“They won’t.”
“Jase can barely look at me.”
“It’s not what you’re thinking. There’s a lot of stuff going on in his head, and I know he feels like it’s his fault you were in this situation. I have similar feelings.”
I blow air out of my mouth. I need to be careful because I can’t tell him too much. It kills me that I can’t, but it’s only short-term. When we are married and officially part of the Sloth Luminary family, we can bring him into our confidence. Until then, we can’t divulge anything for fear of it getting back. We swore an oath of loyalty and secrecy, and we can’t break it without repercussions.
Chad has already suffered through his association with us.
We’re not putting him in the line of fire again.
“There’s a lot of stuff going on. Some is stuff we can share, but there is plenty we can’t. Not yet anyway.”
He opens and closes his mouth in quick succession. Like he was going to say something but thought better of it. Instead, he nods, opens the cabinet, and hands me the petroleum jelly. Placing his hands on the edge of the counter, he drops the towel and spreads his legs.
After I’ve helped him, he pulls me into his arms, and we hug it out in silence for a few minutes. “Thanks, sweetheart.” He presses a fierce kiss to my temple.
I wash my hands as he dries off and gets dressed.
“I think Jase feels bad about the wedding too,” I admit, turning around as I dry my hands. Maybe I shouldn’t interfere, but there can’t be secrets between us. Chad and I aren’t the only ones who need to repair their relationship. “He hasn’t said it to me, but I know him. I think he thinks you might feel like he’s stolen your girl. He wants you standing there as his best man, but he won’t ask you. He doesn’t want to put that on you if you’re hurting about it.”
“I’ll talk to him.” He drags a towel back and forth across his hair before tossing it in the basket just inside the door. “Would you want me standing at his side?”
“Yes. Having both of you there would be perfect, but I won’t force you to do something if it feels awkward or it would hurt you.”
“It wouldn’t.” He takes my hand. “I won’t lie and say I’m not jealous when I am, but I don’t resent my buddy or you. As long as there’s still a place for me in your lives, I will make my peace with it. I wouldn’t want to miss out on your special day and live to regret it because I know I would.”
Warmth blossoms in my chest. Both my guys are prepared to go to considerable lengths to make things up to me, and it buoys my spirits. It’s remarkable when you consider how much danger we are all still in. That I can feel anything close to elation is a miracle. But as I walk out of the bathroom with Chad, I am feeling the same sense of righteousness I was feeling a short while ago. Like we are all where we should be and things are going to work out.
Jase has made sandwiches and soup, and we eat in comfortable silence. After, we head out to the sunroom to watch the sun rise. I sit on the couch in the middle of the two guys with a blanket thrown over us. Chad sits on a pillow to cushion his sore ass, and every time I see him wince, I want to go back to that building and murder that fucking bitch. Jase grips my hand, and I know he’s having the same murderous thoughts.
We fill Chad in on his mom and Tessa, the things we discovered about what went down with Jasper and Hera, and the encrypted drive Carole gave us. We tell him about Lilianna, careful to leave out all mention of Luminaries and who Ares really is. We don’t mention Rhett is my bio dad or the sick bitch who kidnapped him is my stepmother.
“Jesus.” Air whooshes out of Chad’s mouth. “I knew my dad wasn’t a willing sex trafficker, but he still aided and abetted them.”
“He was trying to fix it, and he was killed for it,” Jase says, wrapping his arm around me.
Stifling a yawn, I rest my head on his shoulder.
“I knew there was something shady about some of those guys I made drops to.” Chad stares off into space with a deep furrow in his brow. “I mentioned it to Dad several times. Sure, I laughed and joked around with them, but it was only to mask my discomfort. Dad stopped asking me to do it after that. I should have followed up. Should’ve asked him before about it, but I was relieved not to have to make bullshit talk with assholes.” He cracks his knuckles, and his jaw pulls tight. “If I’d known what was going on, I’d have murdered them with my bare hands.”
“We both would have, brother.” Jase leans across me, squeezing Chad’s shoulder.
“It’s no wonder Ares acted like he did.” Chad kicks his bare feet up on the coffee table. “He must have been going crazy knowing his sister was out there somewhere with sick pricks.” His face pales as he rubs a hand across his chest. “I would leave no stone unturned trying to find her if that had been Tessa. I know how it must have looked to him about Dad and me. It makes so much sense now.”
“He knows it’s not the truth,” Jase says. “He’s trying to come to terms with a lot of stuff that has come to the surface, and I think he feels bad now for how he treated you and your mom.”
“I think it’s time to let the past stay in the past.” Chad eyeballs us. “I want to help to find Ares’s sister, and I want to clear my dad’s name.”
“Do you think your comments were the reason your dad looked into it and discovered the truth?” I probe in a soft tone. It’s bound to be a sensitive subject with everything that went down.
Chad shrugs. “We’ll never know now, but I guess it’s possible.” Pain skates across his face, and I regret asking the question.
“Don’t feel guilty. What happened was not your fault. We don’t know that your dad wasn’t already suspicious. Even if he hadn’t started digging, he still could’ve ended up in the same place. These men are dangerous, and everyone is expendable.”
“I wish he’d never gotten mixed up in it. He’d still be alive if he hadn’t. I hate how his name has been tarnished. It’s not fair.”
I lace my fingers in his. “It’s not, and you were right. You were always insistent he was innocent.”
