“Well, let’s clean up, then I’ll show you.” He starts gathering the dirty dishes, and the other guys stand up to give him a hand, clearing away the rest of the meal. I chuckle at their enthusiasm and how quickly it happens now that they have motivation.
I sit back and drink the delicious cocktail Alex made me, thinking of the way Ash and Alex argued while he mixed it. It was good-natured, playful banter between two people who can’t help but try to push each other’s buttons. The sexual tension between them is off the fucking charts, and Jace and Shane seem to encourage it.
Finally, they are done, and we follow Alex downstairs into the garage. “When I spoke to Diego earlier, I asked where the hidden underground entrance was. I also asked if he had been down here. He told me he had, but he hadn’t explored everything because he didn’t have the codes to get into the doors with the keypads. That was in the book he had given your dad, and he didn’t care enough to keep guessing.”
I gasp, realizing why he had that big smile on his face. “I have the codes in my phone!”
He claps his hands. “I know, so let’s check out what’s down here.”
“Hang on a minute.” Riku leaves us standing in the garage full of vintage cars. There must be at least twenty cars down here, and the boys ooh and ah over them while we wait.
“Can we take these for a drive while we’re here?” Shane caresses the vintage burgundy Rolls Royce Phantom almost as reverently as he does my body.
“I’ll ask Diego if they have been maintained. If so, then I don’t see why not.”
Riku returns, holding his gun again. “I’m sure no one is down here, but…”
“Better to be safe than dead, right?” Cole says as Alex lifts an old can of spray paint. The click of the secret door is deafening in the quiet garage.
“The old bastard really liked his secret shit, didn’t he?” Jace mutters as we all peer through the doorway. The automatic lighting kicks in as soon as Alex steps forward, illuminating the passage with an eerie, blue-tinted light.
“This tunnel apparently leads to two exits. One somewhere down by the coast, in a cave where a souped-up motorboat is ready for a quick escape. The other is farther into the property where there’s an escape route in case we can’t use the main driveway. There’s a car parked there too.”
“Wow, Diego really saved us some time.” Ash sounds impressed by Alex’s interrogation skills.
“See, my nosiness pays off.”
Alex leads the way down the corridor, followed by Riku and his weapon. The rest walk behind, but it’s a little creepy, and I find myself reaching behind me for a hand. A warm one hits mine, and when I look back, it’s Cole’s.
“I’m here.” It’s not those words that make me feel better. No, it’s the press of his hand, the warmth of his closeness, and the sound of his voice that makes the churning in my stomach come to a rest. Who would have thought this would develop between us? A few weeks ago, he and I couldn’t even be in the same room without almost throwing down.
“Here’s the first keypad!” Alex calls back, finally stopping. “The other rooms are all empty. Diego said they had drugs and guns in them when he first arrived, but he sold all that off and refuses to use his house to store those products anymore. He has an underground bunker elsewhere on the property.”
“Holy shit. You two really talked. I can’t believe he gave you this information.” Jace stares wide-eyed at Alex, who shrugs.
“He also promised that if I told anyone or hurt Jacinta, he’d kill me in my sleep, followed by the rest of you. He might not be the count, but he is definitely not vanilla either.” Alex shudders before gesturing to the keypad. “Do your thing.”
“I can’t believe my bio dad threatened you,” I mutter as I pull out my phone and bring up the codes.
“Oh, your Brad dad did too,” Jace shares helpfully. “After our trip to see you in Romania, he had the three of us and Cole for dinner one night. He and Howard and your brothers put the fear of God into us.”
“Yeah, we got that conversation via satellite,” Ash says, and Riku chuckles, nodding.
“Well, okay then. Guess I’m not surprised they were so… thorough. I wonder if I’ll get the same talk from your families.” I tilt my head in question. We haven’t talked a lot about their families. Have I been neglectful? I forget not all are as wonderful as mine.
Alex scoffs. “Hardly, my parents don’t give a crap.”
“My mom and dad love you and are thrilled I’m in a relationship even if it isn’t traditional.” Riku holds his gun up, waiting for me to input the code. “Heck, Aimi would steal you away if she had the chance and thought you’d be interested. Her wife’s already had to give her the lecture about how not everyone gets a harem, and that’s just how life is.”
Shane takes his turn to share because of course we’ve now decided to have this conversation in the middle of a secret basement exploration. “I don’t have parents, and you won’t see my brother unless he wants money.”
“You have the seal of approval from the only person I care about, but she will be very upset if she doesn’t get to explore down here,” Ash warns.
“What about you two?” I ask my remaining boyfriends as Alex wriggles with impatience beside us. Thankfully, he realizes the importance of this conversation, so he keeps his mouth shut.
“I have almost as many siblings as you do. My parents love a big family, so they are not going to care either way. Though they will insist on us coming out to meet them as soon as we can—all of us. They’ll want to get to know Jacinta, of course, but they’ll also be interested in the men who will be an important part of their grandson’s life.”
“As long as I don’t have to ride a horse,” Riku grumbles, and I snicker. I’ll get him on one, one day.
