“Yes, you do.” Saxon caught the towel and tugged. He stared at the towel in confusion when it came away in his hands, leaving Rick naked standing next to the couch. “Don’t make me pull you down here by the dick.”
“Fine.” Rick was going to kill him in his sleep. A knife to the ribs, silent but lethal. On what fucking planet did Saxon think he ever wanted to see any news regarding his father?
“You aren’t watching.”
“I am.” Rick kept his eyes forward but tried to shut off his ears, trying not to hear what was said. He leaned forward in confusion when two men in dark suits walked onto the stage where his father was still waving at the crowds like he was the pope. “Um, what’s happening?” He leaned forward, watching more closely.
“Watch and you’ll see.”
On screen, the two men spoke to Jones before they gestured to him to stand to one side and turn around. Rick’s father was clearly protesting and arguing with the men, but too quietly to be heard on the microphone. Arguing and protesting did no good. One of the men grabbed Jones by the left hand and snapped on a handcuff, before doing the same to his right hand. This man didn’t speak as quietly as Jones had and the microphone on the stage was just strong enough to catch his words.“Kendrick Jones, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit treason. You have the right…”The words trailed off as they pushed Rick’s father out of the range of the microphone and then off the stage. They swiftly disappeared from view behind the curtains.
Shock and awe had the force of a baseball bat to the head. “What the fuck just happened?”
“Your prick of a father got arrested for treason.”
“Holy fucking shit.” Rick grabbed the towel from Saxon and wrapped it around his waist. “I… uh… I need a minute.”
“Take all the time you need.” Saxon nodded to the couch. “I’ll be just here on the couch, come get me when you are ready.”
“Babe?” Rick paused on his way back to the bathroom.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
“For what?”
“Not pushing.”
“Go do your thing.” Saxon gave him a soft smile. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be either on the couch or outside at the fire with the guys.”
Rick studied him for a heartbeat before he nodded and disappeared into the spare bedroom, which they were still using to escape the glitterified main suite.
* * *
Saxon cockedhis head toward the bedroom. It had been two hours since Rick had watched the news and seen his father getting arrested. Should he go in? Or no? Fuck, he was useless at this type of shit. He glanced at his watch. It was almost time for Red Squadron’s after mission story time. He could miss it tonight. Rick might need him, that was more important than bonding with his brothers.
Getting to his feet, he headed to the bedroom and knocked on the door. “Rick, you, okay?” All the time he stood waiting for Rick to respond, he second guessed himself. He’d told him he’d give him all the time he needed and here he was knocking on the door. But in his defense, it was Rick, and he wanted to be there for shit like this.
“I’m good,” Rick called. “Go on out with the boys, I’ll be there in a few.”
Saxon ran his tongue over his teeth as he considered Rick’s words. Then he gave himself a mental slap upside the head. Rick was a full-grown man; he would say if he wanted him in there. “Okay.” He tapped his fist off the frame of the door, frustrated and annoyed with himself that he didn’t know what to do. Gah. All he could do was trust Rick.
Grabbing the crate of beer, he headed toward the back of the house. All the gardens here were open plan. They had set up a massive firepit in the center and placed benches and hammocks around it. It was here they gathered after a mission. They took turns telling ghost stories and drinking beer. It was more a way to wind down from the adrenaline high of a mission than it was anything else.
“Who’s the storyteller tonight?” Saxon added the beer to the ice-filled barrel next to a table. Warm beer sucked, so they had an ice rota to match the beer rota.
“Peanut.”
“He better not have witches and demons again.” Castiel dropped bags of chips on the table next to the beer. “Last time, I couldn’t sleep for days as every time that fucking branch tapped on my window, I jumped clean out of the bed.”
It all seemed so fucking normal. Zenko and Shaun relaxed on a hammock, pointing out star constellations. Reese, Drax, and Noah giving Castiel shit about having to cut a branch off the tree outside his window so he could sleep at night. Noble and Max lugging a tray of goodies they had probably ordered from the bakery on the mainland. Rome and Luc bringing logs from the wood pile to the fire. It seemed normal, but for Saxon everything had tilted on its axis. He wanted Rick here with him.
Noble gave a sharp whistle to get their attention. “Sit your asses down. Peanut has a story for us.”
“Yay, Peanut.” Zenko toed the ground making the hammock swing a little.
The sparks from the firepit reached skyward, sending sparkles into the dark sky. It always amazed Saxon how all his brothers settled down like a bunch of kiddos for a story before bed. He took his normal spot on the bench he always sat on and waited for Peanut to start.
