Family Secret

Chapter 39

The twins had long since fallen asleep, their soft snores muffled by closed bedroom doors. Alexia waited until the house was still, until even the creaks in the wood seemed to fade, then slipped silently into the night. Her oversized sweater clung to her in the chill air as she moved quickly through the alleys, like a shadow blending with the darkness.

The Resistance’s hideout wasn’t far—a forgotten warehouse with rusted doors and boarded windows. Inside, dim lanterns flickered against the cracked walls, throwing long shadows across the room. Javier stood near the center, arms crossed, posture sharp as always. Gale leaned casually against a crate, but his eyes never really left Alexia.

“You’re late,” Javier said, his voice gravel and steel.

Alexia ignored the comment and folded her arms, raising an eyebrow. “You wanted to see me.”

Javier’s dark eyes fixed on her, unreadable. “I got word The Order will be sending one of their agents on the cruise. They’re circling Cisco Monroe like vultures. I want to know why. I want to know what information Cisco has that’s worth so much blood and effort. Keep your eye on him. Watch for anyone trying to get close.”

Alexia gave a curt nod, though her mind wasn’t fully there. The image of Nate lingered—his chest pressing lightly against her back, the warmth of his breath brushing her neck, the sandalwood and bergamot clinging to his skin. And the almost-kiss. That maddening, almost electric moment where their lips nearly touched before the world intruded. Ever since that kiss at the cookout, a craving had been building inside her, no matter how much she tried to ignore it.

Her thoughts spiraled so deep she didn’t hear Gale until he cleared his throat. “Alexia. You alright?”

Her head snapped back up, face hardening into its usual mask. “Yes. Of course.”

Javier’s sharp gaze narrowed, one brow lifting ever so slightly. “Domestic life getting the best of you?”

Her jaw tightened. “Of course not.” The words came out clipped, edged like a blade.

Javier studied her for a long moment, then gave a single nod. “Good. Because distraction is weakness. And weakness will get you killed.” He stepped closer, his shadow stretching over her like a cloak. “Gale will be there. If things take a turn, he’ll cover you.”

Alexia’s shoulders stiffened, but she nodded again. She owed Javier too much to argue. He had saved her once—pulled her from The Order’s torment when she was just a broken child. He had rebuilt her, trained her, made her into what she was now. To defy him would be to spit on that debt.

Gale pushed off the crate with a smirk that softened the tension in the air. “Don’t worry, Alexia. I’ll always have your back.” His eyes lingered on her longer than they should have, the corners of his lips tugging up just slightly.

Alexia didn’t return the smile, but she didn’t need to—her silence said enough.

She was already thinking about the cruise, about Cisco Monroe, about what game The Order was playing. But beneath it all, Nate’s face still haunted her, far more than she cared to admit.

The meeting with Javier and Gale ended, but Alexia barely heard their final words. She walked home with her thoughts in a storm, boots crunching over gravel, the night air biting at her flushed cheeks. Every step back to the house only dragged her deeper into the memory of Nate’s hand cupping her cheek, his thumb brushing away the egg yolk like it was the most natural thing in the world.

It wasn’t supposed to feel like that.

They weren’t supposed to feel like this.

Alexia had kissed men before—many men. She had let them touch her, even pretended to enjoy it. But it was always for a mission, for survival, for the Resistance. Never for herself. Never because she wanted to. Yet with Nate… that tiny brush of his thumb against her skin, that almost-kiss that made her pulse race—it had been real. And real was dangerous.

---

Nate wasn’t sleeping. He sat on the edge of his bed, shirt off, phone discarded beside him. His hand ran through his hair over and over, trying to scrub the thoughts from his head, but they wouldn’t leave.

Feelings were messy. Feelings got people killed.

He had trained his whole life to keep them locked away, buried under steel and discipline. Spies didn’t get attached. They couldn’t afford to. And yet…

And yet he kept replaying that moment in the kitchen. Alexia’s laugh, soft and unguarded. The way she smelled like apples and vanilla, flour dusting her cheek like a halo. And her eyes—brown, wide, and fixed on his lips.

They had kissed once before, back at the cookout, when the ruse of “husband and wife” demanded it. But that kiss had been different. It wasn’t practiced, it wasn’t staged—it lingered, it sparked, it carved something deep into him he hadn’t known existed.

And tonight… tonight had nearly been worse. Or better. He didn’t know anymore. All he knew was that when her breath hitched under his touch, his body responded before his mind did. He wanted her. Not for the mission. Not for The Order. Not for the cover.

Just her.

And that terrified him.

---

Alexia slipped silently back into the house, leaning against the door for a moment before climbing the stairs. She peeked in on the twins, both tangled in blankets, and felt her chest loosen slightly. But when she turned toward her own room, her eyes drifted to the closed door across the hall—Nate’s.

She bit her lip and forced herself into her own room.

This wasn’t what she was built for. This wasn’t what she was trained for. Her life had been about knives and shadows, blood and silence. Not… not stolen glances across a kitchen, not almost-kisses that left her trembling, not the warmth of a man who could undo her with one soft smile.

But she craved it. She craved him.

And that was the problem.

Because in their world, feelings weren’t an option. They were a liability. A weakness. A death sentence.

And yet both Nate and Alexia knew, deep down, that one taste hadn’t been enough.

It never would be.

The next morning the house was buzzing with energy. Ryan and Kyan were up before the alarm, racing each other down the hallway, arguing about who got the bathroom first. Their voices carried through the house, echoing with excitement as they rattled off all the things they wanted to do on the cruise.

“Daddy, I’m gonna swim every single day!” Kyan shouted as she darted into the kitchen, half-dressed, hair sticking up in every direction. “They have a giant pool on the top deck, like a whole water park!”

Ryan trailed behind, adjusting his shirt collar with a smug smirk. “I’m not wasting my time in some kiddie pool. I’m gonna go explore the whole ship—every floor. I bet they’ve got secret doors or something.”

Nate, standing at the stove with a pan of eggs, raised an eyebrow. “Secret doors?” He plated the food with his usual neat precision. “What sort of cruise do you think this is, mate? A spy ship?”

Ryan froze for a split second, pulse jumping at the word spy. Then he forced a shrug, slipping into his chair. “I dunno. Just sounds better than sitting in a pool all day.”

Alexia breezed into the kitchen, freshly showered, hair still damp and glinting gold in the morning sun. She moved with practiced ease, gathering plates, pouring juice, tying Kyan’s shoelace as the girl spun in place, chattering about ice cream buffets and treasure hunts.

Nate watched her for a moment longer than he should have, the soft scent of apples and vanilla brushing his senses again. He quickly cleared his throat and focused on the eggs, but Alexia caught the glance from the corner of her eye.

She said nothing, only gave him a small smile as she set the last glass on the table.

“Do they have dancing on the ship?” Kyan asked between bites, her big eyes flicking between Nate and Alexia. “Like, real fancy ballroom dancing?”

Nate tilted his head. “Why do you ask?”

Kyan grinned, a mischievous spark in her eye. “’Cause then you and Mommy can dance together.”

Alexia choked lightly on her juice, quickly setting it down. “Kyan—”

Nate smirked, though his jaw tightened to cover the flicker of heat rushing to his chest. “We’ll see about that.”

Ryan rolled his eyes. “You’re so weird.”

The twins kept rambling—Ryan about exploring, Kyan about dancing and ice cream—while Nate and Alexia exchanged a single glance across the table.

Neither of them said it out loud, but the thought lingered in both their minds like a shadow neither could shake.

The cruise wasn’t just going to test their cover. It was going to test them.