Everyone went off, and Ace took Colton’s hand in his as he led him toward the left side of the villa.

  “I’m sure he’s around here somewhere,” Ace said as they discreetly checked the bottom level of the left wing.

  “That was very devious of you,” Colton whispered as they checked one of the bedrooms.”

  “What’s that?” Colton asked, checking under the bed and in the closet. This was Spencer they were dealing with. Coordinated the guy was not. For all they knew he’d slipped on a piece of paper, fallen over, knocked himself out, and fallen into the trash chute or something. “Remind me to check the trash chute.”

  “You sent Lucky and Mason into the part of the villa where the mothers are.”

  Ace snorted. “Like it was even a question.”

  “You threw them to the lionesses without hesitation. That’s quite brutal.”

  “How do you think Quinn survived his childhood being the middle child of five kids? Him being the biggest meant when shit went down, he just threw one of his siblings in his mother’s path.”

  “His siblings must have been thrilled.”

  Ace chuckled as they left the room and walked into the next one. “Pretty sure our trying to outrun our moms and hiding from them when we were kids is what had us at an advantage when we signed up for the military. We were already used to risking our lives and receiving orders.”

  Colton laughed. After spending enough time around the moms, he understood. In the beginning, when Colton heard stories from Ace and Lucky about their childhood, he was scared and concerned but once he met the moms, saw the way they fussed over their children, would give their very lives for them, he understood. It wasn’t that Ace, Lucky, or even Quinn had been genuinely terrified of their mothers when they were kids, it was more of an “oh shit, we done fucked up” scared. The worst Ace received was the sting of his mom’s flip flop on his ass or back of his thigh. He didn’t know any Latino of his generation who hadn’t feared the chancelta when they were little. Granted, he and Lucky received more than their fair share because they were always getting up to mischief.

  In truth, their moms were masters of manipulation because there was never any question in Ace’s mind about how fiercely his mother loved him, and disappointing her, or God help him, making her cry was the worst feeling in the world because of how much he knew she loved him. It had always been that way in their families. Mom was the disciplinarian, dad the one you asked when mom said no. Pissing off dad meant you really fucked up. It was a different time. No cell phones, computers, or social media to take away. For Ace, the worst punishment was having to sit still and do nothing. Man, he’d been such a little shit.

  Colton kissed his cheek, and Ace turned his face, stealing a kiss from Colton’s lips. It was Colton’s way of seeking reassurance.

  “Don’t worry, babe. He’s around here somewhere.”

  “I like Spencer. He’s such a sweet guy. A little awkward, but adorable. I can see why your cousin fell for him.”

  “Yeah, on paper they don’t seem like they go together, but they balance each other perfectly. Quinn all grumpy and growly who can’t cook to save his life, and Spencer who’s all sunshine and rainbows who can bake a cake to die for in his sleep.”

  They checked the rest of the room in the house, and next thing they knew, the hour was up, and they all stood in the movie room. Judging by the concerned expressions on everyone’s faces, Ace would hazard a guess Spencer was nowhere to be found.

  Quinn paced the floor, shaking his head. “Where the hell can he be? We’re supposed to be getting ready for the ceremony in an hour. I mean, I know the beach is only five minutes away, but still.” Quinn headed for the door. “I should check our room again in case I missed him.” He opened the door, gasped, then quickly but quietly closed it. “Oh my God. I can’t believe this is happening. Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

  “What?” Lucky asked, trying to stop Quinn from pacing.

  “We’re going to find him,” Ace promised.

  Quinn spun to face Ace, eyes huge. “That’s not why I’m freaking out!”

  “No? Well, that’s a relief. Why are you freaking out then?”

  “Because our mothers are coming this way,” Quinn hissed.

  “Oh fuck.” Lucky grabbed Ace. “Ace, do something.”

  “Why do I have to do something? You do something.” Holy shit, this was bad. “All three of them? Are you sure it wasn’t just Tía, and you thought it was all three of our moms?”

  “¡Oye!” Lucky growled, smacking Ace’s cheek.

  “Ow! What?”

  “Don’t talk smack about my mother. Besides, your mom is way scarier.”

  This was true. “Fine. Sorry. I’m just a little frazzled right now.”

  “What are we going to do?” Mason asked, he and Colton retreating farther into the room.

  The door opened, and the three of them held on to one another as they quickly stepped away. Mimi was the first to step inside the room, followed by Ace’s mom, Lucia, and Lucky’s mom, Paquita.

  “¿Quinn, mi amor? ¿Qué pasa?”

  “Nothing.” Quinn smiled brightly. “We’re just, um, uh…” He nudged Ace who in turn nudged Lucky.

  Paquita arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow at her son. “Candi?”

  “Sí, em, la cosa es, que, um…” Lucky fidgeted nervously before seeming to get an idea. “¡Bibi está embarazada!”

  Ace’s gasp seemed to go on forever, and he had no idea how to make it stop.

  The happy shriek their mothers let out could have shattered every window in the place. They talked excitedly all at once in Spanish before thundering from the room.

  “What did you say?” Colton asked Lucky from behind Mason.

  “Oh my God,” Ace cried, spinning to face Lucky. “Are you insane?” Ace punched Lucky in the arm. Hard. “Do you realize the severity of what you’ve just done?”

  “I’m sorry! I panicked!”

  “What did he say?” Colton asked again when the door slammed open and a red-faced, furious-looking King stormed in like Thor about to blast lightning bolts up all their asses.

  Ace squeaked and hid behind Quinn, shoving Lucky out since he was already there.

  “What the hell is going on?” King bellowed.

  “Nothing,” Lucky said with a tremulous smile. “What? Why? Who said something was going on?”

  King marched up to Quinn, reached behind him, grabbed Ace, and dragged him out from behind Quinn, nostrils flaring. “Because some little old Cuban lady I have never met just came up to me and congratulated me on my sister’s pregnancy!”

  Colton gasped, momentarily drawing King’s attention away from Ace.

  “I had nothing to do with it,” Colton rambled out. “I don’t even speak Spanish.”

  Ace gasped and threw a hand to his heart. “My love? How could you wound me so?”

  Colton smiled sheepishly. “As your love, I felt like this was the kind of sacrifice you would make for me. For us.”

  “Really?” Ace shook his head before turning his attention back to his best friend. “It was just a diversion.”

  “A diversion? Do you forget who your family is? If I ever want to get a message to someone hiding in the depths of the Amazon Rainforest, all I have to do is tell your mother!”

  “Hey, now,” Ace said, shaking his head. “Lucky’s mom is just as bad. Worse even. Remember when Mason got shot and Lucky didn’t call her until the next morning?”

  Lucky crossed himself. “¡Santo cielo! I did not think I would survive. She is still mad at me for it.”

  Mason bravely cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Um, gentlemen, although I’m completely in agreement with you that your mothers are all equally terrifying, shouldn’t we focus on the missing groom?”

  King released Ace, his expression turning concerned. “Spencer’s missing?”

  Quinn nodded. He dropped onto one of the recliners, his pout quite pitiful. “What if he’s gotten cold feet?”

  Ace exchanged glances with Lucky, and they took a seat to each side of their cousin. He put a hand to Quinn’s shoulder. “Hey, Spencer is crazy about you. There is no way he’s gotten cold feet. Even if he did, which we know he didn’t, you really think he’d just run away?”

  Quinn let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. “No. He wouldn’t. He’s so much braver than people give him credit for.”

  Lucky’s phone went off, and he quickly answered. “Sí? Okay. Gracias, linda.” He patted Quinn’s shoulder and stood. “Spencer’s been seen outside the house by the dividing bushes.”

  “What? How do you know? Who was that?”

  “I bribed Maribella. Told her we were playing a game and that if she saw Spencer before we did, I would buy her the Daddy Shark soft toy.” His grin grew wicked. “You push the tummy and it sings the Baby Shark song.”

  Ace barked out a laugh. He slapped Quinn’s arm. “Oh my God, your sister and Rick are going to lose their shit.”

  “You’re officially my favorite cousin,” Quinn told Lucky as he headed for the door.

  “Hey, what about me?” Ace asked, grabbing Colton’s hand and running out after him.

  “Sorry, Ace, but Lucky managed to find my fiancé and find the ultimate way to annoy Rick. Your crown has been stolen.”

  “I will not stand for this,” Ace called out after Lucky.

  Colton groaned. “Darling, can we please let your cousin borrow the crown just for a little bit?”

  “Nope. That crown is mine.” He looked for King, opened his mouth then thought better of it when he received the patented Ward Kingston “I will smite you where you stand” glare. “You’re right,” Ace told Colton. “Lucky can hold on to it for now.”

  Three

  Unfortunately, by the time they got to the spot where Spencer had been sighted, there was no Spencer. While King put together a plan of attack, Quinn sat on the ledge of the wraparound balcony beneath one of the archways. Ace took a seat beside him.

  “Is everything okay between you two?” Ace asked carefully.

  “Considering we’re supposed to be getting married today, I sure as hell hope so.”

  “I forgot what a grumpy ass you were. You sure you and King aren’t related?”

  Quinn sighed. “I’m sorry, I just… He’s everything, Ace. I can’t imagine my life without him.”

  Ace knew the feeling. He wrapped an arm around his cousin, taken aback by his next words.

  “I’m retiring.”

  Ace gaped at him. “You’re leaving SWAT?”

  Quinn nodded. “It’s not the same as it was when I first joined. There’s so much hostility out there, and at first, I thought retiring meant bailing on the guys, you know? That I was abandoning them to all the shit out there. Then I got hurt. Again.” Quinn shook his head, his eyes filling. “I’ll never forget the look on Spencer’s face when he ran into the hospital room. The sheer terror in his eyes. I’d scared the life out of him.”

  “Yeah, but he knew the risks. Hell, when you two first met, you were recovering from three gunshot wounds to the leg.”

  “No, I know. It’s easy to say you understand something until you’re confronted with the reality of it. He knew being a SWAT officer was dangerous. Hell, being any type of officer is dangerous. But getting that phone call, seeing me in a hospital bed… it broke him, Ace. He had to start seeing a therapist, went to support groups for spouses and partners of law enforcement officers. It broke my heart. I swore then that I would find a way to relieve that fear. Three and a half years of therapy and him trying his hardest not to think about what could happen to me out there. I can’t do it anymore. I love my job, or at least I used to, but I love Spencer more.”

  “Have you told him?”

  “No. I wanted to put all the paperwork in first. I didn’t want him trying to convince me not to. He wouldn’t want me to do it just because of him.”

  “But you are doing it for him. Aren’t you?”

  Quinn shook his head. “I’m doing it for us.” A fond smile spread across his face, his thoughts no doubt on Spencer. “I want to enjoy every minute I can with him, go traveling. We’ve never gone outside the US together. With Spencer running his web design business from home and me picking up overtime whenever I could so we could pay off the house sooner, I didn’t realize how lonely he must have been, waiting for me. What good is a beautiful house when the person you’re supposed to be sharing it with is never there?”

  “I get it. Believe me, I do.” From the beginning, Ace and Colton agreed they’d carve time out of their schedules to be together. With Colton running his family’s shipping empire and Ace running Four Kings Security with the rest of the guys, it would be too easy for them to prioritize work over their relationship. No way was Ace about to let that happen. Not when he’d found Colton.

  “Julian Alfonso Quintero!”

  Ace cringed. “Shit. Your mom knows.” No one in this family was called by their full name unless they were in trouble.

  Mimi marched up to her son, Ace’s mom and Lucky’s mom pulling up the rear. “What is this I hear about Spencer missing?”

  Ace glanced over at King and his smug “I told you so” expression.

  Before Quinn could reply, a familiar voice called Quinn’s name, and Ace let out a sigh of relief at the sight of Spencer standing near the bushes. Where the hell had he come from?

  “Oh my God, Spence.” Quinn rushed over to Spencer while the mothers crossed themselves and said a little prayer of thanks that Spencer was back and in one piece, though the guy did look like he’d gone a few rounds with the Pillsbury Doughboy and lost. He had what looked like flour from the top of his tousled brown hair down to his red Chucks. “Baby, what happened to you?”

  “I’m so sorry, Quinn. I was baking, and I lost track of the time, and—”

  “Wait, you were baking? Where?” Ace asked. It certainly hadn’t been inside the villa.

  Spencer pointed over his shoulder. “Next door.”

  Silence descended.

  Quinn brushed some flour out of his fiancé’s hair. “Love, tell us what happened.”

  Spencer nodded. He looked around at everyone, his fair skin flushing. “I’m so sorry if I worried anyone. You see, I came outside to get some air, and while I was leaning on the veranda, I thought I heard something, so I leaned farther out, and that’s when I fell into the bushes. When I got up, I realized what I’d heard was crying, so I went to find the source in case one of the kids had gotten hurt or something. Anyway, through the bushes I saw Chrissy.”

  “Who?” Lucky asked, trying to see through the bushes.

  Spencer’s warm boyish smile reached his big green eyes. “Our neighbor. Well, not our neighbor, but the girl renting next door. Technically, her in-laws are renting the house, but Chrissy was the one I met. I saw her crying, and she just looked so stressed and sad, I had to ask her if she needed help.”

  Of course he did. Spencer’s heart was bigger than he was.

  “We got to talking, and she told me about how her and her husband Emilio had just gotten married, how his parents hadn’t been happy about the marriage because they think she’s just after his money. She was a waitress before she met Emilio, but anyone who hears her talk about him can tell she’s crazy about the guy, and it’s obvious he adores her.”

  “Spencer,” Quinn urged gently, trying to keep Spencer on track.

  “Right, so this weekend was supposed to be about Emilio’s parents bonding with Chrissy, but when she accidentally burnt the rice, they got into it again with Emilio. He suggested they take the yacht out, and Chrissy said she’d stay behind and cook them an amazing meal to make up for lunch. Emilio’s dad, who seems kind of a jerk, asked her to make a traditional Cuban meal knowing she doesn’t know how to cook Cuban food.”

  In Ace’s expert opinion, Emilio’s dad sounded like a bit of a dick.

  “She wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction—which, good on her—but of course she sort of got herself in a tight spot.”

  “Hence the crying,” Quinn concluded.

  “Yep. I couldn’t just say, ‘Well, good luck with that. Hope it all works out.’ I had to help her, Quinn.” Spencer’s eyes widened, his bottom lip slightly jutted out, and Ace knew his big, grumpy-ass SWAT officer cousin was a goner. No way could Quinn resist that sad puppy face. As Ace expected, Quinn pulled Spencer into his arms and kissed the top of his head.

  “Whenever I think it isn’t possible to love you more, you prove me wrong.”

  “Were you able to finish the meal?” Mimi asked, sounding concerned, because how could she not be? Ace’s mom and Lucky’s mom both looked equally concerned. Ace leaned into Colton.

  “Prepare yourself.”

  “For what?” Colton whispered.

  Spencer shook his head. “It’s too much for just the two of us to get done in that amount of time. I thought maybe the moms might be able to help.”

  “Ay, mi niño. Of course we help!” Mimi said, her tiny but strong frame bumping Quinn out of the way so she could squeeze Spencer’s cheeks. “You know that, for you, we would do anything. And that poor girl. ¡Pobrecita!” Mimi turned to them and issued orders in a manner to rival any army general. They hopped to it. While Mason went off to fetch Red, the rest of them headed over to Chrissy’s. To say the poor girl was surprised by the horde of people at her door would have been an understatement, but with Spencer smiling brightly, she burst into joyful tears rather than screamed for the cops.

  The moms got to it, and Chrissy turned to Spencer with huge, tearful brown eyes. “I don’t know how to thank you. You’re so amazing.”

  “I’m just glad I could help.”

  “But wait, aren’t you getting married?” Chrissy gasped, turning to find Quinn standing there. She had to look up to meet his gaze. “Are you Quinn?”