As much as I wanted to say yes just to placate him, we both knew the truth. “No. I’d kick your ass.”
“Then why should we let you do it alone? You know good and well that Jesse is going to lose his shit. And Michael…”
I hung my head, but he didn’t get it. “You all have families now.”
“And so do you. And you have that man who just stormed out of here. Who loves you. Who you’re married to,” he trailed off. “We’re your fucking family asshole and it pisses me the fuck off that you dismiss our brotherhood.”
My head was starting to hurt, so I sat down at the bar. “I’m not. I just wanted to protect you all from my bullshit. That’s what we do. We protect one another.”
Dare released a heavy sigh. “That’s right. But you forget, we’re protectors too. So deal with it.”
He took out his phone and sent a message. My phone pinged, and I knew I’d been busted. “Let’s go,” he said, moving toward the door.
My brow furrowed. I didn’t want to go anywhere. I needed to stay here and wait for John.
“Where are we going?” I asked, moving to get my shoes.
“I’m taking this to Phantom and calling GQ. You’re going to go find your husband.”
CHAPTER 21
JOHN
What the fuckwas I going to do with him? He drove me goddamn crazy, and I wanted to fuck some sense into him. Tie him to the bed and rail his ass until he got it through his fucking head that he was not alone in all of this.
I’d never walked away from a fight before, but I needed a minute to get my head on straight. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why he’d ever think he was alone in this.
But as I ran my hands through my hair and paced outside the condo, the answer became pretty clear. Brent had to experience unconditional love and trust to know what they felt like. He needed to know what it was like to have someone who got you, warts and all, and wanted both the light and dark side that came with the good and the bad. He needed to know that person was me because his fucking parents had all but destroyed that for him.
Standing out here while he was dealing with all that inside was not conveying the message I was sending. So as I turned to go back inside, I came face to face with him and Daredevil on the stairs.
Daredevil glanced over at his friend. “Didn’t have to go far to find him.”
Brent shoved him in the shoulder. “Go find your own husband.”
“Oh I will, but right now I have to take care of this,” he said, raising the bag. “Phantom can get started on processing it for prints and all that high-tech stuff he does.”
“Good,” I replied. “I’ve got him.”
Dare clapped me on the shoulder as I stood toe to toe and eye to eye with Brent. “Good man. And congratulations I guess. You’ve got your work cut out for you keeping this one in line.”
Brent shot him the bird, making Dare laugh.
“We’ll be in touch. Keep your cell handy.”
We stood in silence, just taking inventory of each other. I wanted to reach out and shake him, but at the same time, I wanted to feel him in my arms more. I wanted to protect him from all the horrible things that could hurt him. I just wanted him.
Reaching out, I pulled him to my chest. I deeply inhaled the scent of his body wash and cologne, giving me a temporary sense of peace. I knew this shit was far from over, but transferring my warmth and love to him this way was what I needed. And he’d just have to deal with it.
But the way he was holding on to me gave me hope things might be okay.
I ran my right hand over the back of his head and clutched him to me. “I’m sorry for how I handled things, but I’m still mad as hell at you,” I whispered into his hair.
He chuckled, just like I thought he would. “I know, John. But you need to understand, I couldn’t put my team in danger. They have people counting on them.”
I pulled back enough to glare at him. “And you don’t? I’m not sorry I busted your balls for hiding that shit, and I am highly distressed that you felt like you had to lie to me about it.”
“I didn’t exactly lie about anything! I just chose not to share some information about how the door got knicked up. I’m trained to keep things confidential.”
