by SE Jakes
Reed could be unforgiving, but not about something like this. He’d been right from the start—he and Shane were more alike than even he’d known.
Shane had lied because dealing with the truth might rip him apart, bring him back to that place of darkness. Clawing his way up out of that hole was the hardest thing he’d ever done. Doing it a second time…well, he might not make it.
His arms were on the table in front of him. He heard a click and Reed’s heavy watch came off and thunked onto the wood table. A snap and the leather bracelet he wore on the other wrist was off too.
Shane looked up questioningly and then down again as Reed put a wrist on either side of Shane’s.
It was only then that Shane saw the band of scars that matched his own. They were lighter but still visible. Reed turned his hands wrists-up so Shane could see the circles all the way around.
“These gave me away from day one,” he said in a choked voice.
“You ended up in the right house,” was Reed’s answer to that.
Keeping his eyes glued to the scars in front of him, Shane spoke. His voice sounded far away, as if he were going back to that not-so-distant time and place whether he wanted to or not.
“Guthrie chained me down so I couldn’t help Kyle,” he said.
“Kyle wasn’t shot?”
“Not with a bullet,” Shane said. He just hadn’t finished the story, because that’s where he’d wished the horror had ended, that Kyle had died a quick, peaceful death. “Guthrie thought he knew things about the munitions. He didn’t—I know he didn’t. But Guthrie didn’t believe me. Told me I was too close to the situation. Now I realize that Guthrie thought Kyle was on to him.”
“Because Guthrie had gotten involved with the Rangers who were selling the guns?” Keith asked and Shane nodded.
“I didn’t realize it at first myself. Not until that night.”
“What happened after you thought Guthrie killed Kyle?” Keith prompted and Shane didn’t want to go there, didn’t want to think about the cell ever again.
He’d woken, blinked at the flickering lights. Smelled the dank dampness of an underground room and struggled to sit up. But his wrists were chained to either side of him, the chains bolted to the wall.
He’d tugged to see how much hold they had. Realized he was going nowhere fast, but when the screaming from the next room started, it didn’t matter. For hours, Kyle screamed and begged, and Shane tried to get free, wouldn’t have cared at that point if his arms ripped off.
He’d pulled every muscle. Dislocated his shoulders, broken both wrists. Dug the metal bands so deeply into his skin that they were practically embedded. He could still hear them separating from the infected skin when the medic freed him, not knowing the extent of the damage he was inflicting.
He remembered not screaming when it was done. Didn’t need to, because he could still hear Kyle’s screaming inside his head.
“Guthrie…I don’t know what he did to Kyle. I stayed up nights imagining…and they wouldn’t let me see the body. I never saw him again.” Except in every dream he’d had since it happened.
“Who rescued you?” Reed asked.
“Rangers. They thought the rebels did it because of a gun deal gone bad. I was too weak to tell anyone it was Guthrie. By the time I could…” He shook his head but didn’t finish the thought.
“You didn’t tell because you wanted revenge on Guthrie for yourself,” Keith said.
Shane nodded. “I had to get myself together in order to do it. I needed…time.”
The room was so silent. Shane didn’t want to look up, couldn’t keep staring at the scars. He forced his eyes upwards, met Keith’s first.
His expression was the softest Shane had ever seen. Shane’s shoulders sagged in relief, and something that had been strung so tight for so long released. The tears ran hot down his face, and he was aware of Reed moving closer. Of arms circling him. Of a strong hand clasping his.
“You’re together now, and you’re not alone,” Reed whispered. “Took me a long time to realize that having people by your side is the only way to really live.”
After a long while, the tears dried. Darkness fell. Shane was guided into the bedroom. Tucked in, with two bodies pressed against his. For tonight, they would guard against the nightmares.
Chapter Twenty-Two
As they lay next to him, Shane fell into a deep, almost trancelike sleep, as though the truth had drained everything from him. Reed and Keith remained silent for a quite awhile, each wrapped in his own thoughts.
At one point, Keith had grabbed for the iPad, and Reed figured he was emailing Prophet the intel and waiting for an answer. And when he put the iPad down, he looked at Reed.
“So now we know.” Reed heard the tightness in his voice as he spoke.
“We know he’s capable,” Keith said. “He didn’t lie about being sick. About needing time to heal.”
Reed nodded. “He wasn’t telling us because he wasn’t able to face the whole thing. He had to grieve for Kyle. And then, he was also worried about us—wanted to protect us. If we’d gone searching for Guthrie, we would’ve tipped him off and possibly brought him to our door before we were ready.”
Keith nodded and Reed continued, “So we’re finally agreeing on him.”
“I guess we were both right,” Keith said “It all makes sense now. The sex part, I mean.”
“He let you in,” Reed added. “I don’t think that was part of his cover.”
“I think he just blew his entire cover.”
“Because of us?”
“For us,” Keith corrected as his iPad beeped. “There’s Proph.”
Reed moved to the other side of the bed so they could both talk to Proph, and Shane instinctively moved away from the empty space and closer to Keith. Keith put a hand on Shane’s arm as they listened to Prophet’s report.
“No CIA file,” Prophet confirmed. “Which means that Shane Wills is as deadly as I am.”
“Ah, Proph, you’re just a big cuddly teddy bear,” Reed drawled, and Prophet simply blinked at him.
“Fuck you, Johnny Lou Reed.”
“Bed’s already pretty crowded but I’m sure we can accommodate a guest appearance.” Reed propped his hand in his chin. “We can trust him.”
“Yeah, you can. Because he’s been more fucked over by that agency than I was. I’ve got a few ideas about helping him, but—”
“We need to let Guthrie find him,” Reed finished.
“That’d be the best way. No fuss, no muss,” Prophet agreed. “Guthrie’s real name is Spicer. Fun fact, he’s actually the son of the director who recruited Shane—I was still in when that happened. I knew the father and the asshole son.”
“Well, let’s put that on a Snapple bottle cap,” Keith muttered.
“So this is definitely no accident,” Reed said, ignoring him.
“I’d bet my life no,” Prophet agreed.
“So they thought Shane would be a patsy and were surprised when he turned out to be an excellent agent?” Keith asked. “Hell of a chance to take.”
“What if Shane was put in to watch Guthrie? To take over for him?” Reed proposed. “What if his father underestimated his son?”
Keith sat back, steepled his fingertips together. Reed could practically see the wheels turning, and he and Prophet just waited his thoughts out. Because they were always worth waiting for.
“I need Guthrie’s records. All of them,” he said finally.
“Why?”
“I’m betting Guthrie failed every psych eval and dear old dad’s regretting ever covering it up.”
“So Shane was his keeper?” Reed asked
“Shane was Guthrie’s partner, whether he knew it or not,” Keith said gruffly.
“If Guthrie kills Shane, then he gets rid of the one man who could end him.”
“What about Guthrie’s father?”
“Guthrie already took care of him,” Prophet confirmed.
“Does Shane
know that?” Reed asked.
“I’m guessing yes. Guy was his mentor. That’s who you go to when you’re in trouble. When he found him dead—”
“Guthrie framed me for that murder and Kyle’s,” Shane confirmed sleepily.
“How long have you been listening?” Keith asked as he clicked the screen off to keep Prophet’s privacy for the moment.
Shane looked up at him “Does it matter? It’s part of what I do.”
“Were you testing us?”
“No, Keith, just…fuck, the more you guys know…”
“We can take care of ourselves,” Reed said. “Is all what we said true?”
“Yes. But it took me a hell of a lot longer to figure it out. I thought Guthrie was on my side—until he wasn’t. I felt like Guthrie’s dad was mine—Guthrie was my brother. How fucking stupid was I?”
“Pretty stupid,” Keith agreed. Reed hit him in the arm and Keith continued, “You were looking for a home. You found it with the dad and let your guard down.”
You let your guard down.
That was exactly what he was doing here.
“This is different,” Keith said. “But we won’t just expect you to believe the words. We’ll prove it to you.”
Now that he knew the whole truth, Keith realized just how much trouble Shane was in. Keith stared at the boy who’d played his role over the past month and knew he hadn’t been faking all of it.
“You’re still off your game. Because of Kyle,” he told Shane now.
“Yeah,” Shane breathed. “Because of you two as well. Did you think I expected this?”
“I’m guessing no. You’ve got to tell your story to a friend of mine. And then we’ll figure out what to do, because Guthrie’s not going to stop coming for you, no matter what he says, and he’s going to make a stronger move soon. Before you can run again.”
“I know. I figured if I didn’t say it… God, how fucking stupid am I?”
“You’re not stupid. You just needed time to rebuild.”
“Do you want me to leave?” he asked again, and Keith shook his head as Reed said, “No.”
“I’ve been burned. They’re worried I’ll come forward, reveal what I know. They want to discredit me if they can, but they’d rather kill me. I have no handler, no one I can trust.”
“But you started to trust us,” Keith pointed out.
“You know enough to get me in real trouble.”
“We know enough, but you’ll have to tell our friend everything.”
“Is he a merc too?”
“Straight out of the CIA. He might hold more of a grudge against the agency than you do,” Reed said. “Shane, why did you keep running?”
“Because no one’s believed me.”
“Until now,” Keith told him. “But you’re lying. You’ve been letting Guthrie stalk you because you kept running.”
“So it’s my fault?”
“Yes.”
“Fuck you.”
“I’d probably let you, yes,” Keith said calmly. “He made a mistake—he’s trying to cover his tracks. You turn and face him. Men like that only bully when they’re allowed to. He killed Kyle as a warning. But it was never going to end there. Men like this don’t give warnings. They kill. He’s going to kill you.”
“So what do I do?” Shane asked, although Keith didn’t doubt he already knew the answer.
“Turn around and kill him first.” Reed’s voice was low and steady. The look in his eyes determined. His expression brutal. “It’s you or him. I know the choice we’d make.”
Shane felt something inside of him lock and load, like everything clicked into place and he finally had the strength to do what he’d needed to for months.
He knew what he had to do.
“I should’ve done it before he killed Kyle.”
“That’s not your fault. He played dirty.” Keith’s eyes glittered with anger. “He shot Kyle in the back. Didn’t give him a fighting chance. You force Guthrie to give you one.”
“I will.”
“We’re behind you on this, Shane.”
“I don’t want you to think I’m here because I have nowhere else to go,” Shane said slowly, like he was choosing his words carefully. “I’m lost, I get that. But if things weren’t right here, I wouldn’t stay. I have a bank account with plenty of savings. I’m not broke—just without a home base at the moment. But I don’t want you to think this is something I fell into easily.”
“I don’t think that. I think you wrestled with your grief. You just did it in an abbreviated amount of time.”
“What do I do?”
“Stay here. Let us figure out how to help you.”
“It’s that simple?”
“It can be,” Reed said.
“We’ll keep you safe,” Keith said.
“Whatever you need,” Reed added, and Shane wanted to ask if he really meant that, but held it back.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Reed opened his eyes when he heard the groans. He’d fallen asleep on the couch watching a movie with the other men. Obviously, they’d woken already, and he looked over at the other couch, propped himself up on an elbow and watched the show sleepily.
Shane was in Keith’s lap, straddling the bigger man. Maybe it was relief at having admitted everything or maybe this had always been Shane, but Reed realized how much he was enjoying this particular show. Shane taking control of Keith, holding the big man’s shaved head, grinding against him until Keith was growling in frustration.
“You think you’re winning this, baby boy?” he heard Keith ask, and he shivered at the man’s tone of voice. He saw Shane shudder too, and yeah, Keith had that kind of command in his voice.
“I do.”
Keith stood, with Shane wrapped around him. Knelt so they were both on the floor, and Shane said, “You’ll come first if I suck you.”
“You’re on.”
Oh, this ought to be good. Shane and Keith moved to lay with their heads and feet in the opposite directions, on their sides. Shane moved in first, yanking down Keith’s sweats, taking his cock in his mouth as Keith tried to kick the pants off and strip Shane at the same time. But he took a minute to simply close his eyes and enjoy what Shane was doing to him, all the stress and worry from last night gone from his face.
When he opened his eyes, he looked at Reed and winked. Reed knew from experience that Shane wasn’t winning this one, although, for some reason, he wouldn’t mind watching Keith lose.
And that thought had him sitting up and paying attention.
Keith finally got it together, stripped Shane and was sucking him, fingering the younger man’s ass as Shane jolted from the intrusion. As Reed watched the men, a tangle of limbs, their heads positioned between one another’s legs, he thought he could probably come right there. Stroked himself a few times languidly, wondering how things could’ve been so bad at one point last night and so goddamned good right now. But this…this was right. It had taken him longer to get here than he’d thought. But he was here.
Shane was barely hanging on, as Keith spread the younger man’s legs wide, was sucking his balls and using his hand to stroke up and down his cock, ensuring that Shane was nearly incoherent. But he was putting up a good fight—taking Keith’s thick cock in his mouth, trying to give as good as he got.
Reed couldn’t wait any longer. He moved forward, removing clothing as he walked. When he knelt by them, he moved next to Shane, in between Keith’s legs.
Keith paused for a second, muttered something about both of them playing dirty, just as Reed took one of Keith’s balls in his mouth and hummed.
Keith groaned around Shane’s cock, and Shane continued to work Keith’s cock, Reed licking under his balls, the spot he knew Keith couldn’t handle for long. Within a few seconds, the big man tensed, released Shane’s cock from his mouth and then yelled as he came, clutching Shane’s hips to keep him close.
Shane moved his lower body away, even as his mouth continued to milk Ke
ith, who lay with his hand over his face, his breath coming fast. Reed moved up to kiss him, and Keith responded instantly, his tongue playing with Reed’s, even as the younger man rolled Keith completely onto his back and spread his legs.
He could tell by Keith’s kisses exactly what Shane was doing to him, fingering him. Could feel Keith tense with one finger, then two. Glanced over and saw Shane watching them, gauging Keith’s reactions, taking them seriously. Reed forced Keith to concentrate on the pleasure, stroked his cheek, felt him gradually relax as Shane brought his cock back to life. His hips rocked under Shane’s hand and finally, he pulled his face away from Keith and stared down at Shane.
“It’s okay. I can stop,” Shane told him, but Keith shook his head. “It’s not about the bet—that doesn’t matter, Keith.”
“It’s not about the bet,” Keith repeated, pulled Shane up to him. Locked his legs around Shane’s waist as Shane pushed inside him. Keith moaned with his teeth gritted together, raised his head off the ground and then dropped it and breathed. Shane pushed in farther, leaned down to first kiss Keith and then Reed and finally, when he was all the way in, he angled so his thrusts could bring Keith nothing but pleasure.
“That’s it, Keith—I want to hear you,” he said, his voice serious, his eyes glowing.
“This is so fucking hot,” Reed murmured against Keith’s neck as he jerked himself, knew he’d come all over both his lovers. For that moment, they were connected, and Reed closed his eyes and thought about the magic of this cabin, the magic of the men next to him.
When he opened his eyes, Keith was coming, and both Reed and Shane were right behind him.
Reed didn’t know how long they stayed on the floor, all wrapped around one another, but hell, it would never be long enough as far as he was concerned.
As Shane rolled off Keith and into the middle of the two men, he wasn’t sure what to do or say next. The fact that Keith had allowed him to do what he’d done meant the big man trusted him. Just thinking about that made him choke up.
