“Nothing.” Reese finished gathered up the rest of the weapons, packing the extras in their cases. “Your brother is a laugh and a half, isn’t he?”
Jared ran his fingers over several of the pins. He smiled. “He’s a good guy. You two just really seem to clash.”
“Yeah, wonder why,” Reese muttered.
“What’s that?” Jared seemed only half-tuned in, most of his focus on that damned map.
“Nothing.”
Reese spent some time committing their ammo inventory to memory, doing a mental check of what else they would need to take with them. When he was satisfied at the notes he had, he looked up to see Jared make a few notes on the paper in his hand. “What are you doing?” Reese inquired.
“I heard Gideon talking on the phone earlier. It sounds like the compound is on the outskirts of Jefferson City.” Jared looked at him then. “I’ve never been to Missouri, so I’m trying to get an idea of where we are going.”
Reese watched Jared’s eyes and hands move along the map, his lips moving to some inner monologue Reese couldn't hear. He leaned sideways against the wall, letting his shoulder prop him up as he tucked his hands beneath the opposite armpits. Reese took advantage of Jared’s focus on the map and let his eyes wander.
He raked his teeth over his bottom lip at the sight of Jared’s long legs encased in dark jeans, his slim hips with the slight dips on either side that Reese’s thumbs fit into perfectly. Jared’s stomach was flat and lean, and his arms, though not as heavily muscled as Declan’s or his own, showed their strength even through the soft blue sweater that covered them. Jared’s mouth was still twitching in time to the words inside his head, and his eyes slid over to Reese’s just as Reese was imagining taking those lips with his own again. “What?”
Reese stared at him in wonder. “You're gorgeous, you know that? Every damn thing about you is something I can't seem to look away from.” Jared blushed, shifting on his feet. Reese almost felt guilty at making him uncomfortable, but Jared was just so damn cute to watch when he was flustered. Not to mention Reese wanted his hands on that body again, wanted to press Jared into the wall behind him and take him right there in Gideon’s study.
Clearing his throat, Reese asked something he had been wondering ever since he’d returned from Salt Lake. “When did you learn to read?” He didn't know how long Jared had been a Cooper, but it had clearly been quite some time judging by the rapport all the siblings had with each other.
Jared stilled. “Rae taught me, about a month or so after Johnathan brought me home.”
Reese dug a little deeper, wanting to know how long Jared had fended for himself before being adopted by Johnathan Cooper. He glanced down at the bracelet on Jared’s wrist, a thick brown band standing out against his skin below his rolled up sleeve. “Did you go to school? I mean, since, you know.” Reese gestured to Jared’s wrist, frustrated at being at a loss for words. He wanted Jared underneath him, begging for mercy and pleading for pleasure, but Reese also wanted to know what made him smile, what made him mad. What had made him become the man he was today, the man Reese could tell he still was trying to become.
“Since I’ve got the mark on my arm?” Jared pulled his sweater sleeves down, his fingers bunching inside the cuffs in a nervous gesture Reese was quickly coming to recognize.
Reese shook his head. “I didn't mean-“ He hated himself for saying anything that made Jared upset, but every minute he spent with Jared only made Reese more curious about what lay within the soul that gave life to this sweet, nervous rescue.
“Forget it. I’m sorry.” Jared perched his hips on the edge of Gideon’s desk, and hunched over into himself. “I never went to school. We lived in a pretty open-minded place, I think, but my dad was afraid of what would happen if I went. Between that and his job, it was just better to keep me at home.”
“So what did you do?” Reese held up a hand. “I just ask because you are so damn smart. Hell, you talk better than anyone else in this house. Except maybe your sister.” Reese smiled at him, hoping for one in return.
Jared didn't disappoint, and his dimples were so damn adorable. “Rae taught me most of it. She used to come home and make me do my own copy of her homework right alongside her.” Jared cupped his elbows, hugging his arms into his chest. “Declan did a lot too. He used to read to me, actually.”
Reese raised an eyebrow. “From what, the latest issue of my way or the highway?”
Jared’s smile softened. “Old books they had around their house. I guess, uh, I guess their mom had been a pretty avid reader. She had a lot of different stories. I think reading them made Declan feel like he knew her.”
“Did he? Know her, I mean.”
Jared shook his head. “No. Not to any point that he can remember, anyway. Rae certainly can’t.”
“That’s rough. I’m sorry,” Reese said, meaning it.
Jared shrugged. “I heard Declan talk about her a couple times, and I know missing her is hard for him, but really the whole concept of having a mom is foreign to me.”
Reese’s eyes widened in wonder, at the reminder of just how different this boy- no, man, he corrected. He had to stop doing that. Gideon had said something about Jared being just a few years shy of thirty, though no one was exactly sure. The reminder of how far apart their lives had been struck a chord with Reese, and it made him want to personally slit the throats of each and every bastard who had ever given Jared a hard time growing up.
He had heard the stories, of how much society had changed after The Ravaging. How though it had occurred almost a hundred years ago, some families had come out of it faring far better than others. Reese’s own upbringing had been pretty standard, at least as far as he knew. Two loving parents, a sister, and a fairly well rebuilt school system had launched Reese into a decent chance of going to one of the remaining colleges and getting out into the world with a degree in his hand.
But during Reese’s senior year of high school, Agents had conducted a surprise raid just a few miles from their home, and Reese’s life had changed forever.
“Reese?” Jared waved a hand in front of his face, bringing him back to the present moment, and without thinking, Reese caught it in his own.
Reese cursed as his phone rang. He pulled away from Jared and strode across the room. "Yeah?" He answered brusquely.
"Can you talk?"
"No."
"Can anyone hear me?"
Reese clicked his volume all the way down. He turned, watching Jared run his fingers back over the map, his back to Reese. "No."
"Alright, then just listen. The camp isn't in Jefferson, it’s about twelve miles east. Tucked in front of a patch of woodlands on the banks of the Missouri." He rattled off the exact location.
Reese walked back over to the map, looking over Jared’s shoulder at the location he had just heard. "Sorry, man, I think you've got the wrong number."
"Call me when you can."
Reese clicked off and shoved his phone back into his pocket.
"Everything good?" Jared asked, and Reese hated that he was the one to make Jared's voice sound that tentative. He raked his eyes over Jared’s hair, down his perfect nose to lips that Reese needed another taste of. Reese looked into those beautiful golden eyes and felt a surge of anger swell within him, that he was keeping secrets from someone who was starting to trust him too damned much.
“I’m sorry,” he said fiercely, pushing away from the wall. Jared looked up at him, wide-eyed, as Reese reached down for his hands again. “I’m sorry you grew up different, that for any length of time you knew what it was like not to be wanted.” Even with all the shit has family had gone through after the raid that took his sister, Reese never had to know what it felt like not to be loved. He wrapped his fingers firmly around Jared’s. “Your dad was a good man. And Gideon, your siblings…I’m glad you’ve found a family that’s been good to you.”
Jared’s body tensed, and Reese knew he should give him space but nothing could make him m
ove away. Jared twitched his head nervously, tossing his now shorter bangs to the side. “Even Declan?” He asked lightly, and Reese wanted to kiss the crap out of him for injecting, however awkwardly, a note of levity after Reese’s outburst.
“Yeah,” Reese huffed out a laugh, reaching over to brush Jared’s hair out of his face. “Even Declan.” Jared leaned into his touch, and Reese pulled on the hand that was still wrapped in his own, tugging Jared close. “You deserve it. You deserve a family, a home, and everything good that this shitty world has to offer.”
Jared shook his head. “I don’t deserve any more than anyone else.”
“The hell you don’t,” Reese swore. He’d give Jared anything and everything, just to keep him from ever having to hurt ever again. Cupping his hand around the side of Jared’s face, Reese dipped his mouth towards Jared’s.
His head flew up at the sound of the back door off the kitchen sliding open. Reese chuckled at Jared’s quiet groan of frustration as Iris and Gideon’s voices filled the house. The sexy little pout on Jared’s face at having been interrupted had Reese bending down to give him a quick peck on the lips.
He smiled against Jared’s mouth. “Sorry, sweetheart. But so it goes that before and during a job, privacy is a luxury none of us Renegades can afford.” He winked at Jared as he backed away.
“You boys are getting ready to go into town for those blueprints, hmm?” Iris hinted, watching them from the kitchen. She looked at Reese, trying to keep a smile off her face.
Reese grinned at her and caught the truck keys that Gideon tossed him. “Yes ma’am. On our way out.”
He grabbed his gun, and Jared’s hand, and headed off on their errand.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Jared sat in the passenger seat, fiddling with the leather cuff on his wrist. He turned sideways to face Reese and blurted, “How old are you?”
Reese gave him a sly glance, one arm draped casually over the steering wheel. “Worried I’m too old for you?”
Jared poked him in the side. “No. Just curious.”
“Thirty-two.”
Jared hummed. “You're the same age as Declan.”
“I’m thrilled. Maybe we could have a joint party.”
“You’re such an ass.” Jared spoke with a smile, but the moment the words were out of his mouth his heart gave a fearful jump. What if Reese shot back at him, got mad that a rescue would talk to him like that...Jared pressed himself back against the window, cursing himself for being so careless.
Reese just chuckled. “Get used to it, sweetheart.”
Jared relaxed and while Reese focused on the road, Jared focused on Reese.
Jared bit his lip as he imagined fisting his hands in Reese’s thick, dark hair, the way Reese had wound a hand through Jared’s last night. His eyes roamed over lips he itched to kiss again, over stubble that should burn like sandpaper against his skin but instead only ignited Jared’s desire to feel it rake across his cheeks. The strong, broad shoulders that Jared had gripped last night as he’d chased his release now relaxed casually against the soft leather of Gideon’s truck. Jared longed to reach over and lift the hem of Reese’s black cotton tee, so he could run his fingers over abs that he knew were hard as granite.
Or he could go the other way, and glide his hand down the soft denim covering Reese’s thighs, or over the buckle that held his belt closed over his jeans. Jared wanted to sneak his hand beneath those, too, and feel again what had felt so good in his hands this morning.
“Well?” Reese questioned.
Jared startled, snapping his eyes back up to Reese’s face. “Well, what?”
Reese smirked, as if he’d known Jared had been staring at him. But instead of calling him on it, Reese just asked, “How old are you?”
Jared wanted to shrug, but instead he replied, “Twenty-six.” Or so. Johnathan had deemed him to be not too much younger than Rae, and as they grew up together those first few years, it had seemed close enough to suit everyone.
“What about Rae?”
“Couple years older.” Jared looked at Reese with a fresh curiosity. “Do you have any siblings?” Reese had walked head first into Jared’s family and yet Jared knew nothing of his.
Reese tensed, and expression grew dark. Jared saw his throat and jaw working as he swallowed, and Jared’s brow furrowed when Reese finally replied, “I did.”
Unsure whether to press or not, Jared drew a leg up beneath him in his seat. He was about to inquire further when Reese said, “I had a sister. She’s…she died.”
Jared’s heart pinched, feeling the pain he could see in Reese’s posture. “I’m so sorry.”
Reese took a hard left turn, his eyes on the road in front of him. “Thanks.”
Jared reached over and placed a hand on the hand that was tightly gripping the bottom of the steering wheel. “What happened?”
Reese slanted him a look, and for a while Jared didn't think he was going to get an answer. Just as he was about to remove his hand, worried he had pushed too hard, Reese’s forearm flexed beneath his grip. “I used to walk her to school. Even when I started high school and she went to the school down the street, I would walk her to school. She had this weird phobia of the bus and our parents didn't have an extra car, so we walked. Then during her freshman year…” Reese’s jaw worked.
He glanced at his side mirror, changed lanes. “I was a senior. Lots of kids give their siblings a hard time, but Delaney was my baby sister, you know? I showed her around and everything. We had always been close. She was so damn sweet, just had this kind heart for miles.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “Kind of like you.”
A funny feeling filled Jared, at being compared to someone who had been so special to Reese. This was the most Reese had ever talked about himself, and Jared gave his hand a small squeeze to let him know he was listening.
“Anyway, she made friends with some disabled kid that no one else would talk to, right off the bat. Rollie, I think his name was. About a month into the school year, he had been out for a few days and Delaney was worried about him. Some other girls were teasing her, asking where her boyfriend was a stuff like that. It really got to her, on top of the worry for her friend. She was completely stressed out. So the next day I snuck in and pulled her out of class, convinced her to take a walk in the woods with me, to clear her head. We used to go all the time as kids, so we didn’t think anything of it.
“We were about a quarter mile in, and she remembered that she had left Rollie’s scarf in her locker. He’d lent it to her the day before he’d gotten sick, and Delaney couldn't stand the idea that she had forgotten it. She turned around to head back for it. I followed her, but she took off way ahead of me, and…” Reese’s voice caught, and Jared gave him a moment to compose himself.
“And?” he encouraged, when Reese didn't continue.
“And she ran back to the school. I chased after her, but my baby sister could have been the star of the track team. She could probably outrun you. It was then that I saw the Agent vehicles surrounding the school. I didn't know of any rescues that were there, but I guess the Agents thought so because they tore the place up, raided the school. Found a couple rescues they felt shouldn't be there. When they got them out to the parking lot, a rogue Agent started shooting, and Delaney…Delaney got caught in the crossfire.”
“Oh, no,” Jared whispered, his heart breaking. “You saw it happen.”
Reese gave a short nod. “Watched her fall to the ground like a rag doll, just like the two rescues they found. I caught up to her but…” Reese didn't have to finish his sentence for Jared to know that he had been too late.
“Oh, Reese.” Jared laid a hand on his knee. “I am so, so sorry.” He’d seen his share of death, but Jared wasn't sure he would survive it if he saw Rae or Declan go down like that.
The car in front of them slammed on their brakes, and Reese followed suit, throwing an arm out sideways to catch Jared from launching too far forward. The sudden movement destroyed the melanc
holy moment, and Reese cleared his throat. “We should be getting close. Keep your eye out for Pine Street.”
Jared studied Reese’s face, searching for evidence of the intense emotion he had just seen written there, but Reese’s expression had been cleared, like the pain had never existed.
Jared settled back against his seat, canting his head slightly to the right to watch out for their turnoff. They were coming into the city, and lots of people were out and about, taking advantage of the clear summer weather. “Hey,” Jared said when he caught a glimpse of the Bronco. “Rae and Declan just passed us.” He straightened when he saw a lone figure dressed in black leaning against the side of a building.
“What’s wrong?” Reese took a right turn when the light turned green, and the dark figure was lost from Jared’s view.
“Nothing,” he lied. The hairs on his arms tingled with unease and when Reese stopped at a red light Jared lowered his window and stuck his head out to look at another person, similarly dressed, who looked strategically out of place on this lively, bustling street.
Traction: A m/m romance novel (Renegades & Rescues Book 1) Page 15
