, mostly due to the fact she had no ability to moderate her own connection to the plane and had no shields. He glanced to his right.

“You aren’t doing your job.” A red panda appeared and made a soft twittering sound. “Don’t sass me.” The spirit animal cuddled up close to the bassinet and rested his head on the side. “Is the tether confusing you?”

“It confuses me, if that matters,” Buck muttered as he came back into the room dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a too-tight LAFD T-shirt. “Do we name him or wait for her to do it?”

“It seems like a personal choice,” Eddie admitted. “I spent over a week thinking about what I would name mine. What about you?”

“I named her Nova because she sort of exploded into my life, and nothing was ever the same,” Buck admitted. “It was an extinction-level event emotionally—like a supernova. What name did you pick?”

“Marisa originally, but eventually, it became just Mars,” Eddie said. “Christopher was four and found Marisa hard to pronounce. His go-to solution was Sisa which…no. She was not on board with that. She accepted Mars, though.”

“Is her spirit animal having a hard time connecting with her?” Buck questioned.

“The empathic tether isn’t a usual circumstance, and online children are so very rare for several reasons,” Eddie said. “I assume that Dr. Salas has culled as much data as he could on the subject?”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t much,” Buck murmured. “Most of it was just…statistics on mortality and the events that led to traumatic online, psionic shock, and eventually death for children under the age of three. Older children have a better chance of surviving it if help reaches them in time. It was all very depressing to read. There was a historical essay about a little girl that came online as a Sentinel at six months in Los Angeles in the 1800s. The details as to why were left unexplained. Her parents took her to South America, and there was never any record of what happened after that.

“Cristobal assumes they took her to the Chopec, or at least they tried. There’s no telling if she could’ve survived that trip back then.” Buck slid down the bed and touched Bea’s ear with one fingertip, delicately tracing the shell. “I know we’re sort of feeding on each other due to the trauma, and I’m trying really hard to get it put in the right place.”

“It’s not hurting her,” Eddie said. “Even if it’s stressing you out because, in the end, you’ve given her an immense amount of security which she is psionically wallowing in. She’d probably do it her whole life if you allowed it. But you can’t.”

Buck frowned. “What do you mean?”

“The kind of security she’s getting from you would make her less inclined to bond with a Sentinel,” Eddie said gently. “She might even avoid personal relationships of any sort in favor of you and the tether. That’s not emotionally healthy for either of you. Right now, it’s serving a very valuable purpose, but there will come a day when it is a genuine hindrance to her development as an independent human being.”

“I see,” Buck murmured and shifted around so he could stare at his daughter. “I wouldn’t want that. I want her to be free, you know. I don’t want her to be like me.”

“What’s holding you a prisoner?” Eddie questioned. “Your senses? Your current situation?” He paused. “Your parents’ rejection?”

Buck huffed. “Man, he laid it all out for you, huh?”

“How can I even be half of what you need if I don’t know what sort of emotional devastation created the hot mess that you are?” Eddie asked and grinned when Buck frowned at him. “My parents are micromanaging hell beasts who think I’m not qualified to parent my own child.”

“Really? Because Cristobal seemed ready to give you a gold medal on the whole parenting thing.” Buck laid down on the bed and tucked close to the top of the bassinet. Eddie figured it was more habit than anything else at that point. He teased Bea’s hand with one finger, and she immediately latched on to it.

Eddie lifted his hand away and sat back. “My ex-wife bailed for several reasons, but she claims the main one was that I came online as a Guide. I’d believe her if she hadn’t bailed wholesale on our kid, as well. She gave up all her parental rights and walked away without a backward glance. Maybe his latency played a part, or maybe she was overwhelmed with caregiver burden since I’d spent most of our marriage overseas. My parents certainly didn’t help—they’d drive a saint to drink, and they found fault with every single thing about Shannon.”

“They aren’t here, right?”

“They live in El Paso, Texas,” Eddie said, and Buck relaxed. “But they visit far too often for anyone’s comfort. Even my abuela has started to hate to see them heading our way, and my father is her only son. I have two sisters—Sophia and Adrianna. Sophia is here in LA and is a latent Guide. Adrianna is mundane, like our mother, and the clear favorite. Latency runs deeply in my paternal family line, so my father was never all that fussed when he didn’t make any appearance of coming online.

“I think he had to process a lot of jealousy when I did come online, but it was mixed up in the fact that I was recovering from three bullet wounds, and I couldn’t hardly stand for anyone to touch me. Thanks to my empathy and advanced senses, my parents really don’t have any secrets from me since I spent four months recovering in their guestroom. They argued nearly daily about suing me for custody and took a meeting with a lawyer that didn’t go the way my mother wanted. Apparently, she was told that hell would freeze over before she could take a latent child away from their online parent.”

Buck nodded.

“Regardless, I don’t really trust either of them anymore, but I’ve kept things civil for Christopher’s sake. He loves them, despite their faults which he knows better than I would like. They know I was part of a search and will come to LA sooner rather than later to try to manage my life and this transition to suit them. They aren’t going to like you.”

“Because I’m a man?” Buck questioned. “Your mom is Swedish, so I assume my paleness isn’t a factor.”

“Well, bonding with a man means they won’t get any more natural grandchildren.” He looked at Bea. “But I won’t let them treat her badly.”

“Eh, if you want another baby, later on, we can go through the surrogacy program,” Buck said. “It takes about 50,000 dollars for compensation, and the Burton Foundation will handle healthcare. I can afford to do that process twice without taking a significant hit on the retirement front.”

“Really?” Eddie questioned.

“I have a trust fund from my maternal grandparents, which I took when I ran. Most of it is in a living trust at this point, but some of it is with a money manager. Regardless, yeah, I set aside enough for two surrogacy arrangements because…I never expected to have a long-term partner, but I knew I wanted a family.” Buck frowned. “My brother Daniel died of leukemia when he was nine years old. I was one and had been created for the sole purpose of being a bone marrow donor. The transplant failed, and he died. My parents blamed me. They still blame me and spent my entire life pretending Daniel didn’t exist.

“When they finally did tell me about him…. The information was used against me like a weapon. They beat me with it and left me with nothing but grief and guilt. It was like a dam broke in my mother because the moment I knew about Daniel, she just unloaded on me, and looking back on it, I think I was already starting to come online because I could feel her hatred for me. It’s awful to think about, so for a long time, I just avoided the whole thing.”

“And your father?”

“Furious. He was furious that I was alive and Daniel was dead,” Buck said. “He told me that he would do anything to get his boy back, and I felt like that included my murder.” He shuddered and averted his gaze.

“Jesus, Buck, please tell me you reported them.”

“I told the Burton Foundation, yes, and it was investigated, but I was an adult by then and completely out of their control. It’s not a crime to hate your own kid, you know. There were no other children at home, so nothing was really actionable. Though there is a permanent restraining order. They aren’t even allowed in the city of Los Angeles at all. Lou set down that edict within a month of my moving here, and it’s permanent. Violating it could get them sanctioned for abusing an online Sentinel.”

“So, they won’t get near Bea,” Eddie said and was relieved. “And your sister? Do you see yourself ever reaching out to her?”

“No, I….” Buck shook his head. “Cristobal tells me that she’s happy where she is and is engaged to be married to this hipster guy who runs this trendy cupcake café. She’s working as a midwife and seems to have really settled in Britain. I can’t make myself responsible for whatever hurt she might be harboring by being told to leave me alone for the rest of her life. I forgave her, and I sent her a very long letter telling her that. Her circumstances were awful, you know? But forgiveness doesn’t equal me giving her a chance to destroy me again. I just can’t trust her, and I don’t want to try.”

“You’re allowed boundaries,” Eddie said. “And considering your gifts as a Sentinel, you can’t afford to allow anyone to violate those boundaries. I’ve learned that the hard way, actually. I let my parents get away with a lot early on and even more, before I came online. If it’d policed my boundaries from the start, then maybe…well. I totally failed at the husband thing.”

“Doesn’t it take two people to fuck up a marriage?” Buck questioned.

“Not necessarily,” Eddie said. “I mean…there’s cheating. I didn’t cheat, but if I had, it wouldn’t have been Shannon’s fault.” He shifted around to lie down so they were face to face, and they carefully adjusted Bea between them. “There was a guy in my unit who couldn’t keep it in his pants for love or money. I couldn’t count on both hands how many times he tried to crawl into my bunk despite the fact that he’d been married for just a year when our tour started. It was disgusting to be around him and his dumb ass behavior.”

“That kind of objectification is always off-putting,” Buck said. “He seems the sort to only see bodies and not the people in them. I have a reputation, you know.”

Eddie raised an eyebrow. “You want to know the very first thing I ever heard about you?”

“Yes and no,” Buck admitted and grinned when Eddie laughed. “But go ahead.”

“I was told that you have rigid, bordering on annoying standards on the job. But in the same breath, the person complaining about you said you were heroic as fuck, and he’d trust you with his back on any single day in any situation,” Eddie said, and he watched Buck’s eyes widen in shock. “I’ve heard other things—allergic to commitment being the most kind.”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Buck shrugged a shoulder and turned his attention to Bea. “I’ve never lied to a sex partner. I’ve had some people get really furious with me because I made it clear that I’d never give them what they wanted. A lot of mundanes think that because I was so overtly uninterested in a bond with a Guide, I’d be willing to have a serious relationship with them. Also, I’m not at all afraid to call someone out for lying.

“My last lover tried to tell me she was pregnant.” Buck made a face. “And was really surprised to be told that she was probably just a day from starting her period based on her shifting scent pile. She said I’d violated her privacy by keeping track of her body. She barely refrained from throwing shit at me as she stormed out of my place. But honestly, I’m very careful with condom usage.

“She did call the next day to confirm her period had come and asked me why I was so opposed to having a baby with her. I told her that having a Sentinel’s child was the last thing she’d ever want if she wanted to keep primary custody because I would be awarded physical custody of any latent child automatically. It’s in the Sentinel Guide Protection Act for fuck’s sake. I can’t say it’s always a fair situation, but historically latent children suffered too much in those situations to knowingly allow it to become a problem again.”

“Here’s hoping she doesn’t make that mistake in the future,” Eddie said. “Shannon didn’t try for custody or visitation during the divorce. The judge was willing to give her liberal visitation, and I wasn’t opposed either. She didn’t even speak during court—her lawyer did all the talking and told the judge that Shannon wanted to be completely free of me in every single way, even if it meant giving up her parental rights.”

“Free of you or free of your parents?” Buck questioned.

“Dios, probably both,” Eddie admitted and checked his watch. “Christopher should be at my abuela’s by now. Let me call him and see if you’d contact Thomas about bringing them? They both know him.”

“Oh, sure, that’s probably a better choice,” Buck said.

Eddie slid off the bed, leaving Bea for the first time since he’d first held her, and it was a little uncomfortable. He pushed it aside, pulled his cell phone out, and left the bedroom so he could do a video call with Christopher. His FaceTime call was answered immediately, and it was the last face he wanted to see.

He frowned at his father. “Why do you have Abuela’s phone, Pop?”

“We flew in this morning. You didn’t come home from the search, and Mamá was worried.”

“Bullshit,” Eddie said evenly, and his father blinked in surprise. “I had a conversation over text with her that went on for an hour last night. Why are you in LA?”

“You’re bonding with a Sentinel, Edmundo. We’re here to bring Christopher back to El Paso. You won’t have time to be a proper parent to him.”

“If you leave that house with my son, I will have you and Mom arrested for kidnapping and put in a federal fucking prison,” Eddie hissed and took a deep breath as a big hand settled on his shoulder. Buck moved closer. Bea pressed against an impossibly broad chest. “I mean it.”

Ramon scoffed, but then the picture blurred, and his abuela’s face filled the screen.

“Nieto, do you need me?” Isabel Diaz asked.

“I need you to get those two assholes out of your house,” Eddie said in exasperation, and his grandmother quirked an eyebrow. “Where’s Christopher?”

“On his way to you, of course. I called the Burton Foundation shortly after Ramon and Helena landed. He was picked up from school by Pepa, and she’s being escorted to you. I was going to call you, but I believed it would be less stressful to have this conversation after Christopher was with you.”

“I’ll go check on their progress,” Buck murmured.

Eddie nodded and took a deep breath. “I….”

“Was that your Sentinel? He’s very pretty.” She grinned when Eddie groaned.

“You know he heard that, right?”

“If that man doesn’t know how pretty he is….” Isabel shrugged. “How are things going?”

“I need you,” he said. “But it can wait until tomorrow.”

“What do you need me to do?” Isabel questioned. “It will give me time to think and prepare if I know the basics now.”

“My Sentinel has an empathic tether with his daughter. I need to join them in it.” He paused when his father started asking questions in the background.

“Ramon!” Isabel snapped. “This conversation is none of your business. Leave this room immediately.” She returned her attention to him after a few silent moments of glaring. “Now, tell me how this empathic tether was created.”

“It’s a trauma bond. She’s four days old. If you could wait on the specifics, I would appreciate it.” She nodded, and he took a deep breath. “She’s experiencing psionic resonance in relation to the trauma and requires physical contact to keep it at bay. She’s only tolerated his touch until me, and that’s only because Buck and I have nearly identical psionic profiles.”

“Oh, you’ll create a lovely bond with him,” Isabel said. “You want to suppress the trauma.”

“She hardly deserves to remember it,” Eddie said. “It was awful, and we can’t take turns holding her for years, so…we’re going to have to bond and fix the resonance problem before it starts to damage her ability to connect with the psionic plane.”

“She’s online.”

“Yes, a Guide.”

“Poor little dear,” Isabel murmured. “I will meditate and think on a plan. Could I have access to her medical records?”

“Thomas is willing to go kidnap her from that house,” Buck murmured as he came back and sat down on the couch beside him. “She can review everything here and speak with the medical team. Cristobal is excited since he took another look at your records and realized your grandmother is a genuine freaking shaman over there. What’s wrong with you? You should’ve said.”

Eddie hadn’t realized he’d even sat down. “I….” He flushed when his abuela started to laugh. “Thomas will come get you.”

“I never say no riding in that big beautiful man’s truck,” Isabel said. “I’ll pack a bag and go to your house to get some clothes for Christopher.”

Eddie stared at the blank screen since she’d ended the call without his agreement. “Man.”

“Well, in her defense, Thomas is fucking gorgeous. It’s kind of awful. I was really glad when he bonded because his being single really put a damper on my ability to get laid sometimes.”

“I don’t believe that for a second,” Eddie admitted. “Where’s Christopher?”

“Probably coming through the gates. Lou retrieved him and your aunt personally. He’s…kind of furious and is prepared to accuse your parents of pair bond interference since you shouldn’t have to worry about their asinine behavior during this time. Cristobal almost went over there.”

“My father would shit a brick,” Eddie murmured. “I’m going to get him.”

“Sure, we’ll be right here,” Buck said easily.

Eddie hesitated.

“You already told me your parents were awful,” Buck said in amusement. “You know they only have their assumptions, and those won’t get them anywhere in any court. And if they want to pick a fight with the Alpha Prime Pair of the Pacific West, they’ll find out the hard way how stupid that choice is. Cristobal is prone to getting on a plane just to go curse someone out in person. That includes the recently elected President of the United States, by the way.”

“Well, it was really dumb to insult the Alpha Guide Prime of North America,” Eddie said. “And Dr. Salas probably wasn’t the only Prime to get on a plane. Though that’s probably the last time, he’ll ever say the phrase boy toy again as long as he lives.”

Buck nodded. “If you don’t go get your son, he’s going to talk Lou into giving him ice cream.”

“Gah, he’ll be bouncing off the walls.” Eddie tucked his phone into his jeans, then pulled it back out and sent a text asking his abuela to bring him some clothes, too.

She sent him a thumbs-up emoji which was kind of appalling. When she’d gotten her first smartphone, she’d sent texts with full sentences and correct punctuation. She was the only person he knew who’d used a freaking em dash in texts. Now she was just sending emojis. Eddie was pretty sure his son had utterly corrupted his abuela.

There were a pair of security guards stationed not far from the entrance to the wing of the house where the isolation suite was. They gave him a nod as he walked past them and headed for the central meeting space. Despite having advanced hearing and sight, he didn’t have the ability to imprint. He hoped that he’d gain some version of it in bonding. He knew his son’s heartbeat but couldn’t isolate it. He could, however, isolate his chatter in the building. So, he followed the sound of Christopher’s voice all the way to the front of the large estate, where he stood in the foyer with Pepa and a flustered-looking Lou Ransone.

Eddie paused to watch his son laugh.

“She’s been flirting with him since he picked her up at her apartment.”

Eddie glanced toward Cristobal Salas, who’d come to stand with him. “Should we rescue him?”

“He can handle it,” Cristobal said in amusement. “I’ve arranged for a meal to be delivered to the suite and set aside a small guest suite not far from the isolation area for your grandmother. I’m surprised she’s willing to come here. I didn’t make the connection when we met. But then, Diaz is a very common surname in Los Angeles. One of the first things I was told by the Foundation was that Isabel Diaz wanted no part of our system, and we were to leave her alone. It was a very explicit warning and came from the former Beta Sentinel Prime of the Pacific West. The edict has been enforced for decades, by the way.”

“Jetta Watney, right?”

“Yes, her Sentinel passed two years ago. Isla North took her place in the region as Beta Sentinel Prime. She’s always been Lou’s beta on a local level, so no one was surprised when she ascended regionally,” Cristobal said. “Jetta retired from public service and lives in Big Sur. I had to contact her after I found out about your relation to the shaman. She was startled and clearly upset that Isabel’s peace was being disturbed. I think she’s coming here.”

Eddie winced. “Is that my problem?”

“No, just view it as a head’s up. I’ll speak with Isabel this evening. You have enough on your plate and don’t need to worry about decades-old political games.”

“Daddy!”

Eddie nodded and trotted across the foyer. “Mijo, you are not getting ice cream for dinner.” He plucked his kid up even as Christopher laughed. “Tia.” He kissed his aunt’s cheek. “Stop flirting with the Alpha Sentinel Prime of the Pacific West—it’s really inappropriate no matter how amusing his Guide finds it.”

She laughed. “Don’t ruin my fun, Eddie.” Pepa patted his arm. “Mamá sent me a text about your pretty Sentinel. I’m looking forward to meeting him.”

“Dios,” Eddie muttered and focused on Christopher. “Did you have a good day at school?”

“Of course, but I’m sad it’s Friday. I can’t finish my robot until Monday now.” Christopher passed him both crutches and threw an arm over his shoulder. “What’s for dinner if I can’t have ice cream?”

“I have no clue, Mijo, but I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Eddie said and focused on Lou. “Thomas Marshall is kidnapping my abuela from her own house because of my parents. I don’t know how that’s going to go.”

“Efficiently,” Lou said in an amused tone. “I’ve rarely encountered anyone who is willing to argue with Thomas when he gets his mind set on something.”

“True, and he’s twice my father’s size,” Eddie said. “Can you ban my parents from Los Angeles?”

“For being presumptuous pains in the ass?” Lou questioned and shrugged. “I’ve kicked people out of the whole state for less.”

Pepa laughed.

* * * *

Buck finished browsing through his texts, responded to a few, and sent Thomas a list of suggestions regarding passive-aggressive shit he could say to Eddie’s wretched parents. He and Cosmo had agreed to switch condos, which had been a relief, and Cosmo was handling the move. It was only after the other Guide agreed that Buck remembered he had put his glass anal plug through the dishwasher. He’d been torn between admitting it to Cosmo and asking Cristobal to retrieve it. Either way was a nightmare.

Of course, in the midst of his indecision, Cosmo had sent him a text with an eggplant emoji and a shocked face. He hardly thought his relatively small glass plug was shocking at all for Oscar Fuentes, so he asked him to put it in the footlocker he kept in his bedroom closet.

He monitored Eddie’s slow walk back to the suite and quickly attached the small thud of crutches on the floor to him. Buck wasn’t surprised that Eddie was letting his son walk as he seemed the type to encourage independence. A quick zoom into the conversation assured Buck that father and son were chatting about the kid’s school work and that the boy didn’t seem to be stressed out at all by the long walk through the estate.

The door to the suite opened, and they entered. Buck looked up from Bea, who was industriously sucking a pacifier he’d sworn up and down he wasn’t going to give her. Then he’d read an article on SIDS and how pacifiers actually reduced the chances of it. She was too young to have it to sleep, though, so he was working it into the soothing routine and trying to recognize when she wanted to suck on something versus actually wanting to eat.

“Hey.”

“Christopher, this is Evan Buckley. He prefers to be called Buck,” Eddie said as he put his son’s backpack aside. “And that’s his daughter Beatrice.”

“Beatrice,” Christopher said as he set aside his crutches and sat down right next to him. The boy’s excitement was radiating off of him. “That was going to be my name if I was a girl. Did you know?”

“I didn’t know,” Buck admitted and shared a glance with Eddie, who shrugged it off. He’d have to ask later.

“She’s so small.” Christopher reached out, and Eddie was there, gently grasping his son’s wrist.

“Easy, Mijo. Bea’s very sensitive because she’s an online Guide.” He sat down on the coffee table in front of them as Christopher’s eyes widened in shock. “We don’t know how she’ll react to you.”

“Oh, sorry.”

Eddie released his hand.

“It’s fine,” Buck assured. “You can try, but we just have to be very careful with it. Bea had a very difficult birth, and there was an accident.”

“Like mine?” Christopher asked and focused on Eddie. “Did the doctor hurt her like the doctor hurt me?”

“What?” Buck questioned and glanced between them.

“His cerebral palsy is the result of medical malpractice,” Eddie explained. “The doctor made a mistake, Christopher. He didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Grandma said he was careless because he was biased against Guides, and he knew you were latent,” Christopher said plainly and focused on Bea. “Was she hurt like me?”

“No, it was different,” Eddie said. “I think you’re too young to know it, Mijo, but it’s not much of a secret, so you’re going to overhear someone talking about it. So, we’re going to tell you, but there are some details that are just too much. Okay?”

“Okay,” Christopher said easily and leaned forward a little to get a better look at the baby.

“Bea’s mom was very young and hurt. She gave birth alone and made a terrible decision because of her mental illness, and Beatrice ended up in a pipe in her apartment building,” Eddie began and shared a glance with Buck, who took in a ragged breath. “Buck’s a firefighter like me, and he was part of the team that rescued her.”

“Her mommy threw her away,” Christopher said and frowned. “I understand.”

Buck hated the fact that it was clear the kid really did understand. “She’s safe now.” Christopher nodded. “So are you.”

Christopher met his gaze and smiled. “I know.”

 

 

Chapter Five

Eddie shifted Bea in his hands and shared a look with Buck, who was projecting a lot of calm despite his emotional upheaval. Dinner had proven to be ingredients, and Buck had cooked. He didn’t mind cooking, but Buck seemed to really enjoy the whole thing. Christopher, who wasn’t all that picky, ate the chicken piccata with no problems despite the fact that he’d never had anything like it as far as Eddie knew.

“Okay, Mijo, you can offer her your fingers,” Eddie said as he settled fully into the lotus position on the bed. Christopher had mirrored him easily as they often meditated before sleep. “But she’ll pull away if it makes her uncomfortable. Don’t be hurt; she can’t help it.”

“I understand,” Christopher said. “Has she met any other kids?”

“No, you’re the first,” Buck said from where he was sitting. He’d agreed to try to meditate, but Eddie could tell he was hesitant about the whole thing.

Christopher reached out and gently brushed his fingers over Bea’s fist. She grabbed one and held on as she kicked her feet. Eddie relaxed a little.

“Does she like me, Daddy?” Christopher asked.

“You’re awesome, so everyone is required to like you,” Eddie told him gravely, and his son laughed. “But I think this is more a response to your age than anything else. Also, you’re probably the first latent to touch her as well.”

“Yeah,” Buck admitted. “Everyone on the estate, except for Christopher, is online. We should’ve realized that a latent, or even a mundane, would’ve been able to touch her.”

“Not a mundane,” Eddie said. “The lack of psionic feedback would be like having a void touch her. She wouldn’t understand it, but it would be irritating at the least and horrifying at the most. Her emotions aren’t complicated right now.” He paused. “Well, her perceptions of her own emotions are relatively simple. Feeling secure is the most important factor, and for most infants, swaddling would be a go-to choice to create that security.”

“She had a complete meltdown the one time I tried that,” Buck admitted. “For obvious reasons.”

“Latent children have a very soothing aura,” Eddie said thoughtfully. “It’s partially a survival technique—for a variety of reasons. It encourages adults around them to be careful with them and protect them.” He paused. “Except some mundanes can be put off by the aura, which is the root of the bias against our kind. They see it as some kind of manipulation on our parts, no matter how ridiculous that is.”

“All of my teachers are really nice,” Christopher said as he wiggled his finger gently in Bea’s grasp.

“Well, you go to a school certified by the Burton Foundation,” Buck pointed out. “So, all members of staff are vetted to make sure they are the right kind of people to be trusted with our children. Our formative years are very important because psionic trauma is dangerous.”

“Abuelo says I’ll never come online since I’m disabled,” Christopher said frankly. “He says it’s okay, though, because he’s always been latent.”

Eddie grimaced. “Your abuelo is very lazy psionically, Mijo. I’ve never once known him to meditate, and he barely paid any attention to the lessons as a child. He had to send me to LA for training every summer when I was a kid because he couldn’t do it, and some form of training was required by the Burton Foundation.”

“Why didn’t he pay attention? It’s so important.” Christopher scrunched up his nose in ire, and Eddie barely refrained from laughing.

“Because his father was mundane and never wanted him trained at all. He even wanted your abuelita to ignore her gifts, and it caused a lot of arguments in their house. He didn’t want me trained, but the laws are pretty strict about the training of latent Guides since we can cause a lot of damage if we blow psionically.” He turned a little, and Bea released Christopher’s fingers. “Okay, let’s get settled. We’re going to help Bea find the psionic plane.”

“How?” Buck questioned.

“She’s going to follow you,” Eddie said and offered him the baby. He watched the indecision play over Buck’s face. “This isn’t going to be anything complicated, I promise. Online Guides can find solace and safety in the psionic plane, and we need to teach her that. The only way to do that at her age is to demonstrate it. The more at ease you are with the whole thing, the easier she’ll accept the process.”

Buck took her and let her rest on his chest. “I get it. I just haven’t been able to meditate since the day she was born.”

“That’s because you’re so worried,” Christopher said and shrugged when they both focused on him. “It’s hard to do anything else when you’re really worried. I know.”

“Do you get really worried?” Eddie questioned. He’d worked hard to keep stress out of their home, no matter how difficult his parents were.

“Not much anymore,” Christopher admitted. “It’s better here with Abuelita. Grandma is really stressful, and she doesn’t…regulate her emotions.”

Eddie nodded. “I know. It’s hard to be around her sometimes; even when I was a little kid, I struggled. Some people don’t understand how thin the line between latent and online for a Guide is.” He looked at Buck, who raised an eyebrow. “There is a little unchecked river of psionic energy running through latent Guides. It makes them sensitive to the emotions of others, and while it’s not a true empathetic state, there is a level of discomfort to be had around people who can’t or won’t control their own emotions. One of the first things Abuela taught me was to create a boundary of sorts to protect myself from my mother’s emotions. I’ve been working with Christopher for two years. He’s pretty close to a full barrier despite his latent state.”

“So, we’ll have to teach Bea that,” Buck said and looked down at his daughter. “I don’t know how to do that. I just pushed all of that stuff away from me when I was latent. It wasn’t until I came online as an Alpha Ascendant that I even realized that a lot of emotions I dealt with as a child weren’t mine.”

“You pushed it away?” Eddie questioned. “I see.”

“Is that a problem?”

“Have you ever explicitly said that to Dr. Salas?”

“No, I…don’t like discussing my childhood, and he had enough to deal with training me in my online state. Why rehash ancient history?” Buck shrugged.

“We’ll talk later,” Eddie said firmly because he was starting to believe that Buck had pushed more than just the emotions of others away from him.

Christopher scrunched up his nose and adjusted his glasses. “That means you’re in trouble, Buck, and you’re gonna get a lecture in private, so it doesn’t hurt your self-esteem.”

Buck stared for a moment and burst out laughing.

* * * *

Buck considered himself to be very educated when it came to the psionic plane, but he felt wrong-footed and unsure. Meditating with Eddie and Christopher had been a very different experience, and he’d allowed Cristobal to lead him for years in such tasks as needed. That maintenance had helped him create and police his mental shields for years. He’d have never achieved the level of functionality he had without the older man, and he knew it.

“You’re troubled.”

Buck shrugged and let his hand rest on Bea, where she lay sleeping in a sling across his chest. “He’s great, and his kid is amazing.”

Cristobal hummed under his breath and took a sip of coffee. “His abuela is profoundly powerful. She’s got herself on lockdown, but she could take half the Guides in this house down without even breaking a sweat. I’m certainly no match for her.”

“Really?” Buck questioned.

“Really,” Cristobal assured. “She’s astounding, and it’s very clear why the previous prime pairs for the region were so strict regarding contacting her. Speaking of Jetta Watney, she arrived and is sleeping off an unreasonable amount of irrational anger.”

“She was bonded for decades,” Buck said. “It must be difficult to move around in the world without her Guide.”

“Does that concern you?” Cristobal questioned. “Eventually being widowed? Outliving your Guide?”

“I think it has to be a concern for every single Sentinel,” Buck admitted. “I realize that second bondings are not out of the question and that depending on age, it might even be required.” He grimaced. “I can barely get my head around bonding for the first time, much less replacing my Guide in the future.”

“Your psionic profile is calm,” Cristobal noted. “In fact, you’ve rarely ever been so smoothed out on that front.”

“I meditated with Eddie and Christopher.” Buck patted Bea gently. “And Bea. It was amazing to hold her on the psionic plane. I was able to explore the tether and cement the root of it, which was strong but a little frayed.” He took a deep breath. “It was easy to see how I could allow Eddie to weave into it. The whole experience…felt normal.”

“You didn’t think it would be?”

Buck shrugged. “It’s supposed to be, right? But I’ve done a lot to avoid normal experiences that most Sentinels covet. It makes me feel like an asshole. Eddie certainly deserves better than these circumstances.”

“Then do better,” Cristobal said and raised an eyebrow when Buck frowned at him. “It’s that simple, Evan. The emotions are complicated enough, and you can’t continue to ignore your own instincts if you want to be the kind of man Eddie Diaz and his son deserve to have in their lives.”

“Yeah, that’s the crux of it,” Buck admitted. “He’s a sweet kid, and I don’t want to disappoint or hurt him.” He paused. “I don’t want to hurt Eddie, either, obviously. I just think I’ve spent a lot of time letting my parents live rent-free in my head despite what I’ve been telling myself.” He leaned against the railing and glanced over the veranda before letting his gaze travel over the wide lawn that sprawled out behind the house. “What does Jetta Watney want? I mean, Isobel is going to be my family, so I feel like this situation really isn’t any of her business.”

Cristobal hummed under his breath. “Would it surprise you to know that female/female pairings amongst Sentinels and Guides were strongly discouraged well into the 1990s in the United States because it lessened breeding opportunities?”

“Not really. This whole country is full of ignorant fuckwits. Eddie said he thought his abuela had to turn down a match with a woman when she was young,” Buck said, and his stomach tightened. “Oh. Are you serious? Jetta’s her Sentinel? Is that why Isabel married a mundane?”

“A male mundane, and yes,” Cristobal said. “She was very frank when I asked her about it, and she also told me point blank that Jetta Watney was her Sentinel and the only one she’d have ever accepted. Her family would’ve disowned her for it, and Jetta was presenting as an Alpha. Apparently, it was made clear to her that she had to bond with a male Guide and produce children.”

“Jetta Watney never had children,” Buck said.

“She bonded with a man but refused him any more than a platonic relationship. She said they were dear friends. He fathered several children outside of their bond. Apparently, the relationship suited them just fine, but it all sounds wretched and infuriating. If either of the previous Alpha Primes were alive, I’d still be cursing them out.” He cleared his throat. “And today is the first time Jetta and Isabel have been in the same building in decades. Isabel is open to speaking with her, but Jetta doesn’t think she deserves such consideration due to the choices she made.”

“You should put Thomas in charge of that situation,” Buck suggested and grinned when Cristobal raised an eyebrow. “Seriously, if he has to toss one of them over his shoulder—he’ll definitely take their age into consideration.”

* * * *

Eddie took in a calming breath as he poured himself some coffee. Buck slowly meandered back toward the suite. He wasn’t surprised that the man had sought out his adoptive father, as he’d clearly been put off by the meditation session. He did wonder if he’d made a mistake with it, and now, he was kind of overwrought about his abuela. He didn’t even have room to feel guilty for listening to Buck’s conversation with Cristobal Salas. Having what he’d suspected confirmed wasn’t the comfort he’d expected it to be.

“It’s telling that Jetta Watney came running the moment Isabel gained Cristobal’s attention,” Buck said as he came into the kitchen. “She’s very protective of your grandmother.”

“She probably always has been,” Eddie said roughly. “My grandparents were never happy. Mostly because of his overt disapproval of anything Sentinel or Guide-related, and now I know why. He knew he wasn’t her first choice. She just settled and….” He rubbed his face with one hand. “I have no right to make it about my feelings.”

“True,” Buck agreed. “But you’re allowed to be upset for her.” He glanced down at Bea and made a little huffy sound.

“What?”

“I think she wants you.”

Eddie grinned. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Buck said and unfastened the sling.

Eddie set aside his coffee in favor of the baby. “Christopher is sleeping better than I ever have in my life. It’s kind of hard not to be jealous.”

“The suite is encased in a Faraday cage,” Buck said. “There are cages in the condo complex I live in….” He trailed off. “I haven’t asked, and I should. Where are the two of you living?”

“In a Burton Foundation property about forty-five minutes here,” Eddie said. “I needed the security when I first came to LA, and it’s hard to argue with free housing. It made the move from El Paso really easy.” He adjusted Bea, so she was laying on his shoulder. “I think my father encouraged the move because he wanted me to bond, and the politics in El Paso were making that impossible. I thought he was being supportive, but he was just manipulating me. I clearly gave him more privacy than he deserved.”

“Sucks,” Buck murmured. “But if they want to show their asses…then we can make sure they don’t see Christopher again until he’s an adult.” He raised an eyebrow when Eddie took a deep breath. “I guess that’s a pretty big step, though.”

“Even being able to use it for leverage is a genuine relief,” Eddie admitted. “Let’s go sit on the couch and angst properly about our shitty parents.”

“We’re talking about your shitty parents,” Buck said. “Mine are history.”

“Yours might as well be sitting between us,” Eddie retorted and walked out of the kitchen. Buck followed with a groan. “Seriously.”

“I’m a good person,” Buck muttered. “People are usually nice to me.”

Eddie laughed. “Most of them probably want to get in your pants.”

“You don’t?” Buck challenged.

Eddie sat down on the sofa with a little smile. “I already know I’m going to get in your pants, Buck.” He watched a blush steal across the man’s cheeks. “We were told from the start that you wanted an intimate bond, and you were right to make that clear. Frankly, platonic bonds are a lot of damn work, and neither of us has the time for that kind of investment. Work plus two children.” He shrugged. “So, you asked about housing because?”

“I live in a condo complex about fifteen minutes from here—which would be closer to your grandmother and Christopher’s school. It’s on the beach and, as of yesterday, on the first floor. It has security, a pool, and a gym. The gym is a new addition. My unit has four bedrooms.” He wet his lips. “I think it would be a good move for you and Christopher.”

“Moving into your space is preferred. It’ll be easier to keep you grounded, and it’s bigger. I only have three bedrooms,” Eddie admitted. “I know the building in question—Thomas and Cosmo live there. They had the ground floor unit.”

“Yeah, we traded because I didn’t want it to be a problem for Christopher,” Buck said easily. “Thomas promised to get hand railings installed in the showers.”

“That’s…good,” Eddie focused on Bea, who was staring at him. “Her visual acuity is advanced.”

“I noticed,” Buck said. “Far more than it should be for even a baby that is weeks old.”

“Yeah,” he agreed and sighed. “Hell, kiddo.”

“Should I tell anyone?”

“I’m sure the doctors have already noted it,” Eddie said. “Her brain is just more mature, and there’s not much that can be done about it. I don’t think she has an advanced physical sense. If that happens, we’ll deal with it. I think we’re uniquely qualified for that particular circumstance as is.”

He shifted around to face Buck and offered his hand. Eddie watched indecision and anxiety war on his Sentinel’s face. Then Buck moved closer and took his hand. He was still for a moment, then gently laced their fingers together.

“It’s okay.”

Buck shook his head. “I’m a fucked up mess, and you deserve better.”

“Let me worry about what I deserve,” Eddie said. “You can have this, you know.”

“I’ve been told that for years, but it never felt true,” Buck admitted and exhaled slowly. “Sex is easy. It’s always been easy, and there was a time when I was convinced that it was the only kind of comfort I could depend on.”

“I heard one of the potentials was refused because he’s an exclusive top.” Eddie grinned when Buck rolled his eyes. “I was surprised when I wasn’t asked my preferences.”

“He wasn’t asked!” Buck exclaimed. “He just burst out with it before Cristobal could ask a single question and went on to talk about how he couldn’t allow himself to be penetrated and that he was a real man. Then he basically delivered an essay about his sexual history and how he’d had sex with men, but affection and love were for women. I don’t have time to manage someone’s internalized homophobia.”

“That’s a lot,” Eddie said. “I’m good with both, by the way.”

“Oh. Me, too.” Buck looked down at their hands. “You probably already know this, but I only have taste left on my imprint.”

“I wasn’t sure until we meditated together,” Eddie said. “And it’s fine. In fact, it’s relieving that the Sentinel in you is far more on board this train than even you think.” Bea snuffled against his T-shirt and curled up against him briefly in her sleep before relaxing again. “She’d rest better in her bassinet. Let’s get some sleep, and tomorrow we’re going to meet with my abuela. If she confirms what I’m thinking about the tether, then we can create the bond.”

“Just like that?” Buck questioned. “Are you sure?”

“We’ve got work to do, obviously, but we need to make the best choice for Bea.” He watched Buck’s face soften. “And Christopher. He does best when things appear very stable and certain.”

“Will he be okay moving? Because if he isn’t….”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine moving into a beachfront condo,” Eddie said wryly.

“The pool is saltwater,” Buck said and shrugged when Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Store-bought chlorine is awful.”

“Granted,” Eddie agreed. “I can see why a saltwater filtration system would be better for a Sentinel. But you’re literally on the beach. Why have a pool at all?”

“Ah, well, it’s got a physical therapy area with whirlpool jets, and there are ramps. The building was built in the 1960s originally, and the Alpha Prime pair for North America lived in it until they retired in their nineties.”

“Okay, sleep now,” Eddie ordered.

Buck stared. “I’m never going to salute you.”

“Are you sure about that?” Eddie questioned as he glanced his Sentinel over and laughed when Buck blushed.

* * * *

Buck watched Christopher out of the corner of his eye as he flipped the French toast he was making. The kid had been a little iffy on the breakfast option, but he was currently plowing through a whole piece of it with probably more bacon than Eddie would normally allow. Still, he hadn’t gotten any sort of instruction on kid feeding. Eddie was currently on the sofa giving Bea a bottle and had agreed with his breakfast plans with a look of near-disbelief.

Both of their phones were charging on the counter. Eddie’s had started to vibrate nearly fifteen minutes before and had gone off roughly every three minutes since.

“That’s probably Grandma,” Christopher said from the table. “She can’t stand it when Daddy doesn’t answer the phone.”

“Some people are very invested in their own presumed authority,” Buck said and looked over to find Christopher nodding. “Your grandmother is used to getting her way.”

“Yeah,” Christopher nodded. “This is good. I like the cinnamon part. Daddy said that we’re going to live with you now. We shouldn’t tell Grandma and Abuelo the address.” Buck laughed. “Seriously, they’ll just ruin our fun, Buck. You’ve never met them, so you don’t know how terrible they can be when they don’t get their way.”

Eddie came into the kitchen with Bea in a sling across his chest, rinsed out the bottle, and tucked everything into the dishwasher. “Relax, Mijo, your grandparents aren’t going get what they want. They can make all the noise they want, but that’s all it will be. Okay?”

“Okay,” Christopher agreed. “Buck gave me six pieces of bacon.”

“Man,” Buck muttered and glanced at Eddie, who was staring pointedly at him. “Bacon’s a treat. I don’t make it often.”

“Well, in that case, I expect at least six pieces of bacon, too,” Eddie said.

“Yeah, I have it in the oven,” Buck said. “Want some eggs?” Eddie’s phone went off again.

Eddie sighed and picked up his phone. “I like a soft scramble.”

He patted Bea as he checked the missed calls. He had fourteen from his mother and three from his father. Eddie really didn’t want to talk to either of them, but he figured it would be easier just to call her and endure whatever she had to say. If he pissed her off enough, his father wouldn’t even want to talk to him, which was the best deal he could hope for.

Eddie leaned on the counter and watched Buck continue to cook as he called his mother.

“Eddie, where are you? Where’s Christopher? You’re going to bring him here right now!”

Eddie laughed. “No, I’m not.” He patted Bea when she stirred. “We’re on a secure estate owned by the Burton Foundation. Abuela is with us if you care at all about her whereabouts.” He paused when she huffed. “Listen, you need to go back to El Paso because I have nothing polite or civilized to say to you right now.”

“We thought you understood how impossible it would be to bond with a Sentinel and parent Christopher. After you foolishly rejected Colton Beauregard, we tried to give you room to recognize the mistake you were making. Sending you to LA was supposed to make you face reality. You turned down a perfect pairing that would’ve made you the Alpha Guide of El Paso, and for what?”

Eddie made a face when Buck glanced his way. “My compatibility percentage with Colton Beauregard was just ninety-two percent, Mom. I rejected him for several reasons, and that’s my business. You have no idea what an empathic bond is or what it would be like to be bound to someone you couldn’t stand. So, you can keep your opinions about that asshole to yourself. I’d never bond at all if he were my only choice. I don’t know what the Beauregard family told you or what you really expected to accomplish by encouraging my move to LA, and I don’t care. I’m never moving back to El Paso.”

“Christopher is going to live with us.”

“There is an entire branch of law that says differently, and you know it,” Eddie said. “But please feel free to waste your money while the Burton Foundation pays for a world-class lawyer to ruin your life on my behalf.”

“You selfish little bastard and a shit father, Eddie! You’re going to ruin Christopher just like you ruined yourself.”

Buck plucked the phone right out of his hand. “Hello, Mrs. Diaz; my name is Evan Buckley, your son’s Sentinel. This is the only warning you’ll ever get on this subject—neither you nor your husband will verbally, emotionally, or physically abuse my Guide for the rest of your life. If you cannot speak with all due care when you contact him, then I will have you sanctioned, and you’ll never be allowed to see him or our children again. Am I clear?”

“I…. Put my son back on the phone!’”

“No, this conversation is over. You’ll receive a phone call from Eddie at some future date, and if you can’t behave when he calls, there will be severe consequences,” Buck said and ended the call. He handed the phone back to Eddie with a frown and returned to the skillet.

“I should be really irritated by your high-handedness,” Eddie said conversationally as he put his phone down. “But that was really attractive.”

“It was great,” Christopher agreed. “I think I want some eggs.” He shrugged when they both looked at him. “I’m a growing boy. I need sustenance, Daddy.”

“You know I can’t give you extra credit for using your vocabulary words, right?” Eddie asked, and Buck laughed.

“You could tell Miss Murphy that I continue to expand my horizons and work on myself at home,” Christopher told him.

Eddie stared at his son’s serious little face and nodded. “Sure, Mijo. Sounds like a plan.”

Nearly an hour later, his abuela was escorted to the isolation suite by Dr. Salas. Eddie didn’t know what she’d been told, as he hadn’t had a conversation with her since she’d come to the estate. The bigger surprise was that she brought Everstar with her. Quickly, he realized they were going to separate Christopher from them, at least short term, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Bea’s circumstances were traumatic, to say the least, and he really didn’t want his son to know all the details. He’d rather he never hear about the situation with the birth mother and how Bea was conceived.

“Buck, this is my abuela, Isabel Diaz. You’ve met Everstar, right?” Eddie shifted Bea against his chest as Buck offered his abuela his hand.

“Hi, Everstar,” Christopher said excitedly. “Can we go outside? It’s boring in here!”

Everstar grinned and inclined her head in Eddie’s direction. “If it’s okay with your dad. There’s a treehouse and a playground in the back garden.”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good. Keep your phone on you.”

“Yeah, of course, we’ll need to research any insects or lizards we find,” Everstar said cheerfully.

“Please don’t bring anything back into the house, Mijo.”

Everstar guided Christopher right out of the suite as his abuela stared at Buck in silence. Cristobal took a seat, and Eddie did as well, unbuckling the sling as he did so. Bea cried a little as he adjusted her in his hands and shuddered a little. Buck pulled his hands free from Isabel’s abruptly.

“Well, you were right, Cristobal,” Isabel said. “The psionic plane is aggressive in its protection of the tether.” She focused on Eddie and nodded. “I think your plan to join the tether will work but suppressing the experience will be required. It will resonate in her for the rest of her life otherwise. It would be mentally and emotionally damaging to an untold degree.”

Eddie nodded. “Did you want to try to hold her?”

“No, even touching the tether made them both very uncomfortable,” Isabel said quietly and sat down on the sofa next to Cristobal. “You’ll have to create a bond and burrow into the tether at the same time, Eddie. It will be a strenuous undertaking mentally. I think Christopher should stay with me in my suite while you handle that.”

Eddie glanced toward Buck, who was frowning. “Mom’s already made him have a territorial response.”

Isabel hummed under her breath. “Yes, Ramon called me. He was very upset to have his wife threatened by a Sentinel but did admit that Helena was verbally abusing you. I’ve told Ramon that he is to take her back to Texas and that she’s never welcome in my home again. He is upset and wants to speak with me in person. As to your mother, I’ve asked Dr. Salas to send her a written warning.”

Eddie winced. “Won’t she escalate?”

“Certainly,” Isabel said. “Then she will be sanctioned, and Ramon will have to finally make a choice between the woman he married and the rest of his family. I’ve spoken with both of your sisters; Sophia is resigned to the obvious result, and Adrianna asked me to…rug sweep.” She waved a hand. “She’s always taken your mother’s side, and I told her explicitly that I would not allow Helena to be a problem going forward. She’s lost whatever restraint she had in the past, and I will not ignore it. Adrianna cried and ended the conversation. I don’t expect you will get a different result.”

“She’s always been invested in her golden child status,” Eddie said and focused on Bea, who was mouthing her own fist. “I don’t like being separated from Christopher, but I understand why. I don’t want him removed from the estate.”

Buck cleared his throat. “We’d like him back in the suite as soon as the bond is settled. We don’t want him to think that…the baby is somehow more important than he is. He has great self-esteem, and I don’t want to see that eroded during this process.”

“He will understand,” Isabel assured.

“And he’ll probably ask really uncomfortable questions,” Eddie muttered. “He asked about erections last week because some kid at school mentioned having one.”

Cristobal laughed. “The joys of parenthood seem to be never-ending.”

Part Two