Chapter Five
Tucker set his case down then pulled his phone out of his pocket and smiled when he saw that it was Lucas. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“Hey yourself, did I catch you at a bad time?”
“No, not at all, I just walked through the door.”
“Then I guess I caught you at a good time?” Lucas chuckled
Tucker smiled. “Yeah, you did, what’s up with you?”
“The question is, what are you doing tonight?”
“Same thing I do every Friday night: work and drink a couple of beers by myself before falling into bed. Why?”
“Well, let’s change that up a bit, I’m in town for the weekend heading over to my parents' house right now. I was thinking of dropping Zoi and Raynebow off and seeing if you wanted to grab a drink? You owe me a night out anyway for canceling on me.”
The last time they were supposed to get together, Tucker and his guys had to deal with a hostage situation that went on for three days. “Skating out on your Friday night babysitting gig?”
“Somewhat, but even I need a break sometimes. So what do you say? Want to hang out? Damn, I must sound like some lonely-ass kid.”
Tucker chuckled, if Lucas was a lonely kid, so was he. Truthfully, Tucker didn’t feel like going out for the night, and he wanted to stay in and just relax. He had to write up one of his subordinates and put him on suspension for being careless. And one of his best guys got killed. Sometimes being the boss fucking sucked. Maybe going out for a beer and talking with a friend wasn’t such a bad idea. It would definitely be a change from the things he’d been doing on Friday nights.
From the last time he saw Lucas and Zoi, they had been keeping tabs on each other through text messages. They had become friends, which was somethinghe didn’t see happening before. Other than his brother and his nephew and now Mark,Tucker didn’t have many friends. Although Jaxson, Brenden, and Mayson might have a different take on their relationship.
Mayson no longer worked for him. A few years ago, he had been poached by a private secret organization called Seekers. He hated losing one of his best men, but he also understood Mayson’s need to do something different with his life. Tucker kept in contact with his former subordinate, and they had even worked together a couple of times.
“Tuck, are you still there?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m still here I’m just thinking.”
“About what? You better not be about to say no.”
“Why don’t you come here instead of going out to a bar?”
What the fuck did I just say?Since the death of his wife, Tucker hasn’t let anyone but his brother and Nicholas in his house and he just blurted out that question to Lucas. “If you want to that is . . . I already have the beer, and I just figured it would be better if you need to talk about something than being in a crowded bar,” he said trying to backtrack his statement but silently hoping Lucas wasn’t going to back out.
“I don’t see why not,”Lucas said after a few minutes. “I’ll bring over some wings, and you can text me your address. I'll see you in about twenty or thirty minutes, deal?”
“Yeah, that sounds really good.”
They hung up and Tucker texted his address to Lucas then looked around the living room—there wasn’t a thing out of place. He was barely home so his house remained clean, and all that might need to be done was a few spots that need to be dusted here or there. Taking the stairs up to his bedroom to change out of his suit and put on jeans and a T-shirt, he went back downstairs and dusted a bit making sure everything was set for when Lucas got there.
He also checked to make sure there was enough beer in the refrigerator. If not, he’d have to make a quick run to the store. There wasn’t much he needed to do but sit and wait for the other man to get there. Turning on the television and sitting on the couch, Tucker pulled his case over and set it down beside him, he didn’t feel like going up to his office. Maybe he could get some work done before Lucas arrived, but it was turning out to be a lost cause as his mind kept wandering. Lucas was going to be in his home, the one he shared with his wife. He couldn’t pin down why he was nervous.
Maybe it was a mistake, and I should have agreed to meet at the bar.
* * *
Lucas wasn’tsure what possessed him to call Tucker. It had been awhile since they’d seen each other. He enjoyed talking and getting to know Tucker and realized they were building a friendship. He didn’t have many friends, the only ones were his brothers or some of his comrades that worked with him from the Seeker organization.
For the past two years, he’d spent more time with his daughter and family than anyone else and found that he liked being around Tucker. He didn’t want to think about the way his heart thumped in his chest whenever he thought about the other man. He also didn’t want to think about the way his body reacted in the other man’s presence. Pulling up to his parents' home, putting the car in park, he turned and looked at his niece and daughter.
“Okay, my little ones, who is ready to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa?”
“I am,”cheered Raynebow. Seeing the excitement of her cousin, his daughter cheered as well making him smile and shake his head. She really does adore her cousin.
“All right,” Lucas said with a chuckle. He got out of the car and helped his daughter and niece out. They ran to the door, pushing it open since his parents were expecting him. “Mom, Dad, where are you guys?”
