These days, though, sweet days, his messages were a lot different.

And Tess had told him Delgado and Lawson had been gentle with her. Tess told him that within minutes of their arrival she felt safe and, more importantly, within minutes of their arrival they got word to him that she was safe.

That last part was what had done it for her. When he made it to her fifteen minutes later, she was more worried about his state of mind than herself. When he arrived, she’d been in tears in Delgado’s arms, Hawk had turned her into Brock’s and it didn’t take long before she pulled herself together and turned her attention to him. She’d witnessed three men get shot, two of them shot dead but this didn’t faze her, not at all. She slept like a baby in his arms that night, all through, and he knew this because he didn’t sleep a f**king wink. And they’d gone to Aruba as planned and she’d enjoyed the f**k out of that vacation, his boys did too.

After he watched her closely for days and ascertained she wasn’t burying anything, she was actually all right, putting it behind her, moving on, Brock enjoyed it too.

And this was because, he realized, she felt safe. Shit happened, she survived and even though it wasn’t him who made her safe, men he’d connected with did it for him, not to mention she did her part. To Tess, this incident was a blip and the next morning she was up and making breakfast for his sons like she did every morning, drinking coffee, being a smartass to him and making his sons laugh.

But Delgado and Lawson got to her, they made her feel safe and they were gentle with her.

Therefore, he owed them too.

And he had no problem being Lawson’s partner. Mitch was younger than Brock but smart, diligent, a good cop who had since become a good friend and not just because they were partners.

Now he was looking beyond Brock like he’d just learned the world was going to end.

Brock looked over his shoulder and saw what Mitch saw.

Fucking great.

On his f**king birthday no less.

Olivia.

“Slim,” she muttered when she came to a stop by his desk, her eyes shifting to Mitch then back to Brock.

“Olivia, for f**k’s sake, it’s my birthday.”

“Yes, well, for some of us, this isn’t a special day. For some of us, this day is just like any other day.”

He made no reply. Just sat back, looked up at her and waited for her to be done.

In the last year, Olivia had made short work of getting her talons in another man.

Therefore, obviously, she’d stopped being saccharine sweet and gone back to her true self, in other words, a complete bitch.

Though, the good news was, with her claws in another man, she had stopped f**king with him.

When he said nothing, she announced, “Jordan’s being transferred to Portland, Maine.”

Holy f**k.

He felt his gut start to get light.

“And?” he asked.

“He wants me to go with him.”

Holy f**k!

He felt his gut start to get lighter.

“And?” Brock repeated.

“I’m going.”

Brock said nothing more but he did this because he was expending a great deal of effort not to smile.

She waited for a response.

Brock still said nothing.

She sighed then stated, “Obviously, I’ll expect the boys out for a couple of weeks during the summer and alternating Christmases.”

Brock fought back another grin.

Losing the boys alternating Christmases would suck. Having them the vast majority of the time and losing Olivia three quarters of a continent away would not.

“Have your attorney contact my attorney,” he told her.

“No, have your attorney contact my attorney.”

Whatever.

“You got it,” he told her and she blinked.

Then she asked, “Will you tell them?”

Christ. Fucking bitch.

“No,” he answered.

“Slim –” she started.

Brock sat up in his chair but did not get up, just kept his eyes on her saying, “Olivia, honest to God, don’t. Nothing you could say will make me do your dirty work. They’re your sons, you’re movin’ most a country away from them. This is your decision, this is your consequence. Listen to me, serious to God, for once in your life, listen to me. I am done dealin’ with your consequences, I am done dealin’ with your shit and I am done dealin’ with you. You’re my kids’ Mom, that’s all you are, nothin’ more. I do you no favors; you are not in my life at all except when I have to deal with you through them. Please, God, give me one thing in our miserable history and get that through your f**kin’ head.”

She turned her eyes to Mitch and remarked, “Always so charming.”

Lawson strangled down a bark of laughter and this was because Lawson was around before she got her talons in another man and let him loose so Lawson knew all about Olivia and Lawson, being sharp as a tack, didn’t like her much. That was to say, not at all. And Mitch Lawson was a good guy but not good enough not to advise his partner, repeatedly, to be a lot less charming than he was to Olivia which was not charming at all so that was saying something.

Brock sighed.

Olivia’s eyes cut back to him. “Fine,” she snapped. “I’ll tell them.” And she said this like she was doing him a favor.

Brock didn’t reply.

She crossed her arms on her chest and held his eyes.

Brock said not a word.

She tapped her foot.

Brock finally spoke. “We done?”

“Don’t you have anything to say?” she asked, flipping out a hand.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” she answered. “Something. I’m moving to Maine, for God’s sake.”

“And?” he asked.

“And?” she asked back.

Brock sighed again.

“Slim, we were married and in each others’ lives for over a decade and you’ve got nothing to say after I just told you I’m moving away?”

“Bon voyage,” Brock muttered, Mitch tried to strangle down another bark of laughter, failed and quickly knifed out of his chair and headed toward the hall.

Olivia’s face got red.

“Nice,” she hissed, gave him a long glare, turned on her high heel and marched her bony ass out.

He didn’t watch.

He turned to his desk, instantly grabbed his phone, flipped it open and hit buttons without looking at them because he’d memorized them.

She answered on the second ring.

“Sweetness,” he said the minute Tess finished her greeting, “you are not gonna believe the surprise birthday present I just got.”