Xayden leans back in his chair, letting out a low whistle. “This is either going to go really well, or it’s going to blow up in our faces.”
West looks up, his gaze meeting mine for a long moment before flicking to Todd and then Xayden. “It won’t blow up,” he says quietly, but there’s an edge to his voice, a determination I haven’t heard from him in a long time. “Because we’re not the same idiots we were back then. We’re going to do this right.”
Todd nods, his shoulders relaxing just a fraction. “Exactly. She’s choosing us again. We can’t let her regret it.”
The room settles into a heavy silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts. The enormity of what’s ahead looms, but so does the hope that, this time, we’ll get it right.
I glance around at the three of them, knowing this is our second chance—maybe our last one—to prove to her that we’re worth it.
“Alright,” I say finally, my voice cutting through the quiet. “Let’s not screw it up.”
Todd smirks faintly, his confidence reasserting itself, and Xayden cracks a grin, though it doesn’t quite reach his eyes.
West doesn’t say anything, but the way he nods, slow and deliberate, says enough.
“Guess we’re all in,” Xayden says, twirling the drumstick one last time before tossing it onto the table.
“All in,” Todd echoes, his gaze steady and sure.
West doesn’t say anything, but the slight incline of his head says enough.
And me? I’m already running through every possible scenario in my head, every way this could go right—or wrong. But one thing is clear: I’m not letting anything happen to her. Not while I’m around.
The Arizona sunbeats down on us the second we step onto the tarmac, dry heat blasting our faces even though it’s barely ten in the morning. The jet engines whir to a stop behind us, leaving just the faint hum of the plane’s cooling system and the slow shuffle of our footsteps.
Ashlyn shades her eyes with one hand, her hair catching the sunlight in a way that makes me forget, for a second, how uncomfortable this heat is. But I don’t let myself dwell on that. My mind is on a different problem—finding a place big enough for all five of us, somewhere she’ll feel safe if her heat strikes early.
“Where’s our ride?” Xayden mutters, wiping sweat from his brow.
“Over here,” West says quietly, gesturing to a long black town car idling a few yards away. A driver in a crisp suit stands atattention, ready to collect our luggage and usher us toward air-conditioned relief.
We make our way across the tarmac, the blazing sun reflecting off the pavement so fiercely I’m pretty sure I’m getting sunburned through my shirt. But I barely notice it because I’m scrolling through hotel listings on my phone, searching for the perfect place. One suite, enough space for all of us—no separate rooms or scattered floors. If Ash is going to trust us with her heat, I’m making damn sure there’s no risk of anything going wrong.
I pause when I find a listing that mentions a nest. My heart stutters a bit. We never got that far with her before everything fell apart years ago, but I’ve done enough reading to know omegas feel more secure in a nest, especially during a heat. And if there’s one thing we all agree on, it’s that we want her to be comfortable.
“Hey, Jake,” Ashlyn calls, stepping up beside me with a curious tilt to her head. “You okay? You look like you’re planning a heist or something.”
I huff a laugh, my gaze flicking from her face back to my phone. “In a way, I am. A hotel heist.”
She arches a brow, but the corner of her mouth tugs up in a grin. “Should I be worried?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “Just making sure we have a suite that’ll fit all of us. And, uh… it has a nest.”
Her expression shifts, surprise mingling with something warmer. “Really?” she asks, voice almost drowned out by the sound of Xayden dropping his drumsticks into their case behind us.
“Really,” I confirm, pressing my thumb to finalize the booking. “I mean, I know we didn’t—back then, we never?—”
She stops me, her hand coming to rest lightly on my arm. The faint brush of her touch ignites a hum of electricity. “Thank you,” she says, sounding earnest. “This is… I appreciate it.”
Before I can respond, the driver appears at our side, clearing his throat politely. We pass him our carry-ons, and he leads us to the car. Todd and West stow the rest of our luggage with him, while Xayden banters about how we should’ve just driven from the airport on motorcycles to look more rockstar.
Ashlyn rolls her eyes at him but can’t hide her laughter. I catch her smile, and it makes me grin too—makes me want to protect that ease in her expression.
Inside the town car, the A/C hits us like a blessing. I slide onto one of the leather seats, Ashlyn settling beside me. Todd ends up on her other side, West across from us, and Xayden claims the last seat with an exaggerated sigh of relief.
“Finally,” Xayden mutters, fanning himself dramatically. “I thought we’d melt out there.”
West smirks. “I figured you’d thrive in the heat—like the desert lizard you are.”
