Page 30 of Cohesion

Will opened his mouth to say something against the awkwardness of the silence. He faltered when his gaze settled on Peyton, who had a leg dangling over the side, twisted to look at Jericho. Will knew that look: he was getting ready to bolt.

Persephone wiggled her butt and then jumped up on the bed, making her way around the various limbs until she got to Sebastian’s pillow and then sat on it. She’d tried the same thing yesterday, and Sebastian had given her a ten-minute lecture about why her behind wasn’t allowed anywhere near his pillow and that rules were important for avoiding anarchy.

Sebastian barely glanced at her, dismissive. “How long has Riley worked for you?”

“A long time,” was all Jericho said in response. “If you want to know more, you’ll have to ask him.”

“I’m askingyou.”

Peyton stood in a burst of speed, heading straight for the door. Will had been ready for it, and he still wasn’t quick enough. Jericho was, though. He intercepted him at the door, standing in front of it and blocking Peyton’s way.

“Hey, the party’s over,” Jericho said, a hand against Peyton’s heaving chest. “No need to go storming the fort now. Six is on his way to check on him. And if he thinks he’s fine, trust me, he’s fine.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I trust Six.”

“And I don’t,” Peyton said through gritted teeth. “That’s my brother. Get out of my way.”

Will inched his way off the bed.

“Riley isfine. Even if he weren’t, Six is a doctor and the best thing for him right now. The last thing we want to do is put all the targets in one room. If you go somewhere, I’m going with you. And if I go somewhere?” Jericho pointed at Sebastian. “He’s going with me. Is that a risk you want to take?”

“Oh, so now you want to be on my tail,” Sebastian muttered. “During the day you’re happy to pawn me off.”

Peyton tensed like he was getting ready to push past Jericho. Will snagged his elbow, gently tugging. Peyton didn’t resist, letting Will turn him. The pain and hopelessness in his dark-blue eyes almost undid Will. He pulled Peyton close, cradling the back of his head as he buried his face in Will’s chest.

“If he wasn’t okay, we’d already be on our way,” Will promised, mouth open against Peyton’s knotty hair. It always tangled so easily and needed a good brush every morning. “Whatever happened, it’s over, and he’s still standing.”

Peyton clung to Will, fingers curling into his bare chest. The light bruise under his nipple, from someone’s pair of lips last night—Sebastian, maybe?—ached as Peyton pressed into it.

Jericho moved behind Peyton, bracketing him between them. He rested his forehead against Peyton’s back and said, “Whoever tried this is long gone. If there’s a lead to follow, Hunter and Moira will find it. There’s nothing that we can do right now but wait. I know it’s hard, but if you can’t trust Six, then I need you to trustme.”

“I’m not being kept out of this,” Peyton said firmly, voice muffled by Will’s chest. “I’m not being sidelined just because he’s my brother.”

Jericho kissed the back of Will’s hand and then Peyton’s hair, his eyes meeting Will’s over the top. “Do you think I was going to? We’re not cops, Peyton. There are no rules except the ones that we decide on. Having a personal stake in it isn’t going to make us sit you out. We won’t do that unless you give us a reason to.”

“If you’re not cops, then what are you?” Quinn asked. “Who keeps you in line?”

“Afraid you’re going to have to arrest me, Quinn?” Jericho asked, mouth tipping up. “We skirt the law, but we don’t cross it.”

“I don’t believe that for a second.”

“We play with the boundaries that we’re given, and we get creative.”

“That’s reassuring,” Sebastian said sourly. “Pers, get off my pillow. We already had this conversation yesterday. You can’t put your butt where my head rests.Youneed to play by the boundaries you’re given too, do you hear me?”

Peyton snorted out a laugh, relaxing properly in Will’s arms. Will tightened around him, wrapping him up like an anaconda squeezing its prey. Peyton melted, and Will bent, his backprotesting as he buried his head in the curve of Peyton’s shoulder.

Peyton didn’t make a move to break the embrace, so neither did Will. They remained locked together even as Quinn, Sebastian, and Jericho settled back into the bed, waiting for them. Will closed his eyes, settling in for the long haul.

He would always hold Peyton however long he needed, whenever he needed.

One second Jericho wasasleep, and the next he was alert, instantly tense and ready to defend the men beside him.

It had already taken him a long time to sleep after the first interruption of the night, listening to the others breathing, assuring himself they were fine. This is why feelings were a detriment. He worried about his brother, about Six, all of them. Somehow, this was so much worse. His heart felt like it was being squeezed until he couldn’t breathe, couldn’tthink. Touching them and being near them was the only thing that helped relax him.

It had nothing to do with thinking they weren’t competent—hell, their competence was why he was always so fucking turned on just from being near them—and everything to do with how they had invaded every facet of his being. They made him want things he’d never wanted before.

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