“Don’t worry,” Maris whispered in Zarya’s ear. “Kiara’s an old friend of Darling’s and she’s married to the tall blond killer dwarfing her.”

In spite of Maris’s kindness, Zarya was beginning to feel like an outsider. Even as long as she and Darling had been together, there was still a lot about Darling she didn’t know. And the people here brought that home with a vengeance. Not only did she not know who they were, she wasn’t sure what they meant to him.

The next to stop Darling was a rather large group.

She could identify the tallest of the men, but again only by reputation. Dressed more like a Tavali pirate than royalty—right down to the blaster strapped to his lean hips—Caillen de Orczy was the Exeterian prince and heir to his father’s empire. He’d been hunted a couple of years back when the League had erroneously accused him of assassinating his father and the Qillaq queen. For weeks, no one had been able to go near any news broadcast without seeing his face.

Tall, dark, and exceptionally gorgeous, Caillen had his arm around a brunette woman who was holding a little girl. Asleep on the woman’s shoulder, the girl looked so much like her that it had to be her daughter.

And if Zarya didn’t miss her guess, the red-haired woman beside Caillen was Shahara Dagan—one of the most lethal tracers in the business. Her name was synonymous with death, and anyone who carried a bounty on their life knew exactly who she was. You’d be a fool not to. No one wanted to tangle with Shahara. Most of all, they didn’t want to be pursued by her.

Shahara held a toddler boy in her arms. He blew Darling a precious kiss before laughing and bouncing in his mother’s arms. Then he practically jumped from Shahara to Syn who caught him and held him tight against his chest before he kissed the boy’s cheek.

Zarya’s jaw went slack as she realized the boy looked just like Syn.

“Syn has a son?” she asked Maris.

“Two, actually. The other was with his first wife.”

She arched a brow at that disclosure.

“It’s a really long story,” Maris added.

The boy launched himself from Syn to Darling who sat up to catch him. Squealing, the boy wrapped his little arms tight around Darling’s neck and hugged him close like he was another father.

“Hey, little guy,” Darling said with a laugh. “Look how big you’ve grown.”

The boy laughed and bounced in Darling’s arms.

Her heart melted at the sight. Especially when Darling tickled him, then kissed his cheek. In that one moment, she could see Darling as a father…

“Dang, Shay,” Darling said to Syn’s wife. “What have you been feeding my boy? He weighs a ton.”

“He does not,” she said defensively. “He’s perfect for his age. Absolutely perfect.”

Darling made a face. “He’s also smelly.”

Shahara narrowed her eyes at Darling and then Syn in turn. “If you two weren’t heading into surgery, I’d make one of you change him.” She clapped her hands at the boy. “Come to Mama, Devy-baby.”