by SE Jakes
“You are fucking coming with us,” Lucky told Cooper, who lunged up so the razor cut him deep. Blood spurted everywhere as Lucky ripped off his T-shirt and tried to staunch the flow. “Fucker.”
Sawyer was running upstairs, no doubt going to signal for help and try to steer the rapidly listing boat. Lucky pressed his shirt to Cooper’s neck. Then he tied the guy’s hands and dragged him up onto the deck that already had water up to mid-calf.
The front of the boat was billowing smoke, and already half submerged.
“You couldn’t have thought you’d survive this,” Lucky said. But from the look in the man’s eyes, it was apparent he had.
“Lucky, come on—they’re sending down a basket,” Sawyer shouted.
“You go—you’re hurt.”
“No way—put the asshole on it. Let’s let him live so I can kill him.”
As the helo hovered overhead, bright lights flashed across the deck.
“Tell me that’s someone for us,” he called.
“It’s Rex’s boat,” Sawyer yelled back.
They’d be saved, but Cooper was obviously dying. “And I still don’t have my fucking memories,” he yelled to him.
“If this didn’t…do it,” Cooper gurgled and Lucky had to put his ear so close to the dying man to hear him. “Never…happening.”
“Cooper, come on, just fucking tell me…was I lying? Or was I really brainwashed?” Lucky yelled over the wind again into Cooper’s face.
Cooper stared up at him. As he spoke, Lucky leaned in once more to hear his last words. “You were…so good, man. I wasn’t…ever able…to tell…the difference.”
When Lucky pulled away, Cooper’s eyes held that blank stare of the dead. And then the boat shifted violently. He was slammed away from Cooper’s body, nearly went overboard. He managed to hang onto the deck with one arm, yanked himself up as the waves threatened to pull him under.
“Not letting you go that easily.”
It was Rex. Holding on to him. Pulling him back onto Cooper’s boat, then helping him across the sinking deck and onto the boat where they’d already pulled Sawyer. He took Dash’s arm and heaved himself over onto the safe boat. Rex jumped in behind him, hugged him hard. And then they all went to Sawyer.
Jace grabbed Sawyer. “Are you okay?”
“I just want to get out of the fucking water!” he yelled.
Jace pulled Sawyer tight against him.
“We’ll be fine if we move. Glen will spot us,” Rex said as the boat listed along with the waves. “Sawyer, you hang on.”
“Tell him I’m fine,” Sawyer said to Jace, gritted his teeth as Jace pressed the bandages hard to his wounds as Clint held them both steady.
Lucky helped hold the lights, along with Dash. All of them were soaked. Most of them were in shock. But they were all alive.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Never. Leaving. You alone. Again.” Dash’s words were punctuated by his thrusts. Lucky lay under him, and for the past half an hour and for the past two days, his only basic choice had been to agree with whatever Dash said.
“Yeah, Dash,” he said now.
“You might think you’re humoring me. But I’m fucking serious.”
“Yes, Dash.”
Dash pinned him, hands overhead, his thigh splitting Lucky’s legs open. Cock against cock. Kissed the hell out of him, until Lucky moaned into his mouth.
“Want to take you away with me, baby.”
“On a job?”
“Photography.”
“And that’s code for…”
“Photography.”
Lucky shivered as Dash’s fingers brushed his gland. “I’m in.”
“That would be me.”
Lucky rolled his eyes. “I meant the trip.”
“We’ll be gone for months.”
“Good. And you’ll teach me what you know about taking pictures.”
“And more.”
Sawyer watched Rex from the hospital bed. The man was fucking fluttering. Fluffing pillows. Pouring water. Talking to doctors and nurses. Checking on Sawyer without actually talking to him.
When he asked the nurse about the bedpan, Sawyer lost it. Pushed the tray away and forced himself to sit up, despite the screaming pain that had set in.
Some of the wounds were deeper than others. Some would scar, some wouldn’t. Rex got a plastic surgeon in so that would minimize any issues.
There was one up the side of his neck and one under his chin—Cooper had been waiting to cut his face up last. At least that’s what he’d told Sawyer.
“That’s enough,” Sawyer said calmly.
“That’s not enough. Lie back down and heal.” Rex paused, like he knew how ridiculous that sounded.
But Sawyer was up and in his face. “Can you look at me, Rex? Can you fucking look at me?”
Rex was having trouble with that. Sawyer, not so gently, took Rex’s chin in his hand and forced him to. “I’m okay.”
“I know that. I was there.”
“No, you weren’t. And that’s okay that you weren’t.”
Rex’s nostrils flared. He ground his teeth together. Finally managed, “No, it’s not,” before he jerked out of Sawyer’s grasp.
“Sawyer.”
“God, no,” he muttered at the sound of his mother’s voice. He stood in the hospital gown with his ass hanging out and watched her come in—and she wasn’t even fluttering as much as Rex—before she hugged him.
Or tried to. He held back and it took her a moment to realize why. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry. You’re out of bed so I thought…”
“He’s a strong guy,” Rex said.
Sawyer’s mom turned to look at him. “Oh, hello. I’m Jude Kirke, Sawyer’s mother.”
“Mom, this is my CO,” Sawyer said and Rex shook her hand and said, “I’ll leave you two alone.”
But Sawyer wasn’t done talking. “And he’s also Rex, the man I’m in love with.”
She looked between the men. “But you brought Jace to the party. Are you broken up with him?”
Sawyer’s mouth hung open and then Rex began to laugh. And laugh. And he didn’t stop until Sawyer joined him.
“I’ll just give you two a moment,” Sawyer’s mom said as Sawyer moved toward Rex. He leaned into the man’s chest with his shoulder and Rex buried his nose in Sawyer’s hair.
“I fucking thought I lost you.”
“But you didn’t.”
“I’m sorry, Sawyer. I’ve been here for you.”
“I know. But now you’re really here. And I’m all right. I’m tougher than you think.”
“You’re not that tough, which is good. I don’t want you to pretend. If there’s fallout from this…”
“What? You’ll put up with my nightmares?” Sawyer asked, half joking.
“Hell yeah.” Rex gave a small smile. “I love you, Sawyer. Sometimes, it feels like too much, but I know there’s no such thing.”
“Love you, Rex. Really fucking love you.”
“When you love someone, you tend to listen to them.”
“When you love someone, you don’t mention the word bedpan.”
Rex snorted and Sawyer started laughing again, even though it hurt, and they stayed that way until Sawyer’s mom came back in, trailed by his nurse, who yelled at them both.
Rex watched the video, hunched forward, his hands fisted on his thighs. He looked so tense, like he could snap in half. Nate stood behind him and Uncle refused to watch it.
He was waiting in the other room.
Sawyer stood next to Dash, unable to look away from the man on the screen.
And Lucky stood at the window, unwilling to watch the damned thing again. It played in his mind, a continuous loop, and he wondered if he’d ever rid himself of it.
He hadn’t wanted Dash to show this to anyone, never mind the men who were actually now watching it. But after what had happened with Cooper, finding out that he’d been the one who’d really been the traitor, Dash had felt R
ex, Nate and Uncle had a right to know everything.
The Navy obviously agreed. They were granting Lucky a discharge, with several conditions that Dash promised to help fulfill, the least of which were continued therapy visits. With a therapist of Lucky’s choosing this time.
And, based on the intel they’d gotten from Cooper’s files, the Navy had sent in a team to infiltrate Gonzalves’s secret compound. They’d done so, figuring that once Gonzalves discovered his half brother had been killed, he would be looking to retaliate.
According to the SEAL team that took him down, his plans were in motion to do just that.
Lucky guessed that Cooper had decided that if he went down, he was taking his half brother with him. Jace was pissed that his team wasn’t allowed in, but after all that had happened with Rex, there was no way they’d have been assigned that.
The video had ended. The room was so goddamned silent. Lucky put his forehead against the cold window, closed his eyes until he heard Rex say, “Lucky,” in a hoarse voice.
Fuck, he didn’t want to answer, didn’t want to know what he thought of him.
Rex knew him better than probably anyone else in the world at one point in time. Lucky knew that Dash was hoping Rex could give them some closure on this.
Lucky wasn’t sure he believed that one man could be granted that many miracles in a lifetime, but he felt he had surely been.
“Lucky, look at me.”
Rex, again. Lucky didn’t turn around, or maybe he couldn’t. It didn’t matter anymore.
When Rex came close to him, Lucky whispered, “Just say it, Rex. I can take it. Just fucking tell me what you’re thinking.”
“You were lying on the video.”
He turned around like a shot to face Rex. “How do you know? You can’t know that for sure.”
“Yeah, he can,” Nate said after he cleared his throat. “We had…contingencies for shit like that.”
“What are you talking about?” Dash asked, and Uncle came through the door, asking, “Did he make the sign?”
“Yeah, he did,” Rex said, without taking his eyes from Lucky.
“The sign?” Lucky echoed.
“Yeah. Like a safe word only we know—you’re in trouble and you’ve got to pretend to go along with them. It’s something to let us know that you were just fucking with the enemy,” Uncle said. He rewound the tape and pointed to the cup of water Josh had handed back to the men and then to Josh’s fingers on his other hand, the way he touched his middle fingertip to his pointer nail, a fast, subtle movement that Lucky wouldn’t have noticed. No one would’ve…
Unless you were looking for it.
Rex reached out and grabbed him in a tight embrace. “You were lying, Lucky. You were never turned. And I hope to God you never remember the shit you went through to pull that off. That’s a fucking blessing, a miracle. Don’t ask why. Just goddamned accept it.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Four months later
“I’m so goddamned sore,” Lucky groaned. He shoved his board into the sand and stared back out at the waves. Uncle came up beside him.
“You’re not seriously complaining about rough surf to me, are you?” Uncle asked. Lucky had seen the surgical scars mixed in with the scars from his captivity, knew that the doctors had told Uncle he’d never be able to bear weight on his badly healed arms and they’d forced him into retirement.
Uncle had shown them. Although he wasn’t as strong as he’d been—according to Nate—he outsurfed them all. He was the one grabbing them up from out of the waves every time they wiped out.
It was a role well suited to the sandy-haired man who always seemed relaxed. But Lucky knew better—behind that vibe, Uncle was always on patrol.
“Did you teach me to surf?” Lucky asked now, because he’d just realized it. Emme had gotten him on the board years ago and he’d taken to it quickly. Too quickly.
“You were a natural. You caught on quick and you were damned good. ” He paused. “Rex hates to surf. Can’t get the hang of it. Falls every time.”
“That is false information,” Rex called. “Sheesh, what if I wasn’t here to defend my reputation?”
“I have video proof of your surfing suckiness,” Uncle told him seriously.
Lucky looked at Rex and Sawyer—Rex had an easy arm slung over Sawyer’s shoulder. Sawyer’s scars were well healed. Some had even faded so much they probably wouldn’t be visible within the next few months.
But they all had them, visible or not.
“Hey.” Dash wrapped his arms around Lucky’s waist and stared over his shoulder. “I hope you vetted that new guy Emme’s hanging out with.”
“He seems all right, big brother.” Lucky looked over to where Emme and Jack played in the water.
“Her bikini’s too small,” Dash said.
“Anyone ever tell you that you’re way too overprotective?”
“You. All the time. You know what I say?”
“What?”
“Get used to it.”
Lucky would. The road back would never be easy, but now that none of them were looking over their shoulders, Lucky’s past didn’t seem to matter as much. Not when he had his future in front of him.
About the Author
SE Jakes writes m/m romance. She believes in happy endings and fighting for what you want in both fiction and real life. She lives in New York with her family and most days, she can be found happily writing (in bed). No really…
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Look for these titles by SE Jakes
Now Available:
Men of Honor
Bound by Honor
Bound by Law
Ties that Bind
Bound by Danger
Bound for Keeps
The danger that drew them together could send them over the edge…
Bound By Danger
© 2012 S.E. Jakes
Men of Honor, Book 4
Playing the role of enforcer in the Killers motorcycle club, all CIA operative Clint “Tomcat” Sommers has to do is make sure he has a body to show for his work. Thanks to his ability to move stealthily and easily between the two worlds, the CIA is damned close to making one of its biggest MC gang busts.
Two years undercover have taken their toll, but there’s no backing out now. Tomcat’s only reprieve from the pressure is fantasizing about the newest member of the gang.
Worry for his cousin’s involvement in the Killers drove Navy SEAL Jace Reynolds to agree to infiltrate the gang to do some short-term surveillance for the FBI. The deal: do the job, and his cousin gets witness protection. When he meets Tomcat, though, his fantasies kick into overdrive. Meeting men while on active duty is tough. Acting on his desires within the club could have deadly consequences.
Despite the risks, Tomcat’s and Jace’s off hours flare hotter than a full-throttle burnout. But the smoke is bound to attract unwanted attention. And when Tomcat suddenly disappears, the secrets both warriors keep could send one of them to the grave.
Warning: Contains two hot men undercover—and under the covers. Both with secrets under wraps that could cause everything to unravel in the deadliest way imaginable. If you’re inspired to try something new on a motorcycle, go for it. Just don’t blame the author for any pulled muscles.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Bound By Danger:
Jace couldn’t decide if this was the best thing he’d ever done or the stupidest, figured it was a draw and tried not to let his nerves show as Tomcat’s kisses became more de
manding. And fuck it all, he really liked it, as he knew he would.
But just when he was ready to take off all his damned clothes, Tomcat’s phone rang, and he pulled away, grumbled and took the call while Jace watched him, trying to pull himself together.
Jace had known he was bisexual for a long time but hadn’t done more than kiss and get blowjobs from random men throughout the years. Once in the military, the guy-on-guy thing became harder, and instead of finding his satisfaction with women, he went into the fantasy-and-his-own-hand route for satisfaction. And that worked for a little while.
When his fantasies had gotten too big and insistent enough to pull him away from movies and his hand, he’d done some investigating and discovered this club that specialized in making fantasies come true. They linked Doms with one-time subs—all free and on the up-and-up—and everyone was screened for safety. And privacy. But he’d quickly realized that going out and cruising gay clubs in the area wasn’t an option now—he was too new and inexperienced, never mind active-duty military. And he really didn’t know if this was something best kept a fantasy.
But judging by how hard his dick was, this was exactly what he wanted, and he didn’t have to go to that club to find out.
No, he’d pretty much known it the minute he’d laid eyes Tomcat in the clubhouse bar. Jace had gone home that night and had his first wet dream since he was a preteen.
When he’d caught wind of the way things were going down at the MC tonight, he knew from the first that the former military man could be in trouble, and something in Jace’s gut told him the man was undercover. Maybe because he was as well, but for the FBI, not CIA. Tomcat wasn’t a Fed, and the man would be pissed as hell if he thought Jace was horning in on his territory. Being a part of this MC in any way, shape or form was practically a suicide attempt anyway.
He had the perfect in with his cousin Kenny, who’d always been too fucking dimwitted for his own good. The fact that Jace was active duty gave this chapter bragging rights. And the FBI had been counting on that, needed intel on the drug ring.
