“Easton’s a good friend, and Colin’s his nephew. Of course I’d be here.” He pushed his hands into his pockets. “But I am glad Colin has his father in his life now. I know that was hard on him.” He closed his eyes as if battling through something. “It’s good that it’s you. You know, someone I know who will never fail him.”

I stepped back, refusing to believe my ears.

“From what I’ve heard, you’re not the man I once thought you were . . . so, that’s, ahem, good.” He opened his eyes, dispelling a deep breath. “So, just don’t fuck up and die on your kid today. He needs you.” Before I could respond, he gave me a hard nod and walked away.

I took a moment to process what he’d said, doing my best to ignore the darkness trying to latch hold of me before I joined everyone.

When I entered, the room was already packed with operators, including a few I didn’t recognize. I assumed The League or Carter brought them in. Everyone, including my brothers, seemed to notice Carter standing there, and they cleared a path for him to join Sebastian and Wyatt, who were in the middle of a heated discussion.

Emilia stepped forward, parking a hand on both their chests. “Too much testosterone between the two of you, my God.”

“Dad, you’re going to be right out there with me,” Gwen said to Wyatt, looking up from her laptop at him. “Why do you have to be all growly and dad-like, treating me like a kid in a room full of all these operators.”

“Because you’re still my kid, I don’t care how old you are,” Wyatt bit back.

“This is the best plan. So, deal with it, Wyatt.” Emilia slowly lowered her hands. “You English and Irish . . . always going at it, I swear.” She huffed out a dramatic breath, flipping her long braid off her shoulder and to her back.

“Yeah, and with bloody good reason,” Sebastian shot back.

“And I’m American now, by the way,” Wyatt casually tossed out, cracking a smile, which also managed to break whatever tension I’d walked in on.

I joined them by a large screen mounted on the wall showing aerial footage of the compound. “What do we know?” Hopefully, refocusing their attention on my question would get everyone back on the same operational page.