“So, you are not worried?”
Jack sighed. “No, but clearly you are.” Granted, as Ace would say, his friends had always been meddling meddlers who meddled, but Lucky didn’t usually get involved in Jack’s relationships. Except for that one time Jack’s ex-boyfriend, Lang, pushed Lucky’s motorcycle over, which had marked the end of their relationship. But Lucky got his revenge by hiding a can of sardines under the driver’s seat of Lang’s Tesla on a ninety-eight-degree day. It sat there foreighthours. “What’s going on?”
Lucky shrugged. “Nothing.”
So believable. “Now who’s bullshitting?” Jack slipped the wrench into one of the empty loops on his tool belt and crossed his arms over his chest. “Spit it out, Lucky.”
“Okay, so some of us, maybe, are a little worried. Just a little.”
“Worried about what? Noel?” Jack tried to think about what his friends could possibly be worried about.
“About you. That maybe you’ve been…working too much.”
This was news to him. “I work the same as everyone else.”
“Oh no, you do not. Yes, we work overtime, but you….” Lucky shook his head, his concern catching Jack by surprise. “You work way more hours than we do, Jack. You leave your house super early, and many times, you get home very late. It’s been getting worse.”
“My job isn’t like yours. I can’t just stop in the middle of coding something or setting up a new client’s security system because my shift is over. You know that.” Jack was the head of the Cybersecurity Department at Four Kings Security. His job required him to be behind a computer screen most of the time, working on coding that could take hours. Even when he was out in the field, he was usually inside his surveillance van. Building security systems was not a nine-to-five job. This was nothing new.
“Jack, it’s been overthreeyears since that mess with your stalker, and instead of hiring someone new, you took all the extra work on yourself. Why? King has told you over and over to hire someone for your team.”
“We don’t need anyone new. We’re fine.” His team was fine the way it was. He trusted them. None of them were secretly psychopaths waiting to kidnap him and kill him and his boyfriend. Besides, he’d gone to therapy for that. He wasfine.
“You’re not fine. And what about Fitz? You think he’s fine?” Lucky asked, folding his arms over his chest.
“Fitz is fine,” Jack replied through his teeth. “If he wasn’t, he would have told me.” What the hell? Why was Lucky bringing all this up now? As he’d said, it had been over three years ago. They’d all moved on.
“Maybe he doesn’t tell you because he’s afraid.”
Jack stilled. “Of what? Me?” His mind went back to that horrible night shortly after they’d gotten together when the abusive husband of one of Fitz’s clients had shown up at Fitz’s house looking for his wife.
The asshole had attacked Fitz, but Jack arrived just in time. He’d dragged the bastard off Fitz and punched him in the face, bloodying him. When the mess was over, Jack had reached for Fitz to help him up, only to have Fitz flinch and recoil from him. It had hurt Jack deeply, seeing Fitz afraid of him simply because of his military history, as if Jack wouldeverhurt him. But they’d talked and worked things out. It didn’t mean Jack had forgotten.
Lucky frowned. “What? No. Why would he be afraid of you?”
“He’s not.” At least, that’s what Fitz had assured Jack. He and Fitz had great communication. They talked about everything. If Fitz had any concerns about anything, he would have brought it up. His boyfriend was not one to suffer in silence, and for that, Jack was grateful.
“I’m confused,” Lucky said. “Maybe he’s afraid of telling you? I don’t know. He loves you.”
“I know that, and I love him too. This isn’t a problem. I appreciate your concern, but my relationship is none of your business.”
Lucky threw his arms up. “Fine. Be stubborn. Cabrón. You keep doing what you’re doing, and you’re going to lose that amazing man, and he is the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”
“Don’t you have a roof to fix?”
Lucky marched off, cursing in Spanish, fully aware that Jack understood him. Spanish was one of the seven languages Jack spoke fluently. What the hell had gotten into Lucky? He and Fitz were fine. They’d been dating for over three years. One dinner with a guy Fitz had just met wouldn’t change that.
Jack returned to the main panel and removed the torque wrench from his belt. Now, all he could think about was Fitz and whether he was fucking things up. Damn it. Freaking Lucky. He removed his phone from his pocket and texted Fitz a heart emoji to let him know Jack was thinking of him. Usually, he quickly received a reply.
Nothing.
“Ridiculous.” Jack shook his head at himself. Just because Fitz hadn’t responded the second after Jack texted him didn’t mean anything. Fitz was busy decorating with the others, and there was a lot to do. Jack would text him again later. Besides, Fitz had promised to bring him dinner. Jack could mentionLucky’sconcerns then.
Jack had most of the wires in the old panel removed when someone walked into the room. He smiled and turned, finding Joker instead of Fitz. His best friend placed a bag on the table.
“Your boyfriend asked me to drop this off.”
Jack frowned. “Where’s Fitz?”
