Page 225 of Eight of Swords, Part One

‘Don’t,’ he begs, familiarity painting his insides with neon light, he’s said this before in just this way, wants to scream, beg, cry for Lachlan not to stop it, he always stops it, and Jules loves him so fucking much, why, why, why won’t he love him back even if it was pretend, just pretend, he’d take that, he’d treasure it and never ask for more, he’s so down bad it hurts, and no amount of one night stands can compare to the thirty seconds when Lachlan first comes to collect him and they look at one another and Lachlan knows he wants him, they both know it, but Jules is trying so hard to get over it because Lachlan doesn’t want him the same way but he’s bound to him, so these thirty seconds are electric and Jules thinks maybe he only even has these one night stands just so Lachlan can look at him like that afterwards, when the earth stops turning, and the skies sing his name, and the moon promises to keep all their secrets because she’s the only mother he ever had, and Jules lets himself admit how desperately, woefully, monstrously in love he is with Lachlan fucking Tann—

NO.

STOP.

S T O P.

✴

He wakes in the Tower.

Kade would know home anywhere.

The smell of laundry detergent.

The feel of the walls, the hum of electronics.

The Tower is his home.

Iron Star is his family.

Riley is his best friend and the boss.

Kade is their best.

He sits up in his own bed.

It’s morning.

‘Shit,’ he says, blinking to soften the glare of the sunlight streaming through his window. ‘Fuck.’ Kade checks his watch but finds it dead. ‘Oh, perfect.’

His knees are wobbly when he gets out of bed. Someone put him in a clean tee and boxers (he’d bet that’s Luca), but he can walk fine so he wastes no time heading into the Watch. Cole and Finn are arguing with…

Oh, right. Him.

‘You,’ Kade says.

He’d almost forgotten about the immortal motherfucker who killed eighteen of their people. Lachlan is already looking at Kade, expression unreadable.

‘Kade,’ Cole greets, tone pleasant now he’s not speaking with Lachlan. Both he and Finn come closer. ‘Are you feeling all right? Any problems?’

‘I’m fine.’ Kade can’t spare more than a moment without looking at Lachlan. ‘What’s happening?’ he asks rather than what happened because his instincts are telling him to focus on what’s ahead, not behind. ‘Where’s the boss?’

Lachlan steps forward. ‘Kade.’

‘No, where is he?’

‘He’s in his room,’ Finn explains, ‘resting.’

His throat tightens as panic rises. ‘What the fuck does that mean?’ Kade demands, already striding past Lachlan and through Riley’s heavy-duty doors, both currently open. Kade takes the spiral staircase two steps at a time, practically running until he’s in Riley’s room.

He finds him on the bed inside, but sitting up, awake, alive.

Kade throws a hand over his heart. ‘That scared the shit out of me!’

Riley makes a face, gingerly slipping his legs out of bed. ‘Yeah, same.’

Lachlan hangs back, looks between Kade and Riley, says nothing. ‘What the fuck happened? Why are you hurt? Why are you—?’