The Exit Strategy Bundle

by Jocelynn Drake

  “You were amazing. So perfect,” Gabriel whispered to him, soothing him so that he floated back down to earth rather than crashing.

  “I…I have never come so hard in my life,” Justin said when his brain started working well enough for words. “It’s like you turned me inside out.”

  “I know you. I know what you want, what you need. You trust me,” Gabriel said. His voice was confident, but there was no mocking or taunting in his tone. Just love. Pure, honest love that rocked Justin down to his core. More than any orgasm could.

  “I do. Completely.”

  “And I trust you. You can do anything you want to me. Give me any command and I’ll do it because I trust you completely. I’m yours, Justin. Always.”

  “I love you, Gabriel,” Justin said, emotion thickening his voice.

  Gabriel’s arms tightened around him. “I love you, Justin.”

  They stayed like that for another couple of minutes before Gabriel slowly pulled away. He helped clean up and then put Justin in bed while tossing aside the stained comforter. After flipping off all the lights, Gabriel climbed in. Justin immediately gathered him close, wrapping around Gabriel’s body like a monkey climbing a tree. He needed to be close, to be able to feel Gabriel’s heart beating against his own.

  Chapter 11

  Gabriel returned the mayonnaise to the fridge and dropped the dirty butter knife into the sink before he picked up the sandwich he’d made along with the glass of ice water. The house was quiet and he hated to admit that it was very nice. Jake and Devlin had been staying with them for a week, and it had proved to be an interesting adjustment.

  Naturally, Jake was an early riser, which meant no lounging in bed regardless of what hour they fell asleep the night before. The dogs were his constant companions and the cats kept a close and watchful eye on him, as if they weren’t quite sure what to make of the guests who did not leave each night.

  They’d managed to keep the little boy busy for the first couple of days with the few toys he’d brought with him, but they soon found that it wasn’t nearly enough. Thank God for overnight delivery.

  In the past few days, they’d acquired various toys and some new video games more suited to a six-year-old than Justin’s collection of blood, murder, monsters, and death. They’d also picked up a fishing pole suited to his size and some other outdoor toys to keep him occupied.

  For the most part, Justin and the dogs remained at Jake’s side as they roamed around outdoors when the weather was good. By nightfall, they were usually falling asleep in their dinner plates, which was good. It meant that Devlin could work uninterrupted.

  In fact, the man worked so much that he forgot to eat. He would completely lose track of time and probably wouldn’t stop if it weren’t for Gabriel popping into the office they’d set up for him, getting him to eat at regular intervals or take a break.

  Just a few minutes earlier, Jake and Justin had finished their lunch and were off for an afternoon hike through the woods with the dogs bounding and barking along with them. When Devlin didn’t appear, Gabriel made the man a sandwich with a side of carrot sticks, celery, and cucumber slices.

  He carried it into the spare bedroom they’d turned into a makeshift office, where Devlin was bent over his laptop, glaring at his screen. He kept a legal pad at his side so he could scratch out notes as they came to him. There were balls of wadded up paper sprinkled about the room like snowballs that refused to melt. Gabriel had tried to clean it up once, but Devlin snapped at him. He didn’t want any notes thrown away until he was done with his work.

  “Time for a break,” Gabriel announced.

  Devlin jerked up and blinked several times as he looked around. “Lunch?” he asked, not sounding entirely sure if that was the right answer.

  “Yes.” Gabriel had stuck his head into the office twice, trying to coax Devlin out so that he could eat with the rest of them, but Devlin was too lost in his work.

  The scientist frowned at the paper plate in Gabriel’s hand. “Jake eat already?”

  “Yes. He and Justin are rambling through the woods. Something about searching for Native American arrowheads and prairie dogs,” Gabriel said with a grin.

  There was no keeping up with Jake when he was excited about something. The words sort of tumbled out of him in a jumbled mess of joy and enthusiasm. The best he could do was smile and nod. He didn’t know how Justin kept up with him all day when Gabriel was exhausted just from their conversations at meals.

  “Damn. I wanted to come out and at least see him for lunch. I just got caught up in these calculations.” Devlin scrubbed a hand over his face and glared at the computer again like it was to blame for him losing track of time.

  “Then how about you help make dinner tonight and stick around for a board game afterward? Justin mentioned something about some games being delivered today,” Gabriel suggested.

  “Yes. I’m sorry I haven’t been more help with Jake and meals—”

  “Don’t,” Gabriel interrupted, his voice sharp. “This was the agreement. You finish your research. We protect you and keep Jake entertained. The faster you get your research completed, the sooner you can return to your normal life.”

  Devlin stared at the sandwich Gabriel had placed next to his laptop, his frown deepening. “Normal. I don’t even know what that normal life would look like any longer. Not without Adam.” His voice had dropped to little more than a whisper at the mention of his dead husband. “He was the one that made sure our lives had balance. That I wasn’t working too much. That Jake had everything he needed at home and for school.”

  Gabriel hesitated. This was not his area of expertise. Not that he could send Justin in with this dilemma either. The man didn’t always have the softest touch…but then, Gabriel tended to come off cold and tone-deaf at times.

  But there was no missing that Devlin was still hurting terribly from the loss of his husband. He probably hadn’t had proper time to grieve between being the number-one suspect and going on the run with Jake.

  “But after the research is done, you could figure that out. Spend more time with Jake. You two could figure out the kind of life you want together. Do you have family back in Washington?”

  Devlin gave a little shake of his head. “My parents were significantly older when they had me, and I was an only child. They’ve both passed. Adam…Adam’s family, we weren’t particularly close with. Since he passed, I haven’t kept in contact. It was just too hard.”

  “Then you and Jake could go anywhere. Start over if you wanted.”

  A ghost of a smile lifted Devlin’s lips as he looked over at Gabriel. “Maybe. Jake made some good friends in kindergarten last year. I think he’s looking forward to seeing them again with the new year. I…I think it would be good for him to be settled in a familiar place.”

  “It’s a start.”

  “Can I ask…how long have you and Justin been together?”

  Gabriel stood in shock for a moment. It was the first time that Devlin had asked him a personal question in the week they’d known each other. The few times Devlin had chatted with them at meals or after dinner, they’d talked mostly about Jake or his work. He never asked about Gabriel’s life with Justin or their line of work, which was preferred.

  “We’ve been dating about a year, I think,” he said. “No, longer.”

  Devlin chuckled and shook his head.

  “What?” Gabriel asked. He found himself sitting in the chair next to Devlin’s desk, surprised by the man’s amusement.

  “Listening to you two. Sometimes it sounds like you’ve been together for years, and other times you don’t know some very basic things about each other. Things most people would find out on like a first date. It’s very odd. I just couldn’t place it.”

  Gabriel snorted. The truth was that he and Justin hadn’t yet been on a date that didn’t include someone following them, shooting at them, or them shooting at a target. Work just sort of wove its way through their personal life.


  “We’re still figuring a lot of things out. Neither of us has ever been in a relationship quite like this before.”

  “Living together?”

  Gabriel nodded. “This occupation doesn’t leave a lot of room for trust.”

  “Thank you then, for trusting Jake and me in your space. I just can’t imagine doing what you do, how you do it,” Devlin stammered slightly.

  “It’s…interesting work, but not for everyone. It’s how Justin and I met. On a job. I think for the first week or so, we spent most of our time contemplating strangling each other, but we found a way to make it work.”

  Devlin picked up a carrot stick and turned it with his fingers for a moment. “Adam and I were the same way. We didn’t immediately hit it off. He was always a bit of a perfectionist and always had to have things a certain way. He said I was a chaotic whirlwind of forgetfulness and distraction. My mind was always half on my work. Drove him crazy. I had to learn to leave work at the office, and he learned to not worry so much about the little messes.”

  “Did you ever worry that you weren’t going to make it work?”

  “During the first few months, yes, all the time. We both loved science, but other than that, we were so damn different. He was outgoing and social, charming. Everyone loved him. Where most people feel like aliens to me. I don’t understand them or what they want. I was sure that everything coming out of my mouth was wrong, and that Adam was just going to leave me rather than try to deal with it.”

  “But it worked out.”

  Devlin nodded and finally took a bite of his sandwich. He hummed with happiness, smiling at Gabriel. Yes, he’d learned exactly how the man liked his sandwiches. Devlin was a creature of habit. He liked the same things for lunch day in and day out. The monotony almost seemed to calm his nerves and allowed him to focus all his attention on his work.

  “We stuck with it because no matter how confusing and frustrating it all was, I loved him. A bad day with Adam was better than the best possible day I could have without him.”

  Gabriel stared down at his hands, but he smiled. That was what it was like with Justin. They still had the power to drive each other absolutely insane each and every damn day, but the idea of Justin not being there, of not waking up to his handsome face on the pillow beside him, was enough to steal the breath from his lungs. He didn’t want to know a world without Justin. Couldn’t remember what that world had been like.

  “What made you decide to get married?”

  “Because I wanted everyone to know he was mine. I wanted him to have physical proof that he was mine forever. And I think that’s what he wanted with me as well. To be bound together in the eyes of our friends, family, the law, and God.” Devlin paused, his sandwich in his hands and a soft smile on his lips. There were tears in his eyes, but they looked like happy tears instead of the pained ones Gabriel had grown accustomed to seeing. “Adam had always dreamed of a fairy tale wedding and prince charming. I’d never given much thought to marriage. Never thought I would. But marriage suddenly became this thing we could do together. The start of the next big thing in our life together, and I couldn’t wait.”

  “Who asked whom?”

  Devlin straightened, his chest puffing up a little bit while he chewed a bite of his sandwich. “I asked him,” he said proudly after he swallowed. “It took over two months of planning, meetings, choreography, and so many fucking sequins.”

  “What?”

  “Adam would be the first to admit that I sucked at romance,” Devlin admitted with a little chuckle. “Once I figured out that he liked flowers, I stuck with it ad nauseum. It was safe. But Adam deserved to be wowed for this. I got a bunch of his coworkers together at the school and we worked on this choreographed number to his favorite song, “My Guy.” We were planning a picnic at the park for the Fourth of July. We got him there and sprang it on him. It was completely over-the-top, with matching suits and dance moves.” Devlin paused, sniffing and wiping his eyes. “I’d never seen him so surprised or happy.”

  “Must have been easy to say yes.”

  Devlin laughed, wiping away the last of the tears. “Thank God he said yes. My backup plan at that point was to just beg him.” Gabriel chuckled and Devlin returned to his sandwich. They sat in companionable silence for a minute before Devlin looked at Gabriel. “Do you think you and Justin will marry?”

  “I honestly have no idea. Before Justin, I had never given marriage a thought. Never believed it would be a part of my life. But then, I never thought I would be in a relationship or even living with someone.”

  “Life has a strange way of surprising you,” Devlin said. His smile turned a little sad, but he didn’t lose it quite as quickly as he had in the past.

  “Thank you for telling me about your husband. I know it can’t be easy to talk about him.”

  “It was actually easier than it has been. Lately, all people ask me about is his death. I don’t want to think about that. It feels like it’s been forever since I had the chance to talk about the good parts of our life. Thank you.” There was relief in Devlin’s voice, and maybe a sense of peace. He might have lost his husband, but he still got to hold on to the good memories.

  Gabriel pushed back to his feet. “I should let you get to work. Tonight we’re having lasagna. Jess also called earlier to say that she’s sending over one of her kids to drop off some apple tarts she made.”

  “You are lucky to have that woman as your neighbor. I’m starting to get addicted to her baking.”

  Gabriel smiled. Justin had let it slip while talking to Jess that their guests were a widower and his son. Apparently it had put her in a baking mood, because she’d already sent cookies and two pies in their direction in the past week. No one had whispered a word of complaint.

  “Do you feel like you’re getting close?”

  Devlin’s expression lit up bright. “I think I have it finished, actually. I recently sent my final conclusions to a few colleagues for their review. I’ve been answering questions today and fine-tuning a few things. Unless one of them spots a major flaw, we should be able to make an announcement in the next few days. What about your research?”

  Gabriel frowned. He grabbed the chair he’d been sitting in to keep from balling his hand into a fist. “I’m sorry to say that we haven’t made nearly the progress that we hoped. We don’t think anyone among your coworkers has betrayed you, but we don’t yet feel confident enough to rule anyone out as entirely safe. We still have too many potential targets to review, but we are working on it.”

  “But if I release my research, the contract should go away, right? That would be enough.”

  “We think there’s a good chance that it should. The contract owner would have nothing to gain by killing you at that point. Why throw away the twenty-seven million?” Gabriel said with a shrug of his shoulder. “But we would never know who wanted you dead. Or who ordered Adam’s death.”

  “But Jake and I could go back to our lives.” Devlin frowned at his nearly empty plate. “Months ago, I was sure I couldn’t rest until I had justice for Adam. But now, after all these months and running, it’s more important to give Jake a normal life. Finding the person behind Adam’s death won’t return my husband to me. I just want to give my son a happy, safe life. He deserves that. And I think that’s what Adam would really want.”

  Gabriel nodded. There wasn’t much he could say to that. Jake did deserve a normal, happy life. So did Devlin. But what about the man who’d torn apart their family? What about the man who’d stolen away Adam Schiller’s chance at a happily ever after with his husband and son? That man deserved to be killed. He needed to be brought to justice so that he couldn’t threaten another innocent family.

  Keeping Devlin and Jake safe was their first priority. But Gabriel knew he couldn’t rest until this killer was brought to justice. And there was no doubt in his mind that Justin felt the exact same way about it.

  Chapter 12

  Justin grinned to see Jake running ahead o
f him through the woods, the dogs bounding in front of him and then turning and running back to the little boy with the skinny, gangly limbs. The child was all energy and giggles no matter what he was doing. The only time he seemed to be in a sour mood was late at night when he didn’t want to go to bed.

  Exhausted, Jake had given them a few temper tantrums, but Devlin managed them with a natural cool and calm that Justin was a little in awe of. He’d been in situations where he’d been outmanned and outgunned and didn’t feel half the panic he did when faced with Jake’s first meltdown.

  Devlin just shrugged, hoisted the red-faced child over his shoulder, and carted him off to bed. Within twenty minutes, silence ruled the house and Devlin was back in the living room, Jake out like a light.

  But with each passing day, Justin was growing more comfortable with the kid. Jake had a great, curious mind, which allowed him to spit out some of the most bizarre and off-the-wall questions. Jake seemed to also take most things in stride.

  In the week that the boy had stayed with them, they’d wandered through the woods, fished in the lake at the edge of their property, and visited Jess’s farm twice. There, they’d enjoyed a cookout and riding lessons. Justin had to admit that he wasn’t fond of horses, but he’d ridden a couple of times. Jake had been over the moon. It also proved to be a good excuse to get Devlin away from his computer for a few hours; it was just too bad he’d missed Jake riding for the first time.

  So far, there had been zero signs that they’d been located by any of the assassins hunting for Devlin, but that didn’t mean they were in the clear. All of them going to Jess’s house had been a risk, but they’d gotten lucky that no trouble followed.