by April Kelley
Waldron had his arms folded at his chest and a stoic look on his face. He nodded to Rico, which was the only acknowledgment he’d get. Waldron was probably the reason why Seazur didn’t have cuts and bruises. For some reason, Waldron could keep Seazur in line most of the time.
Rico nodded at Waldron before turning his gaze onto Rut. Rut made his way over to a door directly across the room. A glass window looked out into the room. The top of someone’s head could be seen, but the rest of the person was hidden. It was as if they were looking at something on their lap. Most likely the person sat in front of a desk reading through some papers or a magazine or something.
When Rut opened the door and went through, Rico saw a dark head lift up. Rut talked to the woman for a few seconds, and whatever he said made the woman leave the room.
As she was walking past, she smirked. “Time for my break.”
Right. In other words, she didn’t see a thing.
Rut would take the fall for letting the paranormals out. The human army would believe it ,because he already came off as a sympathizer.
Rut’s face illuminated as he messed with what had to be a computer screen. Two cell doors opened at the exact same time, and Rico stiffened, pulling Jalen into his side. Luckily one of those cell doors belonged to Seazur and Waldron. The other held a human. He had brown skin almost the same color as Jalen’s. Jalen actually looked a little bit like the human, although the guy’s eyes were dark brown instead of the pretty blue Jalen sported.
Seazur and Waldron stood beside him and then moved in front of them when the stranger came over. He held up his hands. “I’m on your side.” He pointed to Rut, who came over to them. “Actually, I’m on his side.”
Rut gave the guy a one-armed hug but made quick work of it. “Marlon, this is Rico and Jalen. You probably know Seazur and Waldron.”
Marlon made a face that said more than anything could how well he knew the two men. They had a history, and not all of it was pleasant. Waldron just shook his head, which meant he’d likely had to break up a fight between Seazur and Marlon.
“Let’s get the construction crew out and go home.” As much as Rico wanted to stand around making small talk, they didn’t have a lot of time.
Rut led the way out of the area. They made a turn to the right which led them down a long hallway.
“Dude, why are your eyes changing like that? I mean, it’s cool and all. Looks like bird eyes, but it’s weird.” Marlon stood next to him on his other side, which Rico was okay with. As long as he didn’t get close to Jalen, Rico didn’t have a problem with the guy.
Rico took a deep breath, telling himself to have patience with the human. He was only curious. “Jalen is my mate. We only just met.”
“What does that have to do with your eyes?”
Jalen leaned over him to look at Marlon. “A shifter’s eyes change for only two reasons. When they’re pissed or horny. And now that you know, don’t ask anyone else, because it’s considered rude to mention it if the shifter is horny, and if they’re pissed, don’t take the time to ask questions, just run.”
“Jalen.” Shit. Did he really have to say it like that?
Seazur and Waldron both chuckled. Of course, Seazur couldn’t help but comment. “He’s not wrong.”
Jalen looked up at Rico. “You weren’t going to answer him.”
“It’ll stop once we bond.”
Jalen gave him an incredulous look. “I know that.”
“We’ll talk about it later.”
“I know that too.” The corners of Jalen’s mouth turned up into a smile.
Rut opened the door to another section. They nearly ran into the construction crew, as a couple of the men were bent over trying to pick the lock on the door.
Fear covered several of the crew members’ faces, so he let Jalen go. “Step aside and let Jalen through.”
If there was ever a time for Jalen to use those leadership skills he so obviously had, it was in calming the crew.
“Okay, guys. Cavalry is here, so let’s go,” Jalen said before the people in front of him could move.
Several of the crew members had a visible reaction upon seeing Jalen. The relief they all felt seemed to wash across everyone like a wave, and even Rico took a deep breath.
Rico led the way out, back down the hall in the direction they came with little effort. When they were in the hall that would lead them out of the building, Rico pointed to Rut. “Take care of the video feed.”
Rut just nodded. “Hooyah, sir.”
Rico almost corrected him, but Rut would learn the difference between the human and Rogue Army soon enough.
Chapter Six
Jalen sat across from Rico on the ferry. Their gazes met and held for so long Jalen thought the silent staring contest they were having would never end. The danger had created a lull of sorts inside them both, giving them a distraction from the real issues. Jalen didn’t know what to say to Rico, so he didn’t speak at all and maybe Rico felt the same way. Either way, they were at a standstill.
Jalen noticed how Rico always seemed to touch him, even with an aisle separating them. Rico stretched his long legs out and placed the right one next to Jalen’s left foot. Rico folded his arms over his wide chest. It might be dark still, and the ferry was making an impromptu run in the middle of the night, so the lights were dim, but they showed enough of Rico’s face for Jalen to see the intensity.
“I’m in love with Markie.” Rico whispered the words as if he were sad about that.
“So you don’t want to bond with me?” Jalen stiffened. “Wait. Did you say Markie? He just told me he’s in love with someone.” Jalen tried his best to relax his body, keeping his face as passive as possible so he wouldn’t give his true emotions away. “Guess it must be you.”
“Yes. I think we feel the same way.”
Jalen shrugged and looked out into the darkness beyond the boat lights. “It’s fine. We can just pretend we’re not mates. I’ll stay away.”
“I didn’t tell you so you’d back off, Jalen. I’m telling you because I want you both.”
Jalen looked up sharply, narrowing his eyes. “Is that even possible?”
Rico’s forehead crinkled with confusion. “Yeah. I’d have to bite him first. We’d both bite you. My parents have a polyamorous relationship. It’s very possible.”
How was he supposed to respond to that? It sounded crazy, and not something he had ever considered before.
Jalen looked away again as the lights from the mainland buildings dotted the night, streaking across the water as if they were long fingers reaching out to them. The light made it possible to see the water’s sparkling ripples, and suddenly Jalen felt nothing except relief that he was finally going home.
“I guess you think you have it all worked out, then.” Jalen certainly didn’t. He was so tired, and his adrenaline had waned, so he couldn’t really think about anything. His hands shook so bad he kept them in his lap for fear Rico would see him lose it in that one small way.
Rico’s feet moved, disappearing from beside his. They scraped against the floor, and then the air moved enough for Jalen to know Rico had sat forward. “I don’t. Have it all worked out, I mean. I never thought I’d find you. But Markie wants you just as much as I do. We can make it work, Jalen.”
Jalen should feel something. Right? But a numbness came over him, and he no longer knew what to say to Rico, so he didn’t say anything at all. They sat there pretending to be fascinated with the water, even though he couldn’t really see it. In his mind, he was back in his boss’ trailer, preparing to die.
What if he never got to see his brothers again? Or Virion? Or the rest of Team Five? What if Rico hadn’t come to save him?
Rico was in his line of sight, taking up his universe again. Jalen shifted position, making room for Rico on the bench. Rico took his hand, and Jalen let him, lacing their fingers together.
Jalen tried to still his hands, certa
in Rico could feel them and knew he failed.
“I wasn’t there when Hamid died.”
That name made Jalen suck in a breath. Rico even mentioning death made it seem as if he could read Jalen’s mind. Feeling came back slowly like pinpricks on his heart, but so many Jalen didn’t know what to do with them all.
“That made it harder, I think, because the what ifs plagued me. You know what I mean. What if I was able to save him? Would I have died, too, if I had been there? At first, I looked in on Markie because that was what Hamid would want me to do. Hamid and I talked about it once. He asked me not to leave Markie to himself. He’ll get into his head too much. He does that when he’s upset. So I didn’t, and somewhere in the two years since Hamid’s death, I fell in love with him.”
Jalen cleared his throat, trying not to give away how much Rico’s words affected him. “So you were friends with Hamid?”
“We started out in basic together. Lennix, too. And all three of us went through special ops training at the same time.”
Jalen leaned against Rico, his head on his shoulders. “Training together makes you guys close, huh.”
“Yeah. It does. Loved him like a brother.” Rico put their clasped hands in his lap. “So what do you think?”
He got a sudden image in his mind of Wizz, Uri and Casey’s father. Wizz was as much his father too, even if they didn’t share genetics. With all the talk of Hamid and death, and with his own mortality threatened, Wizz was the one person Jalen missed the most, even more than his mom. Everything good in his life began with Wizz, and every time Jalen looked at Uri and Casey, he saw all that good bubble up.
“I don’t know. I can’t think. Not right now. Not after... I’m not used to being in danger like that. I don’t even know how to process it. All I know is I have to get my shit together before I get home, because my brothers can’t see me like this. They’ll take one look at me and know.”
Rico brought they joined hands up to his lips, kissing the back of his. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”
“It’s fine.”
“Talk about it if you need to.”
Jalen shook his head. “No. I can be strong. I just need a few minutes.”
Rico’s eyebrows came together when he scowled. “Talking about it doesn’t make you weak.”
Jalen was acutely aware of Rico beside him as he walked back to the house. Rico circled his waist with his arm, placing it right above his tool belt.
“Are you spending the night?” Jalen knew he shouldn’t have asked, not after being at the back end of talking about the Markie situation. Relying on Rico wasn’t a good idea anyway. Rico would take over his whole fucking world and then leave him for Markie. He was too tired to fight the kind of love they shared.
“Do you want me to spend the night?”
Jalen shrugged. He thought about lying but didn’t have the energy for that either. “Just so you know, I sleep in the same room as Casey.”
“Casey?”
“My brother. We’re used to sleeping near each other.”
“You’re close to your brothers.” It wasn’t a question, and Rico didn’t phrase it as one, so Jalen didn’t answer it directly.
“After Wizz died, I helped mom raise them. Then she died, and it was me trying to keep two boys alive.”
“That’s a lot of responsibility for someone so young.”
Jalen shrugged. “I’d do it again.” If he had to, he’d do it on repeat, but coming to the island had let loose a lot of the fear and worry. Stepping foot back on it calmed some of his stress enough that he could face his brothers before breaking down.
“I intended to just walk you to your door. Unless you want me to stay, then I will.”
“If you want to stay, then stay.” It wasn’t like the house was ever empty anyway, so one more person’s prone body taking up space wouldn’t make that big of a difference. Jalen sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. It’s late, and I get grumpy. Just stay. We can talk in the morning.”
They rounded the corner of the alpha’s office building. Jalen’s house was right in front of it, along with a few others that held the alpha’s inner circle. Every light was on, and when they rounded the side of the house, Virion stood with his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face. He looked like a sentry or a pissed off warrior looking out for any threat to his family.
When he heard their footsteps on the grass, he turned his head in their direction. His arms uncrossed and he came off the porch as if he was about to kill someone with his bare hands. The only thing he did was pull Jalen into a hug. “Thank the fucking gods.”
Rico’s arm fell away from around his waist, but he didn’t go far. Jalen knew he was standing right behind him, because Rico made a weird sound that reminded Jalen of a pissed off bird.
Virion’s hold on him tightened right before he let Jalen go. The next thing Jalen knew, he was behind Virion’s back, Virion’s big body between him and Rico. “What the fuck happened? You were supposed to investigate, not get Jalen killed.”
“It wasn’t Rico’s fault. The shit hit the fan before he even got there.” Jalen felt compelled to explain.
Rico’s eyes changed to his hawk’s and he made that pissed-off-bird sound again. “You’re standing between me and my mate. That’s not a good idea.” The threat in Rico’s words was quite clear to Jalen, but Virion wasn’t backing down.
“He’s a part of my team. Mine to look after.”
“Not anymore.” Rico met Jalen’s gaze over Virion’s shoulder. “If you don’t want me, I’ll leave right now, but it won’t be because your brother’s mate told me too.”
Apparently, now was the time to make a decision. Jalen sighed. “I don’t think a threesome is a good idea, but I want you. You know that.”
“I don’t know anything, Jalen.” Rico looked at something over Jalen’s shoulder. “Fuck.”
Jalen tensed and turned. He tried to speak, but he was so shocked that Markie was even there in the first place nothing else registered with him.
Markie looked from Jalen to Rico and then back to Jalen again. He plastered on a fake smile and came off the porch. “I’m glad you’re okay. I was worried.”
“Markie.”
Markie patted his arm. “It’s okay, Jalen. Finding your mate is one of the best things about life.” The sadness in Markie’s eyes was unmistakable.
Markie walked up to Rico. “Congratulations.”
“We have to talk, Markie.”
Markie did the same thing to Rico as he did to Jalen, patting him on the arm. “I’m glad you’re both okay.” He started off toward town.
“Let me at least walk you home.” Rico looked devastated.
“No. Thank you.”
Virion shook his head. “I’ll walk him home.”
And then Jalen and Rico were standing staring at each other, several feet separating them. If Rico touched him, Jalen would lose it. “It’s just too fucking much right now. Do you get that?”
“Yes. I’m sorry. I won’t bring it up again until you’re ready.”
Uri and Casey were both on him the second he walked through the door. It had been awhile since either of his brothers had cried, but they both were. “Shh, I’m fine. Rico got me out of there.”
“Thank god.” Uri clung to his front, getting his shirt all wet with tears, and Casey just stood scowling at him as if he were pissed off at Jalen for making him cry in the first place.
Jalen just smiled, trying desperately to keep his shit together just a little bit longer. “That’s what Virion said. Right before he threatened my mate.”
Uri pulled back, wiping the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand. “Yeah, Virion was really worried... wait... what?”
Casey nudged Uri aside and hugged Jalen around the middle. “I hate it when you’re the one who went through a bunch of shit, and you’re comforting us. We should be strong for you, not the other way
around.”
“I’m just fine.” That was a total fucking lie, but Jalen wouldn’t talk about it.
Uri waved his hand in the air. “Let’s go back to the mate comment.”
Rico came up and wrapped an arm around his waist.
Uri looked Rico up and down and then grinned. “You’re the guy. Markie’s guy. Wow. That’s fucking lucky.”
“Go to bed, Uri. We’ll talk about it in the morning.”
“But I want to talk about how hot the sex will be.”
Jalen pointed to Uri’s bedroom door. “Now.”
Uri huffed but turned. “Damn older brothers think they can boss me around still. I’m an adult with a mate, but of course, that doesn’t stop Mr. Bossy.” He expected the bedroom door to slam, but Uri had just let it click shut, mumbling as he went inside.
Jalen poked Casey in the shoulder even as Casey still clung to him. “You got something negative to say about my mating?”
“Nope. Don’t have sex while I’m in the room.”
Jalen rolled his eyes. “Just go to bed, Casey.”
Casey let him go and walked to the bedroom. He turned when he was in the doorway. “I love you. Just want you to know that. And I know you think you have to hide your stress and shit from us, but you don’t.”
Jalen couldn’t speak past the lump that formed. He just nodded and cleared his throat. “I love you guys, too.”
Casey nodded and closed the door. The bathroom was just on the other side of the kitchen. He shut off lights as he made his way there, giving Kier, who slept on the couch, some darkness for better sleep.
“Glad you’re home in one piece, man.” Kier’s sleepy voice reached him just as he headed down the hallway.
“Thanks.”
“That little otter shifter of yours nearly made himself sick. Kept asking Virion why Rico had to be the one to go after you. Like he had any control over it.” Jalen and Rico both turned to Kier, looking at him in the dark.
