A Wilde Christmas (Wilde Security Worldwide #0.5)

Chapter 3

three

Jude watched his son go, noting Davey’s limp was more pronounced than earlier in the evening. His heart squeezed, just as it had when he first held the kid thirty-three years ago. This parenting thing was no joke. Nobody ever told you you’d spent the rest of your existence worrying, even when your kids were all grown.

Hell, he worried about them more now than he ever had when his boys were babies. When they were little, they were under his roof, under his care, safe and sound. Now, they were out there in a world that was cruel more often than not, and he couldn’t protect them. The worry ate at him, keeping him up every night since that early morning visit from two uniformed sailors ten months ago.

Because of an administrative fuck-up, they’d thought Davey was dead, the second Wilde to be claimed by this endless fucking war. For far too many hours, Jude had watched his wife’s heart shatter while he tried to hold his own together for her sake, and he suddenly understood his late father-in-law better than he ever had before. Elliot Pruitt hadn’t wanted Libby to marry a Marine because he hadn’t wanted her heart broken like that. He’d only been trying to protect her all those years ago, just like Jude wanted to protect his boys now.

But the administrative error had been cleared up, and Davey had returned to them. Alive, but not whole. And not the same. But at least he’d come back.

Jude slid a glance toward Cam.

Cam and Eva knew that heartbreak intimately and had lived with it for over two years now, ever since they’d buried an empty casket at Arlington rather than the body of their middle son. Cam’s once vibrant, lively eyes had dulled with wrenching sorrow the day they’d laid his son to rest. As time passed, he’d returned to his old self, but there was still a quiet grief in him that seemed never to fade.

Jude’s stomach clenched with dread as he turned to face his brothers. “Are we making the right call?”

“Yes,” Greer said without a doubt. “We already talked about this. It’s time we all step down. We’re not kids anymore. We can’t keep doing this kind of work.”

Jude respected his oldest brother more than anyone on the planet. He had, after all, named his firstborn after the man—Davey’s full name was David Greer Elliot Wilde. Jude had looked up to Greer his entire life and usually thought the guy’s word was law, but he still wasn’t convinced they were making the right choice now.

“Davey’s not ready for this.”

“He wouldn’t have accepted the job if he weren’t ready,” Reece pointed out, removing his glasses to clean the lens.

“Yes, he would,” Vaughn said. “He’s a SEAL. Ready or not, we do the jobs handed to us without complaint. If it’s a job we’re not equipped for, we work the problem and get it done.”

“Which is why he’s the perfect choice,” Greer added. “He’s the oldest of the kids and the most level-headed. He’s smart, adaptable, good at strategy, and has had extensive military training. He’s a natural-born leader, and the other kids follow him without question. Putting him at the head of the company now will save them a lot of the headaches and growing pains we faced.”

Yeah, they’d already discussed all of this—ad nauseam.

And still.

Jude scanned his brothers. Cam, seated in the chair by the window, had remained silent throughout the entire conversation and now pressed his lips together in a tight line like he was struggling to keep his thoughts to himself.

There.

An ally.

Jude pointed at him. “Cam agrees with me.”

Cam scowled. “I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to. It’s written all over your face.”

He shook his head but still kept his mouth shut, and Jude suddenly knew what he was reluctant to say. His oldest son, Cade, should’ve been offered the company first. And Jude couldn’t say he disagreed.

Greer waved a hand in a c’mon motion. “Out with it, Camden. What’s on your mind?”

Cam remained silent for another handful of beats, then exhaled hard. “This is going to kill Cade. WSW has been his whole life. The others went off to pursue their careers, but he’s been with the company since we had him answering phones and pushing papers for us back in high school.”

“We already discussed this,” Reece said. “Cade doesn’t have the right temperament. He’s too much like Vaughn.” His eyes cut to Cam’s twin as he slid his glasses back into place. “No offense.”

“None taken,” Vaughn said. “And he’s right, Cam. Cade is exactly like me, and you know how much I hate administrative shit. If Greer had tried to hand me the company, I would’ve turned him down flat because I liked being out in the field. Cade also likes to be in the thick of things, not behind a desk. Always has, always will.”

Cam’s scowl only deepened. “But he has Nova now. He can’t hop around the world on a whim anymore.”

“Another reason this job isn’t the right fit for him,” Greer said patiently. “I was hardly ever home and missed way more of my boys’ childhoods than I like to think about. I’m confident Davey will find a position in the company for Cade so he can provide for his daughter.”

Always the peacemaker, Cam didn’t protest further and went back to pressing his lips together in disapproval. Jude opened his mouth to keep arguing, but Greer held up a hand to stop him.

“Enough. It’s already done. We offered, and Davey accepted. Wilde Security Worldwide is his company now, and we’re all officially retired.”