Bind (Manhattan Lux Book 1): Manhattan Lux

by Olivia Devon

  “And then somebody cleaned it up,” Jinx finished. “The henchmen?”

  “Nope, they’re lazy remember? I have no doubt they were told to clean it up, but what they probably did was force an illegal, with little English and no options, to clean it up for them, while they supervised. Hopefully they paid the poor fucker off, and didn’t just kill them.”

  “That’s awful. Shouldn’t we call the cops?”

  “Probably,” said Wyatt. “But as far as I’m concerned that’s still Jack’s decision.” He worked quickly, his hands twisting at a cap at the base of a bend in the pipes.

  “What if he decides not to?”

  “Then I will persuade him to see reason.”

  “Is this where you hold up a fist and say ‘meet reason’ in your best Schwarzenegger voice?” Jinx asked.

  Wyatt twisted so that he could see her around the pipes. “No,” he said, indignant. “Man you really think I’m corny don’t you?”

  “Oh come on,” Jinx teased. “Don’t pretend to be offended, that totally sounds like something you’d say.”

  “Does not.” Wyatt huffed and kept working on the pipe.

  “Okay then what’s reason?” she asked.

  “Show tunes, sung loudly, and poorly, for as long as it takes. If I have to, I’ll resort to interpretive dance.”

  “Oh my God.”

  Wyatt laughed. “Worked when we were kids, worked last week when Bryce and I wanted to watch Deadpool on movie night, and Jack wanted to watch the Notebook.”

  “Wait what?” Jinx held a hand to her chest. “I’m not sure which part of that sentence I’m having more trouble with. That you dweebs still have sleepovers, or that Jack’s favorite movie is the Notebook. I never pegged him for a romantic.”

  “It’s not a sleepover, just a boys’ night. And I don’t know about romantic. I think it’s more that he has the hots for that redheaded girl. She reminds him of… Nevermind.”

  “Oh no you don’t. Spill it.” Jinx knelt on the floor beside Wyatt, and put her hands on his chest. “Gimme the dirt cowboy.”

  Wyatt grimaced at her, and gave the cap on the pipe one last hard twist. It yielded, dumping a mess of hair and gunk all over his chest. He probed the blob with one finger while Jinx watched in horror. “Aha. There it is,” he said, holding up a small piece of plastic between his fingers.

  “What is it?” Jinx said. Rising to her feet, she held a hand out to Wyatt and helped pull him upright.

  “It’s a SIM card. It’s what makes your smart phone work, it’s where everything you did on that smartphone is stored, as well as a complete record of wherever you’ve been.”

  “Oh,” Jinx said with reverence. “That’s great. How did you know that would be in there?”

  “I didn’t.” Wyatt handed her the card and peeled his dirty shirt off, careful to avoid getting any of the sludge in his hair.

  “Then…”

  “I’m just not mean, stupid or lazy.”

  “Like the henchmen.”

  “Nope.”

  “You’re thorough,” she said. “You know to look for what’s not there. You see more than people realize.”

  “Yup.”

  Jinx looked up at him, her gaze trailing over his torso, bare chested, with a light sheen of sweat glittering on his skin. He was beautiful, and strong..and… She studied him, her expression half puzzlement, half amusement. And so much more.

  “What?” he said finally, as though he was unable to bear her scrutiny any longer.

  “Nothing.” She smiled. “Just…Thank You.”

  Wyatt grinned, then kissed her on the tip of her nose.

  “You’re welcome,” he said. “Now c’mon. I need a change, lunch, and then we gotta get that SIM card to your sister.”

  After Wyatt changed into a clean shirt from his duffel, he and Jinx scarfed down a couple of supremely delicious meatball subs from a food truck, then took a cab to Glow.

  As soon as they arrived Jinx headed to find Kristie mumbling something about “playing spy getting in the way of her running her club.”

  Wyatt watched her disappear into her office and then delivered the SIM card to Aiko, who’d set herself up a work station in a corner of the club’s security room. Aiko immediately shoved the card in a small cup of dry rice, explaining that the rice would draw out any moisture the card might have soaked up during it’s stay in the bottom of a sink drain.

  “What do you think?” Jack asked, hovering at her shoulder.

  “I think you need to back it up boss, and let me do my job.”

  “Aiko.” Jack sighed.

  “I think we have a very good chance of getting this puppy to work,” she said. “SIM cards are heartier than most people realize, and relatively waterproof. Whoever disposed of this down the drain had been watching too many spy movies.”

  “I’m surprised they didn’t flush it,” said Jack.

  “They may have tried to. But a little piece of plastic like this, it probably floated and wouldn’t flush.”

  Jack nodded. “So they tried the sink. Well, their stupidity was Wyatt’s gain.”

  “Yep. And as long as it’s not waterlogged, I’ll be able to get it to work.”

  “Great. Let me know as soon as you do.”

  Aiko waved him off, and Jack moved to sit next to Wyatt, who was staring mindlessly at the bank of monitors at the far side of the room.

  “Good work,” he said, slapping Wyatt on the back.

  Wyatt inhaled sharply and rolled his shoulder out from under Jack’s hand, wincing as he shifted in his seat, trying to find a position that didn’t cause him pain.

  “What the fuck, dude?” Jack stood, took off his suit jacket, draped it over his chair and began rolling up his sleeves. “I thought you saw Dr. Shelley today?”

  “I did see Dr. Shelley,” Wyatt said, “and what the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

  Jack cracked his knuckles. “I’m going to work those glass shards out of your shoulder, asshole, and you’re going to tell me why you’re still allowing this shit to go on.”

  “Don’t start. Please.” Wyatt let his head fall forward and forced his shoulders to droop so that Jack could get at the knots. He’d take the massage, but he wasn’t inclined to take the lecture.

  “I will not. Your knee is ruined, that’s a fact. But you’re going to ruin the rest of your body if you keep hanging onto what is literally dead weight.”

  “What you two talking about over there?” Aiko called.

  “I thought you had a SIM card to crack?” Jack answered.

  “Yeah well it’s still drying out.” Aiko wandered over to them and sat up on the counter just under the monitors. “So c’mon then. What’s with the foreplay?”

  “Wyatt,” Jack began, “has, as you know, what he lightly refers to as a bum knee.”

  “Yeah?” Aiko nodded.

  “In fact, this knee is so badly damaged it’s basically being held together with the military doctor’s equivalent of duct tape, screws, and stubbornness.”

  “Jack.” Wyatt glanced up at his friend. “There is no military equivalent of those things. It’s literally just those things. Duct tape, screws, and stubbornness. If none of that works, it’s not fixable, so blow it up. That’s in the handbook.”

  “Well thank you for clearing that up.” Jack dug harder into the muscle in Wyatt’s back. “It only serves to bolster my point of view on this matter.”

  “What matter?” Aiko said, her brow knit in confusion.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Wyatt protested.

  “Oh the matter matters,” Aiko quipped. “If the matter didn’t matter you wouldn’t be so reluctant to discuss what matters.”

  Jack stopped massaging for a moment to stare at Aiko. “You truly are exhausting, you know that?”

  “Thank you!” Aiko pulled a stick of gum from her pocket and unwrapped it, folding the piece into her mouth cheerfully. “I try so hard. It’s nice to know my work is appreciated.”

&nb
sp; “Oh my God enough!” Wyatt shrugged Jacks’s hands off of him and stood up, swinging his arms wide, the joints in his shoulder popping loudly.

  “Damn, Tinman,” said Aiko. “You need some oil.”

  “No, just a kneecapitation.” Wyatt said, bitterly.

  “Huh?”

  “Wasn’t supposed to keep it,” he said, avoiding Aiko’s eye. “They’ve tried to take it from me three times, and each time I refuse to let them do it.”

  “Why?” Aiko said quietly.

  “Because! They got enough of me already!” Wyatt’s voice grew louder, harsh, each word spit out like he could barely stand the taste. “I was proud to be a SEAL.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Hell, I still am. But I’ve lost enough.”

  “Too much,” said Jack.

  Wyatt caught his gaze, held it, fire burning in his eyes. “Yeah too much! I lost friends. Good men. The best. I held their guts in my hands and watched them bleed out in front of me. I see those faces…every night…when I close my eyes…I can see them…Barnes…” Wyatt’s voice cracked and both Jack and Aiko moved to comfort him but Wyatt scrambled away, held up his hands to ward them off. “That mission. Right in the middle of…in the worst of it….Barnes got me out. He’s why I’m here. I survived, because he saved me. I’ll be damned before I dishonor that. Dishonor him.”

  “Wyatt, it’s not dishonor—” Jack began, but as he moved a figure was revealed in the doorway.

  Jinx stood there. Those beautiful dark eyes were huge and haunted. She’d heard every word.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Wyatt’s stomach sank, churned, and threatened to rebel on him.

  Fuck.

  She’d heard it all he realized, the whole sappy, sordid poor little SEAL story that he never meant for her to hear. At least, not like this.

  Fuck.

  “Um,” Jinx shuffled into the room, and cleared her throat. “Sorry to interrupt, but Bryce just arrived, and Malcolm asked me to give you this note.” She handed a slip of paper to Jack.

  Jack glanced at the note and gestured for Aiko to join him. “Take a few minutes” he said to Wyatt. “We’ll be meeting in Jinx’s office when you’re ready.”

  Jinx closed the door behind them, then crossed to Wyatt and laid her palms gently against his chest. “You okay?” she asked softly.

  He exhaled, and emotion tightened his throat. He didn’t trust himself to speak, so instead he pulled her in, wrapped his arms around her, held tight, and found that spot he liked, the one at the hollow of her neck.

  “Yeah,” he said finally, when he found his breath. “I’m okay now.”

  “Good, because I’ve got a question for you.”

  Wyatt pulled back and gazed at her. A tendril of hair had fallen into her eyes, so he caught it and pushed it back behind her ear. She smiled up at him, her gaze soft and shining. He saw an openness there now, a tenderness that suggested she’d lowered her defenses. God he loved this woman. “What’s the question?”

  “What would you say to Barnes?” she asked. “What would you tell him, if he were here? If he were the one with the bum knee and the massive displacement of guilt?”

  Sucker punch. Right in the gut.

  He released her, took a few steps back and held his hand up when she tried to go to him. “Wow,” he stuttered. “You could’ve pulled that one. Just a little.”

  “Nope.” She shook her head. “Gotta rip that Band-Aid off cowboy. You told me that yourself.”

  “Get me a time machine.” His hands fisted at his sides. “I’ll go back to this morning and strangle myself.”

  “You know what you would tell him Wyatt. I know you do, so let’s hear it.”

  He couldn’t look at her. Dirty fucking trick was what this was. Some kind of psychological warfare designed to teach him a deep life truth/epic realization he had to have, so that he could move on, have a better life, and yadda yadda mother fucking yadda.

  Then the tears started, pricking at the corners of his eyes, rolling hot and fast down his face, faster than he could wipe them away.

  I need to punch something.

  His eyes roamed wild, searching for a victim.

  Concrete wall?

  Nope.

  Bank of expensive monitors?

  Nope.

  Sweet and beautiful and mean as rusty nails woman that he desperately loved and who was so, so, so, fucking mean right now?

  Extra nope.

  Forget punching. Kick something instead.

  He kicked the chair and went down a second after. The heavy dull thud of a meatbag hitting the rock bottom truth of the depths of his own stupidity. He sat there, ass on the cold tile floor, bum knee sprawled out in front of him, back up against the wall, and groaned in frustration.

  Well isn’t this is a pretty little metaphor?

  Jinx crossed the room and sat down next to him. Wyatt let the tears flow. Couldn’t’ve stopped them if he’d tried.

  What the fuck? Let it all out.

  He didn’t seem to have any dignity when it came to this woman, why not let her wipe the snot off his face too? See what she was signing up for, that is, if she still wanted it. Wanted him.

  Jinx caught his hand, dragged it into her lap, threaded her fingers through his, and held on tight.

  “You done being ridiculous?” she asked.

  “Mostly.” Wyatt sniffed, and nodded, but still he couldn’t look at her.

  “So you gonna share or not? C’mon, what would you tell Barnes?”

  He inhaled deeply, hoping for a second that the massive intake of air might cause him to pass out and he’d be able to avoid her question.

  Wait for it… Nope. Still conscious.

  “I’d tell him,” he said, tightening his fingers in hers. “I’d tell him…to stop being a baby. That his bum knee is gonna turn into a bum leg and then fuck up the rest of his body and then the rest of his life. I’d tell him that just because…” his lip quivered and Jinx edged closer to him, lifted his knuckles to her lips and brushed a soft kiss there. The small gesture gutted and strengthened him all at once, and this time he looked up.

  Jinx held his gaze, and he found no judgement there in her eyes, just support, compassion, and…something else. Something he hoped he wasn’t imagining. He steadied his breathing, then told her what she wanted to hear, what he knew was true. “If it were Barnes here, instead of me, and if I was the one who had to set him straight; I’d tell him to nut up and get the fucking knee lopped off. I’d tell him that he’s not less of man because of it. Not less of a SEAL. I’d tell him we’d all still be proud of him, that we’d still love him and that he’d always have our support.”

  “And hasn’t anyone said that to you?” Jinx asked.

  Wyatt shrugged, scoffed and rubbed the last of the tears out of his eyes. “Yeah, they have.”

  “And? Their opinion doesn’t matter?”

  “No, it’s not that.” He thumped his head against the wall, and looked back down at her, wondering. Maybe he wouldn’t have to say it, maybe she’d just see it and spare him the humiliation of having to voice it out loud. C’mon. You know the only opinion that really matters to me.

  “Do you think…” she hesitated, and he closed his eyes, waited patiently while she found the words. “But that doesn’t make sense. We only just got together, so that can’t be why you’ve been reluctant to get it done.”

  He exhaled. “No, it wasn’t you specifically,” he admitted. “Just the idea of you, the idea of the woman I might end up with. I just didn’t picture myself limping to the altar, or having to put my leg on before taking my kids to the park. I just didn’t think—”

  “No,” she cut him off. “You didn’t think. Anybody worth having in your life, Wyatt, any woman worth having, she wouldn’t give a shit about that. It’s not our bodies that makes us worthy of love, it’s our soul, our character, our heart. Look at my dogs, each of them has battle wounds, and each one of them is precious to me for who they are.”

  “Di
d you just compare me to your dogs?” He snickered, and kissed the side of her head.

  “Yes,” she said solemnly, looking up at him. “I did, and there is no higher compliment I could pay a person than to say they’ve got as much heart as my guys. And you do Wyatt.” She laid a hand on his chest. “This is what makes you who you are.” Her hand trailed down his chest and rested on his knee. “Not this.”

  “So you won’t think less of me? You won’t um…” he was getting choked up again. Keep it together, keep it together. “You won’t be less attracted to me or something, because you think of me as less capable? Less manly?”

  “That assumes I think of you as capable and manly now,” she said, and he was so grateful for the teasing in her tone.

  He grinned. “Oh man, kicking a guy when he’s down.”

  “C’mon cowboy, you know I have a fondness for rescue cases.”

  “Oh ow!” He clutched his chest and winced. “Right through the heart with that one.”

  Jinx reached up and ruffled his hair like she would one of her dogs. “C’mon Wyatt, who’s a good boy. You are!”

  “Oh my God woman, you go too far!” Wyatt tackled her, rolled her to her back and attacked, nuzzling her neck until he found a ticklish spot and she was gasping and giggling beneath him.

  When she’d had enough, he stopped, their play turning to kisses, deep and furtive, until Wyatt pulled his head away and rose, perched above her on his arms.

  “And just like that,” Jinx said, brushing lock of hair out of his eyes. “We’re back.”

  They found Aiko waiting in the hallway.

  “Jesus, it’s about time, you two! Jack’s waiting.”

  “What is your obsession with stalking us?” Jinx asked her sister.

  “Not stalking, loitering,” said Aiko. “Waiting for you two to stop canoodling so I can get back to work as a matter of fact.” Aiko squeezed past them into the room and crossed to the cup of rice on her desk that held the SIM card. She plucked it from the rice, looked it over carefully, and shooed them away. “I’ve got some hacking to do. You dirty birdies go find Jack, tell him I’ll join you guys as soon as I have something to share.”

  Wyatt brought Jack and Bryce up to speed on the morning’s developments. There was a brief argument when he told them what he’d found in the apartment, about the mess and the blood. When Jack heard that he was ready to call the cops, arguing that if Daisy was in danger or hurt, they couldn’t keep this to themselves any longer. To Wyatt’s surprise it was Bryce that held him off.