Page 95 of Natural-Born Cullers

Who the hell had managed to hurthim?

Ray came in from the lounge, and Jan moved over to Gray, taking him back a step, away. Like all the poison came on the air from Jack’s breath. As Ray came over to Jack, even he looked set to pin him to the floor if he breathed the wrong way.

And none of that explained the anger off Jan, the grief coming his way off Gray. More on instinct, anger eating away at his insides over anyone getting close to hurt Gray, Jack naturally went to run with them, to find out who he needed to hurt in order to stop theirs.

Ray shook his head, an arm across Jack’s chest stopping him.

“What?” Jack stared at Ray, then found Gray. “Mukka, I—”

“Fucking don’t,” snarled Gray. He looked caught between going… staying… either one looking more and more like he’d end up really hurting someone. “Not now. Not fucking you… now—”

“Not Martin here,” Jack said quickly, gut instinct kicking in as Ray pushed him back against the wall. “Th’fuck off,” he snapped at Ray. They’d been okay with Martin. So back to Gray—“Not Martin huh—”

“I. Fucking. Know, Jack.”

Jack jolted, and Jan eased into Gray again, edging him closer to the hall, his office. Away. Then he looked back at Jack, that same look of… anger coming his way. “Back off, Jack. Get upstairs.”

Jack threw out his arms. “What’s—”

“I said back fucking off. Give him some goddamn space. Gray needs—”

“I know what he fucking needs,Jan. I’ve lived with him for over a decade.” Jack shoved Ray off, too much closing in on him, with Ray being the wall that kept moving, trapping his head in a vice. Only Ray pushed him back again. “I can bloody see someone’s got at you both.”

As Jan kept Gray back, he looked at Ray. “His fucking aggression levels, Ray. Lock him down before he blacks out.”

“The fuckdid you just say?” said Jack as Ray grabbed Jack’s arm, but Jack shrugged out of it and made it over to Jan—only to have Gray raise a finger chest level to him, stopping him getting close.

Jack frowned his way, not understanding his… threat, but then Jan stole most of him as he snarled, “Get him fucking locked down, Ray.”

“What?” Jack looked him up and down. “You suddenly bypassing lover and going specialist on my care team, Jan? You think you can call lockdown?” He shoved his head hard against Jan’s, and now he really needed someone to step in because the illness in the air around him made him twist and warp with it, needing to punch through how wrong he felt. But as Jan tried to step back, as Jack followed him every step of the way, Jan looked so sick, so bloody pale with how he went in. Jack almost cried out to be pulled back, because he couldn’t stop this, he couldn’t stop the infection eating into his skin. He wanted to hit out, because… because—

“I’m pissed off because no one’s telling me what the fuck’s gone down, nothing more.” He took a step back, or tried to before Gray shoved him away. “That doesn’t make me a fucking liability, it just leaves me needing to know who the hell’s hurting you both. Fuckingtalkto me.”

“Talk?” Gray pulled Jan in between them, grabbing at his jaw, twisting Jan’s head this way, that. “He wasn’t fuckingbreathing, Jack—”

“What?”

“You, Martin—”

Jack pushed Jan aside and shoved at Gray, sending him stumbling back a few paces. “Not… fucking… Martin… here.”

Now Gray shifted back for him so bloody quickly, shoving Jack back, once, twice, three times.

“Stop. Stop-stop.” Jan came in between them, arms wide, Ray tugging Jack back, his look more on Jan. His concern moreforJan.

Jack stilled, breathing hard, heavy, heart torn at how Jan shook between them. He choked a cough, then couldn’t seem to stop.

“Okay, okay.” Jack blew out a rough breath as Gray cupped Jan’s neck, pulling him in with such a hard look coming Jack’s way. They were both hurting. He couldn’t understand why, but seeing them both hurt, it would always tip his world upside down.

“Talk to me, please, mukka. What do you need me to do?”

“Do…?” Gray looked as wired, looking as disturbed over how he’d almost lost sight of Jan. “How about you stop protecting that bastard and get Martin back to ask me that? You think you candothat for me, Jack? Stop hiding him like I’m the fucking poison?”

“For fuck’s sake, stop.” Jan pushed Gray away, then looked at Ray. “Get him back to Martin’s old cell. Now.”

“Not fucking Martin here.” Jack held his hands out. He didn’t know what Martin had done, but—“Just what the fuck do you think I’m gonna do here, Jan?”

“Fucking go, Jack—” Jan glanced back, pushing Gray off. “Back off, just—”

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