His gaze widens as he starts to process Jace’s words.
He continues. “I’m gay, Carter. I’ve hid it all my life.” He reaches over and squeezes my shoulder. “Not ready to come out to everyone, either. But the two of us have decided once we take care of one final unfinished task, we’re going to buy a place together and figure out what we have and go from there.”
Carter runs a hand through his hair and looks like he’s about to rip it out at the roots. “What do you hope to accomplish, Jace?”
“Vengeance. For Tom and Pete.Thatfucker is the reason they’re dead. He nearly got you and Eddie killed by deploying you in retaliation. Then there’s the matter of theotherstuff he did. And before you yell at Eddie for telling me everything, you should know that I’m not a software guy. For the last several decades, it was myjobto learn things by making people tell me stuff, using unpleasant means to elicit that information, if necessary.”
Jace is a master of burying the lede for maximum impact and distraction. “You wereintel?” Carter asks, stunned.
“Yep. And call him Tom tonight, all right?”
Carter stares at us for a moment. “So why are youhere, tonight, Jace? That guy isn’there!”
“I need an intro to Senator Samuels. Her friend, Bradenton Rexley, is who I need an intro to from her, to get into a private meeting here in Tallahassee later this month.”
“The PAC speed-date.”
“Yup.”
“Jesus, Jace!” He realizes he’s getting too loud and drops his voice. “Why are you doing this?”
He shrugs. “Because it’s long overdue.” He nods to me. “And I promised him. Hey, you took care ofher. I get this one. Either get me the intro, or I’ll introduce myself to her. It’d be better if you do it, though.”
I spot the moment Carter knows he’s going to give in. And when he’s distracted, that’s when I take the opportunity to grab his left hand and shove up his shirt sleeve.
He does have the same tattoo.
As his gaze meets mine, I see it there, the truth. I see the anguish, the regret.
I see the love.
I see everything that could have been mine had I only been braver back then.
Releasing him and stepping away, I turn from him and let Jace deal with it. A moment later, Carter exits and Jace’s hand squeezes my shoulder.
“Come on, pet,” he whispers. “Let’s get back out there. We won’t be here much longer.”
Later that night, when we return to our hotel room, I’m deep in thought and not expecting it when Jace slams me against the wall and pins me there, kissing me and totally derailing my brain.
It’s only later, as we’re both falling asleep after having made love, that I realize he was trying to distract me, refocus me.
Despite the emotional bruising I suffered tonight, we have the invitation to the meeting.
We’re one step closer to our goal.
And me?
I feel lost, in a way. Not that I’ll leave Jace, because I won’t.
But it doesn’t mean my brain will stop revisiting What-If Land anytime soon.
Chapter Eighteen
Jace
I secure the invite. And, meanwhile, we plan.
Our preparations kick into high speed and when we attend the event, I disguise Eddie and I’m not sure which one of us is trying to keep the other in check as we watch the fucker schmoozing people all evening long. We present ourselves as representing a third-party who can’t risk publicly attending even a private event, and who needs absolute secrecy.
