That wasn’t to say she was perfect—no one was. Her self-worth needed addressing. Especially after something Priest and Cameron said when I talked to them the other day. Declan and I needed to right her mindset about her spot in our marriage. Because while we couldn’t marry her, I wanted her to know this was a three-lane highway, all of us heading in the same direction. And I knew Declan felt the same. It wasn’t the two of us and her. It was the three of us, equally.
Once we pulled to a stop, Scott and I watched the surroundings as Liam and Foster hovered while Jackson struggled to get out of the SUV. After seeing the wounds he had, I gave the guy props. He had to be in some serious ass pain, but he didn’t let it stop him from doing what he felt needed doing. He would’ve made a damn fine Marine.
“Hey, cuz! How’re they hanging?”
I turned, my mouth falling open at the sight of a second Jackson Holt.
“They’re fine now that I don’t have a tube in my dick,” Jackson said.
“Asher, if you make him pop a stitch, I’m gonna whip your ass, son,” Foster threatened the guy who I’m assuming was his actual son since Foster pulled the guy into a tight embrace.
“Hey, Dad.”
I looked up at the porch as another guy stepped out of the house. Foster pulled him into a hug as well. This guy was Foster’s mini-me.
“Any clue when the others are coming back?” Jackson asked.
Unlike Jackson, my partners were speaking to me, so I knew that Katie were still held up in the studio with the band. Marcie, Declan, Heidi, Lucia, and Celeste were all with her.
Foster’s son, the one whose name I didn’t know, said, “Jackie doesn’t give a fuck about ‘the others.’ All he’s worried about is his girl.”
“You rib me again, and I’m gonna fuck you up. Oh, and leave Jackson be. I think he and Katie have enough shit to deal with, assmunch,” Asher told his brother.
Liam circled his finger as he said, “Jackson, get a move on. No less than fifteen minutes. More if you can handle it.”
The guy sighed and moved off toward the back of the house. Liam grabbed his medical bag and headed into the house. Scott, Foster, and I watched Jackson walk away, and we all breathed a sigh of relief. Foster’s kids trailed after Jackson as Liam instructed, but he wasn’t the boss, so I asked, “Do you want Scott and me to follow after them?”
“Nah. Y’all have been put through the wringer since we stepped off the plane in New York. Asher and Bauer can handle babysitting Jackson while he follows Liam’s orders.”
Foster turned back toward the SUV, pulling out his phone. “I’m going to call Walker and the admiral with an update, then my wife. If the boys are here, she’s dealing with the younger ones on her own and is likely ready to kick my ass. Y’all go on in and get some rest.”
Scott and I nodded, then followed Liam into the house. Once we were out of earshot, Scott pulled me to a stop and asked, “Why’d you lie last night?”
“What’re you talking about?”
Scott looked around, then said, “Last night when Jackson asked for an update while we were eating, you said Katie moved Marcie into the house. But I know you told Priest and Cameron to stash Marcie here. Then, when Jackson pushed for more info, you said, ‘Who the fuck knows?’ defensively when he asked if we could trust her.”
“Marcie isn’t keen on Katie knowing how close she is to some of the security team.”
“You mean you and Declan, because the rest of us aren’t drooling over the woman like we’re in heat.”
“Males don’t go into heat, dumbass, but yeah. You’re right, Declan and I are interested in her, but we want to respect her wishes.”
“Well, y’all suck at subtle, you always have,” he said with a laugh. “You might need to work on that before Katie figures it out on her own. Or Jackson.”
“Thanks.”
I slapped him on the shoulder, shoving him into the house ahead of me. I made a beeline toward the kitchen. I couldn’t believe how starved I was. Jackson had us up before dawn, rushing us to get here.
Why, I didn’t know. Katie had been at the studio all damn night. My two bratty subs had to be exhausted, but I wouldn’t interfere with them working. When they finally made it back to the house, I’d ply them with food and forced rest. And a few orgasms as well for all of us, but first, I wanted to have a heart-to-heart with Marcie. I had to be certain she was fully onboard with where Declan and I wanted the relationship between the three of us to go. We’d waited long enough.
Declan wanted the conversation to take place in person, with all three of us present. I got that. I did, but… It was a conversation that should’ve happened right after what occurred between us in the kitchen in Washington. Oh, well. Declan hadn’t done a damn thing right from the beginning why should we start now.
When the fridge yielded nothing but ingredients, all of which I could prepare, but I lacked the desire or energy to do so. Pulling up the delivery app, I placed an order for enough food for all of us, then added more than enough for the others when Declan texted, saying Marcie was working on getting Katie to rest since she was slowing down and the band was on their last legs.
Once the driver dropped off the food, I bit the bullet and went out to the patio where Jackson had been standing since not long after we arrived.
“Something wrong?” he asked as he glanced at me.
